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Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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Beijing and After

Action agreed

The Fourth UN world Conference on Women ended recently on a note of success. But as Ajoa Yeboah-Afari who was in Beijing reports, what remains is for individual governements to implement the Conference's Platform For Action

A
CTIVISTS FOR women's rights will be paying particular attention to the current 50th anniversary session of the United Nations, in New York. Fresh from the Fourth UN World Conference on Women, in Beijing China, they will be eagerly watching to see the fate of the Beijing recommendations for the advancement of women, known as the "Platform For Action".

The 150-page document identifies the problems that hinder women's progress, and suggest remedial actions to be taken. A report of the conference, together with the platform, is to be presented to the UN Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros Ghali. One of the main recoomendations is that the UN should establish a high office to monitor the implementation of the platform. It was also recommended that the general asse mbly should review the progress of the implementation three times before the year 2000.
The platform is the result of the three previous conferences - Mexico City, 1975; Copenhagen, 1980; and Nairo 1985. But in spite of that, consensus was reached in Beiji ng evidently with difficulty and "reservations". Thus it was that on the last day of the conference September 15, it was not until 8pm - with the closing ceremony at least four hours behind schdule - that the Secretary-General of the women's conference Tan zanian diplomat Gertrude Mongella, was able to pronounce: "We have made it! ... it is a wonderful feeling ... We now have in our hands the mandate for which we have been working; our legitimate basis to demand change. Our Platform for Action which reprents a global consensus for social change cannot now be hiden away and allowed to collect dust."
Yet, in spite of her exuberance, scores of countries had, even as they expressed agreement with the body of the document, stated their reservations about some aspects. However, the dissent caused little surprise, since it came mainly from the 'traditional' dissenters, the Holy See, and the Islamic countries, notably those practising Sharia Law. Their reservations had to do with section C of the platform - on health, ecompassing sexual rights, contraception, abortion, and sexual orientation.

The objective of the conference, held September 4 to 15, had been to debate and adopt the draft platform "aimed at establishing a basic group of priority actions that should be caried out during the next five years." Some 17000 participants took part in th e deliberations at the Beijing International Convention Centre, including 6000 delegates from 189 countries . And on hand to record it for posterity were about 4000 media personnel.

The conference broke into two groups which tackled various themes, for presentation to the plenary session, chaired by Patricia B. Licuanan of the Philippines Working Group, chaired by Ghanaian Nana Amma Yeboaa, considered Health, the Media, the Girl Child , as well as institutional arrangements. Working Group 11, under Irene Freudenschuss-Reichl, of Austria, discussed Poverty, Violence, Armed Conflicts and the Environment.
The draft platform called on governments, the international community and civil so ciety - including non-governmental organisations and the private sector - to take strategic action in 12 critical areas of concern: the persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women; unequal access to, or inadequate, educational and training opportu nities of good quality at all levels; inequalities in health care and related services; all forms of violence against women and the girl child, as well as the effects of persecution and armed or other kinds of conflict on women.

Others were, inequality in women's access to and participation in the definition of economic structures and policies, and the productive process itself; inequality between men and women in the sharing of power and decision-making at all levels; insuficient mechanisms at all levels t o promote the advancement of women; promotions and protection of all human rights of women; women and the media; women and the environment; (persistent discrimination against and violation of the rights of) (survival, protection and development of) the gir l child. The bracketed text indicated areas of disagreement among the delegates.

The conference was preceded by a parallel meeting by independent, grassroots organisatios, the Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO) Forum, which had an unprecedented attendance of about 30,000 from all the corners of the weorld. However, the NGO Forum (Augu st 30 - September 8) was dogged by controversy from the start, the first being the decision of the Chinese government to locate it at Huairou, a town some 55 kilometres from B einjing, instead of having it at the same venue, or in the same city as the main conference.

Ostensibly Huairou was chosen to provide better space for the forum, but considering its distance and the fact that it took one hour to drive there from Beijing, the NGOs protested, but to no avail. There was speculation that the hosts were anxious to put a distance between the NGOs and the main conference because of fear of NGO demonstrations and other freedom of expression activities especially as Chinese Prime Mi nister, Li Peng, had allegedly been heckled by some NGOs when he attended the UN World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, last March.

The controversy heightened when Chinese security agents allegedly began harrassing some of the NGOs, intimidating them and preventing them from embarking on demonstrations. This abated somewhat following formal complaint by the NGO leadership to the Chines e authorities. The harrassment confirmed the fears of critics of the UN decision to hold the conference in Beiji ng. Critics had been especially concerned about China's human rights record, a factor which had led to more controversy when the US First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton decided to attend the conference. They had expected her to boycott it as a pointed gestur e of diapproval.

In the event, Mrs Clinton did go to Beijing, but she took the opportunity to speak strongly against abuse of human rights, stressing among other things: "If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, it is that human righ ts are women's rights ... and women's rights are human rights..let us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely. And the right to be heard ... Freedom means the right of people to assemble, organize, and debate openly..."

After the forum ended hundreds of NGOs stayed on in Beijing to hone their lobbying strategies and try to influence delegates of the conference with their proposals for the Platform. but they didn't rest there; they started an initiative to study the statem ents being made in the plenary by the various governments recording the pledges and promises being made, so that they could hold the governments to the commitements made. It was an indication of the differing needs of the countries that while, for example, Cote d'Ivo ire pledged to reduce school fees and give free text books so that girls' enrolment would go up by 100 per cent, Austria pledged to make it an obligation to share household, childrearing and caring tasks as part of marriage and family law.

Women constitute 70 per cent of the world's poor and with poverty being at the top of the 12 critical areas, the presence of World Bank President, James Wolfen-sohn was a great boost to the conference. At a meeting with the NGO lobbying group, Mr. Wolfen-sohn was thrown a n unexpected challenge by a participant from Trinidad and Tobabgo, Hazel Mediva, who introduced herself as "a structurally adjusted youth". She asked him to keep a date with her on the last day of his term of office to assess how the situation of women and the poor would have changed under him. Wolfen-sohn agreed and shook hands with Mediva to seal the date, against the background of cheers and applause.

In an address to the conerence, Wolfen-sohn stated, "I come here today to join those who have called for action - and to commit the World Bank to action - which will enable women everywhere to realise their potential, to improve their quality of life, and thus to build a better world for us all." He said despite progress over the last two decades, the harsh reality was that women were more likely to be worse off than their male counterparts. "...All the evidence tells us that not to empower wo-men is a tragically missed opportunity." He gave an assurance that the Bank would support the fight for equity, and c ould be counted upon to support women's initiatives.

The theme of the conference was "Action for Equality, Development and Peace." building on the "Forward Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women" formulated in Nairobi in 1985. Mrs Mongella stressed repeatedly that the operative word was action , but not just governmental action; every participant would be expected to act or help set in motion measures towards realisation of the empowerment of women.
Like many UN conferences, there has been a lot of scepticism about Beijing, questions about its usefulness. 'Did it achieve anyuthing?' is a question often asked. To this, perhaps the counter question should be, 'do UN conferences ever achieve anything?' O bviously they do, so why should a women's conferen ce be any different? Is there perhaps a hint of sexism in such questions? For, the sheer numbers and the representation of UN member governments debating the issues with passion - even if negative passion, in some cases - was important to the cause of impr oving the situation of half the world's population.

Nana Amma Yeboaa told West Africa that for her the most important result of the conference for Africa, was the introduction by the African group of the concept of the Girl Child in the draft platform. Sai d she: "Women's problems start in early infancy because of some cultural laws, and family or social attitude. We have highlighted the problems of the girl child, who is the woman of the future, and I believe that if this gets into the literature, and gover nments are sensitised, then the target of ensuring that women are given equal opportunities in all respects will be achievable."

She explained that governments are required to put the issue of gender, the girl child, in all their programmes and policies. T he significance of the Platform for Action, Nana Yeboaa said, is that like all other conventions adopted by the UN, governments have to ratify it and make it a part of their national planning. "The real significance is that you can take the document and se nsitise somebody, that this is what has been done, and get them to help implement it."

In a speech read for him, UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali, who was unable to attend the conference owing to ill-health, pledged to ensure that the equal rights of men and women enshrined in the UN charter would become a reality. He noted that the platform is a powerful agenda for the empowerment of women, and "[it] must be our guide and constant point of reference. I ask that it receive wide dissemination globally, re- gion-ally and locally ... and it must be further strengthened, as needed, to take account of new developments as they emerge."

Noting that the platform places heavy responsibilities on the UN, and poses a challenge to the capacity and commitment of the org anisation, he added: "As secretary-general, I accept that challenge. I will ensure that the recommendations addressed to me are implemented swiftly and effectively."

Encouraging words. But nobody doubted the truth in Mrs Mongel-la's statement when, in her closing address, she said: "Friends, the Fourth World Conference on Women is concluded but the real work of transforming words into action is only now beginning."
Critics of the Platform for Action find it too general, since it seems to leave generous room for different interpretations of the recommendations by the various governments.



Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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Slow march on the women's front

Bernadette Cole in Beijing presents the views articulated by some of Africa's representatives

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IBERIA: Amelia Ward, Minister of Pl anning & Economic Affairs: "In many developing countries, it is often said that women are successful, powerful and suffer no discrmination vis-a-vis their men. While this may be true for educated women, and the few who have received political prominence, t he majority, including those in Liberia are illiterate, earn little or no income and are over-burdened by work. They do not own or iherit property, have little control over their lives and are ignored in the planning process. Liberian women hope this confe rence will alter their lives positively, after six years of war."

BURKINA FASO: Gaetan R. Ouedraogo, Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso to the UN: "Despite the progress made, the task of achieving equality, development and peace is colossal. In Burkina Faso, women account for 51.1 per cent of the population. They have participa ted in the country's development efforts. Yet, they face obstacles in the areas of health care, education, employment and food security. In the preparation of development projec ts, women's component has not always been taken into account. The central question in Beijing is how to put fine words into action. The commitment made will only have impact if they are accompanied by action at the international and national levels."

COTE D'IVOIRE: Hepie Albertine Gina-zan, Minister for the Family and for the Promotion of Women: "Although some progress has been achieved in the economic and social integration of women, in most cases, particularly in Africa, women have seen their living condi tions worsen. Women in Africa constitute the bulk of displaced persons.
Women throughout the world would have their eyes on us. Will we be satisfied with diagnosing the problems without resolving the controversial question of how to obtain the means to implement corrctive action? Unless the needs of the heavily indebted countr ies are addressed, plans to improve the status of women in such countries will have no effect."

GHANA: Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawl-ings, First Lady of Ghana: "Notwithstanding the progress that has been made in terms of global blueprints for promoting women's welfare, the plight of women worldwide remains, in many respects, a tragedy.

The raw statistics are stark, bleak and painful. Measured by almost all criteria, in practically all areas of human endeavour, women remain the most deprived, most discriminated against, the most powerless in each country.

"In every conflict situation, be it Angola, Bosnia or Somalia, Rwanda or Liberia, it is always the women who bear the brunt of the suffering . The legacies of cruel socio-cultural practices and prejudices which humiliate women and deny them their most basic rights, worsen the situation. It is in the small towns and villages of the rural areas, within developing countries, that the plight of wom en can be seen most vividly. The ravages of malnutrition, disease, illiteracy, unemployment and absolute povery, take a heavy toll.
"Unless developing countries earn fairer prices for their primary commodity exports, have easier access to the markets of th e developed countries, and are given substantial relief from the crushing burden of external indebtedness, all the measures we take at the national, sub-regional and reginal levels to improve women's welfare can only achieve limited success."

SIERRA LEONE: Dr Bailah Leigh, Under-Secretary of State, Department of Social Services with responsibility for women's Affairs: "Over the last 10 to 15 years, Sierra Leone witnessed the shrinking of its GNP considerably, compared to general world trend. The economy, in frastructure, education, health and social services had virtually collapsed. In addition to these problems, four years ago, the RUF waged war on the people of Sierra Leone. This has adversely affected every aspect of national life. Innocent civilians are t he targets in the armed conflict. Those affected most are women of all ages and children. In its bid to end this senseless carnage, government has offered unconditional peace negotiations with the rebels, but there has been no response while the destructio n countinues. According to the recent Human Development Report, life expectancy is now 17 years longer than in 1960. One is however tempted to ask, what quality of longer life are we expecting when trade barriers cost developing countries $40bn a year inlo st export revenues; when more than three-fourths of the world's population live in developing countries but only 16 per cent of humanity enjoy the world's income, and 85 per cent of global income is enjoyed by the richest 20 per cent; when private investme nt flows to developing countries increased from $5bn to $160bn between between 1970 and 1993, but at the same time, external debt of developing countries in 1993 amounted to more than $1.8 trillion and their debt services rose to 22 per cent of export earn ings?

"It is also interesting to note that out of the 16 countries of Ecowas, nine are at the bottom of the Human Development Index. We hope the conscience of the world will be jogged to realise that the women in Africa are presently suffering because of a dverse economic policies that militate against our continent. Improvement in the economic and social status of women will continue to be elusive, since women will continue to subsidise their governments by providing all aspects of caring for their families that ought to be taken care of by their governments."

NIGERIA: Maryam Abacha, First Lady: "While I have taken time to enumerate the gains achieved on the advancement of women in Nigeria, I do not want to create the impression that it has been a bed of ros es and that all the problems that are disturbing to women are now over. Our women, like the rest of their sisters in the developing world, are battling for survival under harsh and discriminatory traditional practices which marginalise them and make them t he underdogs of the very society they nurture and sustain.

"The predominantly patriachal nature of most of our societies enthrones our male counterparts at the helm of affairs ... It is for this and similar other reasons that I specially request the UN Gen eral Assembly to appeal to all nations to make constitutional provisions that will make it mandatory for a percentage of women to be involved in key policy-making areas of governance. This will go a long way to redress the serious imblance being experience d presently and facilitate participatory democracy.



Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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