UN Human Rights Treaties

UNITED NATIONS

A

General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL
A/45/758
27 November 1990
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

Forty-fifth session Agenda item 102
FORWARD-LOOKING STRATEGIES FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN
TO THE YEAR 2000
Report of the Third Committee
Rapporteur: Mr. Mario DE LEON (Philippines)
I. INTRODUCTION
1. At its 3rd plenary meeting, on 21 September 1990, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the General Committee, decided to include in its agenda the item entitled "Forward-looking strategies for the advancement of women to the year 2000" and to allocate it to the Third Committee.
2. The Committee considered the item jointly with item 101 at its 18th to 24th, 31st, 39th and 40th meetings, on 24 to 26, 29 and 30 October and 5, 12 and
13 November 1990. An account of the Committee's general discussion of the item is contained in the relevant summary records (A/C.3/45/SR.18-24).
3. For its consideration of the item, the Committee had before it the following
documentation:
(a) Report of the Economic and Social Council; l/
(b) Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women (A/45/489);
(c) Report of the Secretary-General on the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat (A/45/548);
1/ A/45/3, chap. V, sect. B. To be issued as Official Records of the General Assembly. Forty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 3 (A/45/3/Rev.l).

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(d) Note by the Secretary-General transmitting the report of the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme on the activities of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (A/45/347);
(e) Letter dated 12 October 1990 from the Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General (A/C.3/45/5).
4. At the 18th meeting, on 24 October, the Director of the Advancement of Women Branch of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations Office at Vienna, the Focal Point for Women in the Office of the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, and the Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women made introductory statements (see A/C.3/45/SR.18).
II. CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSALS
A. Draft resolutions A/C.3/45/L,19/Rev,l and Rev. 2
5. At the 31st meeting, on 5 November, the representative of the United States of America, on behalf of Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Canada, Chile, Cote d'Ivoire, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Seneual, Sweden, Turkey, the United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia and Zaire, introduced a draft resolution (A/C.3/45/L.19/Rev.l) entitled "Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat". Subsequently, Mongolia and Papua New Guinea joined in sponsoring the draft resolution, which read as follows:
"The General Assembly,
"Recalling Articles 8, 100, and 101 of the Charter of the United Nations,
"Recalling also its resolution 2715 (XXV) of 15 December 1970, by which it first addressed the question of the employment of women in the Professional category, and all relevant resolutions that have continued to focus on this area since then,
"Recalling further the Secretary-General's report of 8 November 1985 on the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat 1/ which was submitted pursuant to Assembly resolution 39/245 of ]8 December 1984,

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"Recalling the relevant paragraphs of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, 2/ and in particular paragraphs 315, 356 and 358 thereof,
Noting the recommendations for action contained in the fourth report of the Steering Committee for the Improvement of the Status of Women in the Secretariat of 30 June 1988, 3/ and realizing that they have not all been implemented,
"Noting also that the Steering Committee for the Improvement of the Status of Women in the Secretariat has resumed its work and will soon be submitting a new report with recommendations to the Secretary-General,
"Noting further that the Office of Human Resources Management of the United Nations Secretariat has implemented some special emergency measures pursuant to fulfilling the mandates found in paragraph 27 of the Secretary-General's report of 8 November 1985 on the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat l/ and subsequent resolutions on this topic,
"Noting with appreciation the fact that the Secretary-General's report of 1 October 1990 on the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat 4/ was submitted under agenda item 102,
"Noting with concern that, although there has been a slight increase in the percentage of women in the Secretariat, women still constitute less than 30 per cent of the Professional staff and there has been a decrease in the number of women at the level of Assistant Secretary-General and above in the last twelve months,
"Noting Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/3 of 24 May 1990,
"1. Reiterates its full support for the Secretary-General as chief administrative officer of the Organization and his prerogatives and responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations;
"2. Asserts that the paramount consideration in the employment of all staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity and that the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat will contribute to upholding this principle;
"2/ Report of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the
Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development
and Peace, Nairobi. 15-26 July 1985 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.85.IV.10, chap. I, sect. A.

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"3. Urges the Secretary-General to continue all possible efforts to increase the number of women throughout the United Nations system, particularly in senior policy-level and decision-making posts, in order to achieve an overall participation rate of 30 per cent by the end of 1990 and 35 per cent by 1995, with due regard to equitable geographical distribution, in accordance with the Secretary-General's report of 8 November 1985, 1/ all relevant subsequent resolutions and the proposed medium-term plan for the period 1992-1997; 5/
"4. Requests the Secretary-General to increase the representation of women from developing countries, including at the senior and
Policy-formulating levels, in view of the small proportion of women from those countries;
"5. Requests that Member States continue to support the efforts on the United Nations, its specialized agencies and the regional commissions to increase the percentage of women in the Professional category and above by, inter alia, nominating more women candidates, especially for senior policy-level and decision-making posts, by encouraging women to apply for vacant posts and by ** national rosters of women candidates to be shared with the United Nations Secretariat, the governing bodies of the specialized agencies and the regional commissions;.
"6. Also requests that the Secretary-General continue to address the unfulfilled points of the action programme, contained in his report of 8 November 1985, which 'aims at the creation of a framework for the advancement of women as an integrated component of the United Nations policy-making process' and by so doing fulfill the goal of this action programme 'to secure and maintain the attitudinal changes and the management commitment required for the full participation of women in the work of the Secretariat under the conditions of equality';
"7. Further requests that the Secretary-General include in his report to the General Assembly and the Commission on the Status of Women an action programme for the advancement of women in the Secretariat for the period 1991-1995, further to the request contained in resolution 44/75 of 8 December 1989, which will in turn include a comprehensive evaluation and analysis by the Secretariat of the main obstacles to the improvement of the status of women in the Organization and propose solutions to overcome those obstacles;
"8. Requests that the Secretary-General, within existing resources, ensure that adequate machinery, with the authority of enforcement and the responsibility of accountability, including a senior-level official devoted to implementation of the action programme, is maintained and, to the extent possible, strengthened during the course of the 1991-1995 programme;

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"9. Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that his annual report on progress achieved and future strategies to implement action programmes on the status of women in the Secretariat and the relevant mandates adopted by the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council and the recommendations of the new Steering Committee are submitted to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-fifth session and to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session for consideration under the item entitled 'Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the Year 2000'."
6. At the 39th meeting, on 12 November, the representative of the United States, on behalf Of Australia. Austria, the Bahamas, the Byelorusian Soviet Socialist Republic, Canada, Chile, Cote d'lvoira, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines. Poland, Senegal, Sweden, Turkey, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia and Zaire, introduced a revised draft resolution (A/C.3/45/L.19/Rev.2). Subsequently, Benin. Cameroon. Nigeria and Samoa joined in sponsoring the revised draft resolution.
7. Subsequently, Benin, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Samoa joined in sponsoring the draft resolution. The changes in the revised draft resolution were as follows:

(a) In the first preambular paragraph, the words "Articles 8, 100 and 101" were replaced by "Articles 1, 8, 97 and 101";
(b) Operative paragraphs 1 and 2 were deleted;
(c) In new operative paragraph 1 (former operative paragraph 3), in the first line, the words "in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations" were inserted between the words "to continue" and "all possible efforts", and in the third line, the words "and particularly from the developing countries in view of the small proportion of women from these countries in such posts" were inserted between the words "decision-making posts" and "in order to";
(d) Former operative paragraph 4 was deleted.

8. At the 40th meeting, on 13 November, the Secretary of the Committee read out a statement on the programme budget implications of the revised draft resolution (see A/C.3/45/SR.40).
9. At the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.3/45/L.19/Rev.2 without a vote (see para. 20, draft resolution I).
10. After the adoption of the draft resolution, the representatives of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Japan made statements.

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B. Draft resolution A/C.3/4B/L.20
11. At the 31st meeting, the representative of Canada, on behalf of Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d'lvolre, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany. Ghana. Guinea, Guinea-Bissau. Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Norway, Poland, Samoa, Senegal, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, introduced a draft resolution (A/C.3/45/L.20) entitled "Women and literacy". Subsequently, Guyana. Niger and Nigeria joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.
12. At its 40th meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.3/45/L.20 without a vote (see para. 20, draft resolution II).
C. Draft resolution A/C.3/4S/L.21
13. At the 31st meeting, the representative of Austria, on behalf of Algeria.
Austria, the Bahamas. Bangladesh, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Cameroon. Denmark. Egypt. Italy. Liechtenstein. Malaysia, the Netherlands.
New Zealand. Nigeria. Norway. Senegal. Sweden and Venezuela. Introduced a draft resolution (A/C.3/45/L.21) entitled "Interregional consultation on women in public life". Subsequently, Samoa joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.
14. At its 40th meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.3/45/L.21
without a vote (see para. 20, draft resolution III).
D. Draft resolution A/C.3/45/L.24
15. At the 31st meeting, the representative of India, also on behalf of Mexico, the Netherlands and Senegal, introduced a draft resolution (A/C.3/45/L.24) entitled "United Nations Development Fund for Women". Subsequently, Guyana and Nigeria joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.
16. At its 40th meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.3/45/L.24 without a vote (see para. 20, draft resolution IV).
E. Draft resolution A/C.3/45/L.25
17. At the 31st meeting, the representative of Bolivia, on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the 'Group of 77, introduced a draft resolution (A/C.3/45/L.25) entitled "Implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women".
18. At the 40th meeting, the representative of Bolivia, on behalf of the sponsors, orally revised the draft resolution as follows:

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(a) At the end of operative paragraph 6, the words "based on the goals of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace and the subtheme 'Employment, Health and Education', and urges all organizations of the United Nations system to co-operate effectively with the Commission in this task" were added;
(b) In operative paragraph 7, the word "themes" was replaced by the word "theme";
(c) In operative paragraph 18, the words "migrant women and refugee women" were replaced by the words "refugee women and children and migrant women".
19. At the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.3/45/L.25, as orally revised, without a vote (see Para. 20, draft resolution V).
III. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE
20. The Third Committee recommends to the General Assembly the adoption of the following draft resolutions:
DRAFT RESOLUTION I
Improvement of the status of woman in the Secretariat
The General Assembly,
Recalling Articles 1, 8, 97 and 101 of the Charter of the United Nations,
Recalling also its resolution 2715 (XXV) of 15 December 1970, in which it first addressed the question of the employment of women in the Professional category, and all relevant resolutions that have continued to focus on this area since then,
Recalling further the report of the Secretary-General of 8 November 1985 on the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat, 2/ which was submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 39/245 of 18 December 1984,
Racalling the relevant paragraphs of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, 2./ in particular paragraphs 315, 356 and 358 thereof,
2/ A/C.5/40/30.
3/ Report of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of
the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, Nairobi,
15-26 July 1985 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.85.IV.10, chap. I, sect. A).

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Recalling also the recommendations for action contained in the fourth report, of 30 June 1988, 4/ of the Steering Committee for the Improvement of the Status of Women in the Secretariat, and realizing that they have not all been implemented,
Noting that the Steering Committee has resumed its work and will soon be submitting a report with recommendations to the Secretary-General,
Noting also that the Office of Human Resources Management of the Secretariat has implemented some special emergency measures pursuant to fulfilling the mandates found in paragraph 27 of the report of the Secretary-General 2/ and subsequent resolutions on this topic,
Noting with appreciation that the report of the Secretary-General of 1 October 1990 on the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat 5/ was also submitted under the item entitled "Forward-looking strategies for the advancement of women to the year 2000",
Noting with concern that, although there has been a slight increase in the percentage of women in the Secretariat, women still constitute less than 30 per cent of the Professional staff and that there has been a decrease in the number of women at the level of Assistant Secretary-General and above in the past twelve months,
Recalling Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/3 of 24 May 1990,
1. Urges the Secretary-General to continue, in accordance with the Charter
of the United Nations, all possible efforts to increase the number of women
throughout the United Nations system, particularly in senior policy-level and
decision-making posts, and particularly from the developing countries in view of
the small proportion of women from these countries in such posts, in order to
achieve an overall participation rate of 30 per cent by the end of 1990 and
35 per cent by 1995, with due regard to equitable geographical distribution, in accordance with the report of the Secretary-General of 8 November 1985, 2/ all relevant subsequent resolutions and the proposed medium-term plan for the period 1992-1997; 6/
2. Requests Member States to continue to support the efforts of the United
Nations, its specialized agencies and the regional commissions to increase the
percentage of women in the Professional category and above by, inter alia.
nominating more women candidates, especially for senior policy-level and
decision-making posts, by encouraging women to apply for vacant posts and by
creating national rosters of women candidates to be shared with the Secretariat,
the governing bodies of the specialized agencies and the regional commissions;

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3. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to address the unfulfilled points of the action programme, contained in his report of 8 November 1985, which aims at the creation of a framework for the advancement of women as an integrated component of the United Nations policy-making process and by so doing to fulfill the goal of the action programme to secure and maintain the attitudinal changes and the management commitment required for the full participation of women in the work of the Secretariat under the conditions of equality; l/
4. Also requests the Secretary-General to include in his report to be submitted to the General Assembly and the Commission on the Status of Women an action programme for the advancement of women in the Secretariat for the period 1991-1995, further to the request contained in paragraph 5 of its resolution 44/75 of 8 December 1989, which should also include a comprehensive evaluation and analysis by the Secretariat of the main obstacles to the improvement of the status of women in the Organization and should propose solutions to overcome those obstacles;
5. Further requests the Secretary-General, within existing resources, to ensure that adequate machinery, with the authority of enforcement and the responsibility of accountability, including a senior-level official devoted to implementation of the action programme, is maintained and, to the extent possible, strengthened during the course of the programme for the period 1991-1995;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that his annual report on progress achieved and future strategies to implement action programmes on the status of women in the Secretariat and the relevant mandates adopted by the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council and the recommendations of the Steering Committee for the Improvement of the Status of Women in the Secretariat are submitted to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-fifth session and to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session for consideration under the item entitled "Forward-looking strategies for the advancement of women to the
year 2000".
DRAFT RESOLUTION II
Women and literacy
The General Assembly,
Recalling that in the universal Declaration of Human Rights 8/ and the
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International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 9/ the inalienable right of every individual to education is recognized,
Recalling also the special references to and recommendations on women's needs
In relation to literacy, education and training contained in paragraphs 163 to 173
of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the
year 2000, 10/
Recalling further Commission on the Status of Women resolution 34/8 on women and literacy, 11/
Taking note of Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24 May 1990, the annex to which contains the recommendations and conclusions arising from the first review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, in which, inter alia, it is recommended that Governments should make special efforts to remove all gender-related differences in adult literacy by the year 2000 and that programmes should be established to ensure that parents and teachers provide equal educational opportunities for girls and boys,
Noting that in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 12/ States parties, inter alia, committed themselves to take actions to ensure equal access to education for women and men,
Recalling its resolutions 42/104 of 7 December 1987, by which it proclaimed 1990 as International Literacy Year, and 44/127 of 15 December 1989, in which it called for continuing international efforts to promote literacy,
Recalling also the World Declaration on Education for All adopted by the World Conference on Education for All, held at Chomtien, Thailand, in 1990, in which it is recognized that literacy programmes are indispensable to the basic learning needs of all and that the most urgent priority is to ensure access to, and improve the quality of, education for girls and women and to remove every obstacle that hampers their active participation,
Mindful of Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/12 of 24 May 1990, in which it recommended that a world conference on women be held in 1995,
9/ See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
10/ Report of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements_
the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality. Development and Peace, Nairobi,
15-26 July 1985 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.85.IV.10), chap. 1, sect. A.
11/ See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council. 1990. Supplement No. 5 (E/1990/25), chap. I, sect. C.
12/ Resolution 34/180.

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Taking note of the Plan of Action for Implementing the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the 1990s, 13/ adopted by the World Summit for Children, in which, inter alia, the adoption of measures was called for that emphasized the need to improve the current disparities between girls and boys in access to basic education and the need to reduce adult illiteracy by half, with an emphasis on female illiteracy, before the year 2000,
Mindful of the fact that the eradication of illiteracy, including illiteracy among women, is one of the paramount objectives of the international development strategy for the fourth United Nations development decade,
Recognizing that in many countries there is a significant gap between enrolments and retention levels of girls and boys in basic education programmes, just as there is a gap in literacy between adult men and women, which denies women of all ages the opportunity to participate fully in national development activities,
Bearing in mind that increased literacy levels have already been directly associated with reduced population growth in many parts of the world and that the promotion of women's literacy is an important element in ensuring the success of national objectives relating to population,
1. Notes with appreciation the commendable work done in conjunction with International Literacy Year by the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and its Plan of Action for the Eradication of Illiteracy by the Year 2000, the United Nations Children's Fund and the United Nations Development Programme;
2. Commends those Governments that have launched national programmes aimed at meeting the objectives of the Year;
3. Notes with satisfaction the active involvement of many non-governmental organizations in the Year and, in particular, the establishment of the International Task Force on Literacy;
4. Encourages the Secretary-General and Member States, as well as intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to continue to support efforts to increase literacy:

(a) Improving the educational opportunities for females of all ages, particularly children;
(b) Providing basic education to all without discrimination based on gender and in settings that are accessible and culturally acceptable;
(c) Encouraging the development of gender-specific indicators and measurements for assessing the impact of educational and training efforts in both

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domestic and international projects and programmes and for assessing the inclusion and participation of women of all ages in those efforts;
5. Also encourages Member States to attempt to disaggregate by gender data in such areas as school enrolment, completion, participation and repetition rates;
6. Urges Member States to eliminate de jure and de facto barriers to schooling for women of all ages;
7. Calls upon Member States to give special attention and emphasis to the guidelines and recommendations developed for the Year when implementing measures to eliminate illiteracy;
8. Encourages the Secretary-General, in collaboration with relevant United Nations organizations, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund and the United Nations Development Programme, to assist Member States in strengthening strategies to target resources to women of all ages, especially those most disadvantaged, and thereby work towards the elimination of illiteracy of women of all ages;
9. Calls upon Member States to accelerate the participation of women in literacy programmes, particularly in areas pertaining to the improvement of their socio-economic condition, including legal literacy and income-generating and skill-building activities;
10. Encourages Member States to increase the number of tutors and trainers with the necessary qualifications, to maximize their efforts to reach women and to increase the participation of non-governmental and private volunteer organizations, particularly women's organizations, in the implementation and management of literacy programmes and in policy and programme development;
11. Requests the Secretary-General to prepare for the world conference on women in 1995 a report on the progress to increase female literacy made by Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the specialized agencies, regional commissions and other organizations of the United Nations system;
12. Requests the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to pay particular attention to measures taken by Governments to increase female literacy through, particularly, ensuring equal access to basic education for girls and boys;
13. Requests the Secretary-General in his next update to the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development to examine specifically the relationship between the literacy of women and their economic and social advancement.

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DRAFT RESOLUTION III
Interregional consultation on women in public life
The General Assembly.
Recalling its resolution 44/77 of 8 December 1989, in which it endorsed the convening in 1991 of an interregional consultation on women in public life,
Concerned that the level of participation by women in decision-making in almost all countries is exceedingly low,
Stressing the importance of women's full participation in the political process at all levels, especially in top decision-making, as a means of achieving the objectives set in the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, 14/
Considering that the consultation is an important event towards the preparations for the 1995 world conference on women,
1. Decides that the consultation on women in public life should be an intergovernmental meeting;
2. Urges all Governments to participate actively in the consultation and for that purpose to designate as participants women who currently hold leadership positions in government and national institutions and organizations or are considered to have the potential for high public office;
3. Invites Governments and national institutions and organizations to provide extra budgetary resources to facilitate preparations for the consultation, especially for the participation of least developed countries and for the dissemination in the mass media of information about the consultation;
4. Requests the Secretary-General to take steps to ensure the necessary servicing and support of the consultation and to transmit its conclusions in a report to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session.
14/ Report of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality. Development and Peace. Nairobi. 15-26 July 1985 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.85.IX.10), chap. I, sect. A.

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DRAFT RESOLUTION IV United Nations Development Fund for Women
The General Assembly,
Recalling Its resolution 39/125 of 14 December 1984, in which it decided to establish the United Nations Development Fund for Women as a separate and identifiable entity in autonomous association with the United Nations Development Programme,
Reaffirming that the Fund has an important role in contributing to an increase in opportunities and options for women in developing countries,
Emphasizing the position of the Fund as a specialized resource base for development co-operation, serving as a bridge between the needs and aspirations of women and the resources, programmes and policies for their economic development,
Taking note of the reports of the Consultative Committee on the United Nations Development Fund for Women referred to in the report of the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, 15/
1. Commends the United Nations Development Fund for Women for its efforts to increase the visibility of women and to ensure that issues relating to women are on the agenda of the mainstream development efforts of Governments, United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations and the private sector;
2. Takes note with satisfaction of the achievements of the Fund in giving a high profile to its work and in increasing and broadening its financial resource base, including with the support of the national committees for the Fund;
3. Welcomes the development of new strategies for the programme management of the Fund based on long-term and short-term priorities;
4. Encourages the Fund in its efforts to document and share its experiences in the context of increasing emphasis on the human development dimension in technical co-operation;
5. Urges Governments and public and private donors to continue to extend their support to the Fund through voluntary contributions and pledges to its programmes;
6. Stresses the importance of the work of the Consultative Committee on the United Nations Development Fund for Women in policy and programme matters relating to the activities of the Fund;

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7. Requests the Secretary-General to explore the possibility of providing conference services in the relevant working languages to the Consultative Committee, bearing in mind the importance of its work;
8. Requests the Secretary-General to transmit to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session the report of the Administration of the United Nations Development Programme on the activities of the Fund to be submitted in accordance with resolution 39/125.
DRAFT RESOLUTION V
Implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Woman
The General Assembly.
Recalling all its relevant resolutions, in particular resolution 43/101 of 8 December 1988, in which, inter alia, it endorsed the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women 16/ for the period up to the year 2000 and set out measures for their immediate implementation and for the overall achievement of the interrelated goals and objectives of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace,
Taking into consideration the resolutions adopted by the Economic and Social Council on issues relating to women since its resolution 1987/18 of 26 May 1987,
Reaffirming its resolution 40/30 of 29 November 1985, in which it emphasized that the elderly must be considered an important and necessary element in the development process at all levels within a given society and that, consequently, elderly women should be considered contributors to as well as beneficiaries of development,
Reaffirming also its determination to encourage the full participation of women in economic, social, cultural, civil and political affairs and to promote development, co-operation and international peace,
Conscious of the important and constructive contribution to the improvement of the status of women made by the Commission on the Status of Women, the specialized agencies, the regional commissions and other organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations concerned,
Emphasizing once again the priority of the implementation, monitoring, review and appraisal of the Forward-looking Strategies,
16/ Report of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of
the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality. Development and Peace. Nairobi.
15-26 July 1985 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.85.IV.10), chap. I, sect. A.

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Recognizing the advancement of women as one of the priorities of the Organization for the biennium 1990-1991,
Recalling that the Commission held in 1990 a session of extended duration to review and appraise progress in the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies,
1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General concerning the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women; 11/
2. Also takes note of the recommendations and conclusions arising from the firs review and appraisal of the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies annexed to Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24 May 1990;
3. Urges Governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations to implement those recommendations and conclusions;
4. Reaffirms paragraph 2 of the recommendations and conclusions, in which it is stated that the pace of implementation of the strategies must be improved in the crucial last decade of the twentieth century since the cost to societies of failing to implement the Forward-looking Strategies would be high in terms of slowed economic and social development, misuse of human resources and reduced progress for society as a whole and, for that reason, immediate steps should be taken to remove the most serious obstacles to the implementation of the Strategies;
5. Calls again upon Member States to give priority to policies and programmes relating to the sub-theme "Employment, health and education", in particular to literacy, for the empowerment of women, especially those in the rural areas, to meet their own needs through self-reliance and the mobilization of indigenous resources, as well as to issues relating to the role of women in economic and political decision-making, population, environment and information;
6. Reaffirms the central role of the Commission on the Status of Women in matters related to the advancement of women, and calls upon the Commission to continue promoting the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies to the year 2000, based on the goals of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace and the subtheme "Employment, Health and Education", and urges all organizations of the United Nations system to co-operate effectively with the Commission in this task;
7. Requests the Commission, when considering the priority theme under development during its thirty-fifth and subsequent sessions, to ensure its early contribution to the work of the international meeting on population to bo held in 1994 and to address the role of technologies in the development of developing countries;

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8. Endorses Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/12 of 24 May 1990, in which the Council recommended that a world conference on women should be held in 1995 and requested that the Commission act as the preparatory body for the world conference;
9. Takes note of the invitation extended by the Government of Austria to host the world conference on women in 1995 at Vienna;
10. Requests the Commission, as the preparatory body for the world conference, to decide on the venue of the conference, not later than 1992, taking into account that preference should be given to those regions that have not yet hosted a world conference on women;
11. Also requests the Commission, in deciding on the preparations for documentation for the conference, to pay attention to Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/9 of 24 May 1990 concerning the second report on the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies;
12. Further requests the Commission to focus the agenda of the world conference in 1995 on the Forward-looking Strategies as well as on the recommendation and conclusions of the first review and appraisal;
13. Requests the Commission to ask the Secretary-General to appoint not later than 1992 the Secretary-General of the conference;
14. Requests the relevant United Nations bodies to continue to provide action-oriented inputs when reporting to the Commission on the priority theme;
15. Emphasizes, in the framework of the Forward-looking Strategies, the importance of the total integration of women in the development process, bearing in mind the specific and urgent needs of the developing countries, and calls upon Member States to establish specific targets at each level in order to increase the participation of women in professional, management and decision-making positions in their countries;
16. Also emphasizes the need to give urgent attention to redressing socio-economic inequities at the national and international levels as a necessary step towards the full realization of the goals and objectives of the Forward-looking Strategies;
17. Urges that particular attention be given by the United Nations and Governments to the situation of disabled women and that Governments take steps to ensure the equalization of opportunities for these women in the economic, social and political fields;

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18. Also urges the Commission, the relevant organizations of the United Nations and Governments to give particular attention to refugee women and children and migrant women, taking into account their contribution to the social, economic and political fields and the urgent need to avoid all kinds of discrimination against them;
19. Endorses the convening in 1991 of a high-level interregional consultation on women in public life, to be financed within existing resources and voluntary and other contributions;
20. Requests the Secretary-General, in formulating the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001 and in integrating the Forward-looking Strategies into activities mandated by the General Assembly, to pay particular attention to the strengthening of national machineries for the advancement of women and to specific sectoral themes that cut across the three objectives, equality, development and peace, in particular literacy, education, health, population, environment and the full participation of women in decision-making;
21. Also requests the Secretary-General to continue updating the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development. 19/ bearing in mind its importance, with particular emphasis on the adverse impact of the difficult economic situation affecting the majority of developing countries, in particular on the condition of women, giving special attention to worsening conditions for the incorporation of women into the labor force as well as to the impact of reduced expenditures on social services on women's opportunities for education, health and child care, and to submit a preliminary version of the updated World Survey to the Economic and Social Council, through the Commission, in 1993 and a final version in 1994;
22. Requests Governments, when presenting candidatures for vacancies in the Secretariat, in particular at the decision-making level, to give priority to women's candidatures, and requests the Secretary-General in reviewing these candidatures to give special consideration to female candidates from underrepresented and unrepresented developing countries;
23. Requests the Secretary-General to invite Governments, organizations of the United Nations system, including the regional commissions and the specialized agencies, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to report periodically to the Economic and Social Council, through the Commission, on activities undertaken at all levels to implement the Forward-looking Strategies;
24. Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide for the existing weekly radio programmes on women in the regular budget of the United Nations, making adequate provisions for broadcasts in different languages, and to develop the focal point for issues relating to women in the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat, which, in concert with the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat, should provide a more effective public information programme relating to the advancement of women;

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25. Further requests the Secretary-General to include in his report on the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies, to be submitted to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session, an assessment of recent developments that are relevant to the priority themes to be considered at the subsequent session of the Commission and to transmit to the Commission a summary of relevant views expressed by delegations during the debate in the Assembly)
26. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session on measures taken to implement the present resolution;
27. Decides to consider these questions further at its forty-sixth session under the item entitled "Forward-looking strategies for the advancement of women to the year 2000".