My country, and particularly its women, enthusiastically welcomes the opportunity presented by this Twenty-Third Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly, to join the global community in a comprehensive review of the action we have taken for gender equality pursuant to the commitments we made at Beijing. Equally as important is the opportunity the Session affords us to take the action that would enable us to build on our accomplishments, to chart a course that would ensure gender equality, development and peace in this twenty-first century. May I say, therefore, how honoured I am to participate in this critical post-Beijing review.

Why critical? Because for many, if not most of us, men and women, but especially women, the road which has challenged us to convene this conference was over one or more obstacles of discrimination, prejudice, violence, abuse, exploitation, repression and poverty. Therefore, we all must be recognized as survivors of these obstacles to gender equality, and, as soldiers who still have to win a war, even though some major battles have been won.

We continue to hold fast and to respond to our "call to arms" that commands us to take decisive action to address the manifold problems set out in the twelve critical areas of the Beijing Platform for Action: women and poverty; education and training of women; women and health; violence against women; women and armed conflict; women and the economy; women in power and decision- making; institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women; human rights of women; women and the media; women and the environment, and, not least the girl child.

Yes, there has been obvious progress in the advancement of women consequent to actions taken by Governments, United Nations System Agencies and civil society. The United Nations Secretariat has documented such advances inclusive of: legislative improvements to conform with the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; women's access to justice; more responsive Government planning and policy- making processes; more sophisticated non-governmental advocacy work for women's empowerment and equal participation, the strategic positioning of gender units and focal points in the central policy and decision-making departments of United Nations System Agencies; and, intergovernmental follow-up in multilateral deliberative fora of gender equality concerns emphasized in global summits and conferences, such as in the United Nations General Assembly.

In this context, Mr. President, I wish to take the opportunity to commend and thank international organizations such as the Organization of American States' Inter-American Commission on Women, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the United Nations Development Fund for Women, for the generous assistance which they have provided to The Bahamas, through funding for programs for women in the areas of skills training, legal literacy, entrepreneurial development, HIV/AIDS awareness, and, research and advocacy. It is also our hope that this assistance will continue to be forthcoming for developing countries, especially, small island developing states like The Bahamas. I wish, equally, Mr. President, to use this opportunity to commend our local NGO community, in particular, the women's organizations that have worked in close partnership with the Government, and which have repeatedly risen to the occasion in their unwavering support for the Government's efforts for the advancement of women.

Mr. President, fortunately, The Bahamas is among those countries, which have demonstrated improvements in the status of women. This was affirmed in the 1999 United Nations Human Development Report. The Report's Gender Empowerment Measure, which surveyed the relative empowerment of women and men in economic and political spheres, ranked The Bahamas number thirteen (13) out of 174 countries, as number one in Latin America and the Caribbean, and, as the leading country in the developing world for this indicator; surpassing even many developed countries. To bring even greater perspective to this achievement, Mr. President, in 1996, the Gender Empowerment Measure ranked The Bahamas twenty-sixth (26th), but, in 1999, thirteenth (13th).

The Bahamas is particularly proud of the enabling environment she has provided for her female citizens at all ages, at all levels of development, and at all levels of society. Mr. President, the Bahamas has placed special emphasis on: health, poverty eradication, education and training, violence against women, and, the greater enjoyment of civil and political rights. Of note are:

• increased polyclinics with free pre-natal, neo-natal and post-natal care;
• total Government funding of AZT treatment to HIV infected pregnant women, thereby reducing transmission rates from mothers to infants from 30% to 10%, and, significantly reducing infant mortality rates from HIV/ AIDS infection;
• provision of on- site daycare facilities, inclusive of trained nurses, for the Government's upgraded Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute, which now offers over twenty disciplines, all open to women;
• establishment of a state of the art 24 hour Early Child Care Centre, and, expansion of kindergarten facilities to almost all primary schools;
• extension of free lunch programmes to all government schools;
• partnership arrangements with non- governmental organizations dedicated to the well being of female victims of violence, as well as the construction of safe houses in confidential locations for battered women and their children; and, media campaigns and public relations activities to prevent violence against women;
• A full-time domestic Court for child maintenance in addition to another Court dedicated to the trial of cases of domestic violence and cases involving juvenile offenders.

Also worthy of note, Mr. President, the Government of The Bahamas has established a constitutional commission. As a result of this commission, expected changes to the Constitution will inter alia abolish discriminatory qualifications for the grant of citizenship to the spouses of Bahamian women and will as well provide for the conferment of citizenship on the children of Bahamian women, irrespective of their place of birth. Already, legislative reform has resulted in the grant of permanent resident status to the spouses of Bahamian nationals on equal footing.

There is, additionally, Mr. President, the imminent introduction of the Inheritance Legislation which will remove the primogeniture rule and allow women to inherit equally with men.

Further, the Employment Act 2000, introduced during this legislative period, addresses, among other measures, equal pay for equal work, parental leave, minimum wages and minimum standards of work. The Act also increases maternity leave from eight to twelve weeks.

These initiatives, Mr. President, will result in the removal from Bahamian law of all vestiges of gender discrimination.

The Government of The Bahamas has also announced its planned introduction of flexible working hours in the Public Sector so as to permit parents, especially households headed by women, to spend quality time with their families, and to reduce the need for children to be left unsupervised after school, thereby running the risk of falling prey to social ills.

I reiterate, Mr. President, that there have been achievements in many countries. Nevertheless, I submit we must take an even closer look at these achievements. Who have, indeed, been the primary beneficiaries? Are these achievements broadly distributed throughout our. Organization's membership, or, are they generally confined to the countries which already had been making strides towards the advancement of women prior to Beijing?

Those of us who are faring slightly better should not loose sight of the grim circumstances that millions of women continue to face worldwide. It is a sad and sobering reality that, because of measures imposed in certain countries, women continue to be deprived of basic and fundamental human rights, such as the right to education, or, the right to gainful employment. Systematic rape, torture and abuse continue to be weapons of choice in armed conflict. The nefarious traffic in women and children continues to grow at an alarming pace, thus subjecting them to horrendous forms of sexual and economic exploitation. Mr. President, we cannot stand by in silence, while women continue to be violated in this manner. At every opportunity we must denounce these ills and demand that there be universal respect for the rights of women.

Therefore, Mr. President, we must be very clear in the message which we now send to these women and children who continue to be victims of sexually motivated and/or gender-based violence, slavery, exploitation, abuse, harassment, and discrimination. Mr. President, what are we saying to them when our negotiations to forge consensus in this Special Session lead us backwards, even if to previously agreed texts, when the current challenges are far more stark and exacerbated, as even local and international news document daily. Whether our perspective, Mr. President, five years after Beijing, is coloured by lenses which see predominantly more progress for, or more prejudice against, the advancement and improved quality of life, the concerns which have arisen since Beijing point to the fact that there are now new commitments which we must address, over and above our continuing obligation under the Beijing Platform for Action.

Mr. President, I wish, finally, to turn to another aspect of our challenge for gender equality which goes to the heart of the end to which we are all aspiring. I refer to the misconception that the advancement of women by definition means the marginalization of men. Mr. President, we are not in a zero sum game of either/ or, where women can only advance at the expense of men, and, vice versa. There can only be genuine and progressive development with honest partnership between the two genders. Both religion and science imply this.

Mr. President, this Special Session's message must be that equality with men is not for any particular category of women, but for all women. In all our efforts, we must send a clear message to supporters and opposers alike, that gender equality is a win/win situation which elevates both genders, our societies and our countries.

Mr. President, equality of men and women is not an ideal, it is a realistic goal. Therefore, we should all leave this Special Session with the unswerving resolve to set and implement effectively a collective agenda that with genuine commitment, will keep us on the Beijing path. Mr. President, The Government of the Bahamas remains committed to this goal.

I thank you.