Women Wise Up Symposium


- Using the UN to advance the rights of women

By Susan Halliday, Thursday
8 February 2001, University of NSW, Sydney Pavilion

Welcome

• Welcome to the
  Women Wise Up Symposium
  
  
  
• It is a particular
  pleasure to welcome you to the Symposium today as I enter the last 3
  months of my three-year term as Sex Discrimination Commissioner.
  
  
  
• I recall the conference
  held by NGOs during my first year as Commissioner, to prepare for the
  Beijing + 5 Conference. This conference was crucial for gathering the
  views and experiences of women, as well as informing Australians about
  UN human rights processes. Today, we are at the other end of the processes,
  assessing the outcomes of Beijing + 5, assessing Australia's record
  on women's rights and looking forward to a better future for women.
  
  
  
  
• It is without
  doubt that I am able to stand here today and say that without non-government
  organisations, particularly the women's NGOs, women of the world would
  not have the rights that they have today. The crucial role of NGOs in
  the rights fabric has been all too clear during my role as Sex Discrimination
  Commissioner. In particular, without the dedication and skill of women's
  NGOs, the Beijing + 5 outcomes document that is the subject of this
  conference, would have been a mere political glimmer of what was finally
  adopted.
  
  
  
• It is therefore
  fitting tonight for me to reflect on some of what has happened in women's
  rights in Australia and internationally over the past three years. I
  hope that this brief analysis will inspire you all on the eve of this
  very important conference.

1. Optional Protocol

• On March 12, 1999,
  after four years of negotiations, the 43rd Session of the Commission
  on the Status of Women adopted an Optional Protocol to the CEDAW. CEDAW
  is the only international convention that deals specifically with the
  rights of women, yet it has the most reservations and some of the weakest
  enforcement mechanisms.
  
  
  
• The Optional
  Protocol will give women's rights more muscle - for the women who live
  in the countries that sign it. It provides a communications procedure
  allowing individuals or groups of individuals to submit claims of violations
  of rights to the CEDAW Committee. It also provides for an inquiry procedure
  enabling the CEDAW Committee to initiate inquiries into situations of
  grave or systematic violations of women's rights.
  
  
  
• As of 31 December
  2000, the Optional Protocol had 63 signatories. Australia, despite its
  strong involvement in the negotiations for the Optional Protocol, announced
  last year that it would not sign it.
  
  
  
• What does this
  mean for Australian women?
  
  
  
  • Undermines
    Australia's commitment to women's rights in Australia and in other
    countries by sending the message that the Optional Protocol is not
    important.
    
    
    
  • It leaves
    Australian women without the additional protection of new international
    law.
    
    
    
  • The rhetoric
    of the Australian government that our laws are fine the way they
    are, ignores the fact that gaps exist; gaps that I have made known
    to government both formally and informally. There are some Australian
    women who do not for a variety of reasons have their basic rights
    enshrined into Australian law or are unable to access fundamental
    domestic enforcement processes.
    
    
    
• Since the announcement
  that Australia would not sign the Optional Protocol, there have been
  ongoing protests voiced by men and women of Australia. Indeed, every
  relevant women's group across the country, including extremely conservative
  women's groups, have called for the decision not to sign to be revisited
  immediately. The demands of Australian's have been ignored. Foot-stamping
  and disengaging from UN processes is not the way to reform the UN. Credible,
  consistent participation through the ups and downs is the way to make
  a difference.
  
  
  
• I congratulate
  you for your work in keeping the Optional Protocol on the public agenda
  and encourage you to continue to lobby the Australian government while
  simultaneously educating those around you about why it is so important
  to sign. Indeed, people need to know that the decision not to sign,
  punishes innocent women.

2. Beijing + Five

• The Beijing +
  Five conference was definitely one of the more eventful activities during
  my time as Sex Discrimination Commissioner. On many fronts, Australian
  bureaucrats and NGOs did much to progress the state of play. I would
  like to acknowledge the positive and committed work of
  
  
  
  • the former
    Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women, Senator
    Jocelyn Newman,
    
    
    
  • The Australian
    Ambassador to the United Nations, Penny Wensley,
    
    
    
  • Jane Halton
    from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet,
    
    
    
  • the head
    of the federal Office of the Status of Women, Rosemary Calder
    
    
    
  • and the team
    that worked endless hours negotiating, often till the break of dawn,
    to progress the rights of women across the globe.
    
    
    
• Advances were
  made, despite a constant battle with conservatism.
  
  
  
• It does concern
  me, however, that the conservatism came from all sides, including Australia
  on a number of issues. Indeed, I believe it is essential for me to raise
  my concern about the fact that the position put by Australia at the
  International level on several issues fell well short of the current
  domestic policy and practice in areas of employment rights, sexuality,
  special measures to promote women, women's health and abortion.
  
  
  
• I question the
  point of this, it certainly did nothing to benefit women in Australia
  and I challenge those responsible to consider the disadvantage internationally
  for women who rely on Australia to take a leadership role. Ultimately,
  as we all know, Australian women make up the majority of swinging voters
  in this country and, as women, we know they swing on issues of social
  conscience - one way or another, Australian women will make their views
  known.
  
  
  
• Some of the greatest
  disappointments for me, personally, were in the area of health, including
  the right to safe abortion. Tens of 1000's of women die from unsafe
  abortions around the world every year, but the government representatives
  of these women gathered at the UN could not bring themselves to concretise
  the simple right to safe health care that included safe abortion.
  
  
  
• One of the strongest
  gains made at the conference was the mere bringing together of women's
  voices from around the world - attesting to a true commonality of view.
  The conference gave opportunities for information sharing, networking
  and direct lobbying. The NGO's in particular have proven that they are
  a powerful and committed force and that they will continue to work to
  ensure that our human rights are properly safeguarded.
  
  
  
• I would also
  like to publicly recognise the commitment that individual women from
  within the Australian government made to ensure that Australia was properly
  represented at the conference. In particular,
  
  
  
  • the creation
    and funding of an NGO coordinator,
    
    
    
  • the regular
    interaction with Australian NGOs,
    
    
    
  • the in-depth
    involvement of NGOs on the Australian delegation
    
    
    
  • the inclusion
    of HREOC on the Australian delegation.
    
• The challenge
  that lies before all of us now is to use the Beijing + 5 document to
  advance our rights in Australia and create a better future.

3. Proposed limits to safe
fertility services

• It is with great
  sadness that I realise I may be the only Sex Discrimination Commissioner
  to leave her post with a weaker Sex Discrimination Act than existed
  when I started.
  
  
  
• The Sex Discrimination
  Amendment Bill (No 1) 2000, listed now for debate in March, if passed,
  will allow for discrimination on the basis of marital status in the
  provision of safe fertility services.
  
  
  
• We can now record
  in the Australian history books of the 21st Century, continued attempts
  by men to control women's bodies.
  
  
  
• Once again, women's
  groups have been incredibly strong in voicing their disapproval of the
  Bill. And while many people voicing concern would not choose necessarily
  to be a single parent, it's the issue of choice that prevails. The Bill,
  let me remind you, has no impact on quality of parenting, it simply
  aims to ensure that some women cannot become parents.
  
  
  
• Whether the Bill
  gets through or not, let us reflect on this sad chapter in Australia's
  history. It's a lesson to all of us - do not forget there are those
  who believe they have the right to make decisions about what we as women
  can and can't do. Never take your rights for granted. If the Bill gets
  through, women will have more limited rights than they have had for
  the last 16 years.
  
  
  
• I encourage you
  all, at this conference, to continue your dialogue and activism on this
  issue.

4. Community Support for
Human Rights

• The extensive
  community support I have enjoyed during my term has motivated me to
  continue with a level of veracity and fire with which I have tackled
  the most controversial issues under my portfolio. My three years will
  have been one small part of what will need to be a continuous battle.
  And I use the word battle as I read today of a Bill put forward in the
  USA under the new regime in an attempt to greatly limit access to RU-486.
  Rights won can be easily lost.
  
  
  
• Human rights do
  not exist merely because of their imprint on paper. They exist because
  we as individuals have fought for their creation, their enshrinement
  into domestic laws and their enforcement.
  
  
  
• Human rights
  are constantly under attack from erosive forces or just ignorance and
  arrogance. I strongly urge you all to continue with your work particularly
  in this year of state and federal elections, where women have an opportunity
  through the democratic process to inform politicians of all parties
  what it is they need to prioritise and progress in order to work towards
  a better life for women. Let us not forget around 55% of the voting
  population is female, and despite what some still believe, they don't
  vote the way their husbands and fathers do.

5. Some final reflections

• In conclusion,
  I'd like to leave you with some thoughts of my own about strategy and
  the future involvement of NGOs in progressing the rights of women.
  
  
  
  • Always look
    for the common ground, even amongst those who previously you may
    not have agreed with.
    
    
    
  • Acknowledge
    the work of state and federal governments when they do something
    that is advantageous for women. And be specific about why its advantageous.
    
    
    
    
  • Always ensure
    constructive criticism when governments and policy makers fail to
    consider the specific circumstances of women.
    
    
    
  • Educating
    the broader community is best done when we utilize personal experiences
    and facilitate some ownership for the issues.
    
    
    
  • Aim to be
    well informed about processes and strategy
    
    
    
  • Know your
    allies, but be very clear about the mindset of those who oppose
    you and like all women, gain ground by understanding your competition
    rather than simply trying to obliterate it. If you understand it,
    you have the power to manage and defeat it.
    
    
    
• I wish you every
  success for the conference and I look forward to your continued support
  in the final months of my role as Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner.

Last
updated 1 December 2001