GEORGIA

PERMANENT MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS

STATEMENT BY MRS. EKA EBRALIDEZE, HEAD OF THE DIVISION OF DEMOGRAPHY, WOMEN AND CHILDREN PROTECTION, AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT OF THE

STATE CHANCELLERY OF GEORGIA

AT THE 23"d SPECIAL SESSION Of THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ENTITLED

"WOMEN 2000 GENDER EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE IN 21ST CENTURY

New York, June 8, 2000 Check against delivery

Mr. President,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to address this session and report on the efforts of the

government of Georgia to promote gender equality and the advancement of women since the Fourth World Conference in Beijing.

Georgia gained independence in 1991 and has spent the last decade overcoming

internal conflicts and economic and financial problems: It remains a country in transition to a democratic society. In 1995 Georgia adopted a constitution which the desire of the Georgian people to establish a democratic social order, market economy and law-based state. From a formal point of view, the prerequisites for women and men are the same in all essential respects in Georgia.

In addition to passing new, gender neutral legislation, the government of Georgia

has taken a number of steps specifically directed at promoting gender equality and the advancement of women:

On September 22, 1994, Georgia joined the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

In 1995, the Georgian delegation participated in the Fourth World Conference on Women and signed the Beijing Platform.

On February 20, 1998, the President of Georgia established the State Commission on Elaboration of State Policy for Women's Advancement..

In June 1998, the President of Georgia approved a National Plan of Action for improving the condition of women.

A joint project on Women in Development; sponsored by the government of Georgia and the United Nations Development Programme, has been operating in Georgia since 1997.

With regard to the critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform of Action,

Georgia's priorities are the related problems of poverty and internal conflict. 250,000 internally displaced persons from the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions are currently living in temporary accommodations throughout Georgia; among these are 150,000 women and children. These women and children's health is at serious risk and the government has made health assistance to refugees and IDPs a top priority.

Based on recommendations made by the twenty-first session of the Committee on

` the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in August 1999 the President of

Georgia has issued a Decree "On Measures for Strengthening the Protection of Women's

Rights in Georgia". This decree obliges different ministries to work towards eliminating

direct and indirect discrimination against women; carry out gender analysis of Georgian

legislation and textbooks, ensure women's involvement in negotiation of resolutions to

the conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and develop special programs aimed at

helping refugees and internally displaced persons.

The Commission on Women's Advancement has developed and the President has approved a National Plan to combat the various forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, violence in the workplace, ethnic violence directed against women and ecological violence affecting women and children.

The government has also considered establishing a Department on Women's issues and creating gender units within governmental structures. Unfortunately, progress has not been made on these initiatives due to current budget constraint.

My government's overall policy objective is to develop a society in which women and men have the same rights and opportunities. As I have just described, some positive steps have been taken with regard to dividing and redistributing power between men and women, but the reality of women's low participation in political and economic life shows that women's role and participation in the decision-making process is not satisfactory.

In the executive branch of government there are currently two female ministersthe ministers of ecology and culture--out of 19. Women hold a small but growing percentage of other executive branch positions such as deputy ministers and diplomats.

In the legislative branch, 1349 women became members of local authorities in the 1998 local elections-the first local elections held in independent Georgia-representing only 12.5 percent of the total. Few women hold high positions in local government.

In the parliamentary elections held in 1999, 17 women were elected out of 235 members of parliament, representing 7.2 percent of the total. Two women MPs were elected Chairpersons of parliamentary committees, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Human Rights.

Serious reform of the judiciary has been carried out in Georgia only during the past two years. Under this new qualification system, 40 percent of newly appointed judges are women. 12 new Supreme Court judges were elected by the Parliament in June 1999; six of these (50 percent) are women.

We believe that it is vital for our society to rectify these imbalances in both public and private sectors so as to take advantage of the expertise and experience of women. This forum provides a valuable opportunity to coordinate with and learn from the experiences of the other government as they have faced this challenge.

Thank you.