Sommaire: October 14, 2003: Statement by Prof. Mario Serio, Chief of Cabinet Ministry of Equal Opportunities of Italy, on behalf of the European Union. Sixth Committee - SECOND COMMITTEE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION Item 93 (New York)
Mr. Chairman,
I have the honor to take the floor on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, and the Associated Countries Romania and Turkey align themselves to this statement.
The EU considers that peace, security, stability and respect for human rights and fundamental freedom are essential for the achievement of sustainable development. The EU will continue to make efforts to ensure a balance between economic and social development and environmental protection as interdependent and reinforcing pillars of sustainable development, bearing in mind three overarching objectives identified in the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development: poverty eradication,
changing unsustainable consumption and production patterns and protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development.
Item 93 a) Women in development
Mr Chairman,
The EU is strongly committed to the promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment including through development cooperation and partnership. We believe that gender equality is of fundamental importance for the achievement of sustainable development and eradication of poverty. The EU considers that gender perspective must be mainstreamed in all policies at the national, regional and international levels, as well as, in all the activities and bodies of the United Nations.
In this respect, the EU welcomes the ECOSOC decision to devote its coordination segment 2004 to a review and appraisal of the system-wide implementation of its agreed conclusions 1997/2 on gender-mainstreaming. In addition, high priority should be placed on monitoring the implementation of existing gender policies to ensure that best practices are identified and replicated. In this regard, more work has to be done to produce gender disaggregated data and statistics.
The crucial importance of promoting gender equality in the effort to pursue sustainable development is clearly reflected in the Millennium Declaration. That document sets priorities and targets aimed to promote gender equality and empowerment of women. In particular education is fundamental in this regard. Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and in all levels of education not later than 2015 is a prerequisite for the successful fight against poverty and
hunger.
In this connection, we are convinced that proper access to education remains fundamental. The positive correlation between women's educational levels, income, age at birth of a first child and child-bearing generally, has been firmly established. Unless women's and girls' capabilities opportunities and security are improved and gender equality increased, the other Millennium Development Goals will not be achieved.
Unfortunately, as reflected in the recent report of the SG the overall improvement in gender equality is slow, particularly in the area of political empowerment. In spite of the different measures taken at the global, regional and national level, there is an urgent need to readdress gender imbalances, which continue to persist and to do so more effectively and efficiently.
According to the Human Development Report issued in 2003 the progress in achieving the gender issue goal is still very limited in developing countries. In a number of developing countries the mortality rates of women remain high, gender gap in primary and secondary education are still a problem as well as discrimination in access to employment, health care and social and political participation. The Report also underlines a particular vulnerability of women to HIV/AIDS. Young women would be two
to four times more likely than young men to become infected.
Mr. Chairman,
The Union believes that the responsibility to improve decisively the gender gap is first and foremost with the governments. The full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms is essential for the empowerment of women, and it is the duty of all States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms. Women's equal rights to education, to a professional career, to participate in politics, are not a
threat to men. The absence of these rights is a threat to the progress of mankind.
Mr. Chairman,
Poverty continues to affect the capacity of many developing countries to provide and expand proper access to health care especially for women. Health policies should recognize the special health needs of women and girls, including sexual and reproductive health care. Adequate attention to the health condition of women as recipients of health services is crucial in achieving at least three of the Millennium Goals: reduce child mortality, improve maternal health and combatting HIV/AIDS.
Violence against women and girls, whether occurring in public, private life or in armed conflict situation is still a serious human rights issue. The EU urges all the states to implement coordinated multidisciplinary approach to respond to violence in particular against women. Such strategies should include the health system, workplaces, the media, the education system as well as the justice system, including increased attention to ending impunity for crimes against women in situations of armed
conflict and post-conflict situations and to combat trafficking in women and forced prostitution worldwide.
We also believe that there is an urgent need to address women's economic and social rights. All states should meet decent standards in equal access to and control over economic resources and equality in employment. The economic role of women, crucial in order to achieve sustainable development and to foster economic growth, should be fully recognized and promoted. Although women play a predominant role in agriculture production, in many developing countries, they still lack equal access to and
control over resources and secure land rights. In this regard the Union supports the global campaign for secure tenure launched by Habitat. Too often the challenge of gaining access to property, credit and extension services is greater for women who are still the victims of discrimination. Strengthening the empowerment of women in the economic and social fields is the only way to properly combat the feminisation of poverty.
In this respect, we also believe that particular attention should be drawn to gender perspectives in all aspects of the preparation of the World Summit on the Information Society, to ensure that gender inequalities related to ICT are identified and addressed at the national level, and that women are empowered to take full advantage of ICT.
The EU is aware of the role that the international community should play to provide proper technical and economic assistance to and strengthen capacity in developing countries, especially to LDCs, in order to help their gender mainstreaming efforts within policies and programmes at regional and country levels. Gender mainstreaming is an essential part and a guiding principle of the European Community Development Co-operation policy aimed to foster sustainable development and to eradicate
poverty in developing countries.
Mr. Chairman,
Participation of women in development also means participation in decision-making processes at all levels, including political participation. Without appropriate representation and political participation by women it will be difficult to overcome the structural obstacles to the improvement of their overall condition. Women must be allowed to participate in the political life of their countries including being also able to have equal access to elected posts.
Mr Chairman,
The goal to reduce gender disparities in developing countries is an enormous task that needs appropriate methodologies and policies. In order to tackle this issue, Member States of the UN should seek the integration of gender equality perspectives, including protection of the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by women, in all aspects of the work of this organization. We recognize that successful approaches to gender mainstreaming have been developed, but more work has
to be done to strengthen the incorporation of gender perspectives in policy frameworks at the national and international levels. In this context, we note with satisfaction that this year for the first time the chairperson of the commission on Human Rights addressed the forty-seventh session of the Commission on the status of women stressing the importance of a real co-operation and consensus on gender equality and women's human rights. We fully share the convictions of this statement because we
strongly believe that promoting effectively women empowerment is to promote sustainable development and poverty eradication.
Item 93c) Migration and Development
Mr Chairman,
Migration flows are with no doubt a phenomenon on the rise. According to the data of the UN population division in the last few decades the number of migrants in the world has more than doubled, 175 millions people are currently residing in a country other than where they were born. The more developed countries receive each year about 2.3 millions migrants coming from the less developed regions, accounting for two thirds of their population growth.
The growing migration flows are of course, to a considerable degree, the result of the globalisation process. With an easier movement of capitals and goods, greater human mobility is also to be expected. But unfortunately too often this mobility is not the result of a free choice.
Although the linkage between migration and development are extremely complex we believe that it is very important to seek to make the option of remaining in ones own country available for all people. In other words we are convinced that migration should be a free choice more than a desperate escape from poverty and oppressive political and social conditions. In this context the EU calls for strengthened international co-operation in the area of international migration and development in order
to address the root causes of migration, especially those related to poverty and political instability. In this context due consideration must be given to the legitimate interests of the destination countries for migrants.
International migration issues needs to be integrated in a more coherent way within a broader context of economic environmental and social development frameworks, especially when designing strategies and programmes for development. Such programmes in developing countries of origin can be geared to maximize the benefits that international migration can generate. In this context the negative impact of the brain drain on economic growth potential of countries of origin should be taken into
account. On the other hand, "brain gain" resulting from migration of qualified experts from and to developing countries (that is sometimes called "brain circulation") should also be taken into consideration.
Mr Chairman,
Migrating in search of a better life could be a natural and positive practice bringing benefits for both countries of origin and for the host countries. In recent years however the continuous spread of poverty, political instability, armed conflict, the abuse of human rights have made migration the last desperate hope for millions of people. In this context transnational organized criminal groups have developed highly sophisticated networks to smuggle immigrants, trafficking in women and
children, exploiting human misery and making sizeable criminal profits in the process.
As part of a common policy on immigration the EU is in the process of adopting a common policy to fight against illegal immigration and trafficking of human beings in the European Union. We are determined to fight unscrupulous networks, often linked to organized crime, take outrageous advantage of human misery. In this regard the EU welcomes the adoption of the Convention of the UN against transnational organized crime and in particular of the two protocols against trafficking in human beings,
especially women and children, and against the smuggling of migrants. Since 2000 more than 120 countries have signed the Convention with the two protocols, very recently the convention received its 40th ratification allowing it to enter into force on 29 September 2003. The Convention is the first international instruments against transnational crime and international trafficking of human beings aiming at preventing and combating this problem.
Migration and asylum have occupied an increasingly prominent place on the political agenda of the EU and its member states over the last three years. Following the Amsterdam treaty, which entered into force in 1999, efforts by the EU have been devoted to the development of common policies in the field of asylum and migration.
The EU is committed to the establishment of a common policy on matters relating to migration and population movements within the Union. This set of common policies on asylum and migration, including criteria for granting refugee status, minimum reception standards related to third country nationals who are long-term residents, is aimed at the establishment of an area of freedom, security and justice. Our region is to be an open, controllable area, based on European principles of openness,
liberty, hospitality, solidarity, non-discrimination, respect for human rights and human dignity.
The EU recognizes migrants positive economic, social and cultural contribution both to both their host country and countries of origin. We are committed to make the EU a space where human rights and dignity are considered fundamental principles unconditional and universally recognized. In this context we would like to reaffirm our strong condemnation against every display of racism, xenophobia, intolerance and discrimination against all individuals including migrants. We consider racism and
racial discrimination as grave violations of human rights and a threat to democratic societies, fundamental freedoms and values, and to peace and security. In this context we would like to reaffirm the commitments made in occasion of the world conference against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance held in Durban in 2001.
Migration is an extremely complex phenomenon and we recognize the need for a better understanding of migration patterns especially regarding their impact on development.
In this context we believe that the UN have a pivotal role in pursuing and broadening its efforts to collect reliable data on international migration. Thus we welcome and encourage the work of the Commission on Human Rights, United Nations Population Fund and International Labour Organization and the population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affaires.
Mr Chairman,
The EU takes note of the recent initiative launched by some member states aimed to constitute a Global Commission on International Migration as an independent body of eminent personalities with the task of analysing the phenomena and providing recommendations. We believe that this initiative will provide a very useful contribution to the debate, reinforcing the importance of migration on the international agenda.
Item 93 d) Implementation of the Declaration on International Economic Cooperation, in particular the Revitalization of Economic Growth and Development of the Developing Countries, and implementation of the International Development Strategy for the fourth UN Development Decade.
Mr. Chairman,
Concerning all issues relating to sustainable development including international economic cooperation our attention is now focussed on the follow up of the outcomes of the major UN Conferences and Summits including the UN Millennium Summit and the Millennium Declaration. In this context, bearing in mind the importance of the simplification of the agenda of the Second Committee, and while reaffirming the importance we attach to the dialogue on development, we consider it is no longer necessary
to have this item on the agenda of the GA.
Thank You.
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