Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0246/02466.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 9KB | 161 lines

$Unique_ID{COW02466}
$Pretitle{276}
$Title{Mongolia
On the Advancement of Women}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of Mongolia, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Mongolia, Washington DC}
$Subject{women
delegation
mongolia
social
year
development
economic
international
strategies
equality}
$Date{1991}
$Log{}
Country:     Mongolia
Book:        Mongolia on World Problems
Author:      Embassy of Mongolia, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of Mongolia, Washington DC
Date:        1991

On the Advancement of Women

     Mongolia reiterates its consistent support for the activities within the
UN system aimed at achieving further advancement of women. We continue to
attach signal importance to the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking
Strategies. They constitute an important guideline for the international
community in the efforts to provide women with opportunities equal to those of
men and involve them actively in all the fields of development process.

     In this regard we particularly welcome the new spirit prevailing now in
the work of the Commission on the Status of Women to link the Nairobi
Strategies with its social programmes and to streamline its agenda, especially
on the identification of the priority themes.

     The 34th session of the Commission very timely drew the attention to
slackening of the progress towards full implementation of the Strategies and
to the need for the UN relevant organizations and Member-States to step up
their efforts in order to attain the Strategies' objectives by the end of this
millenium. Here, my delegation wishes to voice its support for the practical
and concrete recommendations offered by the Commission and subsequently
adopted by ECOSOC in resolution 1990/15. My delegation also shares the view of
many other distinguished delegates that the General Assembly should adopt
these recommendations as well.

     The overriding objectives of the Nairobi Strategies, namely, Equality,
Development and Peace are as relevant as before.

     It has always been the consistent policy of my Government to steadily
improve the situation of women to the extent the economic conditions warrant,
to enable them actively participate in all spheres of social life. In my
country equal rights for women are guaranteed by the Constitution and other
legal instruments including the labour, civil and family codes. The recent
enacted Laws on State Enterprise and on Cooperatives incorporated a number of
specific provisions dealing with the rights of women which were proposed by
women's organizations. Under one such provision, for example, the workers'
council of every enterprise must henceforth include the representatives of
women organizations in making decision on labour and social issues.

     Although there is de jure equality of women and men, much remains to be
done to achieve equality in practice. As the country makes advancement in the
social and economic development, the prospects for actual equality will
undoubtedly increase. The on-going restructuring process in Mongolia has
brought to light many problems, which previously had not been publicly
acknowledged. These problems include the need for radical improvements in
women's working and living conditions; to decrease high maternal and child
mortality rates, the growing incidence of divorce and single parent families,
a severe shortage of kindergarten and child care facilities, the huge
difference between the living standards of urban and rural women.

     While it will require considerable time and resources to fully solve
these problems given the difficult economic situation faced by Mongolia, some
results have already been registered. In late 1989 the country's parliament
enacted four decrees concerning women and children. Amendments had been made
to public health legislation to give women the right to decide on the number
and spacing of their children. Amendments to Labour Code ensured adequately
paid maternity leave, as well as parental leave with guaranteed job continuity
for mothers and single fathers with young children. Girl students are now
entitled to the same benefits as working mothers.

     Furthermore, a 1990 Parliament decree lifted the previous limitations on
the number of  cattle in individual households thus enabling rural women be
fully integrated on an equal footing in development process both as
participants and beneficiaries. A recently enacted Law on Individual
Enterprise allowed men and women alike to freely choose the type of activity
for enterprise.

     My Government attaches priority attention to improving the social and
economic conditions of the vulnerable segments of the society, namely women
children, the aged and disabled. Every year the State provides 75 million
tugrugs (about 15 million US dollars) to large families in a form of welfare
allowance. This year we have begun to implement a comprehensive programme of
mother and child care up to the year 2000.

     Today in my country there are 47,5 thousand disabled people, half of
them being women. Hence, we wish to learn from other countries' experience on
how to most rationally meet the particular needs of the disabled women to help
integrate them in economic and social activities.

     My delegation considers it opportune that issues related to vulnerable
women, including disabled will be addressed shortly by the Commission on the
Status of Women as a priority sub-theme under "Equality".

     Education and literacy is one of the key factors enabling women to
actively participate in development process. Today, in Mongolia women
constitute 40 per cent of specialists with higher education as against 27 per
cent in 1975. During the same period the percentage of female students in
higher educational institutions has increased by approximately 7 per cent.

     As the main sponsor of the International Literacy Year my delegation is
greatly pleased to support the initiative advanced yesterday in this Committee
by the distinguished representative of Canada to introduce a resolution on
Women and Literacy. My delegation believes that - with two thirds of the
world's illiterates being women - this initiative would undoubtedly help
sustain the momentum launched by ILY and achieve the objectives set forth in
the UNESCO Plan of Action to eradicate illiteracy by the year 2000.

     My delegation endorses the recommendation by CSW to hold a World
Conference on Women in 1995. It will surely help keep the question of the
advancement of women at the high priority of international agenda.

     The Nairobi Strategies being one of the pillars of the international
programme for the improvement of the status of women, are effectively
supplemented by the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women.

     My Government was among the first to ratify the Convention. Mongolia's
second periodic report was considered and commended by the CEDAW Committee
earlier this year. My delegation wishes to express its gratitude to the
members of the CEDAW Committee for their valuable ideas and recommendations
which will undoubtedly benefit our relevant organizations in their future
activities.

     I am pleased to inform this Committee that my Government has recently
adopted a decision to withdraw the reservations it made upon accession to a
number of relevant international legal instruments, including the above
Convention.

     My delegation adds its voice to that of previous speakers who appealed to
those countries, which have not yet done so, to become parties to the
Convention so as to make it universal.

     I should like to highly commend the work of UNIFEM serving as an
important catalyst and supporter of innovative projects for and on behalf of
women.

     My delegation is pleased to report that UNIFEM has completed a mission to
Mongolia in response to our invitation in September this year. As a result of
this mission, UNIFEM has established working contacts with the Mongolian
Women's Federation which is