Global Policy Forum

Director-General of UNOG Speaks
on Occasion of International Women's Day

Vladimir Petrovsky Says Discriminatory Laws which Condone Violence

Following is the opening statement by Vladimir Petrovsky, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, to the round table discussion held today at the Palais des Nations in commemoration of International Women's Day. The theme of the discussion is 'Women Waging Peace'.

'I would like to welcome all of you here on the occasion of the first International Women's Day of the new century and the new millennium! More advances have been made towards real equality for women in the last decade since the day has been proclaimed in the late 1800's! Today's commemoration provides the perfect opportunity for reflection upon the strides women have made and on the long journey ahead. It is clear that we still have a lot of work to do if we are to make the equal rights of one half of humanity a reality.

The United Nations strongly supports and has always been committed to the promotion and the protection of equal rights for women. Fifty-two years ago, the UN adopted one of the first international agreements to proclaim gender equality as a fundamental human right, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which proclaimed the: 'equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family'. Since then, the Organization has not ceased in its efforts to advance the status of women worldwide and to imagine a different future for women and men, in a society based on equality and mutual respect.

Law is one of our most powerful instruments in the struggle for social justice and equality and the legal instruments available to us to consolidate women's rights are continually increasing. The UN Charter and the Universal Declaration paved the way for the two International Covenants dealing with economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights. Then, in 1979, the prime practical tool in this regard was born, the 'Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women' (CEDAW). This set both the legally binding obligations for States parties and the international standard for what is meant by equality between women and men. It demanded not only equal rights for women, but also that they should be able to enjoy these rights on an equal footing with men thus requiring that other than legal obstacles be recognized and eliminated. Equality of result is often much more difficult to obtain and societal reality often lags far behind the law.

The 'Women's Convention' and the 1995 'Beijing Platform for Action', often referred to as the definitive 'agenda for women's empowerment', demanded that prejudicial cultural traditions or practices which deprive women from the attainment of their full exercise of citizenship, freedom and rights, be changed. Equally as important, it required countries to bring their domestic legislation into line with UN human rights standards.

So then, how do we rate our progress 52 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration, 22 years after the adoption of CEDAW and 5 years since the adoption of the Beijing Platform For action? In a word, unacceptable. In spite of commitments made to the contrary, many countries continue to have laws which explicitly discriminate against women as part and parcel of their legal frameworks. In this new millennium, no country in the world can claim having legislated and implemented the full equality of women and men. To the contrary, we can easily think of examples where legislation protecting male supremacy endures. Although the UN's special review to gauge the progress made since Beijing, the 'Beijing plus 5', will be conducted by the General Assembly this June, governments should be reminded that the advancement of women's equality requires a minimum level of political commitment and will. Actions and not just words are needed if the Beijing Platform is to be implemented in reality. Lastly, it is clear that discriminatory laws which condone violence against women must be repealed or amended as part of any efforts to eliminate such violence.

The UN is firmly attempting to implement its own 'equality of result' within the Organization and continues to strive towards a greater awareness of gender within the Secretariat. The Secretary-General recently reaffirmed his commitment to redress the existing gender imbalance and reiterated the goal of achieving a 50/50 gender distribution by December 2000. The Secretariat still has to achieve a critical mass of women, at least 30%, at the Senior Management and policy making posts. (Women presently comprise 24% in this category.)

Here at the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), we are strongly committed to the advancement and the promotion of women and are proud to count a growing number of highly qualified, female senior officials including the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, The High Commissioner For Refugees, Sadako Ogata, and the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Gro Brundtland, among us.

In addition, I would like to congratulate Ms. Danuta Hubner, Deputy Executive Secretary for the ECE for all the efforts towards women's advancement that she has made here in Geneva since taking over as our focal point for women.

As of the 30th of November 1999, the percentage of women at UNOG in the Professional and higher categories, (with a contract of one year or more), was 36.6% compared to 35.6% in November 1998. Presently, women comprise 42.9% of the UNOG staff at the D1 level and above. Finally, at the P-5 level, a key grade in the management structure of the Secretariat, women accounted for 42.9% of the staff compared to 41.3% in November 1998. Our immediate task, is to ensure and guide the provision of assistance to programs and departments in meeting gender balance requirements through problem assessment and pro-active recruitment actions.

The extreme importance of the advancement of women to positions of power and decision making both within and outside of the UN cannot be underestimated. Today's theme: 'Women Waging Peace' cannot underscore this better. The role of women is crucial considering that the majority of those effected by conflict are women and children and that many female victims of rape and/or violent crimes who wish to speak about their case often feel more at ease talking to a woman. Women also make substantial contributions in the peace and reconciliation areas due to their unique sensitivity, perspective and approach to conflict.

Yet despite these well-recognized facts, the need to increase the number of women in high-level positions in government delegations, peacekeeping missions, peace settlements and at the negotiating table still remains. While war and militarism have traditionally been viewed as having patriarchal roots, peace has never been thought of as a purely masculine enterprise and is very often, quite to the contrary. The fundamental role that women play as driving forces for peace in post-conflict and reconstruction circumstances is often overlooked when the formal peace negotiations begin. This must change as durable peace can only be built upon a foundation of justice which necessarily includes all the members of society. As the Secretary-General reminded us in his address today: 'The Beijing Platform called for women to play a bigger part in the decision-making process to resolve conflict, and for more conflicts to be resolved in non-violent ways. In short, it summons all of us to pave the way for a culture of peace.'

The Secretary-General also expressed his belief that the time had come for this culture to take hold, 'because in today's world what effects one nation effects us all. What defines us as human beings is not race, creed or geography. What gives our lives purpose and content is the hope that our children and grandchildren will be able to live a decent life, free from fear and free from want. Surely, that is something we all share.'

Finally, I would also like to welcome and commend the organizers and participants of the 'World March of Women 2000'. More than 3,500 groups from 145 countries have participated in this march and come together in Geneva to commemorate International Women's Day and to raise consciousness to improve women's living conditions-particularly in relation to poverty and violence against women. I congratulate you on your efforts! It is precisely initiatives such as this which are so crucially needed if we are to truly effectuate global change.

Lastly, today I would like to recognize the UNOG Library's publication of our first major Bibliography on women: 'Women, A Selective Bibliography, 1988-1999'. This will undoubtedly throw some light on the debate on the status of women which has taken place over the last 10 years! In this regard, I would like to extend my congratulations to Pierre Pelou, our Chief Librarian and to Britt Kjolstad for a job well done!

In conclusion, on this first International Women's Day of the New Millennium, let us recall that all human beings have the right to live with dignity. Actions, implementation and investment are all needed on the part of the international community and all of us. We have heard enough rhetoric, now is the time for concrete deeds to translate women's equal rights into reality and practice.

We at the United Nations, are here to assist and contribute to this effort. To again quote the Secretary-General: '.. let us unite our efforts to fulfil the promise of the Beijing Platform. Let us build on the work of women everywhere to achieve peace for succeeding generations. Let us harness the power of women uniting for peace.'

Thank you for your attention and Happy International Woman's Day to all!'