ROMANIA

 

Address by H.E. Mrs. Norica Nicolai, Secretary of State,

Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Romania,

on the occasion of the twenty‑third

special session of the General Assembly, entitled

"Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace in

the XXIst Century".

 

New York, 5 June 2000

 

 

 

 

 


Mr. President,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

It is a great honour for me to take the floor today as representative of my country to the twenty‑third special session of the General Assembly entitled, in such a challenging way for us all, "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace in the XXI Century".

My delegation fully associated itself with the statement delivered this morning by the distinguished representative of Portugal, on behalf of the European Union. Therefore, in my intervention, I will touch upon a few aspects of particular importance for my country.

Five years ago, the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) adopted a comprehensive action‑oriented global strategy for the realisation of the human rights of women, as an integral part of the universal human rights, for the equal participation of women in all fields of the social life and for the elimination of the discrimination based on gender. This international agenda for women has had a great impact on the policies of governments, international organizations and civil society all over the world, in terms of thinking and putting in practice new strategies and solutions for the full achievement of gender equality and the advancement of women. A new awareness has arised, that sustainable development can not be achieved without democracy, promotion and protection of all human rights, gender balance and participation of women, as equal partners, in all spheres of life.

In many countries of the world, the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Programme of Action was understood as an integral part of the overall democratisation processes, which created new opportunities for women's equal participation and for the enjoyment of their human rights.

However, many of the ambitious goals set up five years ago in Beijing are still to be achieved. We are gathering these days in New York to reaffirm the full validity of the Beijing Platform, to give new impetus to national and international relevant efforts and to adopt, through the Outcome document of the Special Session, further measures for the implementation of the 12 critical areas of concern in the Platform for Action.

A renewed commitment to this cause, through increased dialogue and partnership between Governments, international organisations and civil society, will stimulate and inspire our future action in this area.

 

Mr. President,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

The Fourth World Conference on Women has had an essential contribution to the development of the Romanian policies towards the promotion of the human rights of women and the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities between men and women. Specific institutional and legislative steps have been made following the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

 

 


A national machinery aimed at promoting equal opportunities between men and women was established in October 1995, in the framework of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, and is meant to address the main challenges pertaining to the situation of women in Romania: ensuring de facto respect for the principle of non‑discriminatory access of women to the labour market, improvement of their working conditions, improvement of the legal framework relevant for the enjoyment of women's human rights and monitoring of the implementation of this legislation, elaboration, in cooperation with other governmental and nongovernmental actors, of studies and assessments of the situation of women and formulation, on this basis, of adequate action oriented proposals.

The national institutional framework was gradually developed, so as to involve a wide range of responsible actors: the Sub‑commission for Equal Opportunities of the Parliament of Romania, with the participation of parliamentarians from all the political parties represented in the Parliament; the Department for the Protection of Children, Women and Family of the institution of the Romanian Ombudsman; the Commission on Equal Opportunities of the Economic and Social Council, which brings the issues of gender equality into the agenda of the tripartite consultations among the social dialogue partners.

Improved coordination and coherence between all those public authorities responsible with women's issues are still needed for the successful implementation of policies and measures in the field of equal opportunities. In this respect, a recent Governmental Decision establishes an Interministerial Consultative Commission on Equal Opportunities between men and women, which is expected to substantively contribute to mainstreaming a gender perspective into all sectorial policies and programmes.

Among recent legislative measures, aiming at promoting equal opportunities, an equal sharing of responsibilities within the family, as well as supporting the conciliation of the family life with the professional one, I would like to mention the draft Law on equal opportunities, which prohibits and punishes direct or indirect discrimination based on gender, in the labour field, as well as the Law on paternal leave which aims at increasing the role of men in the rearing and education of the child. Both these laws, drafted in the process of harmonisation of our national legislation with the European Union's legislation, are currently in different stages of the parliamentarian procedure.

Let me now turn briefly to an area of concern for all of us, namely the phenomenon of the domestic violence, which, due to its reduced visibility, is still very difficult to prevent, alleviate and control. Steps have been made in this direction, especially through the establishement, in close partnership with Romanian NGO's, of a Pilot Center of Assistance to Victims of Family Violence. Amendments have been also proposed to the Criminal Code, in order to penalize explicitly the domestic violence. However, there are still mentalities and traditional behaviours regarding the status of women which need to be addressed through the cooperation of central and local authorities, communities and civil society.

Increased cooperation at national and international level is also required in order to prevent and combat phenomena such as forced prostitution and traficking of women and girls.

 

 


We are very much encouraged by the increased role of Romanian non­governmental organizations, in raising the awareness about women's issues, especially in the field of civil and political rights, economic participation, development of business opportunities, health care, reproductive rights and family planning. Their dynamic and innovative spirit gives us confidence in the future of the dialogue and partnership between government and the civil society in the benefit of women's rights.

An evaluation of progress in my country in the field of the advancement of women since 1995 shows a number of encouraging evolutions and trends. A particular reference should be made in this respect to the development of the private sector and the solid presence of women at the managerial level. Women are valuable and competitive partners in sectors such as trade, banking, health, education, culture, new technologies, journalism, to mention only a few of the areas where women bring their important contribution.

At the same time, we must not forget that women are also the most affected by economic hardships, reduction in social security, unemployment, be it their own or their family members' unemployment, or by different forms of violence.

Measures are still needed to stimulate and support the political participation of women, to ensure a greater presence of women in power and decision‑making, with positive influence upon reforms designed to benefit them.

 

Mr. President,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Without an active and direct involvement of women in democratic processes, development and peace, the objectives of the Platform of Action will remain mere aspirations.

We have to join our efforts to build societies based on equality and full participation of women and men, tolerance and respect for women's human rights.

I take this opportunity to reaffirm Romania's commitment to continue its efforts to overcome obstacles and undertake further actions for the full and accelerated implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.

 

Thank you for your attention.