Sommaire: EU Presidency Statement - Commission on the Status of Women (New York, 27 February 2006)
Commission on the Status of Women; Statement by Ms. Maria RAUCH-KALLAT, Austrian Federal Minister for Health and Women, on behalf of the European Union.
Mme. Chair,
I have the honour to make this statement in the name of the European Union. The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia* , the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.
Let me, Mme. Chair, congratulate you and the other members of the bureau on assuming the important duty of presiding over this Commission. I would like to assure you of the full cooperation of the EU in this endeavour.
"Progress for women is progress for all". This declaration resonates from the outcome document of the 2005 World Summit. It was unanimously subscribed to by world leaders and substantiated by a number of important commitments for the advancement of women. It is important to note that the declaration constitutes an integral part of the reform agenda of the United Nations. Regarding the establishment of the UN Peacebuilding Commission as mandated by the World Summit of September 2005, the
European Union wishes to underline the important role of women in peace building processes. Let me add that during the negotiations, the EU argued for the need to involve a gender expert in the country specific consultations of the Commission. The EU will continue to stress that this expertise must be available to the Commission in the Peace Building support office.
"Women, Peace and Security": What began as a bold initiative at the grassroots level in order to empower women and girls in situations of conflict led to a landmark Security Council resolution in the year 2000. Today we can look back at three subsequent Presidential Statements and a System-wide Action Plan for Implementing Security Council Resolution 1325 for the years 2005-2007. "Responsibility, accountability, commitment" - are the key issues reflected in all of these documents. Increased
attention is given to the integration of a gender perspective into activities related to peace building including the consultation of women's groups and networks. Let us hope that the statistics counting women and girls primarily as victims of conflicts will henceforth shift to counting them as leaders in peace and reconstruction processes.
"CEDAW - a record number of ratifications": One hundred and eighty States are now party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. It has thus become the treaty with the second highest number of ratifications. The number of the States parties to its Optional Protocol has reached seventy-six. The Committee has consequently received a record number of reports and completed its first inquiry under article 8 of the Optional Protocol. In view of this enormous
work load the EU welcomes the temporary authorization of three annual sessions for the Committee. The extension of the meeting time demonstrates the importance which Member States attach to the Convention. This decision should enable the Committee to consider all reports submitted for review in due time.
Mme. Chair,
I have just outlined three examples that illustrate the steady progress in the UN of the issue of the empowerment of women. And there are many more worth mentioning. The Commission on the Status of Women has been the motor which - over the last fifty years - energized the machinery of women's rights within the United Nations. The Commission on the Status of Women has drawn its power from its intense cooperation between gender experts representing governments, activists from a vast scope of
women's NGOs, academic gender experts presenting their findings on panels and in background documents and representatives from various bodies of the UN system. Let me, at this juncture, thank you, Ms. Mayanja and Ms. Hannan, as well as all the other members of the UN Secretariat and their predecessors, who over the last fifty years, have serviced this commission with such expertise and dedication. We owe you gratitude and would like to celebrate this session with you and our partners in a
spirit of pride and optimism.
Let us also use the precious time of this year´s session to carefully draft our new Multi-year Programme of Work and to update our methods of work. The full implementation of the results of the Beijing World Conference on Women must be our ultimate goal in this endeavour. We will continue to use the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome of the twenty-third UN General Assembly special session as the bedrock for the work of the Commission in the upcoming years. We therefore
warmly welcome the report by the Secretary General on this issue and look forward to engaging in the discussions on this important plan for the next few years. Ample space should be given to the review of our commitments, best practice models and the exchange of lessons learned in the implementation of the outcome of the Beijing World Conference on Women. We will maintain an open dialogue with NGOs active for the advancement of women.
Mme. Chair,
The EU will engage in the negotiations on the two sets of agreed conclusions with an open spirit: "Enhanced participation of women in development: an enabling environment for achieving gender equality and the advancement of women, taking into account, inter alia, the fields of education, health and work". The EU is particularly interested in what constitutes an "enabling environment" for achieving gender equality. Legal and regulatory frameworks certainly play an important role in shaping this
environment. However, discriminatory practices and traditional and stereotyped attitudes may not have changed as quickly as these frameworks have. When addressing this gap we should pay special attention to the eradication of violence against women and girls, education, sensitization and the need to involve men and boys in the implementation of our commitments.
Almost a decade ago, the Commission adopted a well-balanced set of agreed conclusions on the issue of "Women in power and decision-making". In the coming days we will again have the opportunity to take stock of progress made in the area of "equal participation of women and men in decision-making at all levels". Let me thank the experts who participated in the preparatory meeting for their excellent work which, together with the outcome of the panel discussion, will greatly assist us in our
deliberations. The EU appreciates that in the preparatory meeting much light was shed on the critical topic of women´s participation in political structures. We would like to stress, however, that more research will have to be done on the question of women´s equal access to and full participation in the economy, the media, NGO´s or the private sector. The collection of comparable data disaggregated by sex should be encouraged. We should study the inter-linkages between women´s political and
economic empowerment and the impact of women´s participation in the conduct of economic and political institutions, the media or the management of our environment. We should also encourage the exchange of best practices.
Mme. Chair,
The EU strongly supports the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Beijing + 5 Political Declaration and Outcome Document of the twenty-third Special Session of the General Assembly of the UN as well as the Political Declaration adopted by the 49th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. The EU is committed to the full and effective implementation of these documents and has created numerous mechanisms to promote the principle of gender equality and the empowerment of
women. Our strategy to achieve gender equality combines gender mainstreaming and specific actions wherever they are needed. It is in this context that I would like to highlight the following three initiatives:
In 2004, a database on "Women and men in decision-making" was launched by the EU Commission. It gives a comparative overview of women and men´s participation in decision-making in EU institutions, Member States, EEA countries and applicant countries at both the European and national level. The scope of the project covers three broad domains: The political sphere, the public and the judicial sector, the social and the economic arena. The database is an important source of information for
policy-makers, researchers, students and all those interested in knowing the state of play in decision-making.
The EU is committed to improving the situation of women in line with the goals defined in the Beijing Platform for Action, both within Europe itself and at a global level. It regularly assesses progress in meeting its commitments on the basis of a set of core indicators covering the objectives agreed in Beijing - notably on the economy and decision-making, but also on important issues such as "violence against women" or "sexual harassment in the workplace". Furthermore, the Austrian
EU-Presidency has just proposed a set of indicators concerning the critical area of "women´s health".
In 2004 the European Council decided on the creation of an Institute for Gender Equality. This institution should be up and running in 2007. It will be responsible for, inter alia, the collection, recording and dissemination of information and data regarding gender equality. It will stimulate research and the exchange of experiences by organising conferences, campaigns and seminars.
Mme. Chair,
We believe that it is imperative to eradicate violence against women and girls in all its forms and await with great anticipation the comprehensive report of the UN Secretary-General which will be presented to the General Assembly later this year. We wish to emphasise that gender equality can not be achieved without guaranteeing women´s sexual and reproductive health and rights as set out in the ICPD Programme of Action. Expanding access to sexual and reproductive health information and health
services are essential for achieving the Beijing Platform for Action, the Cairo Programme of Action and the Millennium Development Goals.
It is in this context, Mme. Chair, that I would like to draw your attention to an issue that is of particular concern to me as the Austrian Federal Minister for Women and Health: Countless women and girls all over the world, including Europe, suffer from the effects of harmful customary or traditional practices, including female genital mutilation, forced or underage marriages and crimes committed in the name of honour. I am fully aware of the extremely complex background of these practices and
the need to approach this vast area of action in cooperation with all actors concerned. This is why I founded a "Network Against Harmful Traditions" at a ministerial conference which was held in Brussels on 25 January, 2006. The Network will serve as an international platform bringing together representatives of governments, NGOs and relevant professional groups. It will focus on ways and means to eradicate harmful traditional practices by, inter alia, the collection of data, specific training,
awareness campaigns and the protection of victims. The network will also stimulate the exchange of best practices. It is my sincere hope that this initiative will enable vulnerable women and girls to fully enjoy their human rights.
Mme. Chair,
I would like to conclude by wishing you and the other members of the bureau success in presiding over this important session. The EU will do its utmost to contribute to a constructive debate and a rich outcome of this session.
Thank you for your attention.
*The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process
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