| Date | 12 December 1997 |
|---|
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The President
The Assembly has before it seven draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 32 of its report contained in document A/52/637 and one draft decision recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 33 of the same report.
I shall put the seven draft resolutions and the draft decision to the Assembly one by one. After all the decisions have been taken, representatives will again have the opportunity to explain their votes or positions.
I shall now give the floor to those representatives who wish to make statements in explanation of vote or position before action is taken.
Ms. Wahbi (Sudan)
We wish to explain our vote on the draft resolution entitled "Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas", contained in the report of the Third Committee to the General Assembly (A/52/637).
The Sudan has been a sponsor of draft resolutions on this subject for a long time. The Sudanese Government decided to sponsor such resolutions in the past because of the realization that rural women are very vulnerable, and there is a real need to improve their situation, particularly in developing countries, including in the Sudan.
Unfortunately, this year it was difficult for our delegation to even join the consensus on this draft, because of the controversial language introduced into the text. This has changed last year's agreed language that was acceptable to all delegations.
The reason why Sudan joined the consensus in the end was that most paragraphs of the draft resolution aim at improving the situation of rural women so that they may become effective participants in society. Moreover, the draft urges States and the international community to take the necessary measures to empower rural women, to respond to their needs and to pull them up from the economic conditions in which many live, particularly in the developing countries.
In spite of these noble aims, which we fully support, the Sudan is obliged to express its reservation on operative paragraph 2 (e). The reasons for this position are follows: first, the paragraph attempts to distort the agreed language of international conferences, particularly the language of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which were negotiated in depth. Moreover, the new language introduced into the paragraph results in unacceptable ambiguity.
Secondly, the deviation which took place in this paragraph, particularly the reference to inheritance, can be interpreted as contradicting Islamic law, the shariah.
Thirdly, the Sudan's confirmed position is to strongly reject any language that contradicts Islamic law. We do not consider ourselves parties to such language; nor can it be binding on us. Such language cannot be considered agreed language. Therefore, it cannot be used in the future as such.
Women's inheritance was a controversial issue during previous international conferences and during many negotiations on various international instruments. The bottom line for consensus was quite clear. It was evident that divergent approaches and viewpoints existed and that there were specific points on which no consensus could ever be reached. Therefore, attempts to force a consensus are completely unacceptable.
As for the position of Islamic law concerning the inheritance of women, we would like to clarify the following points: first, Islam grants all women the equal right to inherit; secondly, the division of inheritance in Islam is not based on gender; and thirdly, according to Islamic law inheritance is distributed to the relatives on the basis of the degree of relationship to the deceased -- for example, the mother of a deceased person would inherit one-eighth of the assets: money, land, et cetera. And a mother is a woman. This could be more than the share of a number of males in the family, including sons of the deceased.
The United Nations has continued to call for respect for the principle of tolerance between religions, countries and peoples. Therefore, we question today the reasons which make some compel us, as Muslims, to justify our beliefs and religion, or for others to look down on a sacred religion by calling it a "philosophy". This attitude motivates us to renew once more our call for respect for the beliefs of others and for the recognition of the diversities which really exist in the world.
Mr. Kasanda (Zambia)
At the time that the Third Committee took action on the resolution entitled "Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas", my delegation reserved its right to make a general statement in explanation of position.
Zambia became a sponsor of this resolution because we attach great importance to the situation of rural women. In Zambia, 60 per cent of our population live in rural areas, and the majority are women. In Africa, women constitute the majority of the population and are, in fact, one of the continent's greatest assets, in that they are responsible for 60 to 80 per cent of food production. Food is produced predominantly by rural women.
Zambia had the privilege of making a statement in the Third Committee on behalf of the members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in which we elaborated on the vital importance of the right of ownership of land for rural women. We pointed out that land tenure practices usually ensure male control of activities and the allocation of the best land and agricultural input for export crops. We further pointed out that inheritance practices, whereby land traditionally passes from father to son -- thus denying women their right to inheritance, let alone their right to equal inheritance -- further reinforce male control and exacerbate the poverty of women.
In addressing the issue of the feminization of poverty, one of the key issues that has been identified is that of land ownership. A definite link has been made between poverty and the absence of land ownership. It is a proven fact that land ownership facilitates access to a range of benefits and opportunities, and the disproportionate enjoyment by men of rights to land excludes women from those benefits and opportunities. Without title to land, women's access to agricultural support services, particularly credit and extension services, where land ownership is expected as collateral or as a precondition, is drastically limited.
The majority of land in Africa is agricultural land subject to traditional inheritance practices, and therefore the right to equal inheritance of land by women becomes vitally important. It lies at the very heart of women's economic empowerment, especially for rural women who may not be able to purchase title to land. The issue is also a question of development. Any meaningful development is not possible when more than half of a population are denied the right to own land, which is a major productive resource.
It is also a question of human rights. Everyone is born equal and has the right to be treated equally. The issue of land rights discrimination is a matter of human rights. Women are being discriminated against by virtue of their being born as women.
For these reasons the delegation of Zambia will, in all appropriate forums, continue to advocate the enactment of laws that will guarantee women the right to equal inheritance. In this light, we wish to express our gratitude to the delegation of Mongolia for its excellent work and patience in striving to achieve consensus on this draft resolution. We also wish to express our gratitude to all those delegations which worked so hard to maintain the delicate consensus reached in the Commission on the Status of Women on the inheritance language. We regret that a few delegations, which were clearly a minority, chose not to respect and maintain that agreement. We shall, however, remain unrelenting in our pursuit of justice on this very important issue.
Mr. Saleh (Bahrain)
My delegation will join consensus on draft resolution I, entitled "Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas". But we would like to put on record our reservations with regard to operative paragraph 2 (e) because it contradicts our Islamic shariah. Islam has guaranteed women their full rights, including the right to inheritance. The Holy Quran provides that the male will have twice as much as the female. Therefore with regard to the issue of inheritance in Islam, there is a definite rule from which we cannot turn aside and which cannot be questioned.
Ms. Mohamed (Yemen)
With regard to the resolution entitled "Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas", we support its adoption by consensus. However, we would also like to make clear that the issue of inheritance in Islam is complex. In Islam, inheritance distribution between the sexes is governed by relationship and kinship. My delegation would like to put on record our reservations about the wording of paragraph 2 (e) of the draft resolution.
The President
We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas".
The Third Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?
The President
The Third Committee adopted draft resolution II, entitled "United Nations Development Fund for Women", without a vote.
May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
The President
The Third Committee adopted draft resolution III, entitled "International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women", without a vote.
May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
The President
The Third Committee adopted draft resolution IV, entitled "Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat", without a vote.
May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
The President
The Third Committee adopted draft resolution V, entitled "Violence against women migrant workers", without a vote.
May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do likewise?
The President
The Third Committee adopted draft resolution VI, entitled "Traffic in women and girls", without a vote.
May I take it that the Assembly wishes to the same?
The President
The Third Committee adopted draft resolution VII, entitled "Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls", without a vote.
May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
The President
The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft decision entitled "Reports considered by the General Assembly in connection with the question of the advancement of women", recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 33 of the report.
May I consider that the Assembly wishes to adopt the draft decision?
The President
I call on the representative of Yemen, who wishes to make a statement in explanation of position.
Ms. Mohamed (Yemen)
With regard to the draft resolution on the advancement of women in the Secretariat, we were not present when it as adopted. We wish to express our official support for the draft resolution, as well as our desire to become one of its sponsors.
The President
May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 105?
