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The electronic version of this document has been prepared at the Fourth
World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in collaboration with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
Secretariat.
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AS WRITTEN


FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN
Statement delivered by Mrs. Ivanka CORTI

Chairperson of the
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Beijing, 7 September 1995


Madame Chairperson,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are gathered here to attend the United Nations Fourth World Conference
on Women which takes place three months after the solemn celebration of
the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations in San Francisco. In spite of
all the frustrations that the world organization has experienced over the
past years, we must not lose sight of the extraordinary achievements of
the United Nations. Never before have virtually all nations had the
opportunity to rely - and for half a century - on a forum where their
needs and grievances can be addressed. Large and small countries (51 at
the outset, now 185) are gathered in an assembly where they must listen
to, and in one way or another heed, each other’s voices. In its lifetime,
the United Nations has worked wonders eradicating disease, immunising
children, providing food and shelter to refugees and victims of disasters,
fighting drug trafficking and HIV/AIDS. It has helped so many countries
achieve a peaceful transition from colonial status to self-rule and
self-sufficiency. It has striven to control runaway population growth and
rampant environmental destruction. In its Charter the United Nations
proclaimed as its basic principle the equality of rights for women, and
reaffirmed ~B...faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and
worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women...w~. 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed equality for all
before the law, as well as the right to enjoy human rights and fundamental
freedoms “...without distinction of any kind...” including sex. 

And... it is thanks to the United Nations that we are here in Beijing
today attending our Fourth World Conference. 

During the United Nations Decade on Women, a specific instrument that
protects women's rights and is binding in international Law was developed.
This instrument, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, (widely called CEDAW) was adopted by the
General Assembly in 1979. It is an anti-discriminatory guide for national
legislation into the new century. It is therefore appropriate that this
conference place emphasis on the Convention as a fundamental document
which underpins the full range of women’s human rights. 

In my capacity as Chairperson of the CEDAW Committee, and on behalf of the
23 members of the Committee, I wish to express deep gratitude to the
member States of the United Nations for having adopted this historic
treaty, which has now been ratified by 145 States. 

The CEDAW Convention is not just an international bill of rights for
women, it is the first legal instrument to address the full range of
rights concerning the role and position of women in society and in the
family. It brings together in a single Convention all the various
instruments concerning the status of women. The CEDAW Convention does not
merely focus on respect for equal rights per se; rather it aims to ensure
the equal enjoyment of these rights. 

The CEDAW Convention also represents the undeniable commitment of the
international community to women’s human rights. It identifies persisting
forms of inequality and discrimination against women, and is a guide to
assist in the abolition of practices and traditions that are detrimental
to the enjoyment of these rights. Its legally binding and internationally
accepted nature makes the Convention the basic legal framework for a far-
reaching strategy to protect and promote the fundamental rights of women,
and to eradicate de jure and de facto inequality and discrimination. It
is, therefore, "universal in reach, comprehensive in scope and legally
binding in character. It is the most comprehensive charter of women’s
human rights serving as a model for all human rights enunciations. 

Twenty years after the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City and
nearly 15 years after the CEDAW Convention came into force, the Beijing
Conference provides us with a Platform for Action, which details the
condition of women across the world and the action that must be taken.
But, much has changed in the 20 years that have elapsed since the Mexico
City Conference. At that time the issue of equality was seen as a problem
to be addressed quite separately. Now, especially after the United Nations
Conferences held in Rio, Vienna, Cairo and Copenhagen, we have come to
realise that women’s concerns are the concerns of society and must be seen
as part of a broad agenda involving partnership between women and men in
all their endeavours. 

Nevertheless, as the Preamble of the Vienna Declaration states, we must
also consider "the spirit of our age and realities of our time", and
stress the importance of this Conference. 

Madame Chairperson,

We are meeting today near the end of the century to address issues that
are fundamental to all future generations: Equality, Development and
Peace, and the challenges they represent, now and in the third Millennium. 

To achieve our goals we need to ensure that the gains made as the result
of extraordinary struggles by and for women be conserved and built upon.
We must keep in mind that this Conference is particularly significant not
only for the content of its agenda but also for its critical timing. If
this opportunity to improve the lot of women is not grasped, women
throughout the world will continue to endure deteriorating conditions
physically, mentally, financially and in their personal lives. 

When we address issue of equality and plan how to achieve, we realise that
the gap to be bridged remains a wide one. For example on average, women
world-wide are paid 30-40% less than men for work of equal value and they
represent a disproportionate share of the unemployed in every age-group
and region. In 1994, on average only 10.5% of legislators and ó.1% of
decision-makers at the ministerial level world-wide were women. 

Madame Chairperson,

Today, when addressing issues of development, we view then in terms of
economic growth and in the context of sustainable development. As the
previous World Conferences have affirmed, we now know that development
cannot be addressed adequately if we do not tackle a key concern, namely
the need to rectify gender imbalance. We need to create the environment
necessary to empower women, and recognize them as "agents and
beneficiaries". Unless the strengths -and talent of women are harnessed,
development programs will not achieve their maximum potential. 

As for the third issue - peace. we recognise that we have witnessed the
end of the cold war and are experiencing a period of transition
characterized by global change. This is a time in which destructive
ideologies, and the fear of nuclear mass destruction may have ended. And
while we see genuine attempts to establish democracies, in fact the world
continues to grapple with agonizing problems. Sadly, there remain civil
strife, ethnic conflict, xenophobia, racism, ethnic cleansing, collective
and individual insecurity, lack of respect for human rights andeven for
human life itself, and growing poverty which primarilyaffects women. Mass
killings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Somalia,Tchetchenia, and in Rwanda and
Burundi are a vivid and tragicexample of the atrocities committed over
recent years. Rapeagainst women has always existed, but now patently, is a
tool ofwar. we are witnessing the spread of new forms of
gender-basedaggression, and violence both personal and civil has
forcedmainly women to immigrate to unfamiliar lands in search of peace. 

Madame Chairperson,

Thousands of women, from developed and developing countries
alike, are here with a common goal:

* to denounce massive and monumental violations of fundamental human
rights of women; 

* to request that a constructive Platform for Action be adopted; 

* and that the principles enshrined in the CEDAW Convention be reaffirmed. 

The Fourth World Conference on Women must strongly reiterate that as the
Vienna Declaration stated, the human rights of women are an inalienable,
indivisible and integral part of all human rights. 

The Vienna Declaration also calls for full and equal participation of
women in political, civil, economic, social andcultural life and for the
eradication of all forms of gender based discrimination. It states
further, that "...the elimination of violence against women in public and
private life,...of sexual harassment, exploitation and trafficking in
women... and the eradication of any conflicts which may arise between the
rights of women and the harmful effects of certain traditional or
customary practices, cultural prejudices and religious extremism" are a
priority. 

For the implementation of these rights the General Assembly has taken the
bold step of appointing a High Commissioner for Human Rights. He has the
difficult task of giving effect to these lofty United Nations' ideals. The
normative framework was reinforced by the adoption of the Declaration on
Violence against Women, and in 1994, this was given effect by the
appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women. 

The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in
Cairo, in its Plan of Action, emphasised the central role of women in
sustainable development, the importance of women’s empowerment and
education towards the elimination of uncontrolled population growth, and
respect for women’s right to choose freely whether and when to bear
children. It also affirmed the right to bear and raise those children in
healthy conditions, and also underlined the critical importance of family
planning and sex education for girls and women as a means of ensuring the
right to freedom of choice in matters of reproduction. These statements
reflect articles in the CEDAW Convention and General Recommendation no.
21. These rights are women’s human rights. However they are essential not
only for women, but to guarantee the health and welfare of the whole
family - mother, father, and their children. 

The Social Summit held a few months ago in Copenhagen stressed that social
disintegration, structural adjustment, uncontrolled or forced migration,
unemployment, poverty and violence perpetrated by the State or privately
mainly affect women. 

I must reiterate that all these conclusions emphasise and reinforce what
is already contained in the CEDAW Convention. In this regard, the
Convention is the fundamental reference document which should guide in the
interpretation and application of many other relevant United Nations
instruments. 

Madame Chairperson,

What is the CEDAW Committee asking from this Conference? While
unfortunately the Convention has not been adequately reflected in the
Draft Platform for Action, nonetheless it is the only legally binding
instrument at international law concerning human rights for women. It will
serve as the basis for monitoring and implementation of the Platform for
Action. The Committee seeks strong support for the requests contained in
its report submitted to this Conference and contained in document
A/Conf.177/7. Let me just mention here the most important ones: 

 * Universal ratification of the Convention by the year 2000.
 * Universal withdrawal of reservations to the Convention.
 * And thirdly, the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention.

Madame Chairperson,

Women, the underprivileged half of the world's population have in the last
decades established an extraordinary network and today are for the first
time in history a visible part of civil society throughout the world.
There is therefore, greater causefor optimism for the protection and the
improvement of theirhuman rights. Women want full recognition of their
citizenshipin a democratic world. Beijing must reinforce the
foundationsfor building genuine equality between women and men in the
21stcentury. The challenge is enormous. We have made some progresssince
Nairobi, but in times of transition and socio- economicrecession, what we
have gained can easily be lost. Equalitytoday is far from being achieved
and equality is the crucial goalfor which we must continue to strive. 

We must also be very clear that this is a world meeting convened not only
to affirm women’s human rights, but also to promote action to achieve
those rights both in the family and in society as a whole. 

The CEDAW Convention focuses on the full range of these rights - as
mothers, wives or daughters, as working women, as politicians, whether
they live in rural areas or in cities, and in all the regions of the
world. All these rights must be fully recognised. No claim of relativism
can ever justify violations of any of these rights under any
circumstances. 

Women's rights are human rights. This is a fundamental truth. Respect for
these rights will give the whole of humanity hope for a new social order,
liberated from injustice and the legacy of past oppression. 

With the boundless energy of both women and men, and with education about
human rights, we can weave a tapestry, one which shows a picture of a new
human rights culture of equality in rights and responsibilities. We must
build on the foundation of earlier world conferences and move forward,
women and men together, into the new millennium. 

Thank you!