CSW – Forty-Second Session – Press release

Commission on the Status of Women
Forty-second Session
10th Meeting (PM)

STATUS OF WOMEN COMMISSION HEARS CALLS FOR

 FINANCIAL AND OTHER RESOURCES TO HELP IN

 IMPLEMENTING BEIJING PLATFORM FOR ACTION

  Non-governmental  organizations called  for  new and  additional financial
resources  for the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, as the
Commission on  the  Status  of Women  concluded its  general  debate on  the
implementation  of  objectives  and action  on  critical  areas  of  concern
adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women.

  A representative  of the  African Women's  Development and  Communications
Network,  speaking on behalf of a number  of non-governmental organizations,
said  such  resources could  be  made  available  through  cuts in  military
expenditure  in Africa.   She urged  African Governments  to determine their
own agenda of development  with the full participation of both women and men
for  the  benefit of  all  African  people  while strengthening  South-South
cooperation to promote the advancement of women.

  Making recommendations  for  the  Asian region,  a representative  of  the
Asian Caucus said military budgets should  be reallocated to the development
of programmes for women  and children and action should be directed to solve
the current  economic crisis  and its negative  impact on women.   She  also
called for action to  end the suffering of  women in Asia,  including sexual
exploitation. States in the  region were urged to ban tests to determine the
sex of unborn  children; to stop  infanticide; to  promote education at  all
levels for  women; and to  ensure the availability  of health  and education
programmes.

  Countries that had  experienced internal  conflict and  crises faced  even
greater  obstacles in  implementing  the Beijing  Platform  for  Action, the
Commission  was told.   The  representative  of  Rwanda said  the challenges
raised  at  Beijing  remained  huge  for countries  facing  genocide,  which
destroyed infrastructures  and  tore  apart  the social  fabric.    Rwanda's
implementation  of  the  Platform  for  Action  centred  around  defining  a
solution to its internal  problems.  Despite  some progress, the path  ahead
was   long,  and   Rwanda  therefore,   requested  the  assistance   of  the
international  community to  continue to  confront the  challenges raised in
Beijing.

  The  representative  of  Guatemala  said  his  Government  had  made  some
progress towards  resettling Guatemalan women who  had been  affected by the
war.  However, the road  ahead towards the  full human  rights of Guatemalan
women  was a long  one, but  his Government  had made and  would continue to
make all the necessary efforts to get there.

  The representative of  the General Federation of Arab Women said while the
obstacles  to women's enjoyment of  their human rights  were outlined in the
Beijing Platform, women living in the  occupied areas of Palestine continued
to  be  affected  by  the  brutality  inflicted  by  the  occupying military
authorities.  Furthermore,  the  world  had  witnessed  the  phenomenon   of
economic  sanctions which violated  human rights  in Libya,  Sudan, Cuba and

especially Iraq.  Prohibiting food as a  means to achieve political purposes
seriously affected the implementation of the Beijing Declaration.

  Despite  remarkable advances  in  recognizing and  elaborating  the  human
rights  of women,  including  through international  treaties,  millions  of
women  and   girls  remained  largely   untouched  by  those  agreements,  a
representative  of the United  Nations Population  Fund (UNFPA)  said.  Many
continued to suffer  from lifelong, gender-based  oppression, and  many were
denied their  human rights to health,  reproductive choice  and freedom from
coercion and violence.

  Statements  were  also  made  by  the  representatives of  Peru,  Ukraine,
Venezuela, Greece, Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Sudan.

  Representatives of the International Federation of  the Red Cross and  Red
Crescent Societies and the International Committee  of the Red Cross  (ICRC)
also  spoke, as  did representatives of  the World Islamic  Call Society and
Housewives in Dialogue.

  The representative of China spoke in exercise of the right of reply.

  The Commission will meet again at a date to be announced in the Journal.

  Commission Work Programme

  The Commission on the  Status of Women met this afternoon to conclude  its
general  discussion on  implementation of  the  Beijing Platform  for Action
adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women.

  Statements

  LUNTANGIN  BAYAMA, of the  International Federation  of Red  Cross and Red
Crescent Societies, said the importance of integrating a gender  perspective
in the  Federation's policies and programmes  was being  emphasized.  Action
plans had  been developed  for Africa and  Europe and a  plan was  currently
being developed  for Asia.   The  plans included  establishing regional  and
subregional  networks;   developing   means   to   address   gender   issues
consistently into the  design, implementation and evaluation of  programmes;
training  of Red  Cross and  Red  Crescent  volunteers, staff,  managers and
field delegates  in gender  analysis  methods; collecting  and using  gender
disaggregated data and reviewing programmes to monitor progress.

  On  the issue  of  women  and armed  conflict, she  said it  was extremely
important  to ensure  camps  for refugees  and internally  displaced persons
designed  according to the  Office of  the United  Nations High Commissioner
for  Refugees (UNHCR) 1995  guidelines on  the protection  of refugee women.
Only   through  enhanced   cooperation  between   policy-making  bodies  and
cooperating  partners could words be  translated into action.   A more close
collaboration  among  United  Nations   agencies,  particularly  UNHCR,  was
welcome.

  She said  the Federation dealt with the consequences of different types of
violence against women,  ranging from armed  conflicts to domestic violence.
It  contributed to identifying  abused, violated  women and  men through Red
Cross  and Red  Crescent chapters,  in collaboration  with  non-governmental
organizations and  government authorities.   The  Federation also  supported
activities  by the United Nations system to emphasize women's full and equal
enjoyment  of  their  rights.    Women  and men's  access  to  human  rights
information needed to be increased, and  existing mechanisms to identify and
assist  women  whose  human  rights  were   being  violated  needed  to   be
reinforced.

  MARIE CLAIRE MUKASINE (Rwanda) said that  the challenges raised at Beijing

remained   huge   for    countries   facing   genocide,    which   destroyed
infrastructures and  tore apart the social  fabric.   Disease had increased,
and  vulnerable  groups had  been  further  traumatized.    Within that  sad
picture  that had  brutalized Rwandan  women  —  who were  increasingly the
heads of households — Rwanda's implementation  of the Beijing Platform  for
Action centred around defining a solution to its internal problems.

  In that context, Rwanda had implemented  measures such as specific support
for those who escaped genocide and for  those who had been victims of sexual
violence,  she said.   Efforts had  been made to raise  women's awareness of
their right  to health  services, as  well as  to support  services for  the
survivors of the genocide.  Other  efforts included general education  aimed
at reducing literacy and  promoting access to  education, and  consciousness
raising of  authorities at  all decision-making  levels.   Rwanda sought  to
strengthen  its  machinery  and achieve  women's advancement  by  setting up
focal  points  to ensure  that the  gender  perspective became  part of  its
central policy.   The   establishment of an  office responsible for  dealing
with women  and children  triumphed in  the recent  revision of  legislation
governing matrimony and women's concerns in general.

  Rwanda was  also  embarking on  information  campaigns  at all  levels  to
promote peace,  gender-balance and development,  she said.   The  Government
also  undertook   the  organization  and   celebration  of  special   events
concerning women. In that regard, it chose the  topic of "fighting to defend
women's  rights"  on  the  occasion  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.   Specific actions favouring the girl
child aimed at their education, training and health  had also been a  source
of concern.   Despite  some progress,  the path  ahead was long,  and Rwanda
therefore  requested  the  assistance  of  the  international  community  to
continue to pick up those challenges raised in Beijing.

  JULIO ARMANDO MARTINI  HERRERA (Guatemala) said that the peace  agreements
had helped ensure the involvement of women, as  reflected in the creation of
a  nationwide policy tailored  to women.   A draft national  policy had been
elaborated for the advancement and training  of Guatemalan women designed to
promote their condition and status.  Another draft  was launched in the area
of  judicial reform,  in order  to  reduce the  existing inequities.    Such
reforms sought to revise several criminal, labour and health laws.

  Violence  against women  represented a  major challenge  in  Guatemala, he
said, as  the problem  was deeply  rooted in  Guatemala's social  structure.
Guatemalan women  historically had  very little protection of  their rights.
In 1996, however, the  Congress adopted a  law to curb family violence,  and
it  was  currently  reviewing  a  draft   law  against  sexual   harassment.
Concerning women  in armed  conflict, particularly  pertinent in  Guatemala,
the  Government had  progressed towards  resettling Guatemalan women.   Many
such women were heads of households  and therefore especially vulnerable and
hard-hit by poverty.

  Training  programmes and  opportunities for  access to  micro-credit  were
intended to improve their living  conditions, he said.   The Government also
sought a  substantial increase in women's  access to  positions of political
leadership.   The women's forum,  for example,  was an  extensive arena  for
pluralism and representation for Guatemalan women,  and it afforded them the
chance to discuss women's issues.   Another programme called "Let's  Educate
Girls" strove to increase  the rates of enrolment and graduation among girls
through  fellowships.   The road  ahead  towards  the full  human rights  of
Guatemalan women was a  long one, but Guatemala  had made and would continue
to make all the necessary efforts to get there.

  MARITZA  RODRIGUEZ (Peru)  said that  with  regard  to the  eradication of
violence against women,  Peru's legislation had  made decisive  strides that
included a  legislative framework  outlining the nation's  policy on  family
violence.     Initiatives  included  an  amended  Penal  Code,  an  expanded
definition of family violence and a provision of no-fee medical care at  the
request of  police, prosecutorial authorities or  the courts.   In addition,

the Government  had launched training  campaigns concerning family  violence
for  members of  the police  and human  development workers.   It  had  also
opened a telephone hotline  to report cases of  family violence, as  well as
provide emotional support and referrals to special services.

   She said  that as  part  of a  framework  of  action to  establish  basic
conditions  for  the integrated  development  of  emergency  areas,  another
programme emphasized  the problems  faced by  displaced  women.   Activities
included workshops and training, and strengthening women's organizations  in
the areas of health, reproductive rights,  sexual rights and the  prevention
of violence.  In addition, the Government had begun the process of  adapting
national  legislation  to  the  principal  international  instruments.    An
example  in Peru of the growing interest in human rights was the creation of
the national commission on human rights in the Ministry of the Interior.

  The  girl child was  of paramount  importance to Peru, she  said.  Indeed,
two major treaties  — the Convention  on the  Rights of  the Child and  the
Convention  on  the  Elimination of  All  Forms  of  Discrimination  against
Women -converged on  the subject  of the  girl child.   With respect to  the
provisions of  those treaties, Peru had developed a national  plan of action
for  children  that  included  specific  actions  and  strategies  aimed  at
conferring   equal  opportunity  to  girls,  especially  in   the  areas  of
education,  the  prevention  of  violence  and  the  treatment  of  domestic
workers.

  Ms.  SHIN,  of the  Asian  Caucus,  said because  of  the  Asian  region's
diversity,  women  were  confronted with  a  range  of  problems,  including
trafficking  in women;  dowry practices; the exploitation  of migrant women;
prostitution; the spread  of HIV/AIDS; violence against women;  infanticide;
early  marriage;  discriminatory  laws;  and  fundamentalism  and   violence
resulting from conflicts.

  Attention must  be given  to the  suffering of  women in  Asia, she  said,
calling for the Commission  to ensure that States remove all reservations on
the  Convention on the  Elimination of  All Forms  of Discrimination against
Women and the Convention on the Rights of  the Child; implement the  Beijing
Platform  for Action; mobilize  resources to prevent violence against women;
undertake research to collect gender disaggregated data; provide  assistance
for older women and disabled  women; and  protect  the  right  of girls from

sexual exploitation.

  States must  also be urged to  protect working girls without families; ban
tests  to determine the  sex of  unborn children;  stop infanticide; promote
education at all levels  for women; help  to change attitudes of women;  and
ensure the availability  of health and  education programmes, she continued.
On the issue of war crimes, she  said those States which had committed those
crimes  should publicly  apologize to  the women who  had been  exploited in
those circumstances, including  the "comfort women".  Furthermore,  military
budgets  should be reallocated  to the  development of  programmes for women
and children and action  should be taken on  the current economic crisis and
its negative  impact on  women.  She  urged the Commission  to complete  the
drafting of the  optional protocol to the  Convention on the Elimination  of
All Forms  of Discrimination against  Women and stressed that  it should not
allow reservations to the optional protocol.

  OKSANA  BOYKO  (Ukraine)  said her  country's  parliament  had  approved a
national plan of  action for 1997-2000 aimed  at improving the situation  of
women.  It  would set up a steering  council on women  under the Ministry of
Family and  Youth Affairs.   The  plan also  included the  elaboration of  a
draft   declaration on  the general  principles of  state policy  concerning
family and women,  and a  draft convention  for improving  the situation  of
women.   The  principle of  equality was  enshrined in  a  range of  laws in
Ukraine.

  She went  on to  say that  there was  a continuation  of violence  against
women  and girls,  as was  recognized  in  various communities  and cultures
worldwide.   Of particular  concern was  the ongoing  trafficking in  women,
including the recent increase in trafficking  and enslavement of women  from
eastern  Europe.   The  victims  were young,  naive  Slavic women  who  were
entrapped, enslaved and  stripped of their  basic human rights and  had been
forced  to work as  prostitutes in  various parts of the  world.  Widespread
measures should  be  taken to  prevent  such  occurrences.   Her  Government
supported action taken to prevent trafficking  in women.  A non-governmental
organization  programme  existed  in  Ukraine  that  had  as  its  objective
strengthening  non-governmental  organizational structures  whose activities
focused on the prevention of the illegal trade in women.

  Measures such  as targeting the  media, developing educational  programmes
and programmes for legal and social aid for  the victims were being pursued,
she  said.   She welcomed  the adoption in  the European Union  of the joint
action  plan  to  combat  trafficking  in   human  beings  and  the   sexual
exploitation of  children.   Efforts  at  that  level would  bring  tangible
results, she added.

  CARMEN TERESA  MARTINEZ (Venezuela) elaborated on  a number  of steps that
had  been taken  in  her  country to  make  improvements in  all areas  that
impinged on women's human  rights.  Action had been taken also through  non-
governmental organizations.  The need to  resolve women's problems had to be
emphasized.  Venezuela  had  prepared  an  intersectoral  plan  to   prevent
violence against women.   It included the sensitization of officials at  all
levels,  including at the  level of prefectures and  at the community level,
in women's rights and  how to prevent violence within families.  A statewide
network  to assist victims of  violence had been  developed and hotlines had
been set up to provide information on violence against women.

  Venezuela  had also adopted  a national  women's plan  of action, covering
the period 1998 to  2003, to achieve the  integration of women  into society
by opening  up opportunities for them  and encouraging  their involvement in
all areas  of life.  Legislation  to improve the  situation of women  should
become part of national  legislation very soon.   It would increase  women's
access to  elective office  and create a  ministry to  deal with  adolescent
issues and the exploitation of the girl child.

  WARIARA MBUGUA, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),  said that despite
remarkable  advances in  recognizing and  elaborating  the human  rights  of
women,  including through  international  treaties, millions  of  women  and
girls  remained largely untouched  by those  agreements.   Many continued to
suffer from lifelong,  gender-based oppression, and  many were  denied their
human rights  to health, reproductive choice  and freedom  from coercion and
violence.  Society restricted their opportunities  and limited their role to
childbearing without lending their support to that role.

  It  was  time to  break the  silence that  surrounded such  injustice, she
said.   The  Convention on  the Elimination  of All Forms  of Discrimination
Against Women,  the International Conference  on Population and  Development
(ICPD) Programme of  Action and  the Beijing  Platform for  Action were  all
essential to that effort.  To promote the human rights of adolescent  girls,
the  UNFPA, the  Committee  on  the Elimination  of  Discrimination  against
Women,  the  United  Nations  Children's  Fund  (UNICEF)  and  the  Economic
Commission for Africa (ECA)  had held an expert meeting in Addis Ababa  last
October,  resulting  in  a  call  on  governments,  civil  society  and  the
international community to work together to  expand the options available to
girls.   Also stressed  were the special  needs of  refugees, the  disabled,
those orphaned by AIDS, maternal death or war,  victims of sexual crimes and
female genital mutilation.

  She said  that gender-based violence had  reached alarming proportions  in
all parts of the  world.  Domestic violence  and other acts that jeopardized
women's lives and  denied them human dignity  were closely linked to  sexual
and  reproductive  health.    The   UNFPA  supported  various  advocacy  and

legislative  initiates  to prevent  violence  against  women,  including  an
inter-agency campaign led by the United  Nations Development Fund for  Women
(UNIFEM). Action  was also urgently  needed to protect  the human  rights of
women in conflict situations.  Fortunately, the  international community had
begun to pay  attention to the special needs of such women.   There could be
no more  fitting  way  to mark  the fiftieth  anniversary  of the  Universal
Declaration of  Human Rights  than  to  strengthen the  role of  the  United
Nations  system   in  promoting  women's   human  rights,  including   their
reproductive and sexual rights.

  NADJIBA TABIBI, of the World Islamic Call Society, said as an Afghan,  she
wished to raise her voice for the rights of Afghan women.   It was important
to remember Queen Radiya,  who played a great role in Afghanistan, and Nahid
Shaid, who  had defended  the country  and given  her life  under a  Russian
tank.    Afghan  women  and  children  were  suffering  not  only  from  the
consequences  of 20  years  of  war, but  from not  being allowed  to attend
school, participate in  domestic activities or go to the public bathhouses –
– an important  need for preserving  health.   More than  10 million  Afghan
refugees  were scattered in  Pakistan, Iran  and Turkey  in conditions which
were detrimental to the future of the next generation.

  She  expressed support for  the efforts  of the  European Commissioner for
Humanitarian  Affairs, Emma  Bonino,  for  defending the  rights  of  Afghan
women. She  also expressed appreciation to  United States  First Lady Hilary
Rodham Clinton  for speaking  about the  plight of  Afghan  refugees and  to
United States Secretary of State Madeleine  Albright, who had visited Afghan
refugee camps. According  to the Director-General of UNICEF, Carol  Bellamy,
the future  of Afghan  children was at  risk.   Their rights  to safety  and
security  and to  participate in  public  and private  life, school  and the
workplace were being violated.

  ANASTASIA  SOTIRIADOU (Greece)  said that  her Government  had striven  to
ensure  the   widest  access   of  women   to  education  and   counselling,
particularly  concerning   violence  against  women   and  girls,  and   the
prevention and  treatment of sexual abuse.   Such services  conformed to the
Declaration of the Rights of  the Child.  However, men must also be  reached
through  formal  education and  community outreach  programmes  in order  to
prevent sexual violence, and promote national policies in that regard.

  Continuing, she said that  women and girl  children had a right to  proper
health  care,   and  to  liberation  from   the  customary  practices   that
marginalized  their  humanity.     Towards  that  goal,  the   international
community must treat human  rights globally in a fair and equitable  manner,
taking into  account the various historical  and cultural  backgrounds.  The
national human rights movement  had been slow  to address women's rights  as
human rights issues, but  that was beginning  to change.  At the  Conference
in Beijing, the Secretary-General had described violence against women as an
intolerable breach  of human  rights.  Indeed,  the many  forms of  violence
against women compromised their  rights as citizen,  including their  socio-
economic, cultural, political and civil rights.

  The  phenomenon of  violence  against women  was on  the  rise,  she said.
Unfortunately,  agreements had  not  contributed  to its  reduction.    Such
violence had become  a source of income and was perceived as men's right, at
home and in the workplace.   It should not be tolerated.   Women must resist
violence, and governments must make  inroads in that regard.  It was one  of
the top priorities of the Greek Government that  had resulted in substantial
legislative  reform  and  the  promotion  of  information  and  fair   legal
protection. However,  a  real shortage  of  services  for women  victims  of
violence in  Greece persisted,  despite the  establishment of  a centre  for
battered  women in  Athens, as  well  as state  hospitals and  mental health
centres.

  ARIANE  SAND-TRIGO,  of  the  International  Committee  of the  Red  Cross
(ICRC),  said  that   the  special   protection  of   women  recognized   by

international  humanitarian law had  led the  ICRC to  give women particular
attention during its activities in the field.  The ICRC had sought  separate
quarters for women in prisons, and during the  distribution of aid, it  took
into account the special  needs of pregnant  women and nursing mothers.   In
some situations,  the ICRC had intervened  to abolish unfair  discriminatory
treatment  of  women.    For example,  it  had actively  contributed  in the
progressive re-admission of women into hospitals in Kabul.

  The ICRC viewed  women as the  central element  of the  family, which  was
often  shattered by  conflict,  she  said.   In those  cases, it  reacted to
restore links between  various family  members through its central  research
agency. That might include  an exchange of messages through the ICRC, visits
to prisons  or family  reunions.   It  also sought  to establish  programmes
aimed at  enabling women  to resume  their role  as the  focal point  of the
family,  and  it  might  provide  financial   support  to  women  heads   of
households.  Women were  also considered by  the ICRC to be central  pillars
in food  programmes, given their active  involvement in  the distribution of
food and water in refugee  camps, for example, and also given the care  they
gave to their children.   With women required to carry  heavy loads in times
of  conflict, the  ICRC  would emphasize  the need  for  real  measures that
respected women's dignity and fundamental rights.

  CHOE   MYONG   NAM  (Democratic   People's   Republic   of   Korea)   said
implementation  of   the  Beijing  Platform   for  Action  had  resulted  in
significant progress  in the  promotion  and protection  of women's  rights.
The  progress clearly demonstrated  that the  importance of  the inalienable
rights  of women  as human beings  was increasingly being  highlighted.  The
efforts of non-governmental  organizations throughout the world in follow-up
action after Beijing were appreciated.   Despite such progress, all forms of
discrimination   and violence against women  still continued  unabated.  The
Commission's   current  session   would   provide   important  momentum   in
identifying new challenges  ahead of the international community's  attempts
to promote women's rights and explore ways of overcoming difficulties.

  On the issue of violence against women,  he said its most serious form was
sexual slavery, and war-time sexual slavery  in particular, since such  acts
had  not ceased even in the late part of the century.  If sexual slavery was
to be brought to  an end, a thorough liquidation  of the past crimes of war-
time  sexual slavery  should be assured.   He drew attention to  the case of
military  sexual slavery  committed  with  the  direct  involvement  of  the
Japanese  Government and military  before and  during the  Second World War.
Japan had never  made serious apologies  to the "victimized  States" and  to
the victims or  their bereaved families for the  crime.  It  was refusing to
offer material  compensation to the victims  or their families.  The setting
up of a non-governmental fund was part of an effort to distort international
opinion   on  the   issue  of  compensation.     Such  irresponsibility  and
insincerity should not be tolerated.  He welcomed  the recommendation of the
Special Rapporteur  on violence  against women  of the  Commission on  Human

Rights  to  resolve  the  issue,  and  asked  how  could  the  international
community  trust Japan,  write off  its "enemy  State" name from  the United
States Charter and endorse its permanent  membership of the Security Council
in such circumstance.

  ATTIATA MUSTAFA (Sudan) said her country  had been developing projects and
plans to  implement the  Platform for  Action.   There had been  attempts to
integrate  the  work of  all  the  ministries  to  address women's  affairs,
including focusing on the health of  women and children and  eliminating the
practice of  female genital mutilation, which  was very  prevalent in Sudan.
Other projects  focused on  income-generating activities.   Non-governmental
organizations from  different  parts of  the  country  had been  working  on
women's issues.

  The  number of  women in  the Cabinet  and  at  the ministerial  level had
increased,   she  said.     The  statistical  department  was  developing  a
gender-sensitive data collection system  on the status of health of the girl
child and on women.  Reproductive health issues  had been introduced in  the

curriculum of secondary schools  and all universities.   Women in Sudan  now
had the right  to own land, to own  commercial activities and have  separate
bank  accounts,  as  well  as  to  have  access  to  financial  support  for
development programmes.

  JONES SHELLENBERG, of  the African Women's Development and  Communications
Network, spoke  of a number of  challenges to  the successful implementation
of the Beijing Platform  for Action and made a number of recommendations  on
behalf  of African  women's non-governmental  organizations.   There  was  a
failure  at  all  levels  to  allocate  new  and  additional  resources  for
implementing  the  Platform.  In  her  recommendations,  she called  on  all
parties  concerned  to  make  additional  and  new  resources  available for
implementation of the Platform for Action.

  Those resources in  Africa, she went on,  could be made available  through
cuts  in military expenditures, which increased from $154 million in 1995 to
$255 million in 1996.  She called on  the international community to put  an
end to the flow of the sale of  arms or military aid to  African governments
in civil  wars.  She  called on  governments  and  international agencies to
establish  mechanisms   to  involve   women  in   conflict  resolution   and
peacemaking.

    She made other recommendations on the  issue of violence against  women,
and the girl  child.  On the Convention  on the Elimination  of All Forms of
Discrimination against  Women,  she  urged  all  governments  to  ratify  it
without  reservations and to  support the  expeditious passage  of the draft
optional  protocol being considered  by the Commission.  African governments
were urged  to determine  their  own  agenda of  development with  the  full
participation of  both women and  men to the  benefit of  all African people
while strengthening South-South cooperation.

  PHOEBE JONES  SCHELLENBERG, Housewives in  Dialogue, speaking on behalf of
several  non-governmental organizations, said  that there  was a tendency to
consider housewives  as women who worked  at home.   In reality, their  work
included, among other roles, caring for victims of  rape and violence.  Most
of the  world's subsistence agricultural  work was done  by women.   Calling
them farmers obscured the fact that they also processed and cooked the  food
they grew.  Their lives were devalued, which  made them vulnerable to  human
rights  violations.    Unpaid  women  who   cared  for  children  were  most
vulnerable.

  She  said that while  a paying  job enabled women to  leave behind marital
rape and abuse, they might face sexual harassment in the workplace, for  low
wage  workers  were often  prey  to  employers'  sexual  demands.   Domestic
workers were particularly vulnerable.  It  was essential to count  the price
that  women  paid  for  violence  and  increase  their  economic  and social
autonomy.  The vulnerability  of women and children to violence also  needed
to be addressed, especially for those  considered outside the protection  of
the law, such  as sex industry workers.   In addition, poverty and  overwork
should  be   recognized  as  a   violation  of  women's  rights,  especially
considering the detrimental effect on girls' education.

  ELHAM MOSTAFA,  General Federation  of Arab  Women, said  that the  future
would  be  brighter with  the effective  participation  of women  worldwide.
Undoubtedly, the  liberation and advancement of  women and  the enjoyment of
their full rights was related, in  part, to the successful implementation of
the  Beijing Platform for Action.  While the  obstacles to women's enjoyment
of their human rights was outlined in the Beijing Platform, women living  in
the  occupied areas of  Palestine continued to be  affected by the brutality
inflicted  by the  occupying military  authorities.    In recent  years, the
world had  witnessed the  phenomenon of  economic  sanctions which  violated
human rights, in Libya, Sudan, Cuba and  especially Iraq.  Prohibiting  food
as   a  means   to  achieve   political  purposes  seriously   affected  the
implementation of the Beijing Declaration.

  Right of Reply

  Speaking in exercise  of the right of  reply, the representative of  China
said   that  this   morning  a   spokesperson  from   the   non-governmental
organization Women and Armed Conflict had  made allegations about the  human
rights of Tibetan women, which the  Chinese delegation rejected as  "totally
groundless".  The spokesperson totally  disregarded the  facts and  used the
Commission  on the  Status of  Women to  attack  a  sovereign nation.   Such
despicable action should not be allowed by that solemn Commission.

   He  said that it was known to  all that Tibet was an  inseparable part of
the  Chinese territory.  The issue of Tibet was an internal affair of China.
Moreover, the status of  Tibetan women and their  enjoyment of human  rights
had greatly improved,  as witnessed by the  world community.  The  erroneous
view expressed by the spokesperson was self-defeating.

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