STATEMENT BY

HONOURABLE MRS INDIRA THACOOR SIDAYA

MINISTER OF WOMEN, FAMILY WELFARE AND CHILD

DEVELOPMENT

OF THE REPUBLIC OF MAURITIUS

AT THE

23" SPECIAL SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

ON

"WOMEN 2000: GENDER EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT AND

New York

9 June 2000

PERMANENT MISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF MAURITIUS TO THE UNITED NATIONS

21 1 EAST 43RD ST. NEW YORK, NY 10017 TEL: 212-949-0190 FAX: 212-697-3829

Mr President,

Distinguished colleagues,

On behalf of the Government and the people of the Republic of Mauritius, I wish to thank the United Nations for this Special Session of the General Assembly, which symbolises the march, which we, women started in Beijing in 1995.

Five years later, our march continues as we are gathered here to measure our progress, to learn from our mistakes as well as our successes and to chalk out our common future.

Mr President,

My country signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and in 1995, in Beijing, it took strong commitments to which it has remained faithful.

Thus gender equality has been integrated in our national legislation through-

Institutional mechanisms have been strengthened for more effective service delivery and support to women. Mauritius has a full fledged ministry for women headed by a cabinet minister. A National Women's Council functions as a coordinating body for women's associations. A Gender Bureau has been established to ensure the implementation of a Gender Management System based on the Commonwealth Secretariat's guidelines. A consultative mechanism, known as the National Advisory Committee on the Status of Women comprising NGO's, ministries, UNDP, the private sector and other stakeholders, provides critical inputs on gender policy.

A National Women Entrepreneur Council has been established by an act of parliament to promote women entrepreneurship

Economic empowerment has been one of our main thrusts for action as we believe that without the means of livelihood, no woman can enjoy her rights fully. In 1998, within its poverty alleviation programme, the Government of Mauritius introduced a micro credit scheme based on the Grameen model of Bangladesh to provide loans to women without collateral for income generating activities. Marketing being a serious impediment for women, a market centre provides free marketing outlet, while a Common Facility Centre offers training for skills development.

In order to support working mothers, an Early Childhood Development policy is being implemented for training of child care givers and establishment of child care facilities in deprived areas.

Mr President,

Violence against women and children is an unacceptable form of human exploitation. In 1997, the Government of Mauritius introduced the Protection from Domestic Violence Act which has enabled thousands of silent women to break their silence and to benefit from legal protection. Structures for the provision of 24 hour service, free legal assistance and psychological counselling have been set up. One study has been conducted on the factors leading to domestic violence and another one on the criminological aspects of violence at home.

Mauritius offers equality of opportunity and access to education, health, social services and employment and there is no disparity in the enrolment rates of girls and boys. However problems such as sexual exploitation have retained our attention as they affect the girl child mostly. A study of the commercial sexual exploitation of children was conducted in 1997, followed by IEC campaigns in high risk areas. Child watch network groups have been set up with the help of social workers and community based associations for surveillance and early intervention.

Women's access to information and technology has been improved with new women and family centres in under served regions and the opening of an Information Technology Centre exclusively for women.

As far as political participation is concerned, despite some improvements since 1995, women's participation is still relatively low - with 7 % in parliament, 8.5% at municipal level and 2.8% at village level, and less than 20% women at senior managerial level in the public sector.

Leadership training programmes are being conducted to encourage self assertiveness and confidence building among women. The National Gender Action Plan has also proposed that 30% seats be reserved for women.

It has been a gratifying experience to prepare a National Gender Action Plan which outlines our vision for the attainment of gender equality by year2005. The plan was formulated after wide consultations with all stakeholders, including women at grassroots level and addresses health, human rights, human resources development and gender equality. As an immediate consequence, an engendering of the budget initiative has started, coupled with training and research programmes.

Advancing the cause of gender equality is not without its difficulties. In addition to resource inadequacy, problems of shortage of specialised skills in gender planning and analysis, lack of research and data on gender and low priority accorded to gender equality objectives hinder our actions significantly.

This Special Session of the General Assembly is a unique opportunity to reverse negative attitudes, to think of a new world order based on partnerships and participation within the country and beyond the national frontiers. We women have to develop a new sense of leadership and responsibility, and to create a true culture of peace.

Mr President,

We should not forget that we hold the keys to our own future. Therefore, we should not lose this special opportunity to shape a better vision for the future of women - and for humanity.

Thank you.

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