Address by
H.E. MR. HARRI HOLKERI
President of the General Assembly
At the All China Women's Federation's luncheon
9 April 2001
I am honoured to have the opportunity to participate in this luncheon. While
in Beijing and having this honour to be the guest of the All China Women's Federation
I cannot think of any more appropriate subject to start than the Fourth World
Conference on Women. A conference commonly known in the UN and around the world
as 'the Beijing Conference'. Altogether 47, 000 women and men, attended the
Beijing Conference and the parallel Huairou NGO Forum. It was the largest-ever
gathering of government and NGO representatives at a United Nations Conference.
At the Conference 189 countries unanimously adopted the Beijing Declaration
and the Platform for Action. The people and the government of People's Republic
of China deserve full praise for having hosted this conference.
Many consider the Conference as a turning point in the advancement of the status
of women and gender equality. Having gone over the Platform of Action to prepare
my remarks for this occasion I tend to agree with them. It is indeed a very
important document containing commitments that should be implemented very carefully
by every government.
The basic goal of the Platform was the empowerment of all women in order to
achieve sustainable, just and developed societies. It stated that the full realization
of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of all women is essential for achieving
this goal. It further emphasized that it is the duty of states, regardless of
their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human
rights.
The special session of the General Assembly on Beijing +5 of last June aimed
at identifying practical ways to implement the commitments made. It emphasized
areas which have gained importance since the Beijing Conference, such as access
to decision-making particularly in peace keeping processes, gender-sensitive
approaches to HIV/AIDS and the realization of women's full enjoyment of economic,
social, cultural, civil and political rights. In this connection I should like
to welcome the recent decision by the Chinese government to ratify the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and I hope that considerations
will continue to enable full implementation of the Convention.
There are several other important commitments in the Platform, but I would like
to take up one, which I consider very important. It is the situation of the
girl child, a concern I have stressed throughout my tenure. The girl child of
today is the woman of tomorrow. Over five years ago governments agreed in Beijing
that 'for the girl child to develop her full potential she needs to be nurtured
in an enabling environment, where her spiritual, intellectual and material needs
for survival, protection and development are met and her equal rights safeguarded'.
Yet the reality today in many parts of the world is that girls do not have equal
access to nutrition, physical and mental health care and education or enjoy
the same rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than
boys. In addition girls are often subjected to various forms of sexual and economic
exploitation.
At the Millennium Summit last September the heads of state and government resolved
to ensure that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able
to complete a full course of primary schooling and that girls and boys will
have equal access to all levels of education. If governments with the assistance
of the UN system would make sure that this commitment is in fact implemented,
it would make a huge difference for so many girls and boys and ultimately for
the whole societies.
Although some notable gains have been made since the Beijing Conference, women
worldwide continue to bear a disproportionate burden of poverty, illiteracy,
dislocation, violence, poor nutrition, and ill health. Governments need to do
more. NGOs and women's groups and associations such as yours have a key role
to play to follow up that commitments made are implemented.
I should like to congratulate the women of this country and its government for
having been very active in enhancing the status of women. China is a party to
the Convention of All Forms of Discrimination against Women since 1980 and has
made achievements in many areas of gender equality. In particular I should like
to congratulate you on the high number of women in the China National People's
Congress, which was over 20% in the last elections. This same trend is to be
seen also in number of Chinese women working in the UN, where almost 50% of
the staff members from China are women. I encourage the government and the women
in China to continue to enhance the equal status and human rights of women in
all aspects.
Before I conclude , let me touch briefly the issue of opening the UN to the
outside world, an appropriate topic to take up when addressing women's movements
such as All China Women's Federation. I have repeatedly said that better governance
requires better and wider participation. In the era of globalization, the UN
and national governments cannot do their work alone. Therefore, one of my priorities
as President of the Assembly has been to reach out to civil society in order
to fully benefit from its expertise and to ensure its involvement in our work.
In the case of women's organization we know that their contribution and participation
has been vital for the advancement of women.
At the Summit Declaration a call was made for enhanced partnership and co-operation
with civil society, including the private sector. To fulfill this commitment,
I have emphasized that we need to explore innovative ways to enable civil society
to contribute to the work of the UN system. I will continue to keep this issue
on my agenda and support all efforts to implement this commitment.
It has been a great pleasure to share some of my views on gender equality and
advancement of women and I thank you for your attention.