CSW – Forty-Second Session – Press release

Background Release              WOM/1029
                     27 February 1998

COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN TO HOLD FORTY-SECOND SESSION
AT HEADQUARTERS, 2 – 13 MARCH

  Discussions on the human  rights of women, the girl child, women and armed
conflict, and violence  against women will be the  main focus of the  forty-
second session  of the  Commission on the  Status of  Women, to  be held  at
Headquarters from 2 to 13 March.

  The  Commission, which  is a  subsidiary body  of the  Economic and Social
Council,  is   charged  with  monitoring   implementation  of  the   Beijing
Declaration  and  Platform  for  Action,  which  is  an  agenda  for women's
empowerment.

  Under its multi-year programme of work  until 2000, the Commission focuses
on some  of the  12  critical areas  of concern  to women  contained in  the
Beijing Platform for Action, adopted at the 1995  Fourth World Conference on
Women.   This year's topics —  human rights of women, the girl child, women
and armed conflict, and violence against women —  will be debated by expert
panels, resulting  in action-oriented  recommendations for  adoption by  the
Commission.

  The Secretary-General's  analytical report on  the thematic issues  before
the  Commission   (document  E/CN.6/1998/5)  provides  recommendations   and
conclusions of  expert group meetings convened  during 1997  by the Division
for  the Advancement  of  Women  of the  Department of  Economic  and Social
Affairs, on three of  the critical areas  of concern  being taken up by  the
Commission.

  On "women and  armed conflict", the focus was  on gender persecution as  a
follow-up  to  an  earlier  expert  group  meeting on  women  in  power  and
decisionmaking   that   dealt  with   women's   participation   in  conflict
resolution.    The  experts  said  greater   attention  should  be  paid  to
understanding  the way  that characteristics  other than  gender,  including
race,  ethnicity and sexual  orientation, play  in determining  the way that
women experience armed conflict. The fact-finding and monitoring  capacities
of United  Nations human rights mechanisms,  and national and  international
non-governmental organizations should be strengthened, they said.

  Discussions  on "human  rights of  women"  focused  on their  economic and
social rights  and the  impact of  gender on  the full realization  of those
rights.   United  Nations Charter-based  bodies  were  urged to  pay greater
attention to economic and  social rights of women.   The experts  called for
the  early  completion  of  work  on  the  adoption  of  optional  protocols
establishing   communications  procedures   under  the  Convention   on  the
Elimination  of   All  Forms  of  Discrimination   against  Women  and   the
International  Covenant  on  Economic,  Social and  Cultural  Rights.    The
Commission was  asked  to  further consider   enhancing  its  communications
procedure, particularly its transparency and  to ensure the  independence of
the  body reviewing communications.  The experts urged  the appointment of a
thematic special  rapporteur in  the field  of women's  economic and  social
rights.

  The expert group meeting on "the girl child" focused on the rights of  the
adolescent  girls, particularly those  in need  of special  protection.  The
experts urged  governments to  pay special  attention to  the protection  of
girls from  sexual exploitation  and abuse,  harmful traditional  practices,
including  early  marriage,  teenage   pregnancy  and  sexually  transmitted

diseases. Governments  should also  address special  needs of  girls in  the
situation  of armed conflict;  refugee girls;  working girls  and girls with
disability.    The  experts  said  education,  family,  culture,  the socio-
economic environment, law and  legal reform, and the  role of the media were
critical for  creating an enabling environment  for the  realizations of the
human rights of adolescent girls and their empowerment.
  On  the issue of "violence  against women", the  report states that Member
States might wish to consider developing a  common basis for the  collection
of data and statistics on the subject,  and to recommend that all such cases
be   systematically  recorded.    It  calls  for  emphasis  on  legislative,
evidentiary and procedural reform, as well  as public awareness and advocacy
strategies, to eliminate violence against women.

  At the  forthcoming session,  the Commission  is expected  to continue  to
take measures to fulfil  its assigned role as  the preparatory body  for the
year 2000 high-level General Assembly plenary  review and assessment of  the
progress  achieved in  the  implementation of  the  Nairobi  Forward-looking
Strategies  for  the Advancement  of  Women  and  the  Beijing Platform  for
Action.

  In  a report  on  the  issue  (document A/52/789),  the  Secretary-General
suggests that the review  could be carried  out at  the start of the  fifty-
fifth session of the General Assembly — between 6 and 15 September 2000  —
as  part  of  the  regular  session  or  as  a  special  session.    Another
possibility would  be to have  it as part  of the  Commission's forty-fourth
session  before the fiftyfifth session of the Assembly in the year 2000.  He
also indicates  that a  special session  of the  Assembly in  the year  2000
could be held for the review, either from 22 to 26 May or from 5 to 9 June.

  The Commission will also conduct  a comprehensive review of implementation
of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women during the
period 1996-2001.    Structured around  the  12  critical areas  of  concern
contained
in the  Beijing  Declaration and  Platform  for  Action, the  plan  reflects
relevant mandates from other recent United  Nations conferences and summits.
A  progress  report   of  the  Secretary-General   (document  E/CN.6/1998/3)
outlines  efforts of  United Nations  system entities  in 1996  and 1997  to
carry out the plan.

  An oral report will  be presented by the Special Adviser to the Secretary-
General  on Gender  Issues and  Advancement of  Women,  Angela King,  on the
progress  of  work  of  the  Inter-Agency  Committee  on  Women  and  Gender
Equality, which she
chairs.     The  Committee   is  monitoring   full  integration   of  gender
perspectives  in
the work of all thematic task  forces on conference's follow-up  established
by the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC).

  Also to  be considered during the  session is the joint  work plan of  the
Division for the Advancement  of Women and the Office of the United  Nations
High  Commissioner   for  Human  Rights,  addressing  matters  such  as  the
cooperation  between  the  two  on  the  work   of  treaty  bodies  and  the
preparation of the various optional protocols.

  Under a sub-item on emerging issues,  trends and new approaches  affecting
the  situation of women  or equality  between women and  men, the Commission
will
consider the  status of older  women and make  relevant recommendations.   A
report
of the  Secretary-General (document E/CN.6/1998/4) on the subject focuses on
support systems for older persons, including financial assistance.  It also
highlights  their  situation  and  suggests  gender-sensitive  policies  and
programmes to address their problems.  The  report observes that very little
research has
been  done  on  how  changing  caregiving  patterns  affect  women  and  men
differently.

  The situation of Palestinian women will also be discussed.  A report of
the  Secretary-General  (document  E/CN.6/1998/2/Add.2)  states  that  their
condition  has  not improved  in  the  period  under  review.   Considerable
efforts were being
made  by the  Palestinian authorities  and  civil  society to  improve their
economic and  social conditions,  including legislative  revisions.  In  the
follow-up to
the Beijing Conference, the international community, including the United
Nations system, has provided assistance at  various levels to implement  the
recommendations contained in the Platform for Action, the report notes.   It
adds that  the status and living conditions of Palestinian women are closely
linked with the progress of the peace process.

  Other reports before the Commission include  one on national action  plans
and strategies from 85 Member States  for implementing the Beijing  Platform
for Action  (document E/CN.6/1998/6).  A  regional breakdown  showed that 29
per  cent of Member States  from Africa submitted  a plan,  41 per cent from
Asia and  the Pacific, 38  per cent from  Eastern Europe, 41  per cent  from
Latin America and the  Caribbean, and 66 per  cent from Western European and
Other States.

  A  report   of  the  Committee   on  the  Elimination  of   All  Forms  of
Discrimination  against Women  on  its sixteenth  and  seventeenth  sessions
(document A/52/38/Rev.1)  and a note  by the Secretary-General  transmitting
the results of the  eighteenth session of the  Committee on the  Elimination
of  Discrimination against  Women (E/CN.6/1998/CRP.1)  are also  before  the
Commission.

  Membership

  The 45 members  of the Commission on the  Status of Women are elected  for
four-year terms  on the following basis:   13 from  African States; 11  from
Asian  States; four from  Eastern European  States; nine  from Latin America
and the Caribbean States; and eight from Western European and Other States.

  The 1998  membership of the  Commission is as  follows:   Angola, Belgium,
Bolivia,  Brazil,  Bulgaria,  Chile,  China,  Congo,  Cote  d'Ivoire,  Cuba,
Dominican  Republic,  Ethiopia,  France,   Germany,  Ghana,  Greece,  India,
Indonesia, Iran, Japan,  Lebanon, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico,  Morocco,
Norway, Paraguay,  Peru, Philippines, Poland,  Portugal, Republic of  Korea,
Russian  Federation,  Rwanda,  Saint  Lucia,  Slovakia,  Sri  Lanka,  Sudan,
Swaziland, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States.

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