With Equal Rights, Empowerment,

Women Can Be ‘Agents of Change’ for

Sustained Socio-economic Development,
Security around World, Third Committee
Told
Sixty-sixth General Assembly

Third Committee

11th & 12th Meetings (AM & PM)

Hears Some 45 Speakers on Second Day of Advancement of Women Debate,

With States Describing National Steps Taken to Achieve Gender Equality

States needed to promote women’s rights, so they could be “agents of change” for
sustained socio-economic development and security around the world, delegates told the
Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as it continued its three-day
discussion on the advancement of women.

“Without women’s empowerment and gender equality, societies will not be able to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals and their full development potential,” South
Africa’s delegate said. She noted women had shown greater resolve in peace building
processes, but their needs were overlooked in peace agreements, at donor conferences
and in post-conflict legal reform — a situation that needed to be rectified.

A number of delegates agreed that ending discrimination against women was central in
fulfilling women’s fundamental human rights. It was also, some said, a prerequisite for
sustainable development. To that end, Peru’s youth delegate called for greater female
political participation, saying that young women in particular must be seen as change
agents.

Malaysia’s delegate told the Committee that significant progress in recent decades in his
own country was made possible by greater participation of women. “As Malaysia
evolves from a subsistence agricultural economy to a knowledge-based economy, women
will continue to be a primary force in influencing the development of future generations
of Malaysians, as well as an important economic resource,” he said.

Throughout the day, representatives noted recent progress in the empowerment of

women, highlighting how their rights had been brought to the forefront of national and
international agendas through changes in States’ legislation to mainstream gender
perspectives and the establishment of UN-Women last year.

Many also detailed efforts to ensure greater numbers of women held positions in politics
and Government through quotas or affirmative action, thus allowing them to participate
more in decision-making processes. The representative of Bolivia said all political
parties in his country were obliged to offer one male and one female candidates in order
to undo old patterns of discrimination.

Despite those achievements, many representatives acknowledged gender equality

remained largely rhetorical for far too many women. Gender discrimination, particularly
among rural women, women migrant workers and women with disabilities, was
augmented by other forms of discrimination based on race, ethnicity and economic status,
they said.

Education of women, particularly those who lived in rural areas, was singled out as a key
to breaking the global cycle of poverty. Mongolia’s representative said rural women
were critical agents for poverty reduction, food security and environmental sustainability,
and she welcomed the Commission on the Status of Women’s decision to consider,
during its next session, the empowerment of rural women and their role in development.
A number of representatives also called for more systematic and coordinated efforts
within the international community to protect disadvantaged women, particularly migrant
workers who faced irregular immigration status and limited access to justice. Efforts at
national, regional and international levels must be intensified to implement laws, policies
and strategies aimed at improving the situation of women migrant workers, Ethiopia’s
representative said.

The representative of the Republic of Korea said his country had recently taken action in
that regard, launching “Multi-Cultural Family Support Centres”, which provided married
immigrants with access to basic information, education for social adjustment and
vocational training.

In other business today, the Committee heard the introduction of five draft resolutions
pertaining to social development. They were introduced by the representatives of
Argentina (on behalf of the Group of 77 and China), Moldova, Mongolia and the
Philippines.

The Minister of State (Status of Women) of Canada, speaking also on behalf of Australia
and New Zealand, also offered comments during the discussion on the advancement of
women.

Also speaking during the discussion were the representatives of Yemen, Kyrgyzstan,
Syria, Cambodia, Sudan, Belarus, Peru, Ghana, Morocco, Pakistan, India, Namibia,
Indonesia, Lesotho, Tajikistan, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Oman, Uzbekistan, Djibouti, Argentina,
Slovenia, Lebanon, Costa Rica, Saudi Arabia, Mozambique, Malawi, Singapore, United
Arab Emirates, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Iran,
Swaziland, Botswana and Tunisia.

A representative of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine also spoke.

The representatives of Japan and the Republic of Korea spoke in exercise of their right of
reply.
The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 12 October, to conclude its
general discussion on the advancement of women, before beginning its consideration of
the promotion and protection of the rights of children.

Background

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met today to continue its
general discussion on the advancement of women and to hear the introduction of five
draft resolutions on social development. For more information, please see Press Release
GA/SHC/4008.

Introduction of draft resolutions

MARCELO CARLOS CESA(Argentina), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and

China, introduced a draft resolution on implementation of the outcome of the World
Summit for Social Development and of the twenty-fourth special session of the General
Assembly (document A/C.3/66/L.11), which serves as a follow-up to those two
meetings. The text focused on poverty eradication, employment and social integration
and was substantively similar to last year’s resolution. It also took into account some of
the reports of the Secretary-General on implementation of the outcomes of the World
Summit and the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly. It also addressed
critical issues of concern particularly for developing countries, as well as all members of
the international community.

CAROLINA POPOVICI( Moldova) then introduced the traditional draft resolution on

policies and programmes involving youth (document A/C.3/66/L.7), which since its first
introduction at the fifty-second session of the General Assembly had been adopted by
consensus. This year’s text touched on such social aspects as youth education,
participation in relevant decision-making process and employment, among other topics.
She recognized youth delegates for their valuable inputs in the text’s drafting and
expressed hope that the text would once again enjoy consensus.

ONON SODOV ( Mongolia) then introduced the draft resolution on cooperatives in

social development (document A/C.3/66/L.9). The contribution of cooperatives to socio-
economic development had been widely recognized, she said. The draft resolution
welcomed the proclamation of 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives, and
invited Governments and international organizations, in partnership with cooperatives, to
consider developing a plan of action to be submitted during the sixty-seventh session of
the General Assembly to ensure an effective follow-up to the activities of 2012. It also
drew the attention of Governments to the recommendations in the report of the Secretary-
General to focus support on cooperatives as sustainable and successful business
enterprises, and encouraged them to expand accessibility of research on operations and
the contribution of cooperatives. It was hoped that the draft resolution, as in the past,
would receive Member States’ unanimous support and wide co-sponsorship.

ANA MARIE LAYUGAN HERNANDO (Philippines) next introduced a draft resolution

on the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Realization of the Millennium
Development Goals and Other Internationally Agreed Development Goals for Persons
with Disabilities (document A/C.3/66/L.10), by which the Assembly would decide to
convene such a meeting on the second day of the general debate of the sixty-seventh
session. As efforts continued towards the Millennium Development Goals, she said it
was important that persons with disabilities were incorporated in all aspects of
development efforts, so they could also contribute to and benefit from progress. The
international community had to use all possible channels to include persons with
disabilities in all development initiatives. On the draft resolution pertaining to the high-
level Meeting, she looked forward to the valuable contributions and support of all
Members States.

Finally, Mr. CESA ( Argentina) introduced a draft resolution on follow-up to the Second
World Assembly on Ageing (document A/C.3/66/L.13), saying that challenges faced by
older persons continued to require the immediate attention of the international
community. Thus, the current text, which was based on last year’s resolution of the same
name, endorsed the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and encouraged
Governments and all sectors of society to pay great attention to eradicating poverty
among the elderly and to enact ageing-specific policies. It also recommended that the
treaty body system and special procedures mandate holders to pay more attention to the
situation of older persons in order to strengthen their human rights.

Among other things, the draft text proposed the designation of 15 June as World Elder
Abuse Awareness Day to contribute to greater recognition of that under-reported issue,
he said. He stressed that the open-ended working group established last year for the
purpose of strengthening the human rights of older persons offered Member States a
springboard for recognizing those rights. Saying it was widely recognized that more and
better work was needed, he encouraged the constructive participation of all delegations in
negotiations on the text with a view to its consensual adoption.

Statements

TAHA ALAWADHI ( Yemen) recalled that his country had signed the Convention on
the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and enacted relevant
national legislations. The national Constitution stipulated that women’s rights and
liberties were inalienable. Yemen’s Ministry for Human Rights right oversaw the State’s
efforts to promote and protect women’s rights. In addition, she stressed that women’s
advancement was a central part of Yemen’s development plans, as well as its education
policies. Arab women suffering under the Israeli occupation still suffered from violations
of their rights. Thus, it was critical for the international community to do more to end
that occupation and to ensure that Arab women could live in peace.

DJUMAKADYR A. ATABEKOV ( Kyrgyzstan) associated his delegation with the

congratulations to the three women who won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Kyrgyzstan
agreed that women should be urged to participate at all levels of activity, and should be
involved, above all, in decision-making levels. Kyrgyzstan had a female Head of State,
as well numerous women in Government, while women headed its Supreme Court and
other national organizations. “One could even say there is a faint discrimination against
our men by our women,” he said. But, Kyrgyzstan agreed that more effort needed to be
made to increase the economic rights of women and girls in rural areas, to increase their
part in development strategies as they worked towards the Millennium Development
Goals.

His Government realized that the level of employment of women acted as a barometer of
the level of development and progress in a region, he said. Empowering women to solve
global issues would help ensure sustained development. Twenty years ago, Kyrgyzstan
faced many difficulties and the reforms aimed at creating a market economy had, in fact,
led to inequity, leading many people to leave the country. The bulk of those departing
had been women, who were fearful of gender-based violence and had been subjected to
abuses. Kyrgyzstan stood ready to encourage the rights of all migrant workers,
particularly women, and he urged all States to accede to the Convention on the Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families without further
delay. Lastly, he said, Kyrgyzstan supported to the work of United Nations Entity for
Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and urged it to visit his
country.
MONIA ALSALEH (Syria), aligning with the Group of 77 and China and the Arab
Group, highlighted the national and regional characteristics of the women’s agenda that
were reflected in the international agenda on women’s empowerment and gender
equality. State efforts to advance women’s empowerment were part of an overall reform
strategy. In Syria, women had access to higher levels of the political, military and
economic arenas. Syrian women had obtained the right to vote early in the last century.
Today, women in Syria enjoyed equality with men, as guaranteed in the country’s
Constitution. Among other things, a strategy for reproductive health had been enacted,
while a project to provide more economic autonomy for women was being implemented
by the Social Ministry, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP). Efforts were also being made to reduce the poverty of rural families.

Stressing that Syria hoped to remove all impediments to women’s advancement in all
areas around the world, she said the Government had been working in the Syrian
occupied territories in the Golan, where it was working to put an end to the suffering of
civilian Syrian inhabitants, including Syrian women. She renewed the call for the
Secretary-General to include in his reports references to that terrible situation, as well as
the challenges faced by Syrian women in the occupied Syrian Golan. That request had
been made on numerous occasions, yet those women continued to suffer, as victims of
serious crimes who were forced to live far from their families. Syria urged a common
overall approach to tackling the obstacles facing women living under the yoke of foreign
occupation.

NAY MENG ENG ( Cambodia) said that because issues of gender were intricately linked
with poverty, development was the key element for improving the lives of women and
their families. A fundamental restructuring of society and its institutions would then
enable women to become fully empowered “as equal partners with men”. The Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Actions adopted 16 years ago remained the policy
framework toward that realization. Further, the elimination of violence and
discrimination against women were essential strategies in supporting women’s
participation in socio-economic activities toward development.

On a national level, he noted that in his country women were viewed as “the backbone of
the economy and society”, with careful attention paid to increasing their participation on
all levels of governmental agencies. Coordinating with the United Nations system, his
Government’s five-year plan of development, the Rectangular Strategy, was “in full
swing” towards promoting gender equality and improving women’s status throughout all
aspects of society. He stressed that violence and discrimination of women and children
did not just impact local or national society, but the global society, as well. In that
regard, Cambodia had embedded the reduction of violence on women as a major
indicator in its national development plan. Concluding, he called for the international
community to honour their commitments on official development assistance (ODA),
market access, technical and financial support, and capacity-building in order to enable
and encourage women to participate fully in socio-economic development.

DAFFA-ALLA ELHAG ALI OSMAN (Sudan), aligning his statement with the Group of
77 and China, the African Group and Arab Group, said a number of policies had been put
in place in his country, including laws guaranteeing equal pay and an equal retirement
age. Women now made up 25 per cent of the Members of Parliament, while the
candidate’s list from the recent presidential election contained many women’s names.
Sudan had made considerable progress, adopting a pioneering position in the region on
promoting women’s participation in public life. Women made up 75 per cent of civil
service positions, and were involved in 87 per cent of all economic activity, he said.
Sudan had enacted a detailed five-year action plan to promote women in such areas as
health, education, the environment, economic development, decision-making processes
and consolidation of peace.

In the region of Darfur, the Government had financed a number of initiatives on

employment, health care, peace building and rights. There had been a national plan to
combat violence against women since 2005, while the criminal code of 1991 introduced a
number of articles to protect women, including crimes against humanity and war crimes.
In that regard, Sudan firmly condemned the uprisings in the Darfur region, which had led
to violence against women, including rape of young women and girls. That had been
done by people involved in the rebellions there, he said. Unilateral sanctions on Sudan
were also having an impact on women and violating their rights, he said.

SOMAIA BARGHOUTI, Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine, said the situation

and advancement of Palestinian women was intricately linked to the political, economic
and social development in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
The continued Israeli military occupation and the intensification of its oppressive policies
and practices against the Palestinian people had had severe implication on the entire
population, and particularly Palestinian women, who bore a special and enduring burden
from 44 years of occupation. In the last year, the situation of Palestinian women had only
worsened, owing to the illegal seizure of Palestinian land and home demolitions, which
rendered thousands of Palestinian women and their families homeless. The continued
construction of its unlawful apartheid wall, as well as the increased levels of unchecked
settler violence, also had all had severe ramifications on Palestinian women and their
families.
She went to say that the deterioration of economic and social conditions was having
grave consequences on the advancement and well-being of Palestinian women. At the
same time, violence against Palestinian women had risen to alarming levels, due to the
continuation of the military occupation and of armed conflict. National legalisation
sought to lessen those impacts. Most recently, the Palestinian cabinet endorsed a nine-
year national strategy plan to combat violence against women that took a cross-sector
approach and recognized that violence against women was a development issues
affecting the political, social and economic systems of Palestinian society. Highlighting
the submission of the application of the State of Palestine for admission to membership in
the United Nations on 23 September, she said Palestinian women perceived that historical
moment as a step forward in achieving equality and empowerment. Thus, it was time for
the international community — and mainly the United Nations — to shoulder its
responsibility in firmly supporting the Palestinian people in that noble and way overdue
objective.

IRINA VELICHKO ( Belarus) said gender equality was one of the main goals of social
justice and her Government welcomed the Secretary-General’s efforts to move the issue
of women’s advancement higher on the international agenda. Such higher placement
opened up opportunities for women to achieve gender equality, which was still rather
weakly reflected in some resolutions emanating from the United Nations system.
Welcoming the establishment of UN-Women, she stressed it should include efforts to
combat trafficking in women among its priority areas of work.

Highlighting the leadership roles and relatively broad participation of women in the
public and private sectors in Belarus, she said the majority of the heads of social
organizations were women. Belarus was also one of the countries in the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS) with the lowest levels of maternal mortality. As part as its
pro-women initiatives, the State was seeking to strengthen family traditions and to
promote harmony within the family. It had submitted its most recent report to the
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and was working to
ensure the equal roles of women and men in the family. To that end, it was providing
equal education between girls and boys. Gender research was also needed and it was
hoped that the work of the International Research and Training Institute for the
Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), which was absorbed into UN-Women, would
continue its important work.

SHIN DONG-IK (Republic of Korea) said that, despite considerable achievements in

bringing women’s rights to the forefront of the international agenda, for far too many
women gender equality remained largely rhetorical. Normative frameworks that ensured
equality for women needed to be translated into daily reality in the lives of all women.
Gender discrimination, particularly among rural women, women migrant workers and
women with disabilities, intersected with other forms of discrimination based on non-
national status, race, ethnicity and economic status. Efforts within the international
community to protect disadvantaged women should be more systemic and coordinated.

Turning to actions taken by the Republic of Korea in that regard, he said his Government
gave special attention to the rights of migrant workers and recently launched the “Multi-
Cultural Family Support Centres”, which provided married immigrants with access to
basic information, education for social adjustment and vocational training. The Republic
of Korea, he added, was deeply concerned with increasing sexual violence against
women in armed conflicts, particularly to systemic rape and sexual slavery, including the
“comfort women”, who were forced into sexual slavery by the military during the Second
World War. Those practices constituted war crimes, and under defined circumstances,
crimes against humanity. The United Nations should end these crimes by protecting
women and girls in conflict situations, providing remedies and reparations for victims
and ending impunity, by bringing the offender to justice. Truth-telling and raising public
awareness about those issues was also of utmost importance.

NUR JAZLAN MOHAMED ( Malaysia), aligning with the Group of 77 and China, while
also speaking on behalf of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), said
women had actively contributed to his country’s development since its independence.
Significant progress in the last decades had been possible due to the greater participation
of women. Their educational attainment was at an all time high, while their participation
in the labour force had increased and legislation granting them equal opportunities and
respecting their rights had been adopted. Malaysia was also very aware of its obligations
as a signatory to the Women’s Anti-Discrimination Convention and its pledges to the
implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action. Changes in its legal and institutional
frameworks had been made to protect and improve the rights of women in all areas.

Malaysia also hosted the inaugural First Lady Summit in October 2010, providing a
platform to advocate initiatives to better the younger generation, he said. In the
continued effort to pursue the cause of women and children, Malaysia was prepared to
host the next summit in 2012. “As Malaysia evolves from a subsistence agricultural
economy to a knowledge-based economy, women will continue to be a primary force in
influencing the development of future generations of Malaysians, as well as an important
economic resource,” he said. The country would focus on social inclusion, integrating
women in all sectors of development in accordance with their capabilities and needs, to
ensure a peaceful and prosperous nation.
CARMEN ARUAS ( Peru), aligning with the Group of 77 and China and the Rio Group,
said that States parties must fully comply with their obligations under the Anti-
Discrimination Convention. As part of its national efforts, Peru was working to increase
its national expenditures to help women and alleviate poverty. The Ministry of Social
Development would make more resources available to eliminating violence against
women, trafficking in girls and improving the situation of rural, migrant and indigenous
women, among others. It was also working to improve reproductive health services and
to eliminate barriers to greater equality between men and women in the labour market. A
national plan that sought to reduce violence against women and girls had been adopted
and social programmes provided assistance to rural women to improve nutrition,
education and health, including in terms of vaccination rates and pre-natal care. The
State was working to narrow the pay gap for equal work between men and women and to
further efforts aimed balancing work and home life. A programme for boys and girls
provided day-care to allow their mothers to work.

Peru’s youth delegate, ANDREA ROMAN, underlined Peru’s policy of social inclusion
and its intention to invest more in education, in order to help its citizens break the cycle
of poverty and social exclusion. Despite those efforts, however, gender inequality in
education prevailed in rural areas owing to persistent gender stereotypes. Such gender-
based concepts also impacted the levels of violence against women in Peru. Calling for
greater political participation by women and girls, she said that women — particularly
young women — must be seen as agents of change.

KEN KANDA ( Ghana) said that in his country, agriculture accounted for 42 per cent of
gross domestic product (GDP) and 55 to 60 per cent of food crop farmers were women.
His Government had, therefore, undertaken a wide range of measures to address the
complex challenges confronted by rural women, including extension of credit facilities,
improved technological assistance, enhancing skills in management and finance, and,
through night schools, enhancing rural women’s literacy. Public investment in
transportation, water and sanitation and renewable energy was fundamental to reducing
the time women spend on daily unpaid chores. A holistic approach was, therefore,
necessary to ensure the integration of gender-equality into national policies.

He said that States, civil society and international organizations must work together to
identify new trends in rural labour markets, including through collection of sex-
disaggregated data. There was also a need to put in place specials measures to realize the
full and equal participation of women in decision-making processes. That low
participation was currently the weakest link in the fight against poverty. It was crucial to
move beyond socio-political considerations to ensure women’s full participation in all
fields of governance. In order to increase the number of women in politics, Ghana was
considering the introduction of quotas as a starting point to address the existing gap.

ABDELMOUNAIM EL-FAROUQ ( Morocco) said the advancement of women was at

the heart of recent reforms undertaken in his country to create a democratic society that
respected human rights. Morocco’s new Constitution, adopted on 1 July 2011,
constituted a significant step in the evolution of the status of Moroccan women. That
fundamental law affirmed the State’s commitment to eliminating discrimination against
anyone based on sex, race, belief, culture, origin, or any other personal circumstances.
The Constitution stated that women enjoyed equality with men in all rights and also
inscribed positive rights, or affirmative rights, for women, including their equal political
participation. Progress had been made in overhauling the national family code and
mechanisms were now in place to ensure positive affirmation, and the integration of the
gender dimension, in public policy. The gender dimension was also reflected in the
national budget.

Continuing, he said Morocco had notified the United Nations of its intention to withdraw
its reservation to paragraph 2 of article 9 and article 16 of the Women’s Anti-
Discrimination Convention. A Government agenda for 2011-2015 sought to combat
inequality based on a participatory approach that also took account of the Millennium
Development Goals. In addition, the legislative elections to be held in November would
reserve a quota of 60 seats in the lower house for women. Of those, 30 seats were
reserved for women under the age of 40. Morocco commended the adoption by the
International Labour Organization (ILO) of the Convention on Decent Work for
Domestic Workers. The State had subsequently launched a process to develop legislation
regulating domestic workers and banning work by girls under the age of 15.

ASIM IFTIKHAR AHMAD ( Pakistan) said his country was a member of the Executive
Board of UN-Women and had worked constructively to drafting its Strategic Plan
towards achieving women empowerment and advancement at all levels. Pakistan’s
Constitution guaranteed equal rights for all without any discrimination on the basis of
cast, colour, sex or race. Successive Governments had taken concrete steps to eliminate
discrimination against women from public and private sectors. Eminent women proudly
represent Pakistan in various fields. A large number of women were member of the
national and provincial legislatures. Pakistan’s Plan of Action was based on the Beijing
Platform for Action and the observations made by the Women’s Anti-Discrimination
Committee on the last country report.
Giving numerous examples of how his Government was addressing women’s
empowerment and gender equality, he said the 15 year review of the Beijing Platform
had drawn attention to persistent gaps in the Platform’s implementation that negatively
affected progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. With only four years
left until 2015, sustained international cooperation and global partnerships were of vital
importance. The international community must honour its commitment to ODA. It must
commit to debt relief and the opening of markets to give opportunities, particularly to
women entrepreneurs. The women who were forced to suffer the consequences of armed
conflict and situations of foreign occupation should also not be forgotten.

RATNA DE (India), welcoming the establishment of UN-Women, said that her country
had emphasized putting women on equal footing with men in all areas, not only by
adopting appropriate legislative and policy frameworks, but also by raising social
awareness of gender issues to fight deep-rooted social prejudices and stereotypes.
Describing, in that light, provisions of the Constitution — which provided for affirmative
action — and the national women’s empowerment policy, she stated that political
empowerment was a priority and 50 per cent of positions in local bodies were now
reserved for women, with more than a million elected women in those bodies. The
Parliament was now considering a bill that would reserve 33 per cent of seats in that body
and State legislatures for women, while the positions of President, Speaker of the lower
house and other high national positions were already filled by women.

She said that the importance of women as agents of sustained socio-economic growth, in
addition, was recognized in national planning as a cross-cutting theme. In addition,
providing access to education for women through innovative incentive schemes was an
ongoing effort, while universal access to health care for rural women was the goal of
several initiatives, such as one that trained health volunteers to link villages with health
centres. Legislation targeting domestic violence, indecent display of women, and
trafficking in women and girls had been strengthened, with the latter problem addressed
in a multi-dimensional, victim-centric way. She assured the Committee that India was
fully committed to the implementation of the Beijing Platform, and noted that the first
Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had said “You can tell the condition of a nation by
looking at the status of its women.” For India, the goal of gender equality and women’s
empowerment has been in the past and remains — “one of our foremost priorities”.

WILFRIED I. EMVULA (Namibia), aligning with statements of the Southern African

Development Community (SADC), African Group and Group of 77 and China, said his
country had made concerted efforts with regional and international partners to enact legal
reforms that promoted gender equality and the advancement of women. The policies and
programmes addressed gender inequalities and redressed issues of economic and social
injustice brought about by discriminatory cultural practices and historical imbalances.
The National Gender Plan of Action and its Monitoring and Evaluation Toolkit outlined
indicators and targets that helped monitor policy implementation. Namibia had also
launched small-and medium-sized enterprise programmes that helped train and mentor
women, to improve their living standards. And, out of serious concern for escalating
cases of gender-based violence, which undermined the dignity of women and affected
their ability to contribute to development, Namibia had established women and child
protection units around the country.

One of the remarkable achievements in Namibia is the high female school-enrolment

rate, he said. Statistics showed more females than males were completing school.
Despite commendable progress, gender disparities persisted in all sectors. To address it,
its Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, with support from UNDP, had
embarked on a gender-responsive budgeting exercise in the agriculture, water and
forestry, education, health and social services sectors. “The overall goal is to ensure that
Government resources are used to meet the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable
women and girls. This would help to translate Governments’ commitments on gender
equality and women’s empowerment into budgetary commitments,” he said.

HASAN KLEIB ( Indonesia), aligning with ASEAN and the Group of 77 and China, said
rising inequality and disparity was impacting women more than ever. Yet, history
showed that women could play a broader role in promoting peace and security,
maintaining economic recovery efforts and ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth.
Thus, the further promotion and encouragement of women’s advancement would broaden
opportunities and strengthen the resilience of any nation. Women’s critical role and
participation in the economy had become an important dimension in Indonesia’s
development agenda and concrete steps were being taken to facilitate women’s access to
capital and the market, including the majority of women workers in the micro-, small-,
and medium-sized enterprises. Women entrepreneurs were also being provided training,
workshops and other economic resources. Additional education and training programmes
were aimed at changing mindsets and addressing women’s stigmatization, while gender-
sensitive policies sought to safeguard women workers’ reproductive rights and promote
equal rights and responsibilities between men and women workers.

He further stressed that the massive labour migration under way today must be
addressed. Specifically, efforts must be made to ensure that globalization’s benefits were
shared fairly by migrant workers. As a country of origin, Indonesia had taken
institutional, administrative and legal steps to protect and empower its migrant workers,
including women migrant workers. Yet, countries of destination must continue to
calibrate their commitment to implementing international rights instruments to protect
migrant workers. At the same time, development policies must deliver opportunities for
women to participate in democratic governance. Having had a woman president and with
18.2 per cent of the seats in its national legislature currently occupied by women,
Indonesia had proved that democracy and women’s rights could thrive in a Muslim
society. Finally, the Indonesian Government urged UN-Women to carry on
mainstreaming the gender perspectives in all social, economic and environmental fora.

PALESA LIPHOTO (Lesotho), noting that the empowerment and equality of women
were “among the top priorities” of her Government, heralded the major achievements
made on a national level towards eliminating violence against women, providing them
with quality education, and increasing their participation in decision making, among
others. As well, national legislation promoting gender parity and eliminating gender
discrimination had been enacted, including the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act
2006. Turning to the issue of women living in rural areas, through campaigns aimed at
raising awareness about economic and social well-being, her Government had, in
partnership with civil society organizations, provided technical and financial assistance
towards rural women who were organizing themselves in agricultural projects and
working as rural health-care providers.

However, the HIV and AIDS pandemic remained one of her country’s main development
challenges, she said, with women and girls being the most vulnerable. In that regard, her
Government continued to implement international, regional, sub regional and national
instruments that addressed the epidemic. On a national level, the HIV and AIDS
Strategic Plan 2011-2016 was based on the principles of gender equality and
advancement of women’s rights. Concluding, she reported that Lesotho had submitted
their report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW), stating that their report showed the “clear testimony” of her Government’s
commitment to the advancement of women and to the international human rights
instruments to which they were a party.

KHUSRAV NOZIRI (Tajikistan), aligning himself with the statement made on behalf of
the Group of 77 and China, affirmed that it was necessary to keep working to implement
international agreements on gender equality, despite progress already made. In his
country, gender equality was an important area of State policy, with guarantees of equal
opportunity in public service, the social and economic sphere and matters involved with
elections. There was a programme specifically targeted at the education of girls, for the
purpose of increasing the representation of women leaders in Government agencies. A
draft law countering domestic violence was currently under consideration; the marriage
age had been raised from 17 to 18 years of age; and participation of women in all areas of
education, training, science and technology was a priority.
Of course, there were still many problems to address, he said. Solutions were being
sought to the problems of disproportionate female poverty, the high rates of maternal and
infant mortality, the increased rate of divorce, continued early marriages, as well as the
serious problems of migrant women. Resources, awareness campaigns and practical
measures for the further advancement of women were also needed. In order to overcome
the remaining economic, political, cultural and other barriers to gender equality, the
support of the international community was needed, first and foremost in the area of
education. He reiterated the commitment of his country to the full implementation of
international standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

CLAUDINAH RAMOSEPELE (South Africa), aligning with statements by the Group of

77 and China, the Africa Group and the SADC, said gender equality was a fundamental
human rights and a prerequisite for sustainable development. “Without women’s
empowerment and gender equality, societies will not be able to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals and their full development potential,” she said. Women were
significant change agents in societies, especially those emerging from conflict. They had
demonstrated greater resolve for reconciliation and national cohesion during
peacebuilding processes, but their needs continued to be overlooked in peace agreements,
at donor conferences and in post-conflict legal reform — a situation that needed to be
rectified.

Women also needed an active role in discussions on climate change, as they were the
most affected, she said. Further, they were the care-givers, who ensured the daily welfare
of children, grandchildren and the aged and, to assist them, the United Nations system
ought to enhance programmes for the advancement of rural women, women living with
disabilities and indigenous women. Since 1994, the South African Government had
endeavoured to build an inclusive and socially cohesive, democratic society. Yet, women
still faced major challenges of underdevelopment and were subjected to various forms of
discrimination and abuse, and her Government continued with legislative reforms and
programmes to address their needs.

CHITSAKA CHIPAZIWA ( Zimbabwe) said his Government had adopted a national

gender policy that provided an institutional framework for gender mainstreaming.
Zimbabwe’s combined report would be considered by the Committee on the Elimination
of Discrimination against Women in 2012 and the Government was ready to learn from
that process and to further ensure that its women were at the same level as their male
counterparts in all sectors of society. But, despite its efforts, inequalities continued,
including in the persistence of gender stereotypes, violence against women, women’s
under-representation in decision-making processes and the unequal distribution of unpaid
work between women and men. A massive scaling up of policies aiming at positive
change was needed. At the same time, women’s economic empowerment remained
critical.

Highlighting the particular vulnerabilities of women migrant workers, he called for

greater protections, underlining how much they contributed to the development of their
countries of origin and destination. Zimbabwe was also working to enhance the situation
of women with disabilities and had put various frameworks in place toward that goal. It
was cooperating with all countries and other stakeholders in combating trafficking in
women and girls, which was a contemporary form of slavery. Other initiatives sought to
curb violence against women and reduce maternal and child mortality, which remained
high. He appealed for the international community’s cooperation in combating maternal
mortality and morbidity, including in addressing obstetric fistulas. Zimbabwe urged UN-
Women to prioritize strengthening its capacities in the collection, analysis and use of data
disaggregated by sex, age and geography.

MUHAMMED HASSAN ALMOSSAWY ( Iraq) said the circumstances of the last

decade had impacted Iraqi women particularly hard. War and terrorism had decimated
the population, creating many orphans and widows, and adding to the burden that women
had to shoulder. The Government sought to ensure the participation of women in the
country’s political, scientific, and social life and placed particular emphasis on gender
equality. Among the different obstacles it faced were traditional social customs and
traditions. Yet, Iraqi women had shown courage and the capacity to face all challenges,
assume leadership roles and participate in the development of the Government and social
life, including by helping steer the country in the direction of democracy and freedom.

He noted that the Iraqi Government had acceded to the Women’s Anti-Discrimination
Convention. It was also implementing the Beijing Platform for Action and was working
to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The new Iraqi State had established
criteria to be used in promoting women’s rights, topped by legal and constitutional
guarantees to Iraqi women, which were unique in the region. The Constitution not only
ensured women’s rights, but included provisions that 25 per cent of the country’s
parliamentarians must be women. Iraqi women enjoyed the right to run as a political
candidate and to participate in non-governmental organizations. Affirmative action
policies further promoted women’s political participation, while other positive measures
had been enacted to promote women’s health. Women were present at the every level of
Government and competed freely with men, who had completely prevailed in the public
and private sectors before 2003.
KIFAYA KHAMIS AL-RAISI ( Oman) stressed the many achievements made by Omani
women, noting that legislation emanating from Sharia helped give women their full share
of rights. Among other things, that allowed them to make big strides in securing
parliamentary and political positions. Indeed, women had attained positions of power at
all levels of the Government. The Government had named 17 October as the National
Day of Women, and workshops and exhibitions honoured those playing a leading role in
women’s empowerment.

He further stressed that Article 17 of Oman’s Constitution stipulated that all citizens were
equal before the law, without discrimination for gender. The Government submitted its
initial report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in
2009. In 2000, women garnered 30 per cent of the seats in the national legislature.
Finally, he stressed that Oman’s policies promoting women’s advancement were based
on the fact that protections for women’s rights were protections of the State.

RAFAEL ARCHONDO ( Bolivia), aligning with statements of the Group of 77 and

China and the Rio Group, said his country’s governmental cabinet was half women. In
all elected Bolivian posts, political parties were obliged to offer one male and one female
candidate — that’s how the country had assumed responsibility for equality. Bolivia had
worked consistently to integrate the gender perspective into its development plans,
particularly in terms of political involvement. It also sought to undo old patterns of
discrimination, guaranteeing titles of land to women, while encouraging the removal of
the patriarchy from education and human rights learning.

While more and more girls and women in Bolivia were going to schools and universities,
laws also ensured safe child-bearing along with a monitored payment allowance, he said.
Work at home needed to be recognized and shown to be important to society, shared
between men and women. Bolivia’s new Constitution said the country had to recognize
work at home as a public wealth and had to be quantified in national accounts, so now
Bolivia had to determine how to quantify that unpaid labour. As long as gender
differences persisted, the human race would not be able to move away from
underdevelopment. The Bolivian Government would continue to work towards all its
international commitments for gender equality.

TEKEDA ALEMU (Ethiopia), aligning with the African Group and the Group of 77 and
China, affirmed his country’s commitment to implementing the recommendations of the
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, following the
presentation of its sixth and seventh combined periodic report. Underscoring the dire
situation facing women in rural areas, he said that, in many developing countries, women
were being left to carry the full burden of agricultural production, but had no legal
protections, or rights to property ownership. Persistent gender disparities in access to,
and control over, resources — including technology, agricultural extension services, and
credit — excluded women from high-value markets. Similarly, women in rural areas had
limited access to basic health services, as well as prenatal care. Thus, there was an urgent
need to redouble efforts to improve the situation of rural women by expanding their
access to local service, employment opportunities, land rights and technologies. For that,
international cooperation and financial support would be vital.

He further stressed that women migrant workers were more vulnerable to the problems
facing women — including violence and economic abuse and exploitation — due to their
irregular immigration status and limited access to justice. Efforts at national, regional
and international levels must be intensified to formulate and implement laws, policies and
strategies aimed at improving the situation of women migrant workers. On the domestic
front, Ethiopia was working to register the name of both spouses on land ownership
certificate, to guarantee women’s land rights. Special encouragement was being given to
women to engage in micro- and small-scale enterprises. Such technologies as bio-gas,
and an energy-saving stove were being introduced to reduce women’s household
burdens. Other initiatives sought to reduce maternal mortality and improve access to
health services.

MURAD ASKAROV ( Uzbekistan) said that his Government’s policies sought to ensure
legal and economic protection of mothers and children and to promote the advancement
of women. To that end, social and political reforms had been introduced throughout
Uzbekistan’s 20 years of independence. State rules stipulating that women must
comprise 30 per cent of the candidates for political office had resulted in women holding
22 per cent of the seats in Parliament and 15 per cent of the seats in the Senate. Over
300,000 women were also participating in political parties, while assistance was being
provided to women entrepreneurs. Other support was provided by non-governmental
organizations, including funds for culture and art and a women’s collectivity fund. Of the
7.5 million people in Uzbekistan’s education system, over half were women. In addition,
20 per cent of the doctoral dissertations presented in recent years were from women.

The State was particularly interested in helping mothers and children, he said, noting
recent initiatives had cut maternal mortality in half, and dropped child mortality by a
three-fold rate. The Government had launched a “healthy mother means a healthy child”
programme. Other initiatives aimed at increasing medical assistance in urban and rural
areas and a new clinic system was being introduced. As part of its efforts to encourage
higher participation in sports, the Government had also launched “a healthy child leads to
a good healthy future” programme. Although Uzbekistan was considered to be a world
leader in conditions for women and children, it intended to continue to improve the
situation of women, as well as the health of mothers and children. In that context, it
welcomed the establishment of UN-Women.

RONA AMBROSE, Minister of State (Status of Women) of Canada, also speaking on

behalf of Australia and New Zealand, welcomed the commitments to intensify efforts to
address violence against women and girls, including those from indigenous
communities. “Indigenous women and girls are particularly vulnerable to poverty,
marginalization and social exclusion, a situation that renders them even more susceptible
to violence,” she said. She was also concerned by the high levels of discrimination still
experienced by women and girls around the world, she said. The working group
appointed by the Human Rights Council in March 2011 would be an important resource
for all Member States, and she welcomed the independent experts on discrimination
against women in law and in practice, looking forward to their contributions.

“While the United Nations has taken an important step toward ending persistent gender
discrimination, equality has yet to be achieved,” she said. Member States needed to take
active measures, including involving men and boys, to improve the status of women and
girls, particularly with respect to safety, economic well-being and their status in society.
An International Day of the Girl would help raise awareness of the daily struggles of
young girls to improve their life, the life of their community, their village, their town and
maybe a country. She sought the support of all Member States for the initiative to
declare an International Day of the Girl.

KADRA AHMED HASSAN ( Djibouti) said equality between men and women was
guaranteed by her country’s Constitution and the Government was aware that no
sustainable human development policy could produce results without promoting
women’s empowerment. Gender quality had, therefore, been at the centre of the State’s
development policy for over a decade. Since ratifying without reservation the Anti-
Discrimination Convention in 1999, Djibouti had been pleased by its fruitful interactions
with the Committee charged with monitoring that international instrument’s national
implementation. Since 1999, a State minister had been charged with addressing all types
of discrimination. Women had moved on from being voters to being office holders and
now accounted for 14 per cent of Parliament. Since 2000, Djibouti had seen a
considerable increase in the number of women and girls in its education ranks. There
was practically no difference in attendance among boys and girls in primary attendance,
although attendance lagged among rural girls, since they faced greater obstacles in
attending school. To that end, grants were being provided to encourage families to send
their children to schools.

Calling violence against women “one of the world’s worst scourges”, she said its causes
were often rooted in gender discrimination. Thus, Government efforts were focused on
awareness-raising initiatives. The State also considered female genital mutilation to be
one of the worst acts of violence committed against girls and women, and a series of laws
had been enacted against the practice. Her delegation looked forward to the forthcoming
report by the Secretary-General on female genital mutilation to be presented at the next
session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Finally, she stressed that her
Government was happy to have contributed to the vital efforts of UN-Women.

GUSTAVO RUTILO ( Argentina), aligning with the statement by the Rio Group, said his
country was particularly active in promoting the role of women in public affairs,
particularly in the area of politics. For the past few decades, it had taken affirmative
action to ensure women could be president and hold positions at high levels in the
executive branch.

The increase in women in politics over the years had increased their access to decision-
making positions, he said. Thirty-one per cent of ministries were headed by women,
while they had increased in other levels of the Government, as well. The increase in
women in parliament had been crucial to promoting women’s rights. Their
representation had resulted in crucial new laws in congress on sexual health, equitable
trade union representation and trafficking in persons. Argentina would continue to work
towards equality between men and women, with strict respect for human rights.

SANJA ŠTIGLIC ( Slovenia) said that the foundation for the advancement of women
was in the Convention on the elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,
adopted 30 years ago, and its implementation “should not be set aside”. She also urged
that implementation continue of the Beijing Declaration, the Cairo Programme and the
Millennium Development Goals, among others, to continue the process of achieving
gender equality. She also noted that last year’s achievements were being implemented
this year, with the commencement of UN-Women adopting its first Strategic Plan for
2011-2013, and with the convening of the Human Rights Council Working group’s first
session in June.
Continuing, she pointed out that women of the countries of the “Arab Spring” had been at
the forefront of demonstrations, protesting side by side with men. She underscored that
they should be given equal roles in decision-making processes about the future of their
countries. On a national level, the empowerment of women was a cross-cutting issue in
Slovenia’s development cooperation. Her country’s commitment to the participation of
women in peace-related activities and the protection of women and girls during and after
conflict was evident in the adoption of its National Action Plan on the implementation of
Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008). She concluded her remarks
with congratulations to the three women recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize for their
contribution to the rights and role of women and, thus, to the advancement of peace and
security.

ONON SODOV ( Mongolia) reaffirmed her country’s commitment toward the full
implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, emphasizing that
gender equality and women’s empowerment were at the centre of Mongolia’s
development agenda. Mongolia was working to achieve Millennium Development Goal
targets concerning the assurance of gender equality in wage employment and the
reduction of maternal mortality. Despite the fact that Mongolian women attained a
higher level of education than the country’s men, Mongolia’s promotion of women’s
participation in decision-making had been slow. To remove obstacles in that area,
Mongolia’s Parliament passed the Gender Equality Law earlier this year, which required
that up to 40 per cent of civil service positions be occupied by women. The law also
prohibited gender discrimination in hiring, promotions, wages, access to education and
scholarships. This fall, the Mongolian Parliament would debate a legal provision on
quotas for women parliamentary candidates. As a result, she believed the coming
elections next June would include more women in Parliament.

Turning to the matter of rural women, she said they were critical agents in poverty
reduction, food security and environmental sustainability; their full participation was
crucial to attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. In that regard, she
welcomed the Commission on the Status of Women’s decision to consider, during its
next session, the topic of the empowerment of rural women and their role in
development. She also supported the Secretary-General’s recommendation on integrating
the perspective of rural and indigenous women into the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development. In closing, she mentioned that Mongolia would table a draft
resolution on the improvement of the situation of women in rural areas, and hoped that it
would receive wide co-sponsorship.

BRIGITTE TAWK ( Lebanon), aligning with statements of the Group of 77 and China,
as well as the Arab Group, commended the establishment of UN-Women. Empowerment
and equality of women was needed to benefit from the potential and talents of half of
society — it was the best way to achieve development, help health and promote
education. But, as the recent World Bank report illustrated, there needed to be
comprehensive policies that allowed women to engage in economic alliances,
reconciliation efforts and the positive transformation of society. The world had lately
witnessed how Arab women could call for reform and consecrate democracy and justice,
but the promotion of gender equality was an individual and collective responsibility of
both men and women.

On a national level, Lebanon had taken a number of measures for the advancement of
women, including integrating their concerns for reproductive health. Lebanon’s
Women’s Affairs Committee was now drafting a ten-year strategy with civil society for a
comprehensive plan on the advancement of women. The Lebanese Government had also
established a Palestinian-Lebanese dialogue committee that would help cope with issues
surrounding female Palestinian refugees. In that respect, he said he would like to
highlight the rights of women living under foreign occupation, and how they needed
more support.

EDUARDO ULIBARRI ( Costa Rica) appealed to those seven States that had not ratified
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. For
its part, Costa Rica had adopted a national policy for gender equality and equity through
2017. It was also working to address issues on the care of children by setting up a
national network for child care and development. Great strides had been made regarding
women’s political participation, he said, noting that roughly 40 per cent of the seats in
Costa Rica’s Parliament were filled by women. The country also elected its first woman
president in 2010. The Government was seriously reviewing the recommendations of the
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women with a view to their
implementation, he added.

Costa Rica agreed with the Secretary-General’s suggestion that an appeal be made to all
United Nations entities to incorporate the gender perspective more fully, he continued,
stressing that the role to be played by UN-Women would be critical in that regard.
Expressing serious concern about violence against women, which he said was too
common at the family, State and international levels, he voiced supported for the
integrated approach proposed by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its
causes and consequences. In combating violence, the situation of women migrants and
the practice of trafficking in women and girls must be a focus. The feminization of
poverty was also a critical element and work must continue to promote women’s
economic empowerment. In that regard, he noted that the pay gap remained quite wide in
many countries and additional strategies were needed to address it.
FARIS AL-OTAIBI ( Saudi Arabia) said his country had taken a number of steps for the
advancement of women — it wanted to ensure that women were included in development
strategies, including access to the highest levels of education. That way, women would
have access to decision-making processes and participate in important areas, such as the
economic, social and medical fields. Saudi Arabia had an integrated social plan that
encouraged public and private entities to hire women. Other important decisions had
been taken to promote gender equality in a number of areas; as of next year, women
would participate in congress, parliaments and the electoral process. Women were now
in the diplomatic corps and involved in determining Saudi policies.

Saudi Arabia also had women participating along with men in its national dialogue and
was taking steps to combat violence against women. Saudi women had reached the
highest national and international positions, and their place in society was now much
more recognized. Saudi Arabia had now become a member of the board of UN-Women,
and was committed to working with that entity.

ANTONIO GUMENDE ( Mozambique) said gender equality and the advancement of

women was not only essential for development and promotion of human rights, it was
also necessary for the attainment of the other seven Millennium Development Goals. His
Government pursued deliberate strategies and policies that encouraged the participation
of women in decision-making bodies in the public, private and social sectors at local and
national levels. Thirty per cent of members of the Parliament were women, and out of
31 members of the Cabinet, eight were women. In any economic entity, women were
assigned managerial responsibilities and they worked in harmony with their male
counterpart.

Welcoming the decision of the Commission on the Status of Women to make

empowerment of rural women its priority theme in 2012, he said his country also
appreciated the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for skills
training for women in agricultural extension work in countries of the southern African
region. He also welcomed the support provided by United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Government of Norway for an
entrepreneurships programme within the secondary and tertiary education system that
encouraged girls to work in enterprises not traditionally reserved for women.
JANET Z.KARIM ( Malawi) said that her country was part of the binding SADC
Protocol on Gender and Development, which encompassed commitments in all regional,
global and continental instruments for achieving gender equality. It ensured
accountability by all SADC member States and provided a forum for sharing of best
practices, peer support and review. Malawi incorporated gender in all its development
efforts through its Malawi Growth and Development Strategy. The country had a
National Gender Policy and National Gender Programme and was implementing a
programme on increasing women’s participation in politics and decision-making. That
had resulted in an increase of women parliamentarians from 14 to 22 per cent.

She said her country had reviewed laws regarding inheritance, marriage, divorce and
family relations. It had also issued gender mainstreaming guidelines. A large-scale
agricultural input subsidy programme had transformed the lives of many rural women.
Addressing gender-based violence, Malawi had, among other things, enacted the 2006
Prevention of Domestic Violence Act. It had also mainstreamed gender in such sectors
as land policy, transport policy and reproductive health policy, as well as in HIV/AIDS
policies.

TAI LI-LIAN ( Singapore) said that meritocracy was entrenched in her society and there
were no obstacles to women’s participation in all sectors of society. Because of its
physical limitations, Singapore could not afford to have gender discrimination. Some of
the highlights in its fourth periodic report to the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women included legislation to further protect women and girls
from commercial sex exploitation. In that report, her country had also announced a
narrowing of the scope of its reservations to the Convention, following significant
developments on the practice of Sharia law. It had also announced measures to enhance
protection of women migrant workers and to sustain the fight against trafficking in
persons.

Describing the measures Singapore had undertaken to change the status of women, she
mentioned the Compulsory Education Act, which had resulted in a 93.8 per cent literacy
rate among women. The female labour force participation rate had increased from below
30 per cent in 1970 to 56.5 per cent in 2010. Thanks to its committed efforts, Singapore
had been ranked tenth out of 138 countries on the Gender Inequality Index, which
indicated Singapore’s women enjoyed the same education, economic and political
opportunities as men. There were many areas where improvement was possible, she
said. Women, therefore, enjoyed training opportunities to equip them with the relevant
skill to remain, and progress, in the current workforce, especially in light of the demands
of new technology.
KHADEIJA AL-SERAIDI( United Arab Emirates) said her Government was working to
further women’s empowerment, including by adopting legislation, strategies and
programmes aimed at implementing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. It
signed the Anti-Discrimination Convention in 2004 and the Optional Protocol was signed
last year. National laws provided for maternity leave, among other health benefits aimed
at mothers and women. The Millennium Development Goals on maternal health and
women’s equality had been achieved. Women were well represented in all three arms of
the Government. Currently, they held 66 seats in parliament, as well as high-level
positions in the diplomatic service.

She stressed that preventive measures had been taken to eliminate violence against
women, as well as trafficking in humans, particularly women. The Emirates had also
signed the Optional Protocol to the Palermo Convention. A law against human
trafficking was adopted in 2006, while other laws stipulated the punishment of those
found guilty of trafficking in persons. Domestic workers were protected in terms of their
working conditions. A strategy to develop remote regions had also been adopted, to
allow for the further development of human resources and to raise the living standards of
rural areas. Efforts were also being made to make women’s access to agricultural credits
equal to that of men. Finally, she noted that the United Arab Emirates had contributed
$100 million to UN-Women.

MARIELA SÁNCHEZ DE CRUZ ( Dominican Republic) said the Ministry of Women

had made an extraordinary effort to insert a gender perspective all levels of Government.
The Dominican Republic believed that development and democracy would prove
unachievable, if women were unable to improve their position in terms of health,
education, social and political participation, economic development and employment.
Ultimately, men and women must receive equal attention. Among its macroeconomic
policies and development strategies aimed at overcoming women’s poverty, the State had
launched the “Banana Project” in three provinces to strengthen the capacity and
entrepreneurship of women in the agricultural sector. It had also launched a national
strategic plan to prevent teen pregnancy, which prevented young women from exiting the
cycle of poverty.

The Government was also promoting comprehensive measures to eliminate all forms and
manifestations of violence against women, she said. In particular, the Ministry of
Women had launched a social mobilization campaign aimed at promoting a life for
women free of violence. Support was also being provided to survivors, with new units of
comprehensive care for victims being opened nationwide. At the same time, the Penal
Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure were being reformed to better promote
women’s rights. An Interagency Committee for the Protection of Migrant Women had
been set up, under the coordination of the Women’s Ministry, as a mechanism to group
all Government agencies working on the issues of trafficking and smuggling. As a
member of the executive board of UN-Women, the Dominican Republic supported all
aspects of its ambitious Strategic Plan 2011-2013. It fully endorsed the decision to focus
on a strategic, on-the-ground presence in least developed countries, middle-income
countries and countries undergoing or emerging from conflict situations.

MICOLE ROMULUS ( Haiti) said that Haitian women were present in the economic
area, although their contribution was not adequately acknowledged. They were a “pillar
in the rural world”, often raising their children alone while the men worked. They were
“at the heart” of economic activities. They were also more likely to be illiterate. In rural
areas, where illiteracy rates overall were 48 per cent, 65 per cent of women were
illiterate, a serious gap vis-à-vis men.

Continuing, she noted the priorities adopted to ensure gender equality by the Ministry
mandated to advocate for the rights and well-being of women. These provisions
included: implementing non-violence education in schools to promote peaceful practices;
encouraging women to vote and to become candidates in elections; assuring legal
procedures for victims of sexual violence and violence; the availability of, and the
participation of, national police in protecting the rights of women. Concluding, she said
that women in Haiti were becoming aware of what they could do and were organizing
and becoming part of the progress to democracy.

RODNEY CHARLES (Trinidad and Tobago), supporting the statements made on behalf
of the Group of 77 and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said that gender equality
and empowerment of women were a priority for his country, which remained committed
to fully implementing the Beijing Platform for Action, as well as all other relevant human
rights instruments to which it was a State party. Its obligations under those instruments
were fulfilled domestically through legislation targeting discrimination and violence
against women, as well as legislation protecting the rights of women related to
matrimony, legal aid, maternity, co-habitational relationships, occupational safety and
health. A Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development integrates gender issues
into national policy in all areas.

As part of efforts to ensure that women contributed to national development, free

education was available; women graduates of secondary school and college now
exceeded men in number. Women and girls also benefitted extensively from training,
health programmes and initiatives for working mothers. In international forums, Trinidad
and Tobago had launched programmes advancing women’s leadership on a range of
issues, and the Government endeavoured to increase women’s participation in all areas
and levels of public life, as well as in the private sector, through gender awareness
training and monitoring progress. The mass media in the country play an important role
in promoting respect between the sexes and fostering gender equality. He called on all
Member States to strive to remove all forms of discrimination that prevent women and
girls from enjoying their inalienable human rights.

YANA BOIKO ( Ukraine) said the establishment of UN-Women demonstrated the

significant credibility and great expectations of Member States toward empowering
women and meeting their needs globally. As a representative on UN-Women’s
Executive Board, Ukraine worked with other Member States to reduce gender inequality
in every sphere of life. The Beijing Conference and the General Assembly’s twenty-third
special session reinforced the implementation of a gender policy in Ukraine. The country
had completed all tasks included within the provisions of the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women and had an institutional mechanism on
gender equality. As gender equality was a main component of Ukraine’s social and
economic reforms, a representative on protecting children’s rights, equality and non-
discrimination had been appointed.

All United Nations bodies should be involved in empowering women, she said. UNDP
and others supported a project for equal opportunities and women’s rights in Ukraine.
Noting the importance of the Secretary-General’s event “Every woman, every child”,
which dealt with maternal and child health, she fully supported initiatives to end violence
against women, and trafficking in women and girls in particular, including the
establishment of a working group on discrimination against women. There was an urgent
need to strengthen women’s rights in rural areas, whose priorities were insufficiently
addressed and who faced serious challenges in carrying out their multiple productive and
reproductive roles. The rights of women migrant workers should also be strengthened, as
they faced unique challenges in the migration process. In closing, she reaffirmed
Ukraine’s commitment toward ensuring for women, their families and their children
healthy and worthy conditions for their steady advancement.

ESHAGH AL-HABIB ( Iran) said UN-Women would only be efficient when national
strategies were based on respecting the religious, national and cultural diversities of
different nations. It should not follow a ready-made model, but rather achieve consensus
on preparing strategies, plans and programmes. It also must develop new parameters for
inclusion of equitable geographical distribution and technical expertise in its work and
composition. Noting that Iran had hosted the Third Ministerial Conference of
Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on women’s role in development, he said
rural women had a critical role in poverty reduction, food security and environmental
sustainability.

Thus, the “Rio+20” Summit should help accelerate their empowerment, he said. As for
eliminating violence against women in all its forms, he underlined the importance of a
holistic approach that considered the situation in the national, regional and international
context, as well as the root cause of the violence. In Iran, women’s issues had been
mainstreamed across all sectors. The Government was developing expertise in all
ministries, as well as in national mechanisms for women’s empowerment, and had
established gender-responsive budgeting to ensure that adequate resources were
allocated. Among other gains, he noted that women’s participation in senior-level
decision-making had increased, with the appointment of four women as Cabinet
members.

ZWELETHU MNISI ( Swaziland) said that, recognized as equal citizens in his country,
women were committed to their human rights without undermining their role in the
family. Because of his country’s “rich cultural heritage and valuable principles”, women
were held in high esteem and regarded as the basic pillar in their society. Further, the
Constitution guaranteed the rights and freedoms of women, providing them with the right
to equal treatment and equal opportunities in political, economic and social activities.
Strides in policy, legislation and programmatic interventions had also been made in
improving the lives of women, among others, the Deeds Registry Act, passed by
Parliament this past July, which allowed women to register property in their own names
even if married in community of property.

On a regional level, and in line with the African Union’s Declaration of 2010 to 2020 as
the African Women’s Decade, his country had launched the Swaziland Women’s Decade
Road Map which contained 10 themes, including economic empowerment, health, peace
and security (including violence against women), and women in decision-making
positions, to name a few. Still, many challenges remained, with women bearing the brunt
of the prevailing economic and financial crises, which was currently resulting in the
worst levels of unemployment, poverty and hunger. Further, the HIV and AIDS
epidemic had also compounded the responsibilities of women, as they bore the “greater
burden of care giving in the home”. Concluding, he expressed appreciation for the
assistance provided by development partners and reported that, in recognizing the role
rural women played in development, a number of programmes were already in place to
facilitate projects initiated by rural women, including saving and credit co-operatives
designed to cater to their financial needs.
CHARLES T. NTWAAGAE ( Botswana) said since the 1995 Beijing Conference, his
country had made significant progress in promoting gender equality by creating a policy
environment that promoted it. Guided by the Anti-Discrimination Convention, the
SADC Declaration on Gender and Development, as well as its National Vision 2016,
among other frameworks, Botswana had taken initiatives to review laws, policies and
administrative procedures that had consequently impacted positively on the status of
women. Also, the country had demonstrated a strong political commitment to gender
equality, as reflected by appointments of women to cabinet and senior positions in the
public service, and the establishment of a department to coordinate the implementation of
Government policy on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Botswana strongly condemned all forms of violence against women and girls, and had in
that regard significantly strengthened law enforcement capacity, he said. Ending
violations of women’s human rights was, thus, a moral imperative and one that had to be
fought collectively. He said Botswana had made progress in addressing violence against
women and the girl child, and the adoption of the Domestic Violence Act of 2008 was a
reflection of the Government’s commitment and determination to eliminate such
violence. Progressive legislation and policy reforms would not, by themselves, fully
address the problem of gender-based violence, however, and it was, therefore, important
to expand the quality of support for effective prevention and support programmes on the
ground. In that regard, Botswana valued the continued support and collaboration the
country had with the relevant United Nations agencies and development partners.

AMIRA DALI(Tunisia), noting that her country had adopted a range of legislation to
ensure women’s parity with men, drew attention to the personal status code, which was
enacted in 1956 and promoted women’s advancement and the protection of their rights.
That accord addressed many things, including the prohibition of polygamy and the
grounds for divorce. Today, Tunisian women contributed to politics and trade unions,
and were involved in the process of writing a new State constitution. Recognizing that
the protection of women’s rights was a key both to the future and to economic process,
the interim Government had taken a number of a measures to protects the gains that had
been made in that regard.

She said the Ministry of Women, together with the interim Government, had established
a group of specialists on violence against women. Recently a decision was taken to
launch campaigns on behalf of women. Concerted efforts were now needed to bring
about a political transition that ensured the will of the people and Tunisian women had
proved their strengths in that regard, providing critical support in building a society for
tomorrow.

Right of Reply

Speaking in exercise of the right of reply to earlier comments from the Republic of
Korea, Japan’s representative said the situation of “war-time conflict women” was a
grave affront to a large number of women, and his Government had extended its
apologies to those who had suffered incredible pain and psychological wounds.
However, the issue of reparations had been legally settled, including through bilateral
agreements. Together with its people, the Japanese Government had jointly established
the Asian Women’s Fund in 1995 to facilitate support for former comfort women, who
by then had reached advanced ages. The Government had extended maximum support,
including a provision of atonement money. Moreover, Japan had been facing up to its
past with sincerity and consistency since the end of the Second World War, and had
consistently dedicated itself to promoting peace and security and demonstrating its
respect for human rights.

In response, the representative of the Republic of Korea expressed disagreement with the
argument that all issues had been legally settled, specifically stressing that actions that
may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity had not been settled by bilateral
agreements. Therefore, the legal responsibility of the Japanese Government remained in
effect. He drew attention, in that regard, to the 1996 report of then-Special Rapporteur on
violence against women, its causes and consequences Radhika Coomaraswamy, and the
1998 report of Special Rapporteur Gay J. McDougall on contemporary forms of slavery.

He said his Government had proposed the initiation of bilateral consultations to resolve
the issue of comfort women in accordance with the agreement concerning the settlement
of problems in regard to property and claims and economic cooperation between their
governments.

Responding, Japan’s representative said he had explained his Government’s position and
he would not repeat it here.
The representative of the Republic of Korea said that in addition to the two reports from
the Special Rapporteurs, he wished to remind Member States of other reports of
international treaty bodies, including the 2007 report of the Committee against Torture
and the 2009 report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against W