This section is dedicated to the women who are achieving
and so are role models for women graduates in the Pacific. Of
course, it is well known that New Zealand is the leader in this
aspect, where the Governor General, Chief Justice, Speaker and
Attorney General are all women.
Message to all
NFAs: Please let us know of significant achievements of women
in your country so we can add to this list.
Appointments:
Congratulations to the following women in
Tonga
Dr
Lia Maka, former secretary ATUW, to Principal, SPC Community
Education Training Centre, Suva, Fiji towards the end of 2004.
Fiji
Dr
Esther Williams, member, FAWG has been appointed Deputy Vice
Chancellor, USP.
Samoa
Mata'utia
Rula Levi, active member of SAWG, appointed CEO Housing Corporation
(November 2004).
Mrs
Palanitina Toelupe, supporter, SAWG, appointed CEO, Ministry
of Health, Samoa (March 2005). She becomes the sixth female
CEO (of
14 CEOs of state ministries) in the country (others are the
Attorney General, CEO PSC, CEO Finance, CEO Women, Community
& Social
Development, and Clerk of the Legislative Assembly).
Fepulea'i
Sinapi Moli, supporter, SAWG, appointed CEO of newly established
Samoa Qualifications Authority (March 2005).
Mrs
Faiesea Matafeo was re-appointed CEO, Samoa Broadcasting Corporation.
Elections:
Elections in Samoa and Fiji in 2006 has seen some increase
in the number of women members of Parliament. Fiji now has 8
of 71 MPs who are women
and in the Upper House, the Senate there are 6 of 32 senators.
In Samoa, 4 women were elected and another one has recently
been elected in a by-election.
Executive
Programme on Leaders in Development: Managing Economic
and Political Change 12-23 June 2006: Kennedy School of Government
(KSG), Harvard University. Pacific women have benefited
from this programme when they were selected to be part of the
group. Dr Emma Kruse Vaai,
Past President of SAWG, has reported on the usefulness of the
programme which "highlighted the fact that today's leaders
face complex economic, political and social challenges. Decision
making involves more levels of authority and accountability,
more interests and institutions,
more diverse consequences and definitely more interconnections
among problems at all levels. Leaders in developing countries
such as Samoa face a myriad of new problems each day which are
not only local but international - beyond the reef and yet impacting
on Samoa."
IFUW
Review team
In November 2004, Laeimau
Oketevi Tanuvasa Savea, SAWG President was invited to be part
of the IFUW Review team which comprised seven
members: Catherine Bell (South Africa), Roberta Brooks (Canada),
Maayke Frese (The Netherlands), Fabienne Goux-Baudiment
(New Zealand), Jayanthi
Liyanage (Sri Lanka), Judith Saror (Nigeria),
Laeimau Oketevi Tanuvasa-Savea
(Samoa).
The following questions
were sent from IFUW President Griselda Kenyon to NFAs to seek
views on issues:
1.
What do you see as the greatest value of IFUW to your NFA members,
to your Board, in general?
2.
What other things might IFUW do to support your work?
3.
What do you consider to be the outstanding achievements of IFUW
in the past decade?
4.
In your opinion, what are the most valuable programs and/or
opportunities currently provided by IFUW for the NFA and individual
members?
5.
Are there other programs or opportunities that you would/might
like IFUW to offer? Please explain.
6.
Any other comments you may have.
News
items from New York and elsewhere
Following Fiji, a second
Pacific country (Samoa) has had its report on CEDAW examined
by the team of UN experts. To answer questions from the
panel of experts, the Samoa Government team comprised a team
of six women: Attorney General Mrs Brenda Heather-Latu, CEO
Ministry for WCSD Luagalau
Fo'isaga Shon,, Assistant CEO, Ministry Finance Mrs Noumea Simi
and others. A shadow report by NGOs was presented by
a team of three women: Maiava Visekota Peteru, Dr Viopapa Annandale-Atherton,
and Mrs Donna Lene. The following is a report about this:
CEDAW/C/2005/I/CRP.3/Add.7/Rev.1
Committee on the Elimination
of Discrimination against Women
Thirty-second session
10-28 January 2005
Concluding comments: Samoa
1. The Committee considered
the initial, second and third periodic reports of Samoa (CEDAW/C/WSM/1-3)
at its 679th and 680th meetings, on 24
January 2005.
Introduction
by the State party
2. In her introduction,
the representative expressed Samoa's long-standing commitment
to the equal status of women, as reflected in its laws and traditions.
Samoa
was the first Pacific island country to ratify the Convention
without reservations. The representative summarized Samoa's
major economic
and political developments and gave an update in regard to implementation
of each of the articles of the Convention.
3. Samoa's constitutional
provision on gender equality related to article 1 of the Convention,
as it ensured equal protection under the law and prohibited
discrimination on the basis of sex. Due remedy for breach of
those rights was guaranteed and constitutional cases were frequently
heard
before the Supreme Court. While women achieved suffrage in 1991
and equality in acquiring or retaining citizenship when married
to a foreigner
in 2004, the representative also identified areas where reform
was still required, especially in regard to gender-based violence,
family, employment,
land and criminal law.
4. The former Ministry of
Women Affairs had been integrated into the Ministry of Women,
Community and Social Development. It coordinated gender
equality work within the Government to incorporate gender concerns
into all aspects of social affairs and policy-making, and also
cooperated
with non-governmental organizations.
5. As there had been an
increase in domestic violence complaints, the Government intended
to amend the penal code to make rape in marriage an offence,
to enact domestic violence legislation and to amend the family
code. A campaign had been launched to improve police services
that would
include an increase in the recruitment of women, the implementation
of gender-sensitization programmes and the creation of a
data-collection
system on domestic violence cases. Courts were also dealing
more severely with cases of domestic violence and had adopted
a "no-drop"
policy for such cases. Increased attention was also being paid
to trafficking in women.
6. Women's representation
in Parliament remained low, where women held 3 of 49 seats -
although 2 of them occupied senior positions. This was due
to the fact that only chiefly title holders were eligible to
run for Parliament and, despite some improvements, a preference
for men to hold this
position remained. At the same time, women were involved at
all levels of decision-making within the family, the community,
the Government
and the private sector. They were represented at the highest
level in the public sector, and government women representatives
served
as village focal points for communication with government officials.
7. The representative affirmed
Samoa's commitment to women's social development, citing success
in education. Education was compulsory at the primary
level and, overall parity in education in terms of participation
had been achieved. The enrolment of girls until the secondary
level reflected
overall population figures, while at the tertiary level, women
comprised 60 per cent of the enrolments.
8. Women were increasingly
entering the labour force, comprising 43 per cent of the formal
wage economy. Women dominated in manufacturing, as
well as in the teaching and nursing professions. In supporting
women's economic participation, the public sector guaranteed
eight weeks of paid
maternity leave and six months' leave without pay. Women also
benefited from credit and training programmes, as the majority
of loans approved
for business enterprises and commercial activities were granted
to women.
9. Turning to women's health,
a five-year national health service plan framework was under
implementation, which focused on the delivery of health
services and which included community partnerships and mobile
clinics. Measures to increase access to medical services in
rural areas directly
benefited women. While more targeted health promotion and prevention
programmes for women were under way in the area of
so-called
"lifestyle" diseases, maternal health remained a priority
and progress was reflected in improved indicators.
10. Turning to the situation of rural
women, who constituted 78 per cent of the total female population,
the representative stated that in the authority systems
within the village structures, women played an important role
in decision-making at all levels. Women holders of chiefly titles
sat on village
councils and participated in village administration. Women were
homemakers and small-business owners, and also held paid employment
in urban areas. They had good access to health services, and
training and education programmes were provided through extension
services
by the Government, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations
and traditional village groups.
11. In closing, the representative stressed
that Samoa remained dedicated to the successful implementation
of the Convention, in the spirit of Samoan
tradition, and offered its full commitment to achieving the
equality of women.
Concluding comments of the Committee
Introduction
12. The Committee commends the State party
for ratifying the Convention without reservations and expresses
its appreciation to the State party for its
combined initial, second and third periodic report, while regretting
that it was overdue. It expresses appreciation to the State
party for the written
replies to the list of issues and questions raised by the Committee's
pre-session working group and for the oral presentation, which
provided
further clarification and elaborated on the most recent developments
in the implementation of the Convention.
13. The Committee congratulates the State
party for sending a high-level delegation headed by the Chief
Executive Officer, Ministry of Women, Community
and Social Development, and which included the Attorney-General.
It appreciates the frank, professional and constructive dialogue
that took
place between the members of the Committee and the delegation
and the precise answers, which provided further insights into
the real situation
of women.
14. The Committee welcomes the State party's
consultation with women's non-governmental organizations and
other civil society organizations in the
preparation of the report.
Positive aspects
15. The Committee welcomes the establishment
in 2004 of the integrated Ministry of Women, Community and Social
Development of Samoa which,
through its Division for Women, collaborates with other ministries
of the Government and non-governmental organizations in the
implementation
of the Convention. It also welcomes the approval by the Government,
in May 2004, of the selection of women's representatives (women
liaison officers) within all villages to support the advancement
of women, particularly in rural areas.
16. The Committee commends the State
party for conducting legislative reviews and identifying for
further reform a number of areas of the law that are
critical for promotion of gender equality. It welcomes the enactment
of the Law Reform Commission Act of 2002. It welcomes the adoption
of the Citizenship Act of 2004, which now provides for equality
between women and men in conferring nationality to a foreign
spouse.
17. The Committee commends the State party
on making primary education compulsory and on the progress made
in implementing article 10 of the Convention,
in regard to the education of girls and women at all levels.
The Committee also commends the State party for the very high
rate of female
literacy.
18. The Committee commends the State
party for adopting temporary special measures in the police
services, where women are underrepresented.
Principal areas of concern and recommendations
19. The Committee notes the State party's
obligation for the systematic and continuing implementation
of all the provisions of the Convention. At the
same time, it is the Committee's view that the concerns and
recommendations identified in the present concluding comments
require the State
party's priority attention between now and the submission of
the next periodic report. Consequently, the Committee calls
upon the State party
to focus on those areas in its implementation activities and
to report on action taken and results achieved in its next periodic
report. It calls on
the State party to submit the present concluding comments to
all relevant ministries and to Parliament so as
to
ensure their full implementation.
20. The Committee expresses its concern
that the legislation of the State party does not contain a definition
of discrimination against women in accordance
with article 1 of the Convention. It is also concerned that
the Convention is not directly applicable in the State party,
nor is there an adequate
legislative framework in place to ensure compliance with all
the provisions of the Convention.
21. The Committee calls upon the State
party to include in the Constitution or in other appropriate
domestic legislation a definition of discrimination against
women in line with article 1 of the Convention. It also urges
the State party to take the measures necessary to ensure that
the Convention
becomes fully applicable in the domestic legal system, either
through domesticating it in full or by adopting appropriate
legislation.
22. While noting that the Government
has identified several areas where legislation inadequately
protects women against discrimination, namely, in regard
to gender-based violence and in family and employment law, the
Committee is concerned that no time line or benchmarks are in
place for
undertaking the legal reform efforts necessary to bring domestic
legislation into conformity with the Convention. The Committee
is also concerned
that, although the Law Reform Commission Act was passed in 2002,
the office has not yet been established for lack of resources.
23. The Committee recommends that the
State party put in place without delay a plan, with a clear
timetable and priorities, for the revision of existing
discriminatory legislation and the drafting and submission to
Parliament of new laws to promote gender equality. The Committee
also recommends
the establishment of the office of the Law Reform Commission
in order to expedite the legal reform process. The Committee
encourages
the Government to consult with women's organizations in the
development and prioritization of such a legislative reform
agenda.
24. While noting the State party's intention
to review all criminal laws within the next two years and the
courts' adoption of a "no-drop" policy in regard
to charges of domestic violence, the Committee is concerned
that the prevalence of domestic violence needs measures to prevent
and combat
various forms of violence against women.
25. The Committee recommends that the
State party put in place without delay a comprehensive strategy
to prevent and combat all forms of violence
against women, including domestic violence, which is a form
of discrimination against women and a violation of their human
rights. Such
a strategy should include measures, including legislation, to
prevent violence against women, provide protection, support
and rehabilitation
services
to victims, and punish the offenders. In this regard, the Committee
draws attention to its general recommendation 19. The Committee
urges
the State party to ensure that shelters are available to all
women victims of violence. It also calls upon the State party
to ensure that public officials,
especially law enforcement personnel, the judiciary, health-care
providers and social workers, are fully sensitized to all forms
of violence
against women and are adequately trained to respond to them.
26. The Committee is concerned about
the continuing low representation of women in public life and
decision-making, including women's limited access
to family chiefly titles (matai), and their resulting low representation
in the Parliament. It is concerned that socio-cultural
stereotypes and traditions
continue to prevent women from seeking public, and especially
elective, office.
27. The Committee encourages the State
party to take sustained and proactive measures to increase the
representation of women in elected and appointed
bodies in all areas of political and public life. It recommends
that the State party introduce temporary special measures, in
accordance
with article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention and the Committee's
general recommendation 25, to increase the number of women in
the Parliament and in local government bodies. It calls upon
the State party to carry out awareness-raising campaigns on
the importance of women's
participation in public and political life and in decision-making
positions, with a view to eliminating customs and practices
that discriminate
against women, in accordance with articles 2 (f) and 5 (a) of
the Convention. The Committee requests the State party to regularly
evaluate
the impact of such measures, including temporary special measures,
so as to ensure that they lead to the desired goals and to provide
in
its next report comprehensive information on the results achieved.
28. The Committee is concerned about
the situation of women in the employment sector and their lower
level of participation in the labour force. The
Committee is concerned that existing legislation is discriminatory
or has significant gaps with respect to articles 11 and 13,
such as lack of provisions
on equal pay for work of equal value, protection against discrimination
on the basis of pregnancy and against sexual harassment in the
workplace. The Committee is also concerned about the extremely
limited provision of paid maternity leave in the private sector
and the lack
of adequate childcare services.
29. The Committee calls upon the State
party to bring its legislation into compliance with article
11 of the Convention without delay and to ensure compliance
with such legislation. The Committee also requests the State
party to step up its efforts to address the impediments women
face in entering
the labour force and to implement measures to promote the reconciliation
of family and work responsibilities between women and men. The
Committee also urges the State party to use temporary special
measures in accordance with article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention
and general
recommendation 25 so as to enhance implementation of article
11 of the Convention. It requests the State party to provide
information about
the impact of such measures in its next report.
30. The Committee expresses concern
that complications from pregnancy and childbirth remain one
of the leading causes of morbidity for women. It
is also concerned about the rising incidence of teenage pregnancy,
the limited family-planning efforts, the low contraceptive prevalence
rate and
the lack of sex education in schools, despite comprehensive
access for women to health services, including reproductive
health services. The
Committee is also concerned about the insufficient information
provided about the HIV/AIDS infection rates of women.
31. The Committee urges the State party
to increase its efforts to improve the provision of sexual and
reproductive health services to reduce fertility rates
and maternal morbidity. It calls upon the State party to step
up the provision of family-planning information to women
and girls and to widely
promote sex education targeted at girls and boys, with special
attention to the prevention of teenage pregnancy and the control
of HIV/AIDS.
It invites the State party to provide in its next report detailed
information, including statistics and measures taken, on HIV/AIDS
infection
trends of women.
32. The Committee is concerned about
the lack of statistical information in regard to trafficking
in women.
33. The Committee requests the State
party to provide in its next report comprehensive information
about trafficking in women and the exploitation of
prostitution of women, including through discouraging the demand
for prostitution and taking measures to rehabilitate and support
women who
want to get out of prostitution. It encourages the State party
to report on any studies or surveys conducted, as well as on
measures taken to
prevent trafficking and to assist victims.
34. The Committee is concerned about
the persistence of discriminatory provisions in the family law,
especially in regard to marriage, as well as the persistence
of traditions that discriminate against women and girls. In
particular, the Committee is concerned that the age of consent
to marriage for
girls is 16 years whereas it is 18 for boys, the fault-based
divorce system and the lack of legislation on the division of
marital property.
35. The Committee urges the State party
to give high priority to the planned revision of the law governing
marriage, its dissolution and family relations
so as to ensure compliance with article 16 of the Convention
and in line with the Committee's general recommendation 23 on
marriage and
family relations. The Committee also recommends that the State
party undertake awareness-raising measures to address cultural
patterns of conduct
that are discriminatory against women and girls in these areas.
36. While appreciating that proposals
submitted to the Cabinet Development Committee must include
a report on the gender implications and a gender
analysis of the proposed project, insufficient information was
provided about the attention given to the provisions of the
Convention in those
assessments.
37. The Committee requests the State
party to ensure that the Convention serves as the framework
for assessing the suitability of development projects
from a gender perspective. It also requests the State party
to develop adequate capacity within the Government to undertake
such assessments
within the framework of the Convention.
38. The Committee is concerned that
the strategic development plan insufficiently incorporates the
goal of the practical realization of the principle of equality
between women and men, as called for in article 2 (a) of the
Convention, especially in light of the State party's ongoing
economic reform
and trade liberalization.
39. The Committee recommends that the
State party make the promotion of gender equality an explicit
component of its next national development plan
and policies, in particular those aimed at sustainable development.
40. The Committee encourages the State
party to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention and
to accept, as soon as possible, the amendment
to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention concerning the
Committee's meeting time.
41. The Committee requests the State
party to provide an assessment of the impact of measures taken
to enhance the de facto equality of women and
to respond to the concerns expressed in the present concluding
comments in its next periodic report submitted under article
18 of the Convention.
The Committee invites the State party to submit its fourth periodic
report, which is due in October 2005, and its fifth periodic
report,
which is due in October 2009, as a combined report in 2009.
42. Taking account of the gender dimensions
of the declarations, programmes and platforms for action adopted
by relevant United Nations conferences,
summits and special sessions (such as the special session of
the General Assembly to review and appraise the implementation
of the
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population
and Development (the twenty-first special session), the special
session of
the General Assembly on children (the twenty-seventh special
session), the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia
and Related Intolerance and the Second World Assembly on Ageing),
the Committee requests the State party to include information
on the implementation of aspects of those documents relating
to relevant articles of the Convention in its next periodic
report.
43. The Committee notes that States'
adherence to the seven major international human rights instruments,
namely, the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of
Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention against
Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention
on the Rights of the Child and the International Convention
on the Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
enhances the enjoyment by women of their human rights and
fundamental freedoms in all aspects of life. Therefore, the
Committee encourages the Government of Samoa to consider ratifying
the treaties
to which it is not yet a party, namely, the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant
on Civil
and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers
and
Members of Their Families.
44. The Committee requests the wide
dissemination in Samoa of the present concluding comments in
order to make the people of Samoa, including government
officials, politicians, parliamentarians and women's and human
rights organizations, aware of the steps that have been taken
to ensure
de jure and de facto equality for women and the future steps
required in that regard. It also requests the Government to
continue to disseminate
widely, in particular to women's and human rights organizations,
the Convention and its Optional Protocol, the Committee's general
recommendations,
the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome
document of the twenty-third special session of the General
Assembly,
entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and
peace for the twenty-first century".
Another item of news recently circulated, is about Vanuatu's
CEDAW report SPC Pacific Women's
Bureau Press release
Third Pacific nation to present CEDAW report to UN
Wednesday 01 March, UN New York
Vanuatu is about to join New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and Samoa
on the list of Pacific nations who've tabled detailed reports
on the status of women in their countries to the UN CEDAW committee.
And the country's Minister for Comprehensive Reform and Women,
Isabel Donald, says she is "especially happy" to attend
her first global meeting on the Beijing Declaration with her
country's debut report.
The initial and combined report will be handed to the Vanuatu
mission in New York this week for lodging with the United Nations
body handling appointments of the UN expert committee for CEDAW.
The convention deals with eliminating legal and all other forms
of discrimination within nations against women. "We're
so happy to let other countries know that we've especially brought
our report with us and to share with our Pacific region that
yes, it is now finished and has gone through the cabinet and
been approved for us to bring to New York," she says.
Five years ago during the Beijing + 5 session on women at the
UN, it was another Melanesian nation who shared good news on
CEDAW with the international community. In its report to the
UN general assembly in 2000, Solomon Islands announced its intentions
to ratify CEDAW.
The next step for Vanuatu will come when the UN sets a date
for the official delegation to attend one of the two annual
gatherings of the international expert committee - but that
appointment could be a few years away.
As of March 2005, Vanuatu joins a waiting queue 49 countries
long. The UN committee can only meet around 16 nations a year
unless it raises the money for a special session.
"The point has been reached where the available meeting
time no longer allows the Committee to adequately discharge
its duties, in a timely manner," says the CEDAW chair Rosario
Manalo.
Speaking during yesterday's opening session which also featured
UN secretary general Kofi Annan and host governments of previous
world conferences for women, Manalo said the waiting time of
three years between lodging of national reports and an appearance
with the committee "creates in itself a disincentive for
States to report in a timely manner." She plans to continue
lobbying towards a solution from the UN General Assembly during
their report-card meeting on the Millennium Development Goals,
this September.
-- Ends
