Twenty-third session

12 June-30 June 2000

* CEDAW/C/2000/II/1.

Item 5 of the provisional agenda*

Implementation of article 22 of the Conventionon the Elimination of All Forms of Discriminationagainst Women

Report provided by specialized agencies of the United Nations on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their activities

Note by the Secretary-General

Addendum

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

1.On behalf of the Committee, the Secretariat invited the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), on 12 April 2000, to submit to the Committee by 15 May 2000 a report on information provided by States to UNESCO on the implementation of article 12 and related articles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which would supplement the information contained in the reports of the States parties to the Convention that will be considered at the twenty-third session. The annex to the present note contains a country brief prepared by UNESCO.

2.Other information sought by the Committee referred to activities, programmes and policy decisions undertaken by UNESCO to promote the implementation of article 12 and related articles of the Convention.

3.The report annexed hereto has been submitted in compliance with the Committee’s request.

Annex

Report of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization to the Committee on the Elimination of Discriminationagainst Women at its twenty-third session (June 2000)

I.Introduction

1.The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women will hold its twenty-third session from 12 to 30 June 2000 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. At that time, the Committee will consider the reports of the following countries: Austria, Cameroon, Cuba, Iraq, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova and Romania.

2.In accordance with article 22 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, specialized agencies are invited “to submit reports on the implementation of the Convention in the areas falling within the scope of their activities”, as well as provide information on any recent activities, programmes and policies of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that would promote the implementation of article 10 and any related articles of the Convention. UNESCO’s contribution to the implementation of the Convention within the scope of the Organization is provided in section II of the present report. Section III of the report provides the measures taken by UNESCO to implement the Convention in the countries being considered.

II.Contribution of UNESCO to the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women within the scope of the Organization

3.The preparation of UNESCO’s contribution to the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the implementation of commitments made at the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995), to be presented at the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly (5-9 June 2000), is currently under way. The first draft of the report, entitled, “Partnership is Power: Women and Men for Gender Equality, A Preliminary Overview”, prepared by the Status of Women and Gender Equality Unit, was distributed at the thirtieth session of the General Conference and to the field offices and NGOs (over 4,000 copies in English and French), and a more complete report will be distributed during the one hundred fifty-ninth session of the Executive Board, including an assessment of UNESCO’s efforts to implement the five resolutions adopted by the UNESCO General Conference concerning women and gender equality.

4.As the lead agency responsible for the implementation of article 10 (on education) of the Convention, UNESCO is actively engaged in mobilizing wide support for the Convention and for activities in favour of gender equality. In this context, the UNESCO Gender Unit in 1998 produced “The Passport to Equality”, a personalized, passport-sized presentation of the Convention. It has proved to be such a successful tool to create awareness of the Convention and to foster its implementation widely, that an updated version of it was brought out in 1999. It includes information on the Optional Protocol (adopted by the General Assembly in 1999) and has been published in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Hindi, Urdu and Swahili. The Arabic, Chinese and Russian versions will be finalized shortly. Altogether 120,000 copies of “The Passport to Equality” have been printed and are being disseminated through the UNESCO networks, as well as United Nations entities (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), International Labour Organization, Division for the Advancement of Women of the Secretariat, United Nations Population Fund, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations Development Fund for Women and United Nations Children’s Fund). The UNESCO office in El Salvador and the UNESCO Gender Unit have also produced a popular Spanish-language version of the Passport aimed at illiterate and newly literate people. Additionally, the UNESCO office in Conakry has translated the Passport into nine local languages and will be using it as a tool to teach/ inform people about their rights through workshops with local NGOs.

5.In compliance with the commitment of the executive heads of all United Nations entities (Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) statement on gender mainstreaming1), a network of gender focal points established headquarters and in the field continues to be active in promoting gender mainstreaming within UNESCO programmes. However, many of the focal points do not receive sufficient support for gender mainstreaming activities within the sectors. The Gender Unit is increasing its efforts to improve the situation, in particular by organizing training and awareness-raising activities for staff and by preparing and distributing practical tools for gender mainstreaming (strategy design, a handbook with examples of best practices, checklists, lists of indicators). Staff attention needs to be drawn to the fact that gender mainstreaming is an individual as well as a collective responsibility; also, the accountability of the higher-ranking staff for encouraging (or discouraging) gender mainstreaming in the units under their responsibility should be reflected in personal performance reports.

Girls, women and education

6.Literacy and basic education for girls and women remain UNESCO’s concern. While significant progress has been made in providing education for all, gender disparities continue to persist in enrolment, literacy, access and quality of education. Although enrolment ratios in primary education have increased considerably over the past 20 years, gender gaps remain relatively high in some parts of the world. Thus the World Education Forum held recently in Dakar (April 2000), which was attended by representatives of 181 Governments and numerous NGOs, reiterated the need to eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and to achieve gender equality by 2015, with a special focus on ensuring full and equal access of girls to basic education. The Framework for Action adopted at the Forum commits participating Governments to achieve quality basic education for all and six targeted goals, three of which specifically concern women, girls and gender issues.

Women in decision-making

Women and communication

7.The long-lasting debate on mass communication, society and the role of women received a practical boost on 8 March 2000 as women assumed editorial responsibility in hundreds of media enterprises in all regions of the world. This action was triggered by the Director-General of UNESCO, who invited the media worldwide to mark International Women’s Day this year by making room for women journalists at the highest levels of decision-making in media institutions. The initiative was endorsed enthusiastically by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, and numerous distinguished personalities such as Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and currently United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the International Organization of la Francophonie; Anna Diamantopoulou, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs; Bettina Peters, on behalf of the International Federation of Journalists; Carole Simpson of ABC News, as Co-Chair of the International Women’s Media Foundation; Gundel Krauss Dahl, President of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television; and many others.

8.Altogether more than 1010 media entities from 56 countries responded to the call from the Director-General. Thousands of women journalists (6,000-8,000) exercised increased editorial responsibilities on 8 March 2000. The excellent response to the UNESCO 8 March Appeal is therefore a promising sign. An in-depth assessment has been foreseen as an input to the Beijing +5 special session (June 2000).

9.The need to ensure gender equality not only in the ranks of journalists but also in media management was expressed at the international symposium entitled “Women and the Media: Access to Expression and Decision-Making” (held by UNESCO at Toronto, Canada, in March 1995, and subsequently at the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, June 1995). One of the strategic objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action is “to increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision-making in and through the media and new technologies of communication.”2 This is necessary in order to ensure the free flow of independent and pluralistic information ensured by competent journalists regardless of sex, race, ethnic origin, etc. It will also help eliminate the gender-based stereotyping that is still prevalent in most media today.

10.Five years later, the gender balance has somewhat improved, but the highest managerial posts still remain closed to women. Various studies show that women account for only 10 per cent of the news source. Women are under-represented in newsrooms either as reporters or as editors, and they tend not to be considered as a serious source of news. This situation prevails also in other important institutions such as parliaments, universities, scientific and research institutes, governing bodies at all levels, etc. In each of these, women continue to be under-represented, if not entirely absent, from the real loci of power, i.e., participating in the decisions that matter the most, such as the definition of priorities, budget allocation, distribution of resources, accountability, etc. In other words, a greater gender balance in the rank and file is a step ahead, but it is no guarantee for gender equality unless women share with men, on an equal basis, all forms and expressions of economic and political power in society.

11.The role of the media — and women sharing power in the media — is particularly important in this regard. The influence of the media on the opinion, attitudes and behaviour of people has been well documented and need not be belaboured. It is therefore reasonable to believe that breaking the glass ceiling in the media will help women break such ceilings also in all other forums of power.

III.Measures taken by UNESCO to implement the provisions of the Convention in particular in the countries being considered at the twenty-third session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Austria

Basic statistics

12.Population (in thousands), year 2000: males, 4,052; females, 4,158. Population (in thousands) aged 15-49, year 2000: males, 2,183; females, 2,014. Gross enrolment ratios at first and second levels combined, 1996: males, 103; females, 101. Net enrolment ratio at first level, 1996: males, 86; females, 89.

Activities under the UNESCO programme for 1998/99

Women, science and technology

13.UNESCO held a series of regional consultations throughout the world on women and science, in the run-up to the World Conference on Science (Budapest, 26 June-1 July 1999). Austria participated in the European regional forum, which was organized by the Slovenia National Committee for UNESCO (Bled, Slovenia 5-7 November 1998). Numerous conclusions were reached on the importance of women’s participation in science and technology as a condition for sustainable development.

Strengthening local capacities — promoting cultural practices

14.Under the UNESCO-Archberg Bursaries for Artists programme and in collaboration with the Federal Chancellery of Austria and the International Summer Academy Semmering, young artists, both female and male, from different countries (two from India, one from South Africa, three from Argentina, two from Peru and one from the Democratic Republic of the Congo) participated in a programme to strengthen local capacities and promote cultural practices.

Overall policy for development cooperation

15.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs handles cooperation with the United Nations system. A very substantial part of Austria’s official development assistance is channelled through NGOs. The Austrian cooperation programme is also characterized by a number of activities where development considerations are not the main motivation (export credits, refugee assistance and imputted costs for students from developing countries). Education is one of the substantive priorities. Geographical emphasis remains on Eastern and Central Europe. During 1998, contributions to UNESCO programmes mainly focused on the associate expert scheme, the International Institute for Educational Planning, the World Heritage Fund and the Fund for Knowledge of Human Rights.

Cameroon

Basic statistics

16.Population (in thousands), year 2000: total, 15,085; males, 7,500; females, 7,585. Population (in thousands) aged 15-49, year 2000: males, 3,441; females, 3,478. Adult illiteracy rate estimates for 2000: male and female, 24.1; males, 17.9; females, 30. Gross enrolment ratio at first and second levels combined, 1994: males, 63; females, 53.

Activities under the UNESCO programme for 1998/99

Women and education

17.UNESCO organized a workshop for focal points in Cameroon at Abidjan on 2 and 3 March 1999, devoted to the project entitled “Education of school-aged girls in Africa”, which provided training to school-aged girls and women in Africa. The objective of the workshop was to discuss the overall strategy and orientation of the project and the development of training modules.

18.Representatives from a grass-roots women’s organization from Cameroon participated in the UNESCO/UNAIDS Regional Workshop on Preventive Education against HIV/AIDS for Women in Africa (Abidjan, 7-11 September 1998). The workshop was attended by participants from 17 countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The overall objective was to provide women and girls with the required awareness and skills to tackle HIV and reduce the current rate of HIV transmission. Specific goals included reinforcing the capacity of local facilitators to raise awareness, identifying examples of “best practices” concerning HIV/AIDS preventive education and proposing a compilation of strategies and research on transmitting gender-sensitive health messages to illiterate and newly literate people. In this regard, the following two publications were published by the UNESCO Dakar office: HIV/AIDS Preventive Education: A Practical Guide for Coordinators of Women’s Grassroots Organizations in Africa; and African Women and AIDS: Scope, Impact and Response.

Enlarging girls’ access to scientific, technical and vocational education

19.Cameroon was one of the countries covered in “Female Education in Mathematics and Science in Africa”, a project of the African Distance Education Association Working Group on Female Participation financed by a donors’ consortium, which included UNESCO.

Women, science and technology

20.Cameroon participated in the African regional forum entitled “Women, science and technology in Africa” (Burkina Faso, 25-28 January 1999), part of a series of regional consultations worldwide initiated by UNESCO and other partners in the run-up to the World Conference on Science (Budapest, 26 June-1 July 1999). The purpose of the forum was to report on the participation of women in scientific and technological development and to pinpoint resources that could help bridge the huge gap between the number of men and the number of women working in the field. The main concerns expressed by each of the forums as well as the final reports were the subject of discussion during the World Conference.

Women and a culture of peace

21.The UNESCO Women and a Culture of Peace programme provided assistance to women in Africa in their efforts to stop violence and armed conflict on the continent and to attain recognition as vital partners in the peace-building processes. The special project on “Women and the Culture of Peace in Africa,1998-1999”, which has been ongoing in Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Sierra Leone and the United Republic of Tanzania, accomplished a number of significant results. In this regard, seven case studies were produced on women’s approaches to traditional non-violent conflict resolution, prevention and peace-building techniques and experience, including a study on Cameroon, entitled “Traditional conflict resolution by women”. These were carried out in collaboration with such African NGOs as the African Association of Women for Research and Development (AAWORD) and the UNESCO office in the Central African Republic.

22.Cameroon participated in the Pan-African Women’s Conference on a Culture of Peace, organized by UNESCO, the Organization of African Unity and the Economic Commission for Africa at Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania, in May 1999. The conference provided a forum for African women to develop their own agendas for conflict resolution, peace-building and reconciliation. At the conference, the Zanzibar Declaration entitled “Women of Africa for a Culture of Peace and the Women’s Agenda for a Culture of Peace in Africa,” was adopted by 50 African States (including Cameroon). The Declaration also received support at the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (Algiers, July 1999) and by the thirtieth General Conference of UNESCO (Paris, November 1999).

Fellowships

23.Under the UNESCO 1998-1999 scholarship programme, a scholarship was granted to Ms. V. Mapto Kengne to carry out a three-month course of study in documentary research in France. In 1998, under the project “Fonds-en-depot No. 507/INT/13”, a scholarship was granted to Ms. J. Mouthe for an eight-month course of study in educational planning and administration at the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP). And under the Republic of Korea/UNESCO scholarship programme, a scholarship was granted in 1999 to Ms. S. V. Ebote for a 27-day course of study in television documentary production.

Cuba

Basic statistics

24.Population (in thousands), year 2000: total, 11,201; males, 5,612; females, 5,589. Population (in thousands) aged 15-49, year 2000: males, 3,082; females, 3,028. Adult illiteracy rate estimates for 2000: male and female, 3.3; males, 3.2; females, 3.4. Gross enrolment ratio at first and second levels combined, 1996: males, 93; females, 96. Net enrolment ratio at first level, 1996: males, 100; females, 100.

Activities under the UNESCO regular programme for 1998/99

Women and education

25.UNESCO provided support to Cuba for activities promoting the exchange of experiences and the diffusion of innovative practices in education for sustainable development. These included training courses and workshops and/or training of multiple actors within the community; and publication of training materials for youth and women.

26.Support was also given to promoting and reinforcing the participation of young women and men in problem-solving at the local level in the communities of the Western Zapata Swamp, currently a protected area which is under consideration to be declared a Biosphere Reserve.

Educating for a culture of peace

27.Under the UNESCO Women and a Culture of Peace programme relevant publications and materials were distributed to national recipients. These included “All Human Beings …, A Manual for Human Rights Education” for primary and secondary schools, which includes a section on “The Rights of Women and Girls and Combating Stereotypes”; and “The Practice of Citizenship”, the UNESCO civic education kit.

Women, science and technology

28.UNESCO supported the participation of Latin American specialists in the field of gender, science and technology, particularly from the less developed countries, in the UNESCO regional forum on “Women, Science and Technology: Diagnosis and Strategies” (San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, 1998). Cuba participated in the forum and contributed to the editing and publication of the technical report of the meeting. The forum devoted attention to the integration of gender issues in the upcoming World Conference on Science (Budapest, 1999) and presenting recommendations thereon at the Conference. In that regard, UNESCO and the United Nations Development Fund for Women jointly funded the participation of a Cuban female scientist at the Budapest Conference.

Strengthening local capacities — promoting cultural practices

29.UNESCO supported the international competition entitled “Design 21”, with the aim of promoting cultural diversity through fashion. Criteria for the selection of winning designers were innovation in the fashion industry with due respect to cultural identity and the use of renewable local raw materials. The young women and men chosen were given international recognition through a fashion show on the occasion of Expo 98 in Lisbon (7 June 1998) and an exhibition at the Museu Nacional do Traje in Lisbon (24 June-24 September 1998). The laureate from Cuba was Elena Gómex Canosa.

Women and health

30.The fifth session of the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee was held in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, from 2 to 4 December 1998. A report on “Women’s Health, Bioethics and Human Rights” was presented at the session and denounced discrimination against women in health resulting from unequal access to care. The report focused on women’s health through the various stages of life; health and reproduction; violence against women and girls in Latin America, including Cuba; the health of elderly women; as well as case studies (gender selection of foetuses, excision, etc).

Fellowships

31.Under the UNESCO scholarship programme, a one-year fellowship was granted to Ms. L. Boggiano for the study of the conservation and restoration of monuments at Cecree, Brazil. Also, under the UNESCO/Czech Republic fellowship programme, a scholarship was granted to Ms. C. Batista for the study of analytic chemistry.

Participation programme for 1998/99

32.With the support of UNESCO, a project on human rights education for a culture of peace for the Americas was carried out in collaboration with the spouses of the heads of State of the Governments of the countries of the Americas.

33.The main mission of the UNESCO office in Havana is to promote and contribute to the cultural development and integration of the region. This includes implementing cultural activities related to development, such as valuation of the cultural heritage, promotion of cultural industries, cultural tourism and creativity as a motor for cultural life and economic development at the national, subregional and regional levels.

Iraq

Basic statistics

34.Population (in thousands), year 2000: total, 23,115; males, 11,756; females, 11,359. Population (in thousands) aged 15-49, year 2000: males, 5,736; females, 5,492. Adult illiteracy rate estimates for 2000: male and female, 44.1; males, 34.4; females, 54.1. Gross enrolment ratio at first and second levels combined, 1995: males, 73; females, 58. Net enrolment ratio at first level, 1995: males, 81; females, 71.

Activities under the UNESCO programme for 1998/99

Women and education

Educational indicators

35.The Director of the Planning Department in the Ministry of Education in Iraq participated in the subregional training workshop on gender-sensitive statistics and indicators for the Arab States, organized at Amman by UNESCO in collaboration with the Jordanian National Committee for UNESCO in November 1998.

36.Upon the request of the Government of Iraq, UNESCO undertook a mission (June 1999) to develop and design a secondary school for girls in Baghdad. A site was identified, discussions were held with the national authorities and basic educational specifications were obtained. Based on those discussions, a project outline was prepared, which included the conceptual design of the school. A model of the school was also developed and presented in August 1999 to the Permanent Representative of Iraq to UNESCO for endorsement.

Fellowships

37.Under the UNESCO scholarship programme, a fellowship was awarded to Ms. D. Yakoub for a one-year course of study in human resources in 1998/99 at the Institute for Higher Education and Continuing Training in Tunisia. A Hirayama/UNESCO Silk Roads Fellowship was awarded to Ms. N. Al-Mutawalli for studies during 1999 on trade between Mesopotamia and the East, using cuneiform texts.

Extrabudgetary programme

National projects

38.Through the International Programme for the Development of Communication, funds were provided to Iraq for the purchase of equipment for the production of programmes for children, youth and women.

Lithuania

39.Population (in thousands), year 2000: total, 3,670; males, 1,732; females, 1,938. Population (in thousands) aged 15-49, year 2000: males, 941; females, 941. Adult illiteracy rate estimates for 2000: male and female, 0.4; males, 0.3; females, 0.5. Gross enrolment ratio at first and second levels combined, 1996: males, 90; females, 91.

Activities under the UNESCO programme for 1998/99

Women, science and technology

40.Lithuania participated in the European regional conference convened by the UNESCO National Commission of Slovenia at Bled, Slovenia, from 5 to 7 November 1998 in the run-up to the World Conference on Science (Budapest, 26 June-1 July 1999), where unanimous agreement was reached on the importance of women’s participation in science and technology as a condition for sustainable development. Firm support was also guaranteed for the integration of gender issues in the Budapest Conference and presenting recommendations thereon at the Conference.

Sharing of knowledge in the exact and natural sciences

41.The UNESCO spirit of strengthening cooperation between scientists led to the launching on 4 May 1998 of the Romanian section of Euroscience, a forum promoting pan-European collaboration, within the framework of an international workshop. The launch was attended by 86 participants (including high-level experts, media professionals and government officials, 50 of whom were women), largely from Romania, but also from Lithuania and the Republic of Moldova.

Fellowships

42.Fellowships were awarded to Ms. V. Panomariovaite, Ms. V. Pabarskaite and Ms. L. Zadeikaite, within the framework of the 1998-1999 UNESCO Fellowship Bank Programme for, respectively: a six-month course of study in music (piano) at the Conservatory of Music in Paris; a two-week course of study in culture at UNESCO headquarters in Paris; and a two-week course of study in education also at UNESCO headquarters.

Republic of Moldova

43.Population (in thousands), year 2000: total, 4,380; males, 2,097; females, 2,283. Population (in thousands) aged 15-49, year 2000: males, 1,151; females, 1,190. Adult illiteracy rate estimates for 2000: male and female, 1.1; males, 0.5; females, 1.7. Gross enrolment ratio at first and second levels combined, 1996: males, 86; females, 87.

Activities under the UNESCO programme for 1998/99

Women and education

UNESCO Institute for Educational Planning

44.The Republic of Moldova participated in the programme entitled “Monitoring and Evaluation from a Gender Perspective” (Quezon City, 1999).

Women, science and technology

45.The Republic of Moldova participated in the summer school on “Structure and Stability of Nucleons and Nuclear Systems”, held in Romania from 24 August to 5 September 1998. The summer school was attended by 63 participants, of whom 22 were women (researchers, high-level experts and university teachers). Furthermore, the Republic of Moldova attended the 11th Congress of the Federation of European Societies of Plant Physiology, held at Varna, Bulgaria, from 7 to 11 September 1998. Participants at the Congress numbered more than 350, of whom 145 were women.

Romania

Basic statistics

46.Population (in thousands), year 2000: total, 22,326; males, 10,957; females, 11,369. Population (in thousands) aged 15-49, year 2000: males, 5,976; females, 5,818. Adult illiteracy rate estimates for 2000: male and female, 1.9; males, 1; females, 2.8. Gross enrolment ratio at first and second levels combined, 1996: males, 87; females, 86. Net enrolment ratio at first level, 1996: males, 96; females, 95.

Activities under the UNESCO programme for 1998/99

Women and education

47.Within the framework of the special project entitled “Women, Higher Education and Development”, input was provided to the regional programme of the European Centre for Higher Education (CEPES) entitled “Good Practices in Promoting Gender Equality in Higher Education”.

48.The Envila University for Women, in Minsk, participated in the preparation of case studies on good practices in gender issues across the region. As an outcome of those case studies, a workshop is being planned.

49.UNESCO participated in data collection in collaboration with the Romanian Ministry of National Education, the Faculty of Juridical Sciences in Oradea, Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, the University of Timisoara, and AnA, the Romanian Society for Feminist Analyses. A case study was prepared in this regard by Mihaela Miroiu of the National School for Political and Administrative Sciences in Bucharest.

Assistance to Member States to develop national policies on educating for a sustainable future

Women, science and technology

50.Romania participated in the international summer school on high-energy physics, organized by the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research.

51.Additionally, it participated in the summer school on “Structure and Stability of Nucleons and Nuclear Systems”, held in Romania from 24 August to 5 September 1998, which was partially funded by the Venice office of the UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Technology for Europe (UVO-ROSTE). The topics discussed covered various sub-fields ranging from low to high energies, from nucleon structure to reaction mechanism and from stable to chaotic systems. Out of 63 researchers at the summer school, 22 were women.

52.Romania also participated in an international workshop on biodynamics and membranes, which received partial funding from UVO-ROSTE. Of the 86 high-level experts, researchers and university professors attending the workshop, 50 were women.

53.UNESCO held a series of regional consultations worldwide on the subject of women and science. Romania participated in the European regional forum entitled “Women in Science and Technology: Quality and Equality — Conditions for Sustainable Human Development”, held at Bled, Slovenia, from 5 to 7 November 1998, and organized by the Slovenian National Committee for UNESCO in the run-up to the World Conference on Science (Budapest, June/July 1999). Numerous outputs were elaborated; in particular, unanimous agreement was reached on the importance of women’s participation in science and technology as a condition for sustainable development. Firm support was also guaranteed towards the integration of gender issues in the Budapest Conference and for presenting recommendations thereon at the Conference. Of the 110 participants attending the regional forum, 83 were women.

54.The research project entitled “Cities, the Environment and Gender Relations”, conducted by the UNESCO Management of Social Transformations (MOST) programme in partnership with the Swiss National Committee for UNESCO, has been implemented in Latin America (Argentina, Cuba and Brazil), West Africa (Burkina Faso and Senegal) and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria and Romania). The aim of the project is to analyse the environmental situation in medium-sized towns and its effect on social relations, particularly gender relations, with a view to providing useful information for implementation by decision makers and technicians.

Notes

1“Gender equality and mainstreaming in the work of the United Nations system: a commitment to action”; for the text of the statement, see ACC/1998/3, annex III.

2A/CONF.177/20, chap. I, resolution 1, annex II, paras. 239-242.