UN Human Rights Treaties

UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC
AND
SOCIAL COUNCIL

Distr. GENERAL
E/CN6/SR.672 15 December 1976
Original: ENGLISH

Chairman;

COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
Resumed Twenty-sixth Session
SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 672ND MEETING
held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Tuesday, 14 December 1976, at 10.05 a.m.
Mrs. GONZALEZ de CUADROS (Colombia)

CONTENTS
The United Nations Decade for Women; Equality, Development and Peace, 1976-1935 (continued)
(b) Preparatory work for the 198O Conference (continued)
International instruments relating to the status of women (agenda item 3) (continued) Draft convention on the elimination of discrimination against women (continued)
This record is subject to correction.
Participants wishing to make corrections should submit them in writing to the Official Records Editing Section, room E.4108, Palais des Nations, Geneva, within one week of receiving the record in their working language.
Corrections to the records of the meetings of the Commission at this resumed session will be consolidated in a single corrigendum to be issued shortly after the end of the session.
GE.76-92178

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THE UNITED NATIONS DECADE FOR WOMEN; EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE, 1976-1985 (agenda item 4) (continued)
(b) PREPARATORY WORK FOR TEE 198O CONFERENCE (E/CN.6/600: E/CN.6/L.713; E/CN.6/NGO/258 and 269) (continued)
1. Mr. MASTER (Indonesia) said that in principle his Government fully supported the idea of holding a world conference in 198O to review and evaluate progress made in implementing the objectives of the World Plan of Action. The topics suggested for the conference, namely implementation of international standards to eliminate discrimination on grounds of sex, the integration of women in the development process and the involvement of women in international co-operation and Peace, would provide a sufficiently wide basis for its deliberations. His Government, which attached great importance to the achievement of minimum targets at the national level, hoped that the conference would discuss not only the successes achieved in certain countries but also problems hampering implementation of the provisions of the World Plan of Action. Countries should be given sufficient time to supply such information to the Commission.
2. His delegation agreed with those representatives who had suggested that the Commission should act as the preparatory committee for the Conference, It also agreed that there should be intergovernmental consultations at the regional level and that, in those consultations, member countries should be represented by teams consisting of representatives of the Government and representatives of non-governmental organizations.
3. Ms. AHRLAND (Sweden) said that her delegation also agreed that the Commission should serve as the preparatory committee for the conference; however if it was to do the preparatory work properly, it should have at least one meeting in addition to its biennial sessions in 1978 and 198O. She therefore suggested that the Commission should request the Economic and Social Council to authorize it to serve as the preparatory committee for the Conference and to hold a meeting in 1977.
4. She agreed with the view expressed in paragraph 15 of document E/CN.6/600 that the documentation prepared for the Conference should be limited in quantity. She also agreed with the Danish representative's suggestion that a deadline should be established for the submission of documents,
5. As the first preparatory meeting for the conference should be held in 1977, regional preparatory meetings could be held in 1979.in that connexion, she suggested that members should consider the possibility of organizing small inter-regional seminars. In certain respects, women, whether in developed or developing countries, faced the same problems; however, attitudes to those problems differed from country
to country, as did methods of solving them. At small conferences, misunderstandings that arose as a result of language differences could be cleared up, thus preparing the way for the success of the main conference.

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6. Referring to the question of parallel activities, she said that persons who had attended the Tribune at Mexico City had been very seriously concerned with the matters dealt with at the Conference, but unfortunately had not been able to work as they would have wished. It would be. a pity if provision was not made for a Tribune in 1980, because the non-governmental organizations and other interested persons should be given a chance to state their views during the conference.
7. Ms. SIVOMEY (Togo), referring to paragraph 24 of document E/CN.6/600, said that her delegation was of the opinion that intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations had a very important role to play at the 1980 conference. The Secretariat's suggestion that non-governmental organizations should try to organize preparatory meetings at the local, national, and regional levels was most welcome.
8. It was a pity that the Tribune had not been better organized at Mexico because it had provided a good opportunity to hear the experiences of persons closely associated with development work. It was important that in 1980 every effort should be made to organize a Tribune in which all non-governmental organisations would be able to describe their experiences and express their point of view on the work that still had to be done if the objectives of International Women's Year were to be achieved.
9. Mrs. TRAP0TE (Cuba) said that the 198O Conference should concentrate, on the three objectives of the Decade for Women, namely, equality, development and peace. It was necessary to implement programmes to promote the integration of women in development, but it was just as necessary to prepare programmes to promote the participation of women in international co-operation and the maintenance of peace. The Secretariat should determine whether it would be possible for the topics of equality, development and peace to be discussed at the plenary meetings of the conference as well as in committee.
10. It was important that, starting in 1977> regional seminars should be organized to make thorough studies on the three objectives of the Decade.
11. Initially, the preparatory work for the conference should be carried out by the Commission; later, consideration could be given to the possibility of establishing a preparatory committee.
12. Non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council could make an effective contribution to the success of the conference. However, her delegation doubted whether parallel activities would prove very effective unless they were properly prepared and co-ordinated.
13. The documents for the conference should deal with the theme of equality, development and peace and should be issued in time to enable all persons attending the conference to study them thoroughly.
14. Mrs. DAHIERUP (Denmark) said that the 198O conference must be very carefully-planned, and regional seminars organized throughout the world for that purpose. It was doubtful that at its next session the Commission would be able to devote sufficient time to the planning of the conference. It would therefore seem necessary to establish an ad hoc committee composed of representatives of the Commission, as was suggested by the sponsors of draft resolution E/CN.6/L.695. She wondered, however, whether a committee of 16 members, as was proposed in the draft resolution, would be able to work efficiently. Consideration might, therefore, be given to a committee of 10 members.

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15. She agreed that the conference should, concentrate on women's role in development. There must also be a thorough discussion on ways and means of increasing employment opportunities for women, and the ILO should be invited to participate in that debate,
16. It was essential that the documents for the conference should be issued in sufficient time to enable Governments, non-governmental organisations end women's commissions to study them thoroughly. She therefore suggested that 1 April 1979 should be established as the deadline for the submission of documents.
17. In conclusion, she expressed the hope that delegations to the conference would comprise representatives of women's commissions, women's organizations and trade unions, as well as government representatives.
18. Mrs. HUTAR (United States of America) said that the membership of the preparatory committee must be sufficiently large to enable it to work efficiently; the preparatory committee must also be allowed sufficient time to do its work. She proposed, therefore, that consideration should be given to the possibility of allowing the preparatory committee to hold three meetings, one in 1977, one in 1978 and one in 1979 Thought might also be given to the possibility of earmarking some of the funds allocated to the conference for a preparatory meeting in 1980, should it prove necessary.
19. She hoped that there would be sufficient space for both the official conference and the Tribune at the conference site. Steps should be taken to ensure that in 198O the persons attending the Tribune were properly informed about the purposes of the conference, and the funds allocated for the Tribune must be sufficient to ensure that all persons attending it were provided with adequate documentary material. It was also important that the work done in the Tribune should parallel that of the main conference.
20. Mrs. NIKOLAEVA (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) said that, in the opinion . of her delegation, it served little purpose to spend large amounts of money on ineffective activities, such as the Tribune. At Mexico, the Tribune had done no serious work. All the worthwhile documents, such as the World Plan of Action, the Declaration of Mexico on the Equality of Women and their Contribution to Development and Peace and related resolutions had been prepared by the Conference and its Committees. It was thanks to the Conference that those documents had been submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations and now constituted guidelines for action to improve the status of women. Her delegation was not opposed to parallel activities provided they were thoroughly thought out and effective. United Nations funds should be used sparingly, for vast resources were needed to promote the advancement of women. Much more thought should be given to the question of organizing a Tribune in 1980.

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21. Mrs. ROMANOVICH (Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic) said that most delegations
seemed to agree that attention should be concentrated on the themes of equality,
development and peace at the 1980 conference. Obviously, there could be no development
without equality or without peaceful co-operation among States. Accordingly, the
Secretary-General should prepare reports on those three themes.
22. Her delegation considered that much work could he done at the national level to
provide an analytical basis for the discussions at the conference. It would also be
advisable to organize regional seminars in preparation for the conference.
23. Broad discussions in plenary would be most useful. She did not, therefore, agree with those representatives who had suggested that the conference should hold plenary meetings only at the beginning and end of the session. After all, discussions in plenary provided the committees with much material on which to work. In that' connexion, it seemed that it would be necessary to establish three committees on the topics of equality, development and peace respectively.
24. She questioned the advisability of holding the first meeting of the preparatory committee in 1977, and shared the doubts expressed by certain representatives concerning the usefulness of parallel activities at the conference. At Mexico, the Tribune had proved of little use. It would be unwise to waste money on an. activity that produced no results. If parallel activities were to be organized, they must be properly planned.
25. Her delegation agreed with those who had emphasized the importance of disseminating adequate information about the purposes of the conference.
26. In conclusion, she suggested that the Commission should decide whether or not it favoured the celebration of International Women's Day.
27. Mrs. HOERZ (German Democratic Republic) said that one of the basic tasks of the Commission was to help countries to exchange experiences on the struggle of women to achieve their rights. Such exchanges made it possible to evaluate the progress being made in the implementation of the objectives of the World Plan of Action at both the national and international levels.
28. The German Democratic Republic had acted as host to the World Congress for International Women's Year; she realized, therefore, the difficulties involved in organizing a conference to promote the interests of women. In the first place, it was necessary to lay down sound guidelines, such as those to be found in the World Plan of Action and the Mexico Declaration. Secondly, organizational committees must be set up. In the opinion of her delegation, it would be useful to have organizational committees at both the national and international levels. The Commission, too, at its 1978 session, should deal with the preparatory work for the conference. At that session, it should decide whether conference committees were to be established and, if so, on what subjects. It should also decide which country groups were to be responsible for the preparatory work on the various questions to be dealt with at the conference and the results it hoped the conference would achieve. If committees were established, they must be provided with documents on which to base

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their discussions, There might, for instance, be a committee to deal with the question of the equality of women in society and law and their de facto equality. Material from several countries throughout the world should be collected on that subject and incorporated in a document which would serve as the basic document for such a committee.
29. Mrs. HUSSEIN (Egypt) 3aid it would be easier to determine the value of the
Tribune at Mexico City had an assessment been made of its work. It was true that
the Tribune had produced no resolutions; nevertheless, it had been a free association of people and their spontaneous discussions had served a very useful purpose. Much of the good work done by the Tribune had never been made public because newspapers tended to concentrate on failure rather than success. It was to be hoped that the non-governmental organizations would be able to co-ordinate their work with that of' the Commission for the 1980 conference. The value of non-governmental organizations lay in their diversity and in the fact that they could express a variety of views. The Commission should therefore try to work out, with those organizations, means of ensuring that the parallel activities were constructive and provided an adequate feedback to the conference. She supported the suggestions made by the representative of the United Kingdom concerning the Tribune (E/C¥.6/L.713), and agreed with the United States representative that the documentary material supplied to the conference should also be made available to the Tribune. It would be interesting to know how much United Nations money had been spent on the Tribune at Mexico City; as a rule, non-governmental organizations funded their activities on their own. The World Congress for International Women's Year, which had been held in Berlin in 1975, had been more successful than the Tribune because it had been better prepared,
30. In conclusion, she asked whether International Women's Day was to be 'celebrated as a parallel activity in 198O. She understood that most countries had agreed that it should be celebrated on 8 March.
31. Mrs. BRUCE (Deputy Director, Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs), referring to the comments of the Egyptian representative, said that the United Nations
had not made any allocation from its regular budget towards the cost of the Mexico City Tribune, which had been financed by bilateral funds paid directly to its organizers. Indeed, the United Nations had played very little part in the substantive: organization of the Tribune, which had been organized quite independently
of the governmental Conference,
32. It appeared from the discussion, that the Commission hoped that there would, be a much
closer relationship between non-governmental activity and the governmental conference
in 1980. That would be a slightly different approach to the parallel activity of the Tribune as it had been conceived for Mexico. As was stated in paragraph 36 (b) of document E/CN.6/6OO, some 6,000 persons from more than 90 countries had participated in the Tribune at Mexico City. If it was desired to have a direct input from the Tribune to the conference, the conference should perhaps be more a conference of non-governmental organizations in consultative status. That was a point the Commission might wish to clarify.

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33. The United Nations had not made any formal evaluation of the success of the Mexico City Tribune. Its organizers had, however, told her informally that it had generated tremendous interest in women's problems, that the contacts established had been maintained, and that a network of concerned women, who had learnt of the work being done by the United Nations, Governments and non-governmental organizations to further the cause of women, had been built up.
34. Mr. EHSASSI (Iran) said that the sooner the preparatory work was started the
better would be the Conference's chances of success. He agreed with the
United States representative that the preparatory committee should hold several meetings; it should start work in 1977 as soon as possible after the Economic and Social Council had approved the Commission's recommendation on its establishment. At its regular session in 1978, the Commission could review the work done, by the preparatory committee and, if necessary, instruct the committee to continue its work.
35. His delegation attached great importance to the contribution non-governmental
organizations could make to the advancement of women. It believed, however, that
those organizations worked more effectively at the national level and in implementing
national programmes. At Mexico City, the Tribune had not been very successful, partly
because no preparatory work had been done for it and partly because no criteria had
been established for participation in it. He wondered whether it was wise to hold,
the conference and the Tribune simultaneously. The two must complement each other,
and it might therefore be better to hold the Tribune before the conference. In that
way, the result of its work could influence the decisions of the conference.
36. He agreed with those representatives who had suggested that the members of delegations to the conference should have different backgrounds and represent different strata of society. It would be useful if they included representatives of women's organizations and non-governmental organizations, as well as men. Indeed the more men were involved in the problems of women the better the chances of rapid implementation of the World Plan of Action and of the decisions and recommendations that would be made by the 198O conference.
37. Mrs. COCKCROFT (United Kingdom) read out document E/CN.6/L.713 which; she had drawn up on behalf of her delegation and the Bureau, In addition, her delegation wished to suggest that the plenary sessions of the conference should not exceed one or two days. With regard to the suggestion that three conference committees should deal with the topics of equality, development and peace respectively, her delegation thought that the peace topic might well be taken up in plenary, and
that equality and development should be considered by the conference committees. It agreed with the Egyptian representative's views on publicity; however, she noted that the publicity given to the Mexico City Conference bad highlighted the problems of women in the world, and that was surely a, positive development. Her delegation did not believe that an International Women's Day would raise any particular problems, but felt that flexibility was necessary with regard to the actual date.

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38. Her delegation had listened with interest to the Iranian delegation's views on the desirability of holding the Tribune for non-governmental organizations prior to the main governmental conference. It might well prove difficult to accommodate large numbers of participants, but her delegation hoped that the non-governmental organizations could be accommodated either before, after, or preferably at the same time as the conference. Her delegation had been gratified to note that men had served on most of the delegations at the Mexico City Conference; it had, however, objected to the fact that, whenever a political issue had arisen, the male members of delegations had in many cases taken over the discussion. She hoped that there would be equality of opportunity and equality of treatment at the 1980 conference,
39. Mr. EHSASSI (Iran) said that while his delegation had every sympathy with the idea that plenary sessions should be reduced to a minimum, it might not be possible to put it into effect. He recalled that many heads of delegations had come to the Mexico City Conference solely, to speak in the general debate, and for that reason it had been impossible to curtail or dispense with that part of the programme. In his previous statement on the problems raised by holding the Tribune and conference simultaneously, he had been referring to difficulties of communication and. not accommodation. The problem of communication would still arise even if the Tribune and conference were held in the same building. His delegation believed that a Tribune — if it was decided to hold one - could make a valuable contribution provided that it was organized before the conference, formulated its recommendations and then submitted them to the conference. Referring to another point made by the United Kingdom representative, he noted that delegations were representatives of Governments; no delegate at a governmental conference could act on his or her own initiative, but solely on instructions from his or her Government, and it made little difference whether delegations were composed of men or of women. The merit of including men in such conferences was that they would become better acquainted with the problems of women.
40, Mrs. HIRLEMANN (France) enquired how the views and suggestions of delegations
put forward in the course of the general debate would be taken up by the Secretariat
and conveyed to the preparatory committee
41. Mrs. BRUCE (Deputy Director, Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian
Affairs) explained that in resolution 1999 (LX) the Economic and Social Council had
called upon the Commission to consider different aspects of the preparatory work for
the conference, including its agenda. The Council had also requested the
Secretary-General to transmit the relevant part of the Commission's report to
the Committee on Review and Appraisal. Finally, the Council had decided to consider, at its spring session in 1978, the question of the preparatory work for the conference on the basis of the deliberations of the Commission and of the Committee on Review and Appraisal. The Commission's deliberations would be summarized in the usual fashion, and trends in its discussions as well as any conclusions reached would be reflected in its report to the Council. The Commission still had before it a draft resolution (E/CN.6/L.695) calling for the establishment of an ad hoc committee of sixteen representatives of the Governments members of the Commission to submit to it at its twenty-seventh session in 1978 proposals concerning the substantive and administrative arrangements for the conference. If the Commission decided to establish that committee, it might be unnecessary at that stage to go into the preparatory work in much more detail. However, its establishment would have financial implications, affect the calendar of conferences, and have to be approved by the Economic and Social Council.

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42. The CHAIRMAN said that the draft resolution in question was being revised. She therefore suggested that the Commission should revert to the item when the revised-draft resolution had been issued in all working languages.
43. It was so decided.
INTERNATIONAL, INSTRUMENTS RELATING TO THE STATUS OF WOMEN (agenda item 5). (Continued)
(a) DRAFT CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN"
(E/CN.6/591, Corr.1 and Add.1; E/CN.6/L.699, L.7O0, L.701, L.705, L.706, L.707, L.708, L.709, L.710 and L.715; E/CN.6/NGO/272 and Add.1) (continued)
44. Mr. EHSASSI (Iran) introduced the new version of article 21 contained in' document E/CN.6/L.715. The text of the article had been drafted after extensive consultation and discussion, and his delegation hoped that it would be acceptable "to members of the Commission.
45. Mr. VAN DUYSE (Belgium) said that his delegation had reservations on paragraph. 3 for reasons that it had explained the previous day.
46. Mrs. HIRLEMANN '(France) noted that, according to the last sentence of paragraph 3, members of the group would serve in their personal capacity. However, the group was elected by the Commission from among those of its members which were States parties
to the Convention. In those circumstances, was it possible for the members of the group to serve in a personal capacity?
47. Mr. EHSASSI (Iran) said that it would not be the first time that members of a sub-commission acting in their personal capacity were' members of a commission. Fox-instance, most of the members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination who were elected in their own personal capacity were also members of the Commission on Human Rights.
48. Mrs. JANJIC (international Labour Organisation) proposed that the words
"the various stages of" should be added after the words "be represented at" in the first line of paragraph 6 in order to clarify the role of the specialized agencies.
49. The CHAIRMAN, speaking as the representative of Colombia, said that her delegation could accept the new version of article 21 as well' as the amendment proposed, by the ILO representative.
50. Mr. EHSASSI (Iran) said that the amendment proposed by the ILO representative was acceptable to the delegations which had submitted the revised version of article 21.
51. Mrs. HOTAR (United States of America) proposed that paragraph 3 should be reworded to read as follows; "For the purpose of considering the progress made in the implementation of the Convention by the States Parties,' the Commission on the
Status of Women shall establish an ad hoc Group consisting of 10 to 15 persons. The Group shall be established by the Commission from among States Parties to the

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Convention .and with consideration being given to the principle of equitable geographical distribution and representation of differing legal systems. Those appointed shall have been involved in the advancement of equality of rights of men and women. The members of the Group, not less than half of whom shall be women, shall serve in their personal capacity and shall be elected every two years",
52. Mr. VALLARTA (Mexico) proposed that the words "of national non-governmental
organizations" in paragraph 2 (b) should be replaced by the words "of the most
representative national non-governmental organizations". Governments might find it
impossible to consult all interested non-governmental organizations, and the wording
he had proposed was consistent with that governing the practice followed by States
in preparing reports for the ILO. They consulted only the most representative
organizations and trade unions.
53. Mrs. COCKCROFT (United Kingdom) said that her delegation was pleased to endorse
the new version suggested in document E/CN.6/L.715 and the amendments proposed by
the United States delegation.
54. Mrs. NIKOLAEVA (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) said that her delegation failed to see the need for new machinery; its establishment would entail additional expenditure) and in any event adequate machinery was. already available. . In a spirit of compromise, however, her delegation was in general prepared to support the version suggested in document E/CN.6/L.715, but would like to suggest the following amendments.
55- The second sentence of paragraph 3 should be made more consistent: it was inappropriate that some members of the group should be elected and others nominated. Moreover, iri order to make that sentence quite clear, the words "to the convention" , should be added after the second reference to "States Parties". The words "shall serve in their personal capacity and" in the third sentence of the paragraph should be deleted because it was not for the Commission to specify the capacity in which members of the Group were to serve.
56. Lastly, it should be made quite clear in the second sentence of paragraph 5, that it was the Commission which transmitted reports to the Economic and Social Council. That sentence should therefore be amended to read: "The Commission shall prepare reports for the Economic and Social Council".
57. Miss TYAEJI (India)' said that her delegation considered the United States' amendment entirely unacceptable. If it was adopted, the Commission would be downgraded, as delegates from States parties members of the Commission would not be considered as the nominees of those States parties. The text of paragraph 3 was so worded. because the authors felt strongly that States parties members of the Commission should • regard their representatives in the Commission as their nominees for questions relating to the examination of the rights of women. The whole point of the compromise reflected in the present text was that States parties not members of the Commission should nominate' a list of representatives, on the basis of which the Commission would elect the members of the group.

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58. Her delegation had originally been of the view that the Commission should appoint a working group specifically to monitor the implementation of the convention, but because of the strength of feeling expressed in the Commission that States parties alone should monitor implementation, her delegation had agreed to the present compromise text. Further than that it could not go.
59- Mr. VAN DUYSE (Belgium) said that, although his delegation was inclined to support the United States amendment, it was also prepared to endorse any other amendment that was generally acceptable to the Commission.
60. Mr,, EHSASSI (Iran) said that the compromise text before the Commission was endangered by. the United States amendment, which was unacceptable to some of the delegations which had drafted the original text of article 21. His own delegation was unable to support that amendment which merely took the Commission back to the point where the lengthy discussions on article 21 had begun. His delegation therefore appealed to the United States delegation to withdraw its amendment.
61. Referring to the USSR representative's observations he said that States parties members of the Commission would automatically be elected to membership of the group. On the other hand, the Commission had no means of obliging States parties not members of the Commission to become members of the group, and it was for those States parties themselves to nominate persons for membership. Referring; to the third sentence of paragraph 3, he said that his delegation considered that members of the group could indeed serve in their personal capacity, and hoped that the USSR delegation would not insist on the deletion of the provision to that effect.
62. There was no ambiguity in the second sentence of paragraph 5: "the Commission would annex the report of the group to its own report. What the USSR representative had proposed amounted to the same thing.
63. His delegation was prepared to endorse the Mexican delegation's amendment.
64. Ms. AHRLAND (Sweden) proposed that paragraph 2 (b) should be amended to include organizations whose aim was to combat discrimination against men and that the word "may" in paragraph 7 should be replaced by the word "shall".
65. With regard to paragraph 3, her delegation considered that all States parties should have the same responsibilities and be treated in the same manner. It therefore preferred the United States amendment, but was willing to consider other views. It agreed that the members of the group should have been involved in the advancement of equality of rights for men and women, but it did not share the view that a quota should be established for the participation of the sexes in the group. All delegations participating in an international conference or meeting should be composed of men and women, without quotas. In any case, the majority of persons involved in the advancement of equality of rights for women were women, and Governments would undoubtedly realize that women should serve in the group.

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66. Mrs. HUSSEIN (Egypt) said that in general her delegation supported the Iranian delegation's observations concerning article 21. To tamper with paragraph 3 of that article would be to destroy the delicate compromise achieved in document E/CN.6/L.715. The authors of that document had retained an organic relationship between the ad hoc group and the Commission, on the basis of the precedent set in connexion with the measures adopted for the implementation of the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. In that case an organic relationship had been maintained between the implementation machinery established and the Commission on Human Rights. In order to meet the wishes of those who insisted on an independent approach, the authors of the present text had included a provision that the members of the group should serve in their personal capacity. In that way, they would not be bothered during the sessions of the group by political instructions from their Governments. In their text, the authors had sought to ensure that the work performed by the group would be of a purely technical nature.
67. Her delegation had no strong views on the new sentence and. amendment to the existing third sentence proposed by the United States delegation in paragraph 2. One difficulty with the proposed new sentence, however, might be that the criterion of involvement in the advancement of equality of rights of men and women was too subjective.
68. Mrs. BOKOR-SZEGO (Hungary), noting that her delegation had always stressed the need to respect the mandate of the Commission, considered that the United States amendment was not consistent with that mandate. For a body to infringe its own mandate would be an event unprecedented in United Nations history. Her delegation fully supported the observations made by the delegation of India,
69. Mrs. HUTAR (United States of America), said that her delegation greatly appreciated the efforts of those delegations which had endeavoured to work out a compromise text ' and expressed the hope that they would respect differing views expressed by other delegations concerning the composition of the group. In the opinion of her delegation, the composition of the group, as proposed in its amendment, in no way downgraded the role of the Commission, Indeed, paragraph 5 of document E/CN.6/L.715 showed clearly that the Commission's role would not be downgraded by its amendment. The Commission would play an important and integral role: it would accept the group's report and ' could add comments of its own before submitting the report and its comments to the Council.
70. She did not agree that her delegation's amendment represented an unprecedented step. A similar committee had been established to monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and that step had not downgraded the Commission on Human Rights. She therefore hoped it would be realized that all members of the Commission were in agreement on the need to keep the Commission's status intact.
71. Mrs. COCKCROFT (United Kingdom) said that her delegation was unable to endorse the USSR delegation's amendments to paragraph 3 but could support all the other amendments that had been proposed. The United States amendment was of crucial importance. She wished to propose that, if the Commission was unable to agree on all the amendments proposed to document E/CN.6/L.715, it should submit two texts -document E/CN.6/L.715 and the amended version of that document - to the Economic and Social Council.

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72. Ms. HOERZ (German Democratic Republic) supported the version contained in
document E/CN.6/L.715 and the observations on paragraph 3 .mad by the representatives
of India, Iran and Egypt. She was unable to support the United States amendment.
73. Mrs. RQMANOVICH (Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic) expressed support for the text contained in document E/CN.6/L.715.
74. Ms. LORANGER (Canada) proposed that, in paragraph 2 (b), the words "national non-governmental organizations, Including women's" organizations", should be replaced by the words "appropriate national non-governmental organizations".

75. She endorsed the Swedish representative's amendment to paragraph 7; the Council should indeed report to the General Assembly on the various recommendations made. The greater the publicity given to the Commission, the better the chances of changing attitudes throughout the world.
76. Her delegation supported the United States amendment to paragraph 3: any convention must have a life of its own and its own implementation procedure. She did not agree with the representative of Hungary, since there would be no procedural problem involved in establishing a group in the manner suggested by the United States representative. It was only normal that the implementation of a convention should be monitored by the States parties, and her delegation would prefer that the group established for that purpose should be independent. It was nevertheless willing to consider the views of other delegations on that point.
77. She agreed with the Egyptian representative that it might be difficult to assess the extent to which a person had been involved in the advancement of equality of rights for men and women, but it had no fundamental objection to the inclusion in the article of the United States amendment on that point. She also agreed with the representative of Sweden concerning the desirability of avoiding a quota system. Lastly, noting that the final sentence of paragraph 3 was ambiguous, she proposed that the words "The members of the Group" should be replaced by the words "Those elected to the Group".
78. Miss TYABJI (India) said that, in the opinion of the delegations which had proposed the present text, the monitoring of the implementation of the convention was the responsibility of the Commission. She was well aware of the view that conventions should have a life of their own, but the present convention was different from other conventions in that it was essentially non-controversial. For that reason, the authors of the present text of article 21 considered that it was for the Commission to monitor implementation. However, in order to meet the wishes of those who thought that the Commission might be passing judgment on the States parties, the authors of the present text had compromised by allowing States parties not members of the Commission to join the monitoring group. The authors had again shown a spirit of compromise by agreeing that States parties not members of the Commission should have the same rights as States parties that were members of the Commission. However, the authors' willingness to compromise was not matched by a similar willingness on the part of the opponents of the present text. The authors wanted Governments to remember that their representatives might have to work in the group and that they should appoint appropriate persons.
79. Her delegation felt strongly that the Commission should not send two separate texts to the Councul but should try to arrive at a consensus.

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80. Princess PURACHATRA (Thailand) said that her delegation supported the text contained in document E/CN.6/L.715 and the Canadian amendment to paragraph 2 (b). It shared the views expressed by the representatives of Iran, India and Egypt concerning paragraph 3. It was only fair that the group should be composed partly of members of the Commission and partly of non-members.. Her delegation appealed to the Commission to try to agree on a compromise text.
The meeting rose at 1 p.m.