| United Nations | E/1997/64 |
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
28 May 1997
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
Substantive session of 1997
Geneva, 30 June-25 July 1997
Item 7 (c) of the provisional agenda*
* E/1997/100.
REPORTS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF SUBSIDIARY BODIES:
SOCIAL QUESTIONS
Ways and means to enhance the capacity of the Organization and
the United Nations system to support the ongoing follow-up to
the Fourth World Conference on Women
Report of the Secretary-General
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
INTRODUCTION ............................................... 1 - 3 3
I. COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN .................... 4 - 28 3
A. Women and the environment ........................ 7 - 10 4
B. Women in power and decision-making ............... 11 - 15 4
C. Women and the economy ............................ 16 - 20 5
D. Education and training of women .................. 21 - 25 6
E. Other decisions of the Commission on the Status of
Women ............................................ 26 - 28 7
II. RESULTS OF OTHER FUNCTIONAL COMMISSIONS OF THE
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL .......................... 29 - 58 7
A. Commission on Population and Development ......... 30 7
B. Statistical Commission ........................... 31 8
C. Commission for Social Development ................ 32 - 33 8
D. Commission on Human Rights ....................... 34 - 53 9
E. Commission on Sustainable Development ............ 54 - 57 15
F. Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice .......................................... 58 16
III. ACTIVITIES BY THE REGIONAL COMMISSIONS ............... 59 - 72 16
A. Economic Commission for Africa ................... 60 - 63 16
B. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia .. 64 - 65 17
C. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific .......................................... 66 - 67 17
D. Economic Commission for Europe ................... 68 - 70 18
E. Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean ........................................ 71 - 72 19
IV. ACC INTER-AGENCY COMMITTEE ON WOMEN AND GENDER
EQUALITY ............................................. 73 - 75 19
INTRODUCTION
1. In its resolutions 50/203 and 51/69, the General Assembly requested the
Secretary-General to report annually to the General Assembly, through the
Commission on the Status of Women and the Economic and Social Council, on ways
to enhance the capacity of the Organization and of the United Nations system
to support the ongoing follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women in
the most integrated and effective way, including human and financial
requirements.
2. The Secretary-General, in his report on the implementation of the
outcome of the Conference (A/51/322), noted the understanding of the
Secretariat that the report requested in General Assembly resolution 50/203
would be provided on a rolling basis. The reports to the Commission on the
Status of Women would contain early material; the reports to the Economic and
Social Council would summarize it and add new material, including the results
of the Commission itself; and the reports to the General Assembly would
contain further material, including the results of the Council's
deliberations. A particular effort was to be made in the reports to provide
information that was most pertinent to the respective intergovernmental body
in order to facilitate intergovernmental decision-making. Thus the reports to
the Economic and Social Council would facilitate the coordination function of
the Council. They would focus on activities in the area of the advancement of
women and gender mainstreaming by other bodies reporting to the Council, as
well as at the inter-agency level, with a view to supporting the Council's
responsibilities in system-wide coordination in mainstreaming of a gender
perspective, a task requiring the Council's ongoing and long-term attention.
3. The present report is intended to update the information provided in the
reports to the General Assembly in 1996 1/ and the Commission on the Status of
Women in 1997. 2/ It focuses on developments related to the implementation of
the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in intergovernmental forums
reporting to the Council, by the regional commissions and in the Inter-agency
Committee on Women and Gender Equality.
I. COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
4. In accordance with its agreed conclusions 1996/1, 3/ the Commission on
the Status of Women, at its forty-first session (10-21 March 1997), held four
panel discussions which addressed four of the critical areas of concern in the
Beijing Platform for Action: women and the environment; women in power and
decision-making; women and the economy; and education and training of women.
5. The panel discussions were followed by dialogues among Governments,
civil society and the United Nations system and among Governments themselves.
Action-oriented agreed conclusions on the respective critical areas of
concern, aimed at the accelerated implementation of the Beijing Platform for
Action, were adopted. 4/
6. The agreed conclusions highlighted issues critical for the
implementation of the Platform for Action; put new emphasis on specific
actions or actors; proposed innovative measures and tools to speed up the
actions indicated in the Platform, and added some time-bound targets for
implementation.
A. Women and the environment
7. The agreed conclusions adopted on women and the environment focused on
mainstreaming a gender perspective, translating it into concrete actions and
moving beyond the concept of women as a major group. 4/ For example, all
actors at the international level were requested to adopt a holistic,
coordinated and collaborative approach to integrate a gender perspective into
sustainable development and to apply a gender perspective in all funding
programmes for sustainable development, while acknowledging the importance of
continuing programming targeted at women. The importance of monitoring and
accountability mechanisms to be established to assess gender mainstreaming and
its impact was emphasized.
8. Development of additional analytical tools and methodologies for gender
analysis was suggested to carry out gender impact assessments and to
incorporate a gender perspective into all environmental impact assessments.
The international community and the United Nations agencies were requested to
provide assistance to developing countries in that respect.
9. Specific actions were suggested to carry out gender impact assessment of
investment decisions and to complement the policies for liberalization of
trade and investment by gender-sensitive social and environmental policies.
Political parties were encouraged to incorporate gender-sensitive
environmental goals into their platforms.
10. Emphasis was also placed on strengthening women's legal status, as an
important requirement for their equal participation with men in all aspects of
sustainable development. For example, it was suggested that participation in
financial and technical decision-making by women should be supported through
appropriate legislation and/or administrative regulations. It was also
decided that women should be accorded full and equal rights to own land and
other properties, inter alia, through inheritance.
B. Women in power and decision-making
11. The agreed conclusions on women in power and decision-making placed an
emphasis on conflict resolution, peace and security matters, and the promotion
of gender balance at all levels of national diplomatic service, including the
ambassadorial level. 4/ For example, Governments and the United Nations
system were called upon to promote women's active and equal participation as
governmental and non-governmental representatives, special rapporteurs and
envoys in all of their initiatives and activities, including as mediators for
peacekeeping and peace-building.
12. New aspects of women's representation and promotion of gender equality
within the United Nations system were highlighted. For example, Member States
were encouraged to include women in their delegations to all United Nations
and other conferences, including those dealing with security, political,
economic, trade, human rights and legal issues, as well as their
representation in all organs of the United Nations and other bodies such as
International Financial Institutions where women's participation is
negligible.
13. Additional tools were suggested to increase the participation and
representation of women in Governments, political parties and international
organizations, including the consideration of alternative approaches to and
changes in institutional structures and practices and the establishment of
specific time-bound targets. For example, Governments were called upon to
commit themselves to establishing the goal of gender balance in decision-
making in administration and public appointments at all levels and in the
diplomatic services, inter alia, by establishing specific time-bound targets.
14. To increase gender sensitivity and gender balance by Governments,
businesses and political parties, the latter, for example, were encouraged to
fund training programmes in conducting campaigns, fund-raising and
parliamentary procedures to enable women successfully to run for, be elected
to, and serve in public office and the legislature.
15. In order to improve and speed up communication and the exchange of
information necessary for mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies
and programmes, including bilateral and multilateral assistance, international
and multilateral agencies were encouraged to collect and disseminate
information on best practices, lessons learned and the use of gender-impact
assessments.
C. Women and the economy
16. The agreed conclusions in the area of women and the economy placed more
emphasis on the issue of economic decision-making. 4/ To accelerate women's
access to economic decision-making, a systematic and multifaceted approach was
requested.
17. The definition of women economic decision makers was expanded to include
paid workers, managers, employers, elected officials, members of
non-governmental organizations and unions, producers, household managers and
consumers. Positive or affirmative action was recognized as an effective tool
to improve women's position in sectors and levels of the economy where they
were under-represented.
18. The need for mainstreaming a gender perspective into economic policies
was highlighted. Economic policies and structural adjustment programmes
should be formulated and monitored in order to generate positive results for
women and men, drawing on research on the gender impact of macro- and
micro-economic policies.
19. Some innovative measures were suggested to enhance the situation of
women entrepreneurs. They included support to businesses owned by women in
environmental, resource-based and export-oriented industries; development of
incentives for outstanding women entrepreneurs; and training focused on
institutional capacity-building and consciousness-raising. A call was made to
evaluate women micro-credit schemes.
20. Attention was given to transnational corporations and the role which
Governments should play to monitor and enforce equal opportunity policies and
labour laws. The role of women and men as consumers and investors who can use
their power to support women-friendly corporations and socially responsible
businesses was stressed.
D. Education and training of women
21. The main attention of the agreed conclusions on education and training
of women was directed towards the implementation of the goals and benchmarks
set by the Platform for Action with regard to the equal and universal access
of girls to education. 4/ In order to implement those goals and to create an
enabling environment to retain women and girls in schools, school authorities,
parents, and administrative personnel should, inter alia, ensure safety in
schools and during extracurricular activities and organize school teaching
programmes, transport, and boarding schools, if necessary.
22. Emphasis was put on the need for gender-sensitive programmes and
training. Teacher training was an essential component in the transmittal of
gender-sensitive programmes for eliminating the differential behavioural
expectations of girls and boys which reinforce the gender division of labour.
Not only teachers but also trainers, school administrators and planners should
receive gender-sensitivity training. Parents and policy makers were mentioned
as additional influential actors. The development of gender-sensitive
teaching materials, positive action measures and gender impact assessment was
also requested. Early childhood education should be made gender sensitive and
provided especially to groups under difficult circumstances.
23. It was highlighted that education, technical training and lifelong
learning were integral parts on a continuum, implying that knowledge and
skills acquired in formal as well as non-formal, out-of-school education,
community activities and traditional knowledge are valued and recognized.
Educational programmes therefore should take a holistic approach, ensuring
that women enjoy equality throughout the process in a new learning culture
involving individuals, enterprises, organizations and society at large.
24. The agreed conclusions, in line with the Platform for Action, recognized
the interlinkage between education and training policies, on the one hand, and
labour market policies, on the other hand, with an emphasis on the employment
and employability of women. In order to enhance the employability of women,
basic education and vocational qualifications, in particular in the fields of
science and technology, are of great importance. It was requested that
national statistical offices, Governments, research institutions, employers
and workers' organizations should provide women with the best available labour
market information.
25. It was suggested that the United Nations bodies and specialized
agencies, within their existing mandates, should compile and disseminate
information on best practices or strategies for retaining women and girls at
all levels of education.
E. Other decisions of the Commission on the Status of Women
26. The Commission adopted a number of resolutions. 5/ Resolution 41/6, on
mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the
United Nations system, contained views and suggestions for consideration by
the Commission when it addresses the question during its 1997 coordination
segment.
27. In its draft resolution I on the situation of and assistance to
Palestinian women, which it recommended to the Council for adoption, the
Commission urged all actors to intensify their efforts to provide financial
and technical assistance and requested the Secretary-General to continue to
review the situation and to assist Palestinian women. In its resolution 41/1,
on the release of women and children taken hostage in armed conflicts,
including those subsequently imprisoned, the Commission requested the
Secretary-General to present a report for its forty-second session.
28. In resolution 41/2, on older women, human rights and development, the
Commission decided to consider the situation of older women as an emerging
issue at its forty-second session and to pay special attention to the
violation of older women's rights. The Commission also adopted resolution
41/4, on violence against women migrant workers, in which it took note of the
Expert Group Meeting on Violence against Women Migrant Workers. Furthermore,
the Commission adopted resolution 41/5, on traffic in women and girls, which
contained various recommendations for Governments on how to eliminate the
traffic in women and girls.
II. RESULTS OF OTHER FUNCTIONAL COMMISSIONS OF THE
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
29. Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women was addressed to some
extent in 1997 by other functional commissions of the Council. 6/ Women's
issues were the subject of a number of discussions held and resolutions
adopted by the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-third session. Other
Commissions addressed or applied a gender perspective to a lesser extent.
A. Commission on Population and Development
30. The Commission on Population and Development had decided to give special
emphasis to gender issues. Therefore, at its thirtieth session
(14-18 February 1997), the Commission's priority theme was "International
migration, with special emphasis on the linkages between migration and
development, including gender issues and the family". In its draft
resolution, on international migration and development, and in resolution
1997/1, on a technical symposium on international migration, provisions
contained in the Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on
Women. In its draft decision, it decided that in 1998, at its thirty-first
session, the focus would be "Health and mortality, with special emphasis on
the linkages between health and development and on gender and age". 7/
B. Statistical Commission
31. The Statistical Commission at its twenty-ninth session
(11-14 February 1997), recognized the need for an integrated programme of
statistics and indicators to monitor the follow-up to the recent United
Nations conferences in the social fields - namely, the International
Conference on Population and Development, the World Social Summit and the
Fourth World Conference on Women. The Commission endorsed the Minimum National
Social Data Set as a first step in establishing a common national and
international indicators database. The set consists of 15 indicators,
measuring, inter alia, population; life expectancy; infant, child and maternal
mortality; contraceptive prevalence; years of schooling; number of people per
room; access to safe water and sanitation; monetary value of a basket of food;
GDP per capita, household income; unemployment rate, and employment/population
ratio. Most of the indicators were based on sex-disaggregated data and/or
were relevant for measuring the situation of women. 8/
C. Commission for Social Development
32. The Commission for Social Development at its thirty-fifth session
(25 February to 6 March 1997) focused on productive employment and sustainable
livelihoods. The Commission reiterated the goal of full employment and
highlighted various strategies to meet that goal. In its agreed conclusions
on productive employment and sustainable livelihoods, in resolution 35/2, the
Commission underscored the importance of mainstreaming gender in all policies
and programmes related to employment. 9/ The Commission urged Governments to
apply a gender perspective in the formulation of policies aimed at employment
creation and recommended that a gender-impact analysis be a regular feature in
all stages of the policy-making process. 10/ The Commission encouraged
Governments to enhance women's active political and economic decision-making
and to improve women's access to economic resources. 11/ The Commission also
called for a broader understanding of work, including unpaid work. It urged
Governments to adopt policies that enabled workers to combine work and family
responsibilities and therefore facilitated sharing of paid work and unpaid
caring tasks equally between women and men. 12/
33. Three draft resolutions adopted by the Commission for Social Development
explicitly highlighted the importance of gender. 13/ In draft resolution I,
on the International Year of Older Persons, the Commission referred to the
provisions contained in the Platform for Action. It called on States to
include a gender dimension in their national programmes for the Year and
welcomed contributions by the Commission on the Status of Women on the topic
of older women in relation to the Year. In draft resolution II, on persons
with disabilities, the Commission urged the Secretary-General and Governments
to give full attention to a gender perspective in all policies and programmes
related to disability. In draft resolution V, on follow-up to the
International Year of the Family, it emphasized that equality between women
and men was essential to the well-being of the family and of society at large.
D. Commission on Human Rights
34. At its fifty-third session (10 March to 18 April 1997), the Commission
on Human Rights adopted a number of resolutions specific to women's enjoyment
of human rights. 14/ Gender issues were also addressed in resolutions on the
work of thematic and country-specific rapporteurs and working groups and in
several other resolutions. The need to give consideration to the human rights
of women and the girl child in the preparations for the five-year review of
the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and the commemoration of the
fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was
addressed in resolution 1997/43 and underlined in resolution 1997/35.
1. Integrating the human rights of women throughout the United Nations
system
35. The Commission expressed concern that the implementation of the
recommendations of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and the
Beijing Platform for Action remained far from established goals. Intensified
efforts at the international level and by the High Commissioner for Human
Rights were called for to continue to coordinate the activities of the
relevant United Nations organs, bodies and mechanisms dealing with the human
rights of women. Recent efforts to integrate a gender perspective into the
technical cooperation programme of the Centre for Human Rights were welcomed.
36. By one resolution, special rapporteurs, special procedures and other
human rights mechanisms of the Commission and the Subcommission on Prevention
of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities were requested to take a gender
perspective regularly and systematically into account in the implementation of
their mandates and to include information and qualitative analysis in their
reports on violations of the human rights of women. The importance of
implementing recommendations relating to working methods and reporting
methodology, including sources of information and gender-specific analysis in
conclusions and recommendations was stressed. Strengthened cooperation
between the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on the Status of
Women and between the Centre for Human Rights and the Division for the
Advancement of Women was called for, to ensure the success of the annual joint
work plan.
37. Success in mainstreaming women's rights was seen as dependent on the
formalization, at the highest levels, of a clear policy and guidelines on the
integration of a gender perspective into the United Nations human rights
system. The need to develop practical strategies to implement the
recommendations contained in the report of the expert group meeting on the
development of guidelines for the integration of a gender perspective into
human rights activities and programmes (E/CN.4/1996/105) was highlighted. The
efforts of the treaty bodies to monitor more effectively the human rights of
women was welcomed. Specific reference was made to the round table on human
rights approaches to women's health, with a focus on reproductive and sexual
health rights, organized jointly by the United Nations High
Commissioner/Centre for Human Rights, the Division for the Advancement of
Women and the United Nations Population Fund (Glen Cove, New York, United
States, December 1996). The responsibility of all treaty bodies to integrate
a gender perspective was reiterated, as was their need to develop gender-
sensitive guidelines to be used in the review of States parties' reports. The
importance of a common strategy among treaty bodies for mainstreaming the
human rights of women was emphasized. Treaty bodies were encouraged, on a
regular basis, to exchange information on the development of general comments
and general recommendations, with a view to the preparation of general
comments that reflected a gender perspective. Treaty bodies were also urged to
incorporate a gender perspective into concluding observations so that the
concluding observations of each treaty body would delineate the strength and
weaknesses of each State party insofar as the enjoyment by women of the rights
guaranteed by a particular treaty were concerned.
38. Relevant organs, bodies and agencies of the United Nations system, all
human rights bodies of the United Nations system, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees were urged to provide training in the human rights of women for all
United Nations personnel and officials, especially those in human rights and
humanitarian relief activities. The Centre for Human Rights was encouraged to
undertake a systematic review of its information and training materials,
including materials relating to the conduct of field operations, with a view
to revising such materials where necessary in order to ensure the integration
of a gender perspective and to bear in mind the need for expertise in the
human rights of women in the recruitment of staff.
2. Violence against women
39. In its resolution on violence against women migrant workers, the
Commission reviewed the report of the United Nations expert group meeting on
violence against women migrant workers, organized by the Division for the
Advancement of Women (Manila, 27-31 May 1996). A comprehensive report on the
issue, taking account of information received from within the United Nations
system, Member States, intergovernmental and other bodies was requested for
the fifty-fourth session of the Commission.
40. In the resolution on traffic in women and girls, the Commission welcomed
the convening of the World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Women and Children (Stockholm, August 1996). Governments were called on to
implement the Platform for Action by ratifying and enforcing international
conventions on trafficking in persons and on slavery and to take appropriate
measures to address root factors of trafficking, including external factors
and practices such as forced marriages and forced labour.
41. The Commission noted that States must exercise due diligence to prevent
violence against women, including violence against women in the family and in
the community. It also encouraged States participating in the drafting of the
statute of the International Criminal Court to give full consideration to
integrating a gender perspective.
42. The Commission decided to continue the consideration of the question of
violence against women as a matter of high priority at its fifty-fourth
session.
3. Thematic rapporteurs and working groups
43. In several resolutions related to the work of thematic rapporteurs and
working groups, specific reference was made to the need to apply a gender
perspective, inter alia, through the identification of gender-specific abuses;
through the reporting process, including information collection, and in
recommendations. Thematic special rapporteurs and working groups were invited
to include regularly in their reports sex-disaggregated data and to address
the characteristics and practice of the human rights violations under their
mandates which were specifically or primarily directed against women or to
which women were particularly vulnerable, in order to ensure the effective
protection of human rights.
44. The Commission commended the Special Rapporteur on Violence against
Women, its Causes and Consequences for her work during her three-year mandate
and renewed her mandate for a further three years. The Special Rapporteur was
encouraged to examine and compile information on existing human rights,
humanitarian and other standards and instruments relating to trafficking in
women and girls, in dialogue with Governments, intergovernmental organizations
and non-governmental organizations. The Secretary-General was requested to
ensure that the reports of the Special Rapporteur were brought to the
attention of the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-second
session, so as to assist it in its work in the area of the human rights of
women and violence against women, and to the attention of the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women. In a number of other
resolutions, the Commission urged collaboration between the Special Rapporteur
on Violence against Women and other thematic and country-specific rapporteurs.
45. In one resolution the Commission stressed the need for the Special
Rapporteur on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief to apply a gender perspective in
the work. Similarly, in the resolution on the Working Group on the Question
of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, it called for a gender perspective.
In the resolution relating to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, it invited the Special Rapporteur to continue to examine questions
concerning torture directed at women and conditions conducive to such torture,
to make appropriate recommendations concerning the prevention and redress of
gender-specific forms of torture, and to exchange views with the Special
Rapporteur on violence against women, with a view to enhancing further their
effectiveness and mutual cooperation.
46. The Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression
was invited to continue, in cooperation with the Special Rapporteur on
Violence against Women, to pay particular attention to the situation of women
and the relationship between the effective promotion and protection of the
right to freedom of opinion and expression and incidents of discrimination
based on sex, which create obstacles for women with regard to their right to
seek, receive and impart information. The Special Rapporteur on the Right to
Freedom of Opinion and Expression was also invited to consider how those
obstacles impeded the ability of women to make informed choices in areas of
particular importance to them and in areas related to the general decision-
making processes in the societies in which they live.
4. Country-specific resolutions
47. Gender as a factor in the enjoyment of human rights was addressed by the
Commission on Human Rights in a number of its country-specific resolutions:
(a) Somalia: Concern was expressed at violence against women and
children;
(b) Cambodia: Grave concern about numerous instances of violations of
human rights, including rape, was expressed. The Government of Cambodia was
urged to give priority to combating child prostitution and trafficking;
(c) Haiti: The Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women was invited
to consider favourably the invitation by the Government of Haiti to visit the
country;
(d) Nigeria: The Commission called for the appointment of a special
rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Nigeria who would keep a gender
perspective in mind when seeking and analysing information;
(e) Islamic Republic of Iran: The Special Rapporteur on Iran was
requested to keep a gender perspective in mind when seeking and analysing
information;
(f) Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Yugoslavia (Serbia and
Montenegro): Concern was expressed for women and children, especially in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, who were victims of rape used as a weapon of war. The
Commission demanded that the perpetrators of rape be brought to justice and
the victims and witnesses receive adequate assistance and protection;
(g) Zaire: Concern was expressed at the lack of improvement in the
human rights situation, and, in particular, violence against women;
(h) Sudan: Concern was expressed at continued reports of the sale and
trafficking of children, ideological indoctrination or cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment, especially affecting displaced families and women and
children belonging to racial, ethnic and religious minorities. Concern was
also expressed about policies, practices and activities that were directed
against, and particularly violated, the human rights of women, and girls and
the continuation of such practices, including civil and judicial
discrimination against women as reported by the Special Rapporteur. The
Government was encouraged to work actively towards the eradication of
practices that were directed against, and particularly violated, the human
rights of women and girls, especially in the light of the Beijing Declaration
and Platform for Action;
(i) Burundi: All parties to the conflict were urged to end the cycle of
violence and killing - notably, the indiscriminate violence against refugees,
women, children and the elderly. The Special Rapporteur was requested to
apply a gender perspective in his work in that country;
(j) Afghanistan: Concern was expressed at reports of violations and
abuses against women and children, especially regarding access to basic
education for girl children and access by women to employment and training and
their effective participation in political, economic, social and cultural
life. In accordance with international human rights instruments, all Afghan
parties were called on to respect fully and act in accordance with all human
rights and fundamental freedoms, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religion.
They were urged to restore respect for all the human rights of women and to
take measures to ensure the effective participation of women in civil,
cultural, economic, political and social life throughout the country. Respect
for the right of women to work and for the right of women and girls to
education without discrimination was emphasized. The reopening of schools and
the admission of women and girls to higher levels of education was urged, as
was respect for women's right to security of person. The Commission hoped
that those responsible for physical attacks on women would be brought to
justice. Measures to ensure respect for women's freedom of movement were
urged, as was effective access to the facilities necessary to protect women's
right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The
Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan was
encouraged to continue to pay attention to the human rights of women and
children and to apply a gender perspective, as he had done in the past, in his
report to the Commission at its fifty-third session;
(k) Rwanda: The Government was called upon to investigate with vigour,
the cases of rape and other sexual violence that had occurred during and after
the genocide, and, where possible, to prosecute and punish them. The
Government was requested to take steps to facilitate the participation of
women, particularly genocide survivors and recent returnees, in all phases of
social and economic reconstruction, with particular attention to matters
concerning ownership of property. The Government was also encouraged to
extend an invitation to the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women to
visit Rwanda for the purpose of studying the issue of sexual violence, its
causes and consequences, and its relationship to the ongoing work of the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and of national tribunals.
5. Human rights, extreme poverty and the right to development
48. The Commission noted that a better understanding was needed of what was
endured by people, including women and children, living in poverty. Treaty
bodies monitoring the application of human rights instruments, including the
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, were invited to
take account, when considering the reports of States parties, of the question
of extreme poverty and human rights. The United Nations Commissioner for
Human Rights was requested to submit to the Commission at its fifty-fourth
session, in accordance with agreed conclusions 1996/1 of the Economic and
Social Council, 15/ a report, to be prepared by the Centre for Human Rights
and the Division for the Advancement of Women, on the obstacles encountered
and progress achieved in the field of women's rights relating to economic
resources, the elimination of poverty and economic development, in particular
for women living in extreme poverty.
49. In the resolution concerning the question of the realization in all
countries of the economic, social and cultural rights contained in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and study of special problems which the
developing countries faced in their efforts to achieve those human rights, the
Commission called upon States to secure, through national development policies
and international cooperation, full respect for economic, social and cultural
rights, giving priority to individuals, most often women, living in extreme
poverty.
50. In the resolution on the right to development, the need to apply a
gender perspective in the implementation of the right to development by
ensuring that women play an active role in the development process was
affirmed.
6. The girl child
51. An analysis of the importance of gender in the enjoyment of human rights
was found in the resolution concerning the rights of the child. States and
international and non-governmental organizations were urged to take into
account the rights and particular needs of girls, especially in education,
health and nutrition. They were urged to eliminate negative cultural
practices and attitudes against girls and to eliminate all forms of
discrimination against girls and the root causes of son preference, which
resulted in harmful and unethical practices, inter alia, by enacting and
enforcing legislation protecting girls from violence, including female
infanticide and prenatal sex selection, genital mutilation, incest, sexual
abuse and exploitation. They were also urged to develop age-appropriate, safe
and confidential programmes and medical, social and psychological support
services to assist girls who were subjected to violence. Rape in the conduct
of armed conflict was affirmed as constituting a war crime and, under certain
circumstances, a crime against humanity and an act of genocide. States were
called upon to protect women and children from gender-based violence,
including rape, sexual exploitation and forced pregnancy, and to strengthen
mechanisms to investigate and prosecute perpetrators. It was stressed that
all humanitarian responses in conflict situations should emphasize the special
reproductive health needs of women and girls, including those that arose from
pregnancy as a result of rape, sexual mutilation, childbirth at an early age
or infection with sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, and access to
family planning services.
52. The Secretary-General was requested, in cooperation with States,
international organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations to
consider organizing regional training programmes for members of the armed
forces relating to the protection of children and women during armed conflict.
States and other parties to armed conflicts were called on to recognize the
particular vulnerability of refugee and internally displaced children to
recruitment into armed forces and to sexual violence, exploitation and abuse.
States were also requested systematically to assess and examine, in close
cooperation with international organizations, such as the International Labour
Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund, the magnitude, nature and
causes of the exploitation of child labour and to develop and implement
strategies for combating these practices, and in so doing pay attention to
specific dangers faced by girls.
7. Other resolutions with references to gender
53. In the resolution relating to the question of the death penalty, States
that still maintained the death penalty were urged by the Commission to comply
fully with their obligations under various human rights treaties and to
exclude women from capital punishment. In resolution 1997/28, relating to
hostage-taking, alarm was expressed at the taking hostage of women and
children. In resolution 1997/33, on the protection of human rights in the
context of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome (AIDS), States were urged, in collaboration and through the
community, to promote a supportive and enabling environment for women,
children and other vulnerable groups, by addressing underlying prejudices and
inequalities through community dialogue, specially designed social and health
services, and support community groups.
E. Commission on Sustainable Development
54. The fifth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development
(7-25 April 1997) was held to prepare for the special session of the General
Assembly on the overall review and appraisal of the implementation of Agenda
21, to be held in June 1997. The discussion covered the entire spectrum of
Agenda 21 issues, but did not address the mainstreaming of a gender
perspective.
55. However, the Commission did state that more opportunities should be
created for women to participate effectively in economic, social and political
development as equal partners in all sectors of the economy, and that
capacity-building efforts should pay particular attention to the needs of
women in that respect. It also emphasized that the empowerment of women was a
crucial factor for the eradication of poverty and that the priority actions
should address the disproportionate impact of poverty on women. Full
implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action was essential. Moreover, it
mentioned the importance of further expansion of basic education with full and
equal access for girls and women to all levels of education and training.
56. In compliance with the recommendations of the Beijing Platform for
Action to promote coordination within and among institutions to implement the
Platform for Action and chapter 24 of Agenda 21 and with the agreed
conclusions on women and the environment adopted by the Commission on the
Status of Women at its forty-first session, 4/ the Chair of the Commission on
the Status of Women transmitted those agreed conclusions to the Chair of the
Commission on Sustainable Development in order to have them issued as an
official document of the Commission on Sustainable Development.
57. The Commission facilitated dialogue among the 10 major groups identified
in Agenda 21 and Governments by organizing 10 dialogue sessions as an official
part of its fifth session. One of the dialogues was organized with
representatives of women's groups. The session recognized that Agenda 21 had
put the issue of women and sustainable development on the global agenda and
recalled that the Fourth World Conference on Women had further elaborated the
objectives set out in Agenda 21. The dialogue session proposed earmarking 1
per cent of all aid dispersed through the World Bank, regional development
banks or other international financial institutions for improving the
situation of rural women. It reaffirmed the recommendation that emerged from
the Micro-Credit Summit (1997, Washington, D.C.) to provide $21.7 billion in
micro-credit to poor people, ensuring that 100 million of the poorest women
would receive credit for self-employment by the year 2005.
F. Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
58. The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at its sixth
session (28 April to 9 May 1997) considered issues related to women and gender
under the agenda item "Strategies for crime prevention and control,
particularly in urban areas and in the context of public security". Under the
item, the Commission reviewed, inter alia, policies regarding violence against
women and trafficking in children. It considered the revised draft on
practical measures, strategies and activities in the field of crime prevention
and criminal justice for the elimination of violence against women
(E/CN.15/1997/11) and adopted a resolution on violence against women in which
it stressed that the effective implementation of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women contributed to the
elimination of violence against women and that the implementation of the
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women strengthened that
process. In the resolution the Commission referred to the need to implement
the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in the field of crime
prevention and criminal justice and to develop strategies and practical
measures in that regard. Inter alia, it requested the Secretary-General to
transmit the agreed practical measures and strategies to relevant United
Nations organizations, including the Commission on the Status of Women and the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,
and invites them to develop strategies and practical measures on the
elimination of violence against women within the context of their expertise.
III. ACTIVITIES BY THE REGIONAL COMMISSIONS
59. Since the activities of the regional commissions are presented in the
report of the Secretary-General on regional cooperation (E/1997/40), the
section below describes follow-up activities to the Fourth World Conference on
Women which have been undertaken by the secretariats of those Commissions in
their respective regions. They include workshops, training session and
policy-oriented meetings.
A. Economic Commission for Africa
60. A workshop on women entrepreneurs and economic empowerment was held in
Accra, Ghana, in February 1997 as a follow-up to the First Global Trade Fair
and Investment Forum, held in Ghana in July 1996. A regional conference on
functional literacy and the girl child and the East African Post-Beijing Forum
were held in Kampala, Uganda, with the objective of sharing and developing
strategies for ensuring implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in
the subregion.
61. An Expert Group Meeting and a Women's Leadership Forum on Peace were
held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 4 to 8 November 1996. Also, a
Pan-African Conference on Peace, Gender and Development was organized by the
Government of Rwanda, ECA and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) as a
follow-up to the Fourth World Conference, with the objective of promoting
peace, development and gender equality. The Conference adopted the Kigali
Plan of Action for Conflict-affected Areas and the Kigali Declaration on
Peace.
62. The Commission and OAU co-sponsored the organization of the First Summit
of First Ladies for Peace and Humanitarian Issues, held in Abuja, Nigeria.
The Summit was proposed by the First Ladies in Beijing as a means of practical
follow-up.
63. From 11 to 13 June 1997, an expert group meeting on gender networking
was scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to discuss follow-up to
the Beijing and Dakar Platforms for Action in relation to economic empowerment
of women, women's legal rights, and the participation of women in decision-
making.
B. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
64. The Women and Development Unit of the Economic and Social Commission for
Western Asia (ESCWA) focused on emerging challenges facing its regional member
countries, including policies and measures for improving the status of Arab
women and capacity-building. It began to compile a database on national
policies and measures implemented by member States in critical areas of
concern of the Platform for Action and the Arab Regional Plan of Action to the
year 2005. The data would provide material for policy analysis and
formulation, identification of gaps, and provision of technical assistance to
member States. Also, a survey was conducted to assess the institutional and
networking capacity of non-governmental organizations in the West Bank and
Gaza.
65. ESCWA was also involved in identifying the extent of the feminization of
poverty and in the development of a gender index for the region. In March
1997, ESCWA convened the first session of the Integrated Regional Follow-up to
Global Conferences, which included the issue of gender mainstreaming in all
plans of action of global conferences held in 1995-1996 and policies for the
advancement of women. ESCWA also provided substantive backstopping to the
Arab Regional Conference on One Year Beyond Beijing/Meeting of Ministers of
Social Affairs, which clearly identified critical issues for the region.
Through its regional adviser for social development and its UNFPA population
expert, ESCWA assisted the National Jordanian Women's Committee in adopting a
multisectoral and interministerial national plan of action, which was
presented as a model for other national plans.
C. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
66. The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
provided an institutional framework for various collaborative activities based
on the Jakarta Plan of Action, the Beijing Platform for Action, and the
revised system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women, 1996-2001.
ESCAP disseminated material from the Fourth World Conference on Women,
including a videotape on critical areas of concern, a brochure on regional
plans of action, and guidelines for their implementation. Workshops were
organized to discuss the implementation of the Platform for Action.
Programmes were also oriented towards the empowerment of women by increasing
gender equality in access to productive resources and social services.
67. A regional meeting on strengthening national machinery for the
advancement of women was held from 16 to 19 October 1996 in Seoul, Republic of
Korea. National workshops on implementing the Jakarta Declaration and the
Beijing Platform for Action were held in Lahore, Pakistan, on 28-29 November
1996; in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 2-3 December; in Hyderabad, India, on 5-6
December; in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 9-10 December; and in Lahore, Pakistan, in
June 1997. ESCAP was involved in the development of national action plans in
specific critical areas of concern identified in the Platform and in
monitoring their implementation through data obtained from a regional
questionnaire survey. Action was being taken to mainstream women's issues and
a gender perspective into ESCAP's programme of work.
D. Economic Commission for Europe
68. At its fifty-second (jubilee) session, held in April 1997, the Economic
Commission for Europe (ECE) adopted a plan of action which outlined a broad
reform of its programme and methods of work. The plan identified the
mainstreaming of a gender perspective as a cross-sectoral concern which should
permeate all ECE activities. At their 1996 annual meeting, four principal
subsidiary bodies had already considered the issue and highlighted the link
between mainstreaming a gender perspective and a higher proportion of women in
delegations of member States.
69. In items of specific activities, ECE was involved in the promotion of
women entrepreneurship. It gathered best practices on the policy, legislation
and institutional framework supporting the creation of small and medium-sized
enterprises by women entrepreneurs and disseminated those practices to the
governmental and non-governmental parties concerned. In November 1996, ECE
organized a workshop on social protection, poverty and older persons at risk,
which considered the issue of long outstanding and new forms of poverty among
older women. Particular attention was given to the social security rights of
such women and their role in the informal sector. With the support of UNFPA,
ECE was carrying out a survey on partnership and reproductive behaviour in the
countries of the region. A network report had recently been published, the
first in a series of 20 comparable country reports planned within the
framework of the survey.
70. Finally, ECE co-sponsored a subregional conference of senior
governmental experts on the Implementation of the Platform for Action in
Central and Eastern Europe (Bucharest, Romania, 12-14 September 1996),
organized jointly by the Division for the Advancement of Women, the Regional
Bureau for Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the United
Nations Development Programme, in cooperation with the Government of Romania.
The conference elaborated a model national action plan for the implementation
of the Platform in Central and Eastern European countries. The ECE
substantive contribution focused on strengthening of national mechanisms for
the advancement of women.
E. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
71. The presiding officers of the Regional Conference on the Integration of
Women into the Economic and Social Development of Latin America and the
Caribbean met on 18 and 19 November 1996 at Port of Spain, Trinidad and
Tobago. The presiding officers decided that the Seventh Regional Conference
would be held in Santiago, Chile, on 19 and 21 November 1997, and that the two
priority topics for the session would be decision-making and sustainable
development and poverty. On 27 and 28 May 1997, the twenty-fourth session of
the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference was held, and the fiftieth
anniversary of the Commission on the Status of Women was commemorated.
72. An expert group meeting was held from 28 to 30 April 1997 on the
modalities for the establishment of relations between Governments and
non-governmental organizations of the region in the framework of preparations
for the Seventh Regional Conference.
IV. ACC INTER-AGENCY COMMITTEE ON WOMEN AND GENDER EQUALITY
73. The second session of the ACC Inter-agency Committee on Women and Gender
Equality took place on 5 and 6 March 1997 at United Nations Headquarters. 16/
The Committee continued its efforts in support of implementation of the
Platform for Action and in mainstreaming a gender perspective into all
policies and programmes of the United Nations system. It discussed
preparations for the consideration of the topic by the Economic and Social
Council at its 1997 coordination segment. Emphasis was placed, inter alia, on
the need better to understand how resources benefited women and men,
respectively, as a result of mainstreaming, to collect lessons learned, to
evaluate quantitative and qualitative indicators with regard to gender, and to
move towards better accountability for mainstreaming. Contributions of
members to a number of reports of the Secretary-General prepared by the
Division for the Advancement of Women, such as the report on the situation of
rural women, the report on effective mobilization and integration of women in
development and the 1999 World Survey on the Role of Women in Development,
were discussed, and a process for providing such contributions was agreed
upon.
74. The Committee set up an inter-sessional working group to prepare issues
for discussion by the Committee at its annual sessions. A joint workshop
would be convened in the third quarter of 1997 between the Inter-agency
Committee and the Women in Development group of the Development Assistance
Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, to
share experiences and to develop common strategies in support of implementing
the Platform for Action and mainstreaming a gender perspective at the national
level in multilateral and bilateral development cooperation.
75. The third session of the Inter-agency Committee will take place from
25-27 February 1998 at the United Nations Headquarters, New York.
Notes
1/ A/51/322.
2/ E/CN.6/1997/2.
3/ Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1996, Supplement
No. 6 (E/1996/26), chap. I, sect. C.1.
4/ Ibid., 1997, Supplement No. 7 (E/1997/27), chap. I, sect. C.1.
5/ Ibid., sect. C.2.
6/ One Commission that did not explicitly address the follow-up to the
Fourth World Conference on Women was the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which
met from 18 to 26 March 1997. Nevertheless, in 1998 it would consider the
draft declaration on the guiding principles of drug demand reduction, which
made specific reference to the situation of women.
7/ Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1997, Supplement
No. 5 (E/1997/25), chap. I, sects. A and B.
8/ Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1997, Supplement
No. 4 (E/1997/24), para. 67.
9/ Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1997, Supplement
No. 6 (E/1997/26), chap. I, sect. D, resolution 35/2, agreed conclusions on
productive employment and sustainable livelihoods, para. 4.
10/ Ibid., para. 20.
11/ Ibid., para. 21.
12/ Ibid., para. 24.
13/ Ibid., sect. A.
14/ Ibid., Supplement No. 3 (E/1997/23). To be issued.
15/ A/51/3 (Part I), chap. III.A.
16/ A summary of the results of the Committee's first session is
contained in document E/CN.6/1997/2, paras. 25-30. Additional information on
the work of the Committee is also contained in the report of the
Secretary-General on integrated follow-up to recent global conferences, in
accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/36.
This document has been posted online by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). Reproduction and dissemination of the document - in electronic and/or printed format - is encouraged, provided acknowledgement is made of the role of the United Nations in making it available.
Date last posted: 29 November 1999 12:16:05
Comments and suggestions: esa@un.org