DURBEN--The Committee on the
Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW) is attending the World Conference
against Racism (WCAR) in Durban to ensure that
the gender aspect of racial discrimination is
integrated in the final document.
"Women
form the majority of the population in most countries.
So its incumbent that the majority of the population
in every country have equal rights to participate in
all aspects for the development of that country," said
Charlotte Abaka, the chairperson of CEDAW. She feels
that women are discriminated against all over the world.
The UN general
assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination
of all Forms of Discrimination
Against Women in 1979. Often described as an international
bill of rights for women, the document consists
of 30 paragraphs that define what constitutes discrimination
and sets up an agenda for national action to end
such discrimination Since its implementation two
years later, 168 countries have ratified it. Abaka
hopes to convince the remaining 21 UN member states
to ratify. According to her, gender equality is, "the
life of every woman." CEDAW's mandate is to
expose those areas where women are discriminated
against.
According to Abaka, the convention marked the
first occasion where the international community
specifically addressed violence against women.
It is CEDAW that made violence against women a
widely discussed issue, she said. In 1993 the committee
produced a recommendation that covered all aspects
of violence against women. Now, she says, it has
made a great difference to the issue. Some states
have used the recommendation to amend laws. Nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) are also using it to create
awareness towards how the issue should be addressed.
Abaka
says that the UN has come to realize that gender
issues
are interlinked. The Special Adviser
on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women for
the UN, Angela E.V. King, echoes Abaka's sentiment
by saying, "It was as if the UN was looking
at women in a little box. The UN comprises of many
little boxes and there is a role that permeates
each of these boxes." This is one of the
reasons she feels optimistic about the future.
She also
said she is working in her own capacity to encourage
the remaining countries to ratify.
|
