70+6'&

0#6+105
'
'EQPQOKECPF5QEKCN Distr.
GENERAL
%QWPEKN
 E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
13 April 2004

Original: ENGLISH

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Sixtieth session

SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 38th MEETING

Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva,

on Tuesday, 6 April 2004, at 10 a.m.

Chairperson: Mr. SMITH (Australia)

CONTENTS

STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER FOR THE PROMOTION OF DEMOCRACY AND THE

RULE OF LAW OF TOGO

STATEMENT BY THE DEPUTY MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF BULGARIA

INTEGRATION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND THE GENDER

PERSPECTIVE:

(a) VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN (continued)

RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

This record is subject to correction.

Corrections should be submitted in one of the working languages. They should be set
forth in a memorandum and also incorporated in a copy of the record. They should be sent
within one week of the date of this document to the Official Records Editing Section,
room E.4108, Palais des Nations, Geneva.

Any corrections to the records of the public meetings of the Commission at this session
will be consolidated in a single corrigendum, to be issued shortly after the end of the session.

GE.04-13334 (E) 070404 130404

E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 2

The meeting was called to order at 10 a.m.

STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER FOR THE PROMOTION OF DEMOCRACY AND THE

RULE OF LAW OF TOGO

1. Mr. KPOTSRA (Togo) said that the Commission was meeting against a backdrop of
crisis and armed conflict accompanied by gross violations of human rights and the right of
peoples to self-determination. The aims set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
were still well beyond reach owing to discord among States and the flouting of human rights.
Brutal conflicts in Africa and the Middle East were swelling the numbers of refugees and
displaced persons, blighting the hopes of the younger generation, fuelling crime and terrorism,
reversing the benefits of development and destabilizing entire nations. The ravages of poverty
and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, especially in Third World countries, coupled with the spread of
racial discrimination, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and trafficking in children,
called for resolute action by the international community to promote a social and economic order
conducive to enjoyment of human rights.

2. The link between economic and social rights and the building of a State based on the rule
of law and democracy was undisputed. Attempts to undermine democratic institutions often
stemmed from a misunderstanding of the issues at stake in the democratization process and from
economic and financial difficulties. Lack of access to the resources needed for democratization
placed the entire project at risk. That was why the injudicious use of sanctions or other coercive
measures was to be condemned: such action not only contravened the democratic principles of
justice but also tended to have a catastrophic impact on the humanitarian situation of the target
population.

3. The exploitation of human rights issues for political ends would only exacerbate tensions
between States and undermine the credibility of the human rights protection procedures and
bodies patiently developed by the United Nations and regional organizations. It was time to end
the insidious practice of pointing the finger at certain States, while awarding others a badge of
good conduct. States that acted as moral custodians should temper their views with objectivity
and non-selectivity.

4. Togo, which had ratified most international human rights instruments, was determined to
continue promoting and safeguarding human rights. The Government had redoubled its efforts
to consolidate democracy so that the Togolese people could participate fully in the management
of public affairs and in economic, social and cultural development. The presidential election
held in June 2003 on the basis of a political consensus had been free and fair, confirming the
political maturity of the people, who were committed to the preservation of national unity. They
had turned out in large numbers to choose their head of State freely and in an orderly fashion, as
attested by the 187 international election monitors. The election demonstrated the Government’s
resolve to strengthen the rule of law and encourage freedom of expression.

5. As dialogue, cooperation and mutual respect were the best defence of human rights, he
trusted that the Commission would adopt an objective and impartial approach to the issues on its
agenda.
 E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 3

STATEMENT BY THE DEPUTY MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF BULGARIA

6. Mr. DRAGANOV (Bulgaria), presenting his condolences to the families of the victims of
the recent terrorist bombings in Spain, said that such heinous acts should increase all countries’
determination to unite against terrorism. Bulgaria had assigned high priority to action against
terrorism during its chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) in 2004. It was also imperative - and possible - to comply with international law and
universally recognized human rights standards when taking such action.

7. Bulgaria was particularly sensitive to protection of the rights of the most vulnerable.
Although virtually all States had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children
continued to be victims of violence and exploitation, including child labour, the use of children
as soldiers, and child sexual abuse and trafficking. His country had ratified the two Optional
Protocols to the Convention and the Bulgarian State Agency for Child Protection supervised its
fulfilment of the commitments set forth in the General Assembly document “A World Fit for
Children”.

8. Bulgaria welcomed and supported the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on a

comprehensive and integral international convention on protection and promotion of the rights
and dignity of persons with disabilities. The Bulgarian Government was working to provide
persons with disabilities with equal opportunities and the National Assembly was debating a bill
on persons with disabilities.

9. Further steps needed to be taken to ensure adequate protection for all persons against
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Bulgaria supported the work of the
Special Rapporteur on torture and praised his commitment to improving the conditions of
victims.

10. Trafficking in human beings was a phenomenon that called for concerted action at all
levels. In the OSCE, Bulgaria was giving top priority to the effective implementation of
commitments under the Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings. Countries of
origin, transit and destination must share responsibility for attaining their common goal.
Bulgaria was taking joint action with its European partners, especially through
intergovernmental agreements for police cooperation. A number of domestic legislative
initiatives had been taken, including amendments to the Penal Code and enactment of a Law on
Combating Human Trafficking.

11. The Bulgarian chairmanship of the OSCE would also encourage action against racism,
xenophobia, intolerance, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of discrimination. In
addition, it would promote human rights education and maintain vigilance in respect of
human rights violations throughout the OSCE area.

12. In 2003 the Bulgarian National Assembly had enacted a law establishing the office of
Ombudsman, who was independent of the executive and barred from holding other civil or
administrative positions. He or she could make suggestions and recommendations regarding
human rights violations and acted as a mediator between administrative bodies and aggrieved
individuals.
E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 4

13. In September 2003 the Bulgarian Parliament had adopted a Protection against
Discrimination Act to provide additional protection against all kinds of direct or indirect
discrimination, including harassment, incitement to discrimination and racial segregation, and
discrimination by association or presumption. A nine-member Commission for Protection
against Discrimination had been set up as an independent specialized body to supervise
enforcement of the Act. It was authorized to receive and investigate complaints, to make binding
findings of discrimination and to impose sanctions and/or compulsory administrative measures.
It also provided independent assistance to victims of discrimination.

INTEGRATION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND THE GENDER

PERSPECTIVE:

(a) VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

(agenda item 12) (continued) (E/CN.4/2004/64, E/CN.4/2004/65-E/CN.6/2004/7,

E/CN.4/2004/66 and Add.1-2, E/CN.4/2004/117-E/CN.6/2004/8, E/CN.4/2004/122;
E/CN.4/2004/G/3 and 29; E/CN.4/2004/NGO/1, 20, 21, 50, 73, 84, 95, 117, 146, 195, 201
and 253)

14. Ms. GEORGE (Franciscans International) said that women accounted for more
than 90 per cent of domestic workers worldwide. In spite of their vulnerability to multiple forms
of exploitation, their situation was largely ignored. The main problem was that, in most
countries, domestic work was not recognized as a legal occupation. Consequently, domestic
workers frequently suffered from various forms of violence, excessive working hours, low pay,
racial discrimination and inhuman and degrading treatment, with no legal protection. In
addition, employers often confiscated the passports of migrant workers, denying them the chance
to escape. She urged States to ensure full implementation of article 11 of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and to extend
international labour rights to domestic workers. She appealed to the Commission to include a
reference to the elimination of violence against domestic workers in its resolution on violence
against women.

15. Ms. CHING-SIMON (Amnesty International) said that gender discrimination was the
underlying cause of violence against women. In many countries, discrimination was enshrined
in law, while in others, it was encouraged by the State authorities. Governments were
responsible for bringing to justice officials or private actors who condoned or perpetrated acts of
violence against women. Her organization was committed to working closely with the Special
Rapporteur on violence against women to develop a common framework for monitoring and
eliminating such violence. She urged Governments to strengthen domestic legislation in
accordance with international standards; take special measures to protect women and girls in
situations of armed conflict; contribute to the study by the Secretary-General on violence against
women; and ratify and implement CEDAW.

16. Ms. KANDAKA (Femmes Africa Solidarité), speaking also on behalf of Mano River
Women’s Peace Network, said that a recent meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women
had addressed issues relating to implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000),
 E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 5

concerning women in peace negotiations, violence against women, and women’s role in truth
and reconciliation efforts. It was essential to respect gender parity in peace negotiations, since
women had a different perspective on how to sustain societies in the aftermath of war. The
Commission should advocate codes of conduct for United Nations peacekeeping and
humanitarian personnel. The Special Rapporteur on violence against women should conduct
urgent missions to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and the Sudan, to assess the
impact of violence against women during the conflicts there. A gender perspective should be
integrated into truth and reconciliation programmes, such as those that had taken place in
Argentina, Chile, Rwanda and South Africa.

17. Ms. AGUILA (Women’s International Democratic Federation) said that 70 per cent of
the world’s poor were women, and that their situation had been exacerbated by neoliberal
economic globalization. The current trend of wars of imperial expansion threatened to expose
even more women to rape, murder and enforced pregnancy. Women and girls accounted for
two thirds of illiterate people in the world and, every year, more than 500,000 women died
during childbirth. The wage discrepancy between men and women for equal work was
unacceptable in the twenty-first century. She condemned unilateral measures, such as the
blockade imposed by the United States Government on the Cuban people, which restricted the
full enjoyment of women’s rights. She called for the release of five Cuban prisoners held in the
United States for having tried to prevent terrorist attacks against Cuba. Their mothers, wives and
children had been denied the right to visit them in prison.

18. Ms. BROWN (Human Rights Advocates), speaking also on behalf of United Nations
Watch, said that trafficking in women and girls for the commercial sex trade affected up to
4 million persons every year. The link between military forces and the demand for trafficking
was well illustrated by events in the Republic of Korea. Some 8,500 foreign women had been
trafficked into the country on entertainment visas and forced to work as replacements for local
prostitutes. In December 2002, peacekeepers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
in Bosnia had been discovered in a club known to be part of a trafficking network. Her
organization welcomed steps by the United States and Norway to coordinate a NATO-wide
policy, and supported calls for a global monitoring mechanism, to help combat trafficking. She
urged the Special Rapporteur on violence against women to request information from
Governments on steps they had taken to prevent the military from increasing the demand for
trafficking. Since poverty was one of the root causes of trafficking, more studies were required
into the connections between global financial policies and trafficking.

19. Ms. AROCHA (Federation of Cuban Women) said that Cuban women had suffered from
multiple terrorist attacks carried out by successive United States Governments. The case of five
political prisoners detained recently in the United States was typical of the human rights abuses
that the Commission usually chose to ignore. In clear breach of international standards, the
United States authorities had denied visiting rights to the prisoners’ mothers and wives for the
last seven months, refusing them visas on spurious grounds. The Government had tried to
deflect criticism over the affair by accusing human rights defenders of having ulterior motives.
In contrast, the political prisoners had maintained a courageous and dignified attitude throughout
their detention.
E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 6

20. Ms. SCHOLZ (Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions) said that thousands of women
throughout the world were denied land or home ownership, leaving them dependent upon male
relatives. Without effective legal protection, they were especially vulnerable to domestic
violence. Many women in sub-Saharan Africa had been left homeless as a result of their
husband’s death from AIDS. Over one and a half billion people in the world, 70 per cent of
whom were women, were considered either homeless or inadequately housed. Thousands of
women died each day on account of inadequate living conditions, domestic violence or violence
against them during forced eviction. States should make greater efforts to change attitudes in
society and to respect their international obligations concerning the right to adequate housing.

21. Ms. YOON-LOGAN (Jubilee Campaign) said that between 200,000 and 300,000 refugees
from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, over half of whom were women, lived in
China. Most of the women had been trafficked over the border and forced into sexual servitude
as prostitutes, brides to Chinese men, or sexual entertainers in clubs. The Government of China
failed to provide adequate legal protection for the victims of trafficking. At the same time, it had
used trafficking laws as a pretext for prosecuting humanitarian aid workers who had been trying
to protect North Korean refugees in China. The Commission should appeal to the Government
of China to allow an independent investigation into the situation of that refugee population living
in China.

22. Mr. KAZMI (Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation) said that women were
especially vulnerable to violence during situations of armed conflict. In Jammu and Kashmir,
mercenaries and militants had carried out horrendous attacks on women, including the torture of
innocent adolescent girls. He urged the Special Rapporteur on violence against women to
broaden the scope of her studies to include violence during conflict situations.

23. Mr. AAJAKA (International Committee for the Respect and Application of the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights) said that women were often used as tools for settling
political and social disputes. In Pakistan, thousands of women had been victims of honour
killings, a custom designed to settle power disputes among families or tribes. In one recent case,
the attempts of a powerful tribe to murder a girl from a middle-class background who had
married into the tribe had been prevented by the intervention of an influential political party. In
another case, the president of the Peshawar chamber of commerce had arranged the murder of
his own daughter because she had dared to ask for a divorce. Women from oppressed classes
who had contacted the police had suffered increasingly from police brutality. He called for an
end to feudal practices that discriminated against women in Pakistan.

24. Mr. ROSSI (International Religious Liberty Association) said that discrimination against
women often arose from misinterpretations of religion or the application of outdated religious
rules. For example, Islamist extremists insisted on applying provisions of the Shariah that
prevented women from becoming teachers, gave precedence to the testimony of men in legal
proceedings, forced women to wear a veil, and so on. Eminent Muslim experts, such as
Mohamed Talbi of the University of Tunis, had stated clearly that such rules were inconsistent
with the true spirit of Islam. Some Islamic countries, such as Morocco and Tunisia, had taken
positive steps to enhance the status of women, by banning polygamy and granting women equal
rights for divorce, inheritance and access to education. Other Islamic countries should be
encouraged to follow their example.
 E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 7

25. Ms. AROCHA (National Union of Jurists of Cuba) said that women were more likely
than men to suffer from poverty and lack of educational opportunities, and that neoliberal
expansion had failed to remedy that situation. In the United States, 42 per cent of women of
Latin American origin, and 25 per cent of Asian women, had no medical insurance. According
to a recent study carried out in the European Union (EU), domestic violence led to more deaths
than cancer or accidents among women aged between 16 and 44 years. In contrast, the status of
Cuban women had improved steadily since 1959. Women accounted for 45 per cent of the
labour force, and 36 per cent of parliamentary representatives. The major cause of economic and
social hardship in Cuba was the genocidal blockade imposed by the United States Government.

26. Mr. MOHAMMADI (Organization for Defending Victims of Violence) said that
significant progress in overcoming gender discrimination had been made in the Islamic
Republic of Iran over the last few decades. Women’s illiteracy rates had dropped, more women
than men attended universities, and the empowerment of civil society had helped to raise
awareness of women’s issues. The clergy had begun to leave behind conservative beliefs
concerning child custody, the prenuptial gift agreement, and blood money. However, women
still faced numerous problems, such as the lack of employment opportunities, forced marriage
and honour killings, trafficking and a lack of supportive institutions for dealing with domestic
violence. The number of women committing suicide as a result of persistent domestic abuse had
risen in recent years. His organization had carried out several educational programmes and
provided medical services at its women’s rehabilitation centre.

27. Ms. CERVANTES (Organization for the Solidarity of the Peoples of Asia, Africa and
Latin America) said that on average women earned between 20 and 30 per cent less than men,
often for exactly the same work. Two thirds of the 876 million illiterate people in the world
were women, and 20 per cent of women had suffered from assault or sexual abuse. Every year,
2 million girls aged between 5 and 10 years were sold for commercial sexual exploitation.
Women in the third world often faced a combination of problems, including poverty, exclusion
and violence, which prevented their enjoyment of human rights. It was essential to address the
major causes of violence, rather than focusing on the results. She expressed her solidarity with
Palestinian, Iraqi and Cuban women, who were the victims of oppression by Israel and the
United States.

28. Ms. TOLEDO (Latin American Federation of Associations of Relatives of Disappeared

Detainees) said that many victims of enforced disappearance were women, as were most of those
who had taken up the cause of Latin American detainees who had disappeared under past
dictatorships and present democratic regimes. There was no more extreme form of violence
against women. During their captivity, they not only suffered torture and ill-treatment but were
also raped and humiliated. When pregnant women gave birth, their babies were given away to
their oppressors. In the vast majority of cases the captors enjoyed impunity and the women
themselves never reappeared, either dead or alive.

29. In Ciudad Juárez in Mexico over 300 women had recently suffered the same fate.
Despite their mothers’ unremitting efforts on their behalf, no progress had been made to date in
identifying the culprits, which pointed to some form of complicity on the part of the authorities.
E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 8

She therefore endorsed the remarks by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women
concerning shortcomings in judicial investigations and in the response of the State. In
Mar del Plata, Argentina, those responsible for the abduction and murder of more than 30 female
sexual workers had never been traced and there had been similar events in Guatemala.

30. Women and children were also being abducted for prostitution and pornography.
Domestic violence was often hushed up or the victim’s complaints were not believed. She
appealed to Governments and institutions to campaign against domestic violence and to take the
necessary steps to stamp out all such practices, which violated women’s basic rights.

31. Ms. KANEKO (Association of World Citizens) said she had been born in China but now
lived in Japan. She was a practitioner of Falun Gong. On travelling to China in May 2002, she
had been arrested for distributing flyers about Falun Gong on the streets of Beijing and sent to a
labour camp for more than 18 months.

32. To force her to give up her beliefs, the police had handcuffed her to a bed in the Public
Security Hospital so tightly that her wrists had bled. She had been force-fed through a tube, and
a catheter had been inserted so that she would not have to use the toilet. She had been
handcuffed to the bed for almost 20 days in the summer heat, lying in her sweat and other bodily
discharges. When finally unchained, she had been unable to walk because of the festering flesh
on her back.

33. In the labour camp she had been subjected to sleep deprivation and attempted
brainwashing, with the result that her blood pressure had shot up and she had almost gone blind.
One day she had been forced to watch a video in which the commentator had reviewed
techniques for reforming Falun Gong practitioners, including torture and sleep deprivation. Only
a few days previously she had seen the same person addressing the Commission and denigrating
Falun Gong. She hoped that all participants in the session would recognize that statement as an
attempt to stifle the truth of persecution.

34. Mr. MAEDA (Japanese Workers’ Committee for Human Rights) said that one of the
most egregious violations of women’s rights was the use of sexual violence as a weapon in
armed conflict. It was estimated that as many as 200,000 Asian and other women had been
forced to serve as “comfort women” during the Second World War. Most had died of disease,
ill-treatment and malnourishment in the military barracks. Others had been killed or abandoned
on the front lines at the end of the war. The Japanese Government had so far ignored reports by
the former Special Rapporteur on violence against women and the Special Rapporteur on
systematic rape, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices during armed conflict, as well as
Commission resolutions. The reports had established that military sexual slavery by imperial
Japan was an example of State-sponsored violence against women. The Japanese Government
should make a full disclosure of the nature and scope of the system, recognize the crime,
apologize and pay compensation.

35. The Committee of Experts of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on the
Application of Conventions and Recommendations had reaffirmed in 2003 that the system of
sexual slavery constituted a violation of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), which
 E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 9

Japan had ratified. He welcomed the recent judgement by a Japanese district court ordering the
State and a Japanese company to pay compensation to Chinese nationals who had been forced to
work in Japan during the Second World War.

36. He requested the Special Rapporteur on violence against women to investigate the recent
situation with respect to sexual slavery during armed conflict.

37. Ms. CHIONGSON (International Women’s Rights Action Watch) said that efforts to
eradicate violence against women must be based on a clear analysis of its causes and
consequences. To that end, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women should work
closely with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, whose
general recommendation No. 19 analysed the phenomenon. Violence against women was an
extreme form of discrimination. It placed them at risk of other forms of discrimination, and
discrimination, in turn, placed them at risk of violence. It should therefore be recognized that the
long-term elimination of discrimination against women went hand in hand with the elimination
of violence.

38. Collaboration between Governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) was

also important. It had been noted by NGOs that there was inadequate information and statistics
on the extent and effects of violence against women; that the home was an unsafe place for many
women; that it was crucial to address the impact of manifestations of extreme interpretations of
culture and tradition involving violence against women; that the lack of adequate legal remedies
and, where they existed, of adequate monitoring of implementation led to impunity; and that
multisectoral approaches were of crucial importance.

39. Particular attention should be paid to women in extremely disadvantaged circumstances

such as migrant women, refugee women, asylum-seekers, trafficked women, indigenous women
and women from minority groups, who were subject to multiple forms of discrimination and
hence at greater risk of violence.

40. She called on States parties to CEDAW to report regularly to the monitoring Committee
and to act on its concluding comments. She further urged States to ratify the Optional Protocol
to the Convention.

41. Ms. TUKHAMMEE (Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development) drew
attention to reports of violence perpetrated against ethnic women in Myanmar by the military
regime known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). In June 2002 the Shan
Women’s Action Network (SWAN) and the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) had jointly
released a report entitled “Licence to rape” that documented more than 173 cases of rape and
other forms of sexual violence involving more than 600 women and girls by military
servicemen in Shan State. In only one case had the perpetrator been punished. Since publication
of the report, SWAN had documented the rape of a further 150 women and girls in the same
State.
E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 10

42. In a report just released entitled “Shattering silences”, the Karen Women’s Organization
documented the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war by the military regime in Karen State.
It documented 125 cases between 1988 and 2004, over half of which had been committed by
high-ranking military officers. Furthermore, 40 per cent had involved gang rape and in
28 per cent of cases the women had been killed after being raped. Since the beginning of the
ceasefire negotiations between the military regime and the Karen National Union in
December 2003, four rapes had been reported.

43. Rape was thus clearly condoned as a weapon of war against ethnic women and the
military regime had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against those women.
The perpetrators continued to go unpunished and no serious measures had been taken to improve
the situation despite Commission resolutions on the human rights situation in Myanmar.

44. She urged the Commission to adopt a resolution condemning the sexual and
gender-based violations committed by the military regime and called on the regime to stop using
rape as a weapon of war and to comply fully with the resolutions adopted by the Commission
since 1992.

45. Mr. SRIVASJAVA (Indian Council of Education) said that gender stereotyping led to
mental conditioning so that girls learned early to internalize their subservient position in the
family, the workplace and the world at large. The family often discriminated against its female
members in terms of food, work, education and freedom. Mothers and homemakers were not
given the recognition they deserved.

46. It was heartening to see women in top political and corporate positions but the fact
remained that most women were employed in lower-ranking and lower-paid jobs that did not
involve decision-making. They thus continued to be financially dependent but bore the dual
burden of employment outside the home and domestic work. At work, even educated
and independent women were often subjected to discrimination, sexual abuse and
exploitation, and were denied promotion because of failure to comply with the wishes of their
male superiors.

47. The plight of unorganized labour sectors such as domestic servants and migrant
construction workers was much worse. They often lived in appalling conditions and were denied
the right to health, education and dignity.

48. An all-out national, regional and international effort was required to halt trafficking in
women, whose causes included poverty, alienation and illiteracy.

49. Ms. SRIVASTAVA (International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies) said that in an age
where freedom and equality were highly prized, gender-based discrimination remained a cause
for concern in many parts of the world. Discriminatory social and cultural patterns of conduct
and the perpetuation of gender-role stereotypes severely restricted women’s prospects and
possibilities. Legislation related to marriage and divorce was often interpreted to the advantage
of the male population and even where legal provisions for the promotion of women’s rights
were in place, de facto equality rarely existed. Son preference and discriminatory inheritance
practices were among traditions harmful to girl-children.
 E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 11

50. Gender-based violence existed at all levels of society and women were particularly
vulnerable in armed conflicts. Adequate legislation and penalties and global awareness
campaigns focusing on women’s rights were required to curb such reprehensible practices. As
experience had shown, education and economic independence were very useful instruments for
empowering human beings and thus needed to be made accessible to women.

51. Mr. SHEIKH (International Humanist and Ethical Union), speaking on behalf of the
Chairperson of the Committee to Defend Women in the Middle East, said that although
gender-based discrimination was a global phenomenon, the situation in Iraq caused particular
concern. Many religious leaders there strongly resisted the creation of a society based on gender
equality, although the contribution of Iraqi women was crucial to national reconstruction. The
interim Constitution failed to protect adequately the human rights of women, most notably in the
areas of marriage and divorce, inheritance laws and the right of women to confer their nationality
on their children.

52. Gender-based violence in Iraq was on the rise. Around 350 Iraqi women had reportedly
been abducted since the end of the war, and the survivors required protection from honour
killings by their families. He therefore urged the Commission and the international community
to support the Iraqi Government in its efforts to guarantee women equality before the law and to
eradicate all forms of gender-based violence.

53. Ms. ELIASON (World Vision International) said that CEDAW and the Convention on
the Rights of the Child were essential international instruments for the protection of women and
girl-children from gender-based violence. The integration of a gender perspective in public and
political life and women’s access to public office were indispensable elements of an equitable
society.

54. The most pressing issues regarding violence against women were highlighted in
document E/CN.4/2004/64. They included trafficking in persons, violence and abuse in schools
and the correlation between sexual abuse and exploitation of girls and HIV/AIDS. The intention
of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women to focus on those issues was
commendable.

55. Gender mainstreaming and the establishment of monitoring and reporting mechanisms
for all forms of gender-based violence were a priority, as was increased collaboration between
United Nations agencies, NGOs, academic institutions and Government Ministries. In
recognition of the role of education in the promotion of human rights, the implementation of the
Dakar Framework for Action/Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals on
education were of paramount importance. In addition, all gender-based factors that increased
women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, trafficking in women and the use of harmful traditional
practices needed addressing. In order to assess the level of de facto political participation of
women, monitoring mechanisms were called for.

56. Ms. VUKOVIC (Permanent Assembly for Human Rights) said that in order for existing
Argentine legislation on equal opportunities and gender-based discrimination to translate into
true equality, elimination of gender-role stereotypes was essential.
E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 12

57. The socio-economic situation in Argentina had rendered women particularly vulnerable
to poverty and precarious employment. With little support from the State, women were often
forced to do the equivalent of three jobs. Particularly among working-class women, awareness
of their rights was extremely limited.

58. Another urgent issue was gender-based violence. Battery, which often led to the death of
the victim, was the most frequent cause of physical injury. Although 25 per cent of relationships
reportedly were violent, cultural stereotypes continued to put the blame on the victim.

59. Regarding reproductive health, it was important to note that in Argentina 37.7 per cent of
all pregnancies were terminated annually and illegal abortions were responsible for one third of
deaths among women of childbearing age. A lack of adequate sex education in working-class
areas had coincided with particularly high incidences of unwanted pregnancies and a fourfold
increase in HIV-positive women between 1991 and 1994.

60. She called on the Argentine Government to ratify the CEDAW Optional Protocol and
devise public policies and campaigns on sex education and gender-based violence.

61. Ms. SHAUMIAN (International Institute for Peace) said that physical and psychological
violence against women occurred across cultural and societal boundaries, in the family, in the
community and at State level. Indigenous women and women from ethnic minorities, female
refugees, internally displaced women and migrants and women in situations of armed conflict
were particularly vulnerable. Eighty per cent of all refugees and displaced persons were women;
20,000 Bosnian women had been raped during the war in the Balkans between 1992 and 1995
and 50,000 Rwandan women had been raped during the 1994 genocide. Harmful cultural and
traditional practices continue to occur, such as female genital mutilation in Africa and honour
killings in Pakistan.

62. Trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual and other exploitation had become the
third largest source of revenue from organized crime and in the year 2000, an estimated 700,000
to 2 million women and children had been subjected to that practice.

63. It was incumbent on the various international bodies and institutions to set standards,
initiate action and disseminate information to raise awareness about the menace represented by
violence against women and children. Respect for women’s rights in all areas of society was a
vital element of peace and development.

64. Ms. PEIKRISHVILI (World Young Women’s Christian Association) said that trafficking
in human beings had taken on a global dimension with over 4 million girls and women bought
and sold into marriage, prostitution or slavery. That practice - the world’s fastest-growing illegal
trade and possibly the world’s most blatant human rights violation - required the Commission’s
special attention. It was imperative that all States ratify the Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime and its Protocol, devise their own domestic and regional strategies and
collaborate with NGOs in the fight against human trafficking.
 E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 13

65. Poverty, unemployment, war and migration were at the root of the problem of trafficking,
which affected women and girls disproportionately and thus deprived them their most
fundamental human rights. Although the issue was currently under consideration by the
United Nations Crime Commission, the absence of a human rights dimension indicated a failure
to recognize the rights of millions of victims.

66. The battle against trafficking in persons required urgent, effective and coherent action
and the establishment of cooperation mechanisms between source, transit and destination
countries worldwide. Her Association advocated the implementation of the Recommended
Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking established by the Office of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and encouraged the
appointment of a Special Rapporteur on trafficking and consideration of the issue under a
separate agenda item. The Commission needed to ensure that the human rights dimension of
trafficking in persons received due attention and to create an environment where that practice
would cease to thrive.

67. Ms. BIONDI BIRD (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions) drew attention to
a recent campaign launched by her organization in collaboration with other labour associations,
focusing on women in the informal economy and women in export-processing zones with a view
to giving non-protected women workers the opportunity to assert their rights. Particular efforts
were being made to unionize women in Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania, where the impact of
structural reforms imposed by the International Monetary Fund had been particularly severe.
The decline in female union membership in those countries was mostly attributable to
globalization and its consequences. Massive redundancies and the increase in insecure
employment were not conducive to trade union membership. The fear of being dismissed acted
as a deterrent to union membership and women’s vulnerability in the labour market made them
particularly apprehensive in that respect. Women trade union leaders were few, since equal
representation had not yet been achieved, but they were courageously working to promote
organized labour as a tool to empower women.

68. Addressing the gender aspect of poverty and exclusion was vital. The fight against
gender-based discrimination could only be won if it was directly linked to the guarantee of
women’s basic rights, including the freedom to work in conditions of equity, security and human
dignity.

69. Ms. AMIN (World Muslim Congress) said that the international community had so far
failed to realize the laudable goals set out in the Vienna Declaration and the Beijing Platform of
Action. Women continued to fall prey to violations of their rights in the context of armed
conflicts and wars, and Indian-occupied Kashmir was the scene of systematic acts of violence
against women. In spite of India’s refusal to allow monitoring of the situation, a number of
organizations had documented some of the abuses. About 10,000 women and girls had been
subjected to violence by Indian security forces and Government-sponsored mercenaries, and an
estimated 21,000 women had been widowed over the past 15 years. The use of rape as a weapon
of war might have been exacerbated by the sheer numbers of soldiers present in Kashmiri
territory and the adverse conditions they faced. She urged the Commission to address the
aggression against women in Kashmir and requested a report on the situation by the Special
Rapporteur on violence against women.
E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 14

70. Ms. DEHOY (Anti-Slavery International) drew attention to the situation of Rohingya
women in the northern Rakhine State of Myanmar. National legislation denied the Muslim
population the fundamental rights of citizenship, such as the freedom to travel even within the
country, and although the country had acceded to CEDAW in 1997, women continued to
experience severe violations of their human rights. In addition, the traditional status of
subordination of Rohingya women severely restricted their participation in economic and
political life and the majority were illiterate and lived in abject poverty. On many occasions,
economic hardship or political persecution forced the men to leave the country and the women
were left behind with the children, poor and particularly vulnerable to violence.

71. The Government had placed severe restrictions on the Rohingya population’s freedom to
marry, which destroyed the social fabric of the community. Pregnancies had to be declared to
the authorities, quotas were imposed on the number of children a woman could have and
violation of those rules could lead to severe punishment. Unwanted pregnancies, imprisonment
for unauthorized marriages and illegal abortions were rampant. Such oppression had forced
many women to flee to Bangladesh, where they suffered the fate of illegal migrants, or to join
their husbands in Malaysia, Pakistan or Saudi Arabia, where they were not only illegal migrants
but also stateless persons. The Commission should take up the issue of the Rohingya people
with the Government of Myanmar, as urgent action was required.

72. Mr. CRISMO (Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance) drew attention to the
plight of Philippine women whose lives had been affected by enforced disappearance. In such
cases, numbering over 1,000, the economic, social and psychological impact on the lives of the
victim’s families was tremendous. Burdened by grief, poverty, economic dislocation and limited
access to government services, the wives and mothers concerned had become the sole
breadwinners. Relationships with their children were often difficult and the older ones were
sometimes forced to leave school in an attempt to supplement the family income. In the event of
remarriage, cases of sexual violence perpetrated by the stepfathers against their girl-children had
been reported.

73. Whenever there was political repression and enforced disappearance, women bore the
brunt of the suffering. His organization therefore called upon Governments to prohibit and
penalize such practices and provide for adequate rehabilitation of the women affected.

74. Ms. MU HONG (All-China Women’s Federation) said that violence against women was
a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between the sexes that had served as a
social mechanism to force women into subordinate positions. In the United States, where such
inequalities were ignored, 700,000 incidents of domestic violence had been recorded in 2001 and
one in three women murdered each year was killed by her current or former husband or partner.
Although 92 per cent of American women cited domestic and sexual violence as their primary
concern and one out of three women had reportedly experienced at least one physical assault
during adulthood, few cases of domestic violence were reported to the police. An inquiry into
the US Air Force Academy had shown that almost 20 per cent of female cadets interviewed had
experienced some form of sexual harassment.
 E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 15

75. Those figures illustrated the underlying inequalities in the power relations between men
and women and, unfortunately, learning from other countries’ experience in such matters was not
a common practice in the United States. Its Government needed to make respect for women’s
rights a priority in constructing a society based on equality.

76. Ms. SUANCHING (Worldview International Foundation) said that the Burmese military
regime’s well-documented failure to respect human rights extended to gender-based human
rights abuses such as State-sponsored rape and sexual assault, forced labour, prostitution and
trafficking in persons among others. Sexual violence particularly affected women from ethnic
minorities, women political activists and political prisoners. Women had been subjected to
arbitrary arrest, detention, imprisonment and torture by the military authorities as a punishment
for their political beliefs and activities. Women prisoners suffered extreme forms of
gender-based violence.

77. During the Depayin Massacre, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for
Democracy members and supporters had been brutally attacked by the military regime and
women political activists had reportedly been assaulted and murdered. So far, the attackers had
gone unpunished. Their gender rendered women activists in Burma particularly vulnerable to
violence and no protection mechanisms were in place. She therefore urged the Commission to
grant the situation of women political prisoners due attention in the resolution to be adopted on
the human rights situation in Burma.

78. Ms. MILADI (Union nationale de la femme tunisienne) said that the amended Tunisian
Constitution of 2002 enshrined the guarantee of universal human rights and fundamental
freedoms. In Tunisia the law was considered an instrument of political and social progress
where tradition was open to modernity, and modernity was concerned with the preservation of
traditional values. Even before Tunisia’s accession to various international conventions,
women’s emancipation had featured in national legislation in 1956 and had been embedded in
Tunisia’s cultural, socio-political and religious tradition. Recent legislative provisions included
the creation of a fund to guarantee women basic sustenance and a divorce pension, as well as
granting women the right to confer their nationality on their children.

79. In Tunisia, gender-based discrimination was virtually non-existent. Women benefited

instead from a privileged position in society due to the full enjoyment of their rights in the public
sphere and additional legal rights in their capacity as mothers. The family was considered as a
fundamental pillar of society, the law prohibited domestic violence and her organization had
established a centre for women in distress to enable them to find ways to preserve their dignity
without necessarily having recourse to the courts. Measures to promote women included
women’s active involvement in sustainable development.

80. Ms. UL SABA (International Islamic Federation of Student Organization) said that
women’s enjoyment of their human rights was particularly restricted in areas suffering from
armed conflict or foreign occupation, where violence against women was often used as a weapon
of war or to terrorize the population.

81. In the Kashmiri people’s peaceful struggle for independence, women had suffered from
unprecedented violence at the hands of Indian security forces and 9,287 incidents of sexual
harassment of Kashmiri women by Indian troops had been reported since 1989. Rape had been
E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 16

used as a weapon of war and a tool for suppressing the freedom struggle, with gang rape
becoming a common method of collective punishment. In addition, extrajudicial or custodial
killings among other forms of repression had left almost 22,000 women widowed since 1989.
She urged the Special Rapporteur on violence against women to investigate the systematic and
organized violence perpetrated against Kashmiri women and to address the matter in her next
report.

82. Ms. NARTI (Third World Movement against the Exploitation of Women) said that the
Special Rapporteur on violence against women had concluded following her visit to Indonesia
in 1998 that the security forces were responsible for perpetrating violence against women.
Regrettably, the situation had not improved; furthermore, only 1 per cent of all cases were
brought to justice, and even then, the penalties imposed were not commensurate with the crime
and no reparation was granted to victims. Impunity had become a cultural norm.

83. The National Human Rights Commission had recorded 100 cases of violence against
women, including torture, rape and sexual harassment, since the imposition of martial law in
Aceh and local NGOs had reported that 21 women had been arbitrarily arrested and detained and
that 43 had been killed by the security forces in that region. Many women were being taken
hostage and forced to reveal the whereabouts of family members suspected of belonging to the
Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

84. Indonesia should continue to reform its legislation in order to provide adequate legal
protection for women from all forms of discrimination and violence. It should investigate all
reports of violence against women and prosecute and punish the perpetrators. It should
furthermore adopt legislation providing protection to witnesses and victims and follow up the
recommendations of the Special Rapporteur.

85. Ms. Heisoo SHIN (Korea Women’s Associations United) said that fewer than 1,000 of
the estimated 200,000 women who had been drafted from Asia during the Second World War to
be used as sex slaves by the Japanese Army were still alive. The 131 survivors in the Republic
of Korea had been demonstrating every Wednesday for 12 years outside the Japanese Embassy
in Seoul, demanding a formal apology and legal compensation. The only apologies they had
received to date had been given as lip service by Japanese prime ministers speaking in their
individual capacity. The Asian Women’s Fund was charity money and not legal compensation,
which was why it had been rejected by most of the survivors. The annual pilgrimage by the
current Prime Minister to the shrine where war criminals were buried was an outrage. The
Government of Japan should be encouraged to implement international human rights standards at
the national level and act on the recommendation of the previous Special Rapporteur on violence
against women to pay legal compensation to victims of the sexual slavery perpetrated by the
Japanese military.

86. Ms. ISAACK (MADRE) said that patriarchal societies in the North and the South had
always aimed to define and dominate female sexuality and self-determination. Women who
determined their own sexuality challenged that patriarchal attitude and as a result faced violence,
harassment and discrimination both at home and outside. It was clear that women living
non-heterosexual lives suffered disproportionately from different forms of prejudice and
discrimination. The hate crimes and sexual violence being carried out against lesbians in many
countries, including South Africa, should be addressed within the context of violence against
 E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 17

women. That violence was particularly painful because it was kept invisible and was vigorously
defended in the name of culture and religion. Many of the basic human rights of lesbians -
including the right to life, the right to bodily integrity, the right to freedom and security and the
right to freedom of association - were being violated. The protection and promotion of lesbian
rights was integral to the enjoyment of the rights of all women to live as they chose. Denying
them the right to make decisions about their own bodies and sexuality was tantamount to
denying them their inherent right to dignity. The international community should recognize and
remedy the fact that the rights of women were being violated on the basis of their real or
perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.

87. Ms. KILIC (Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom) said that violence
against women was used by men as a means of dominating women. In all parts of the world,
regardless of social class, women were victims of domestic violence, rape, discriminatory work
practices, discriminatory legislation and sexual harassment. Every year, hundreds of women
were killed in so-called crimes of honour in countries such as India, Bangladesh, Yemen,
Turkey, Jordan and Pakistan. In war-affected regions, women were victims of rape, torture and
forced immigration. However, the United States, Poland and Russia were at the top of the list of
countries where women died as a result of violence. The home was one of the most dangerous
places. Of the 130 million women throughout the world who were victims of violence,
69 per cent were married and 15 per cent were subjected to violence in places of detention by
State officials.

88. Governments were aware of such human rights violations but used tradition as a pretext
to ignore them. The question of traditional attitudes towards women and society should be
discussed within the United Nations system. In that regard, it was important to democratize
societies, provide education for women and change the attitudes of men. The rights of women
should be guaranteed by law and appropriate monitoring mechanisms should be established. In
that regard, the legislative measures adopted in 11 African countries aimed at prohibiting female
genital mutilation, a practice affecting over 135 million women, had to be supported by
awareness-raising efforts. Legislative changes should also be made in countries such as Bolivia,
Cameroon and Romania whose penal codes provided that rapists could walk free if they agreed
to marry their victim and if the victim gave her consent. Countries that had not yet done so
should sign and ratify CEDAW.

89. Ms. SHIBATA (Asia-Japan Women’s Resource Center) said that the use of sexual
violence as a way of establishing masculine power should be discussed in depth and criticized at
all levels of human rights education. Research had shown that a major cause of sexual violence,
namely the sexual objectification that was effectively established by pornography, provided the
motivation to commit sexual intrusion. For example, according to a clinical study, 80 per cent of
fathers who had sexually abused their daughters had fed their incest fantasies with pornography.
Sexual objectification in pornography and the media subliminally conditioned the viewer to
perceive women merely as an object to provoke sexual pleasure. Juridical intervention was
needed in order to address such objectification. Furthermore, children from a very young age
should be taught that there was another type of sexuality that did not revolve around human
objectification.
E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 18

90. Ms. YANNY (Europe - Third World Centre) said that female peasants were the principal
guardians of the world’s genetic resources and biodiversity. Their traditional knowledge should
be respected and their skills passed on to new generations. However, the current process of
globalization brought with it great threats to rural areas, the environment and traditional models
of production in the form of genetically modified production. It imposed patterns of life on
women who already faced sexual discrimination.

91. Her organization called for the immediate implementation of genuine agrarian reforms
that would allow for the fair distribution of income, equal access to land and natural resources
and management models that placed human needs before profits. It also called for the immediate
adoption of the proposal on food sovereignty that had been endorsed by the Special Rapporteur
on the right to food. Programmes should be developed at both the national and international
levels, aimed at the development of healthy seeds, the revitalization of farmland, the protection
of water resources and the use of organic fertilizers. The use of pesticides, which were harmful
to both agricultural workers and consumers, should be discouraged. The Commission should
consider the proposal to prepare an international convention on the rights of peasants.

92. Ms. O’CALLAGHAN (Rural Development Foundation) noted with satisfaction that
progress had been made in a number of countries since the international community had first
recognized violence against women as a blatant violation of human rights. However, the same
could not be said of many countries where the primary perpetrator of violence against women
was the State itself. The relentless violence in Jammu and Kashmir, for example, had a profound
effect on the mental and physical health of women and the consequences were being felt by
communities as a whole. In the village of Dadpora close to the Pakistan border, many women
had sunk into psychological and financial despair because their husbands had been killed by the
occupying forces or had disappeared. The events of 11 September 2001 had caused a dramatic
change in global affairs which permitted the continuance of such violence. The ground gained
since the adoption of CEDAW in 1979 should not be allowed to be lost.

93. Ms. AHMARI (Women’s Human Rights International Association) said that, although
some meaningful progress had been achieved in the advancement of women all over the world, a
fundamentalist trend had emerged that was working against that progress and the pretext of
religion was increasingly being used to justify human rights violations. All women, regardless
of their race, religion or social class, should be able to benefit from the progress made.

94. Despite the promise made the previous year to the EU, the Islamic Republic of Iran had
not amended its Penal Code and stoning continued to be a legal form of punishment. Her
organization was particularly concerned about the situation of four Iranian women who had been
sentenced in the name of religion to death by stoning. Such punishment was unacceptable. It
was equally inadmissible that, in certain countries, religion was used as a pretext to justify the
refusal to allow women to divorce, the continuation of polygamy and the marrying of girls under
the age of 15. Governments should recognize and adopt international legislation in that regard.
Islam was a compassionate religion that promoted equality.

95. Mr. CHAPMAN (Minority Rights Group International) said that women belonging to
minorities suffered from multiple discrimination on grounds of their ethnicity and their gender.
They suffered from discrimination both within and outside their communities and
 E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 19

disproportionately from the economic, social and political marginalization affecting their
communities as a whole. The Twa were one of the most marginalized communities in the
Great Lakes region of Africa. Twa women who had been raped by belligerents were usually
afraid to take legal action and were often ostracized by their communities, who feared they had
been infected with HIV. According to a recent study, only 9 per cent of Twa women were
literate and very few had completed more than three years of primary education. Very few were
legally married and therefore had no legal protection against eviction when their husbands died.
They were often forced into prostitution.

96. The situation of women in the Darfur region of western Sudan was especially
precarious. The situation in that region had been described as ethnic cleansing. Forty per cent
of the 135,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad were children under the age of 5 and approximately
three quarters of the adult refugees were women. They lived in makeshift shelters with
insufficient food, medication and sanitation. In March 2004, a group of about 3,000 such
refugees had been forced to move by the authorities.

97. The Roma women in south-eastern Europe had very poor access to education and health
care. They suffered from domestic violence resulting from poverty and were unable to fight for
their rights. They also faced violence from the majority society.

98. All United Nations bodies working to address discrimination against women and
minorities should specifically address the situation of minority women. Furthermore, NGOs
should coordinate their efforts and promote the participation of minority women in
decision-making processes. Clear, long-term strategies were needed to address the question
of gender equality and minority rights. Country assistance strategies should be developed with
the full and effective participation of minorities and people of both sexes at all stages.

99. Mr. HAMID (Netherlands Organization for International Development Cooperation)

expressed concern over the continuing violence against women in Indonesia. In Aceh, only one
of the nine cases of rape verified by the National Human Rights Commission had been brought
to court. The perpetrators had received prison sentences of three years or less, and the victims
had received no compensation. Violence against women within the family remained a major
problem and violence in the workplace was also common in the form of sexual harassment. The
situation of women from the poorest sectors of society was particularly alarming.

100. Although Indonesia seemed reluctant to revise its legislation on marriage and had failed
to amend its Penal Code to incorporate marital rape and domestic violence, it had introduced
legal provisions to criminalize sex work. Some local governments had made it compulsory for
all women to wear a headscarf regardless of their religion and had introduced a curfew for
women.

101. The international community should urge the Government of Indonesia to ratify the
necessary international treaties in order to prevent and punish trafficking in persons and to
withdraw its reservation to article 29 of CEDAW. It should also enact its draft laws on domestic
violence and take steps to investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of all forms of
violence against women.
E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 20

102. The CHAIRPERSON announced that the Commission had concluded its general debate
on agenda item 12.

RIGHTS OF THE CHILD (agenda item 13) (E/CN.4/2004/9 and Add.1 and 2 and 67-70;
E/CN.4/2004/NGO/4, 74, 81, 85, 96, 105, 136, 147 and 241; E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/26)

103. Ms. JORGE MERA (Dominican Republic) said that her Government attached particular
importance to the situation of children. In August 2003, a new Code for the Protection of the
Fundamental Rights of Children and Adolescents had entered into force, fully reflecting the
spirit of the Convention on the Rights of the Child which had been ratified by the
Dominican Republic in 1991. Two per cent of the national budget had been earmarked for the
National Council for Childhood and Adolescence that had recently been established to develop a
social policy for children and young people and to adopt measures to protect them.

104. A national plan of action had been adopted in 2001 to guarantee the rights of children
and adolescents. It identified three areas that required priority attention in the short term: the
right to a name and nationality, the rights of children in conflict with the law; and the rights of
children who were victims of abuse and commercial sexual exploitation.

105. With respect to the latter, in 2001, the Government had created an inter-agency
commission, comprising over 20 governmental, non-governmental and international bodies, to
coordinate and promote measures to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of children. As
a result, a national and international campaign had been launched to raise awareness about sexual
exploitation, using television publicity as well as leaflets and brochures in five different
languages to be distributed in Europe and the United States by means of Dominican consulates
and tourist offices. The private sector had also become involved in the work of the commission.
For example, the National Hotels and Restaurants Association had recently prepared and
implemented a code of conduct and the Burger King fast food chain had launched an awareness
campaign in its restaurants throughout the capital and in tourist areas.

106. In June 2003, a special department had been created within the Attorney-General’s
Office to investigate and punish persons responsible for the commercial sexual exploitation of
children. Judges and law enforcement officers had been invited to attend seminars on that issue
and a training guide had been prepared in collaboration with the national police force. Hotel
employees had also received training on how to prevent the sexual exploitation of children in the
tourist industry. Furthermore, a programme had been launched in October 2003 to assist child
sex workers in one of the Dominican Republic’s tourist areas. Another effective measure had
been the posting of warnings at the international airport and on tourist cards concerning legal
penalties for the sexual and commercial exploitation of children. Her Government welcomed the
support of the international organizations for its work in that field and would continue to give
priority to human rights.

107. Mr. SHALABY (Egypt) said that the importance his Government attached to the
protection of children’s rights was reflected in its programmes and policies. In fact, children’s
rights were seen as a fundamental pillar in the construction of a modern society. The President
 E/CN.4/2004/SR.38
page 21

of Egypt had declared the period 2000-2010 as the second Decade of the Egyptian Child. A
number of achievements had been made, including in the fields of education and health. For
example, particular efforts had been made to vaccinate children against preventable diseases and
to provide medical insurance for families with children.

108. Egypt had been one of the first countries to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and had recently withdrawn its reservations to articles 20 and 21 in connection with
adoption. It had also become a party to the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on
involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child
pornography. It had also ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

109. At the national level, Egypt had adopted legislation on children’s rights and had
established the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, which was responsible for
monitoring all activities and policies relating to the protection of children’s rights. The recently
established National Human Rights Council worked together with the National Council for
Childhood and Motherhood to ensure that the rights of children were guaranteed.

110. Egypt had prepared a national plan for childhood and motherhood in order to put
into effect the commitments made at the special session of the General Assembly on children
in 2002. His Government attached particular importance to the education of girls. It also aimed,
inter alia, to provide adequate medical care to children and mothers, address malnutrition and
prevent child labour.

111. In 2003, Egypt’s First Lady had presided over a conference aimed at discussing a
strategy to protect and rehabilitate street children. The National Council for Childhood and
Motherhood had been working together with the United Nations Children’s Fund to implement
that strategy and to create a database on street children. The Government was trying to mobilize
as much support as possible from the private sector and civil society in that regard. It would
welcome the financial and technical assistance of the international community.

112. The Israeli occupying forces had violated almost every basic human right of Palestinian
children by destroying their homes and schools and killing members of their families. Egypt
reiterated its continued support for those children and reminded the international community of
its obligations in that regard.

The meeting rose at 1 p.m.