Half a Century of the UN Commission of the Status of Women and a Decade of Korean
kwwa  2002-10-28 15:27:10, 조회 : 403

Half a Century of the UN Commission of the Status of Women and a Decade of Korean Activities in Women's Affairs / by Whasoon Byun
/ KWDI Research Reports/Women's Studies Forum, Vol.14 /December 1998  
  
  

   
Ⅰ. BACKGROUND, CONTENTS, AND METHODS OF RESEARCH

   Since Korea participated as an  observer in the 1986 session  of the United
Nations Commission on the Status of Women,  it has for a decade remarkably
developed its activities for women in international society.  It was elected as a
member state of the UN  on April 29, 1993, and  started acting from the next
year as a member state.  Korea participated actively at  the governmental and
nongovernmental levels at the  Fourth World Conference  on Women. In  1996,
Kim Yong-Jung was elected as a member of the United Nations Committee to
Eliminate Discrimination Against Women.  In 1997, Korea  was reelected as  a
member state.
   It was  after the  Second  World Conference  for Women   in Copenhagen,
Denmark, that the  United Nations  issue of  promoting the status  of women
started being dealt with  as a national policy  for women in  Korea. After the
conference, governmental and NGO-related women suggested the establishment
of national   machinery to   develop women's  policies,  and  the  government
established the   Korean Women's   Development Institute  in  1983  and  the
National Committee  to  Review Women's   Policies in  the same   year, both
directly under the  Office of  the Prime Minister.  In 1984,  the Convention to
Eliminate Discrimination Against Women  was ratified, and as  a part of such
activities, the  Korean Women's  Development  Institute formulated  the Basic
Plan for   Women's Development   and the  Guidelines  to  Eliminate  Gender
Discrimination, a  plan  which was   adopted by  the National   Committee to
Review Women's Policies in 1985.
   Such a series of events shows clearly the impact of the  United Nations on
improving the status  of women in  Korea. Especially after  the Fourth World
Conference on Women, the  Committee to Pursue  Globalization formulated the
Ten Tasks for Women's Social Participation (1995), opening the possibilities for
women's social participation.
   Now, Korea is expected to consolidate its  basis for activities as a member
state of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women as  a part of
the implementation of  the policies to  promote Globalization, and  to fulfill  an
active role as a center of the Asia Pacific region. In this paper, we will review
the 50 years'  activities of the  United Nations  Commission on the  Status of
Women, as well as Korean women's policies and women's movements, in order
to seek the direction of the Korean women's movement in connection with the
international women's movement.
   This study dealt  with the  United Nations  Commission on  the Status  of
Women,  the  International  Women's  Non-Governmental   Organizations, the
UN-related activities of the Korean government and NGOs. The period covered
was the 52 years between  1945 and 1997 for the  United Nations Commission
on the Status of Women, and between 1986 and 1997 for Korean activities.
   The research method was  mainly a literature review,  involving organizing
and analyzing  the  materials published  by  governments and  NGOs.  As to
Korean women's policies,  we reviewed how  Korea responded to  international
trends while developing a linkage  with the Platform for  Action of the World
Conference for Women.
   The purposes of research are: firstly, to review the  50 years of the United
Nations Commission on the Status of  Women(CSW); secondly, to analyze the
resolutions of the 50 years of the United Nations Commission on the Status of
Women according to the Platform for  Action of the Beijing World Conference
on Women;   thirdly, to  review the   women-related policies  of the   Korean
government during the 10 years of participating in the CSW; fourth, to review
the activities of Korean NGOs related to the international women's NGOs; and
fifthly, to suggest the future directions for the women's movement, seeking the
active role of Korean women in international society.
   Reviewing the 50  years of the  United Nations women's  development, we
selected parts   of The  United  Nations and   the Advancement  of  Women,
1945-1996, and translated it, as it records the 50 years of the UN CSW in the
most systematic way.


Ⅱ. 50  YEARS  OF WOMEN'S   DEVELOPMENT CENTERING   AROUND      
    THE UN CSW

   The UN Commission on the Status of Women was established in 1947  and
has 50  years of  history  as of  1997. We  can  divide the  activities of   the
commission into four  periods. The  first period was  between 1945  and 1962,
when it consolidated the legal  and institutional basis for equality.  During this
period, the CSW,  assuming that  the legal  and institutional  basis should  be
established for  gender equality,   made efforts to  legislate  laws to  promote
women's rights, and  focused on  the establishment  and strengthening of  the
CSW.
   During the   second period  between  1963 and   1975, its  focus  was  on
recognizing the role of women in development.  If the CSW was successful in
establishing women's rights as legal norms during  the first period, during the
second period  consensus was  reached that  the actual  securing of  women's
equal rights  was important,   and the CSW   dealt with women's   efforts to
mainstream women in development. An important  point here is that the CSW
proclaimed the  International  Women's Year   and expanded a   movement to
promote the status of women  globally, to eliminate gender  discrimination and
to arouse the international public concern for women's rights.
   During the   third period   between 1976  and  1985,  the  United  Nations
proclaimed the United Nations  Decade for Women  for Equality, Development,
and Peace. During the United Nations Decade for Women,  it held international
conferences in  Copenhagen  (1980) and   Nairobi (1985).  The Convention   to
Eliminate Discrimination Against Women was adopted in 1979 to be ratified by
many countries.
   During the fourth period between 1986 and  1996, the CSW made continued
efforts for women's equality,  development, and peace. Especially  in the peace
issue area, it showed concerns for violence against women. As a special officer
to report  on human   rights was appointed  by  the Commission  on  Human
Rights, special  concerns have  been  exerted on  the issue  of  forced sexual
slavery by  the Japanese  military during  the World  War II,  and the  CSW
mobilized international public opinion centering around violence against women.
At the  Fourth World  Conference  on Women,  deep interest  was  expressed
concerning the discrimination against female children and their human rights.


1. The First Period: Consolidate  a Legal and Institutional Basis  for Equality,  
    1945-1962

   At the founding conference of  the United Nations held in  London in 1946,
women's rights became for the first time since World War II one of the major
international issues. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, who was  American representative
to the United  Nations, made a  speech entitled  “To All the  Women of the
World,” where she said “This new  opportunity for peace is a victory  made
jointly by  men and  women through  which they  realized the  common goal
toward freedom, breaking down  the obstacles of race,  ideology and gender.”
She argued that “women should  carry out the central role  in building peace
toward a democratic society.”
   The ECOSOC, which is responsible  for promoting human rights as  one of
six major  organizations of  the UN,  established the  Commission on  Human
Rights  in   February,  1946,   and  decided   to  establish   an  independent
sub-commission within the  Commission on  Human Rights  to deal  with the
status of  women.  The major  task  of this   sub-commission was to   make
recommendations regarding the status of women and  to submit reports to the
Commission on Human Rights.
   However, issues were raised  concerning the fact that  the sub-commission
belonged to the Commission on Human Rights, because this would prevent the
United Nations from performing roles in promoting the status  of women. Mrs.
Bodil Begtrup of Denmark, who was the chairperson, at the second  conference
held in April 1946, strongly argued that it would be difficult to expect progress
in  women's  development  if  the  sub-commission  belonged   to the   other
commission, and  suggested that   there should be   a completely independent
commission equal to the Commission on Human Rights.
   In June, 1946, ECOSOC decided on the establishment of the United Nations
Commission on the Status of  Women. The CSW had  its founding conference
in Lake Success, New York, between February 10-25. Its roles were: firstly, to
make and   submit reports   and recommendations  to  ECOSOC  to  promote
women's rights in politics, economics, society,  and education, and secondly, to
make reports on urgent  problems that require  urgent concern in the  field of
women's  rights.  The  commission  monitors  the  internationally   recognized
measures for   women's development  defined as   equality, development,  and
peace, and reviews  and evaluates  development at  the national,  regional and
global levels.
   The commission, through a declaration in 1947 that  “freedom and equality
are essential for human development,” proclaimed that “women  should share
with men freedom and equality.” The commission also declared that “women
can carry out  the central  role in  establishing free, healthy,  prosperous, and
moral society, and carry out responsibilities as free and responsible members.”
   At the  first  session in   1947, the  CSW requested   ECOSOC that  each
government cooperate   with the   annual survey   on the   legal status   and
treatment of  women. The  responses  provided abundant  information on  the
status of   women all  over the   world. According  to  this report   made in
December 1947, among the  74 nations which  responded, 25 countries did  not
recognize complete women's  political rights  including women's  voting rights
and the right to maintain the status as public servants. In the countries where
access to educational opportunities is denied, such practices were mostly based
on custom and religion but not on  laws. The report also gives clear evidence
that women's illiteracy is much more widespread than men's. And in 1949 and
1950, the result of surveying  60 countries of the  world shows that there  are
many conflicts among nations in relation to the nationality of married women.
   On March 10, 1948, the ECOSOC recognized  the principle of equal pay for
equal work,   and demanded  that  all  the member   states to  implement  it
regardless of nationality, race, language, and religion. As  a follow up, in 1951,
in response   to the   recommendation by  the  CSW,  the ILO   adopted the
Convention on Equal Remuneration which  provides the basis for  the principle
of equal pay for equal work. UNESCO and the CSW pursued the  joint project
for the program development through which people can receive basic education
regardless of  gender,  race, or  ideologies.  The Convention  on  the Political
Rights of  Women adopted   by the General  Assembly  in 1952  is the   first
international law  which has  the aim  of protecting  and promoting   women's
political rights worldwide.
   Discrimination  against  women   became more   clear  as  the   laws on
nationality, residence, marriage, and  divorce were exposed. In  1955, the CSW
submitted the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women to the General
Assembly. Its focus was that  “a woman has the  right to maintain her own
nationality if she wants although it might differ from that of the husband.”
   Furthermore, the CSW found  that the slave trade  of young girls between
11 and 13 years of age was still being carried out  in some countries. In 1956,
the General Assembly adopted the Supplementary Convention  on the Abolition
of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and  Practices Similar to Slavery.
Its goal was to eliminate malicious practices such as slavery and trade without
the consent of women themselves.
   As a result, the Convention  and Recommendation on Consent to  Marriage,
Minimum Age for  Marriage, and  Registration of  Marriages was  formulated.
This convention  was  adopted in   November 1962 and   came into  force in
December 1964. It clarifies that there should not be any marriages without the
complete and free consent of both spouses.


2.  The  Second  Period:  Recognition  of  Women's  Role  in  Development,
     1963-1975

   The women's movement which originated mainly from  the Western Europe
and the  United States   tended to ignore  the  problems of  rural women   in
developing countries. During this period, the efforts of the United Nations were
focused on the role of women in  development, who are both beneficiaries and
at the same time a dynamic force behind change.
   The CSW set  the direction that  it should provide  technical assistance to
women in  developing countries.   At the same   time, efforts were   made to
consolidate women's legal equality based on the Declaration on the Elimination
of Discrimination against Women adopted in 1967.
   The resolution  adopted at  the General  Assembly  in 1977  requested the
formulation of the Plan of  Action for international cooperation to  promote the
status of   women. This   resolution provided   “the minimum   goal to   be
accomplished during   the second  United  Nations Decade   for Women.”  It
included the gradual  elimination of illiteracy,  the universal acceptance  of the
principle of equal pay  for equal work, the  protection of health and  maternity
including accessible family planning information,  and the increase in  women's
participation in pubic and government activities.
   The year 1972 saw  the 25th anniversary of  the founding of the  CSW. In
that year, the commission  urged the ECOSOC  and the General  Assembly to
declare 1975 as the International Women's Year. By declaring  the International
Women's Year, the  CSW intended  to emphasize  the fact  that governments,
NGOs, and individuals are making efforts to promote gender equality, and that
the role of women is important in national  and international development. The
General Assembly passed the resolution to  hold an international conference to
commemorate the   International Women's   Year, and  recommended  to  add
“peace” to  “equality” and  “development”  as women's  contribution to
enhance the efforts to consolidate world peace.
   In December  1974, the  General  Assembly adopted  the program   for the
International Women's Year, and requested that various measures be  taken for
the preparation of the conference to celebrate it to be held in Mexico City.  As
a result, on March 8, 1975,  the United Nations proclaimed “The International
Women's Day”   for the  first  time and   decided to  hold  an international
conference on women's issues.
   The First World  Conference for  Women was  held on  June 19,  1975, in
Mexico. In the opening ceremony, the Secretary General of the United  Nations
declared that the conference was the first international  effort to realize gender
equality and to eliminate gender discrimination  in education, opportunities, and
economic rights.   The representatives  of  133 countries   participated in  the
conference, among  whom 113  were women  heads of  representatives to  the
conference, and 73% of the 2000 representatives were women.
   At the closing  ceremony on  July 2,  1975, the  representatives adopted  a
World Plan  of Action.  It is  the Declaration  of Mexico  on the  Equality of
Women and   Their Contribution   to Development  and  Peace,  which  is  a
follow-up plan   for women  in  Africa and   the Asia-Pacific  region,  which
contains 35 separate resolutions and decisions.
   The Mexico Conference urges the United Nations to formulate a convention
to eliminate gender  discrimination through  effective procedures to  implement
the Plan of Action. One  of them was to develop  the 1967 Declaration on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against  Women. In order  to guarantee national
and international   activities to  promote the   status of  women, the   Mexico
Conference urged the United Nations to declare the period 1976 to 1985 as  the
United Nations Decade for Women and Development and recommended that the
second conference be held in 1980.


3. The  Third  Period: Fruits   of the  United Nations   Decade for  Women,        
    1976-1985

   Five months after the  Mexico Conference, the  General Assembly declared
the period 1976-1985 as  the United Nations  Decade for Women  for equality,
development, and peace. During the  United Nations Decade for  Women, there
were historical events and major  legal and political achievements such  as the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,
the Copenhagen Conference in 1980, and the Nairobi Conference in 1985.
   In 1975, the General  Assembly requested that  an expert group  submit to
the Secretariat the proposal to establish the International Training Institute  for
Women. The   major function  of this   institute is  to  focus on   women in
developing nations, with the purposes of enabling women to acquire new skills
and of  developing women's  information systems  through such  programs as
behavior-oriented surveys and leadership training. The Voluntary Fund for  the
United Nations Decade  for Women provides  finances, which  give direct and
practical help to women in developing countries.
   On December 18,  1979, the General  Assembly adopted the  Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of  Discrimination Against Women with the vote
of 130   for, 0  against,  and  11 abstentions.   This convention  is  the  first
international legal instrument which defines discrimination against women. Here
gender discrimination means all  segregation, exclusion, or limitation  based on
gender which  have the   effects or the  purposes  of hindering  or nullifying
women's awareness, enjoyment  or exercise  of the  basic freedom  of gender
equality regardless of marital status in political, economic, social, cultural, civil,
or other areas.
   The Second World  Conference for Women  was held between  July 14-30,
1980, in Copenhagen, Denmark, where  145 countries participated. The  purpose
of this conference was to review the problems and  fruits that appeared in the
implementation process of the Plan of Action of the  Mexico Conference at the
mid-point of the United Nations  Decade for Women and  to newly revise the
plan.  The   documents that   were  adopted   at this   conference  are:   the
“Programme of Action for the Second Half of  the United Nations Decade for
Women: Equality, Development, and Peace” and 48 resolutions.
   The Committee to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women is based on the
Convention to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women. The General Assembly
adopted the   resolution in   1979, and   the committee   started working   on
September 3, 1981.  According to  Article 18  of the  Convention to  Eliminate
Discrimination Against Women, the  state party is expected  to write a report
within one year after ratification and also every four years depending upon the
stages they are in the implementation of the convention and the obstacles they
face.
   The Third  World  Conference on  Women  was held   in Nairobi, Kenya,
between July 15 and  26, 1985. The  conference reviewed the achievements  of
the United Nations  Decade for  Women and discussed  equality, development,
and  peace.  During   the two   week  conference,   the 372-Article   Nairobi
Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women was discussed for
the promotion of the status of women.


4. The Fourth Period: Looking Forward to  Equality, Development, and Peace,  
    1986-1996

   Since  1990,  the  United  Nations  has  included  in  a  series  of  world
conferences and  summit meetings   the measures to   promote the status   of
women in  development which   is one of   the general goals   of the United
Nations. This means that women's problems have emerged  as an international
issue. The World Summit for Children in 1990,  the United Nations Conference
on Environment and  Development in 1992,  the World  Conference on Human
Rights in 1993, the International Conference on Population  and Development in
1994, the World  Summit for  Social Development in  1995, the  Fourth World
Conference on Women in 1995, and  the United Nations Conference on Human
Settlements in 1996 dealt  with the agenda  for women. Especially since  early
1980s, the United Nations  has focused on  the elimination of violence  against
women. Expressing concerns with the status of women in  the United Nations,
it has embarked on the formulation  of a platform for action  to realize gender
equality by the end of this century.
   Women's equality begins with the promotion of the status of women within
the United Nations system.  The United Nations  was commissioned from  the
Beijing Conference to promote the status of women within the Secretariat, and
has begun the  work. At  the first resolution  in 1986,  the General Assembly
requested the  Secretariat,  heads of  expert  organizations, and   other United
Nations agencies to formulate the five-year  plan to increase the proportion of
women in   the professional  and decision   making posts  within the   United
Nations system. At the General Assembly in  1990, it decided on the quota  of
women in professional occupations, and had to  recruit at least 30% women in
each post  of the   Secretariat by the   end of that   year according to   local
considerations. As a result, there were 35% women in 1995, and 25% in major
managerial posts. The General Assembly requested the Secretariat to develop a
guideline for action  for women's  development within  the Secretariat  and to
make a  report on  the obstacles  to the  promotion of  the status  of women
within the United Nations based on a comprehensive evaluation and analysis.
   In August 1992, after several  years of study, a  study group from various
sectors of  the UN  CSW completed  the draft   of a declaration  on violence
against women  for  the first   time. The  Declaration to   Eliminate Violence
Against Women was adopted at the General  Assembly on December 20, 1993.
In March 1994, the  campaign against violence entered  a new stage  with the
intervention by the  United Nations.  During this  period, the  Commission on
Human Rights welcomed  the Declaration on  Elimination of  Violence Against
Women adopted  by  the General   Assembly, and  suggested that  a  Special
Rapporteur be   appointed to  collect  the most   comprehensive material  and
recommend legislation  suited for   national, local, and  international  levels to
eliminate violence against women.
   On November  1994, the  Special Rapporteur  submitted a  basic report  on
women's  abuse  to  the  Commission  of   Human Rights.   The Rapporteur
suggested the legislation of selective agreement which contains provisions  that
allow the victims of violence the individual rights to appeal when the measures
at the governmental level are not  effective. “This will confirm that,  in order
to guarantee the rights of the victims of  violence, they will have the ultimate
rights to  demand compensation  under  the international  human rights   legal
instruments.” The recommendation was adopted by the UN CSW in 1995.
   In 1995, when the General Assembly passed the first resolution on girls, the
violence against children  and especially girls  was the special  concern of the
General Assembly. It was a serious area of concern  of the Beijing Conference
to bring to the light  discrimination against girls and violation  of their human
rights. The General Assembly requested member states to eliminate a series of
discriminatory factors including negative cultural attitudes and practices against
girls.
   The Fourth  World Conference  on Women  was  held in  Beijing in  1995
between September 4 and 15, which was the  period to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of  the  United Nations.  It  decided that  the  global agenda  for
women's development should  continue into  the 21st  century and  after. The
Beijing Declaration and  the Platform for  action adopted  unanimously by 189
countries declared that nations guarantee de facto and de jure equality  of men
and women. Political consensus was reached on the 12 areas of special concern
for the  future 5  years of   international implementation of  the Platform   for
Action. It was the largest international conference  on women, including 47,000
persons  participating  in   the governmental   conference  and   30,000 NGO
representatives participated  in the  NGO Forum  in Huairous  (located in  the
suburbs 65 km away from Beijing).
   The 189 governments  that participated in  the Beijing  Conference adopted
the Beijing Declaration and  12 Platform for  Action unanimously. The  United
Nations has  performed an  important role  in the  international movement   to
promote gender equality, and behind  the United Nations were  the NGOs that
actively exerted influence. Since  the First World  Conference on Women  was
organized in Mexico  City, the  NGO Forum as  a parallel  event has  been a
major part of all the United Nations conferences on women. Ten years later in
Nairobi, the number of NGO participants reached  15,000, and in Beijing 30,000
NGO representatives participated in the forum.


Ⅲ. ANALYSIS  OF THE  RESOLUTIONS OF  THE UN  CSW BASED  ON
    THE BEIJING PLATFORM FOR ACTION

   A total of  298 resolutions  are in  the Resolutions  of the  United Nations
Commission on the Status of Women,  which are the Draft Resolutions  of the
CSW and   Resolutions of   the ECOSOC.   The most   proper standard   for
classifying the resolutions is  the 12 areas of  special concern of the  Platform
for Action  adopted  at the   Fourth World  Conference on  Women.  This is
because  these  are  the  areas  that  require  special  concern  for  women's
development, and each area  is considered as a  strategic target for promoting
the status of women in the world.

[Table 1]  Distribution of  UN CSW  Resolutions by  Periods and   by 12
          Areas of Concern
-------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+----------
             Period|  First   |  Second  |   Third   |  Fourth  |  Total
Areas              |          |          |           |          |
-------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+----------
Poverty            |          |     1    |           |     4    |     5
Education/Training |     6    |     4    |           |     1    |    11
Health             |          |     2    |     3     |     6    |    11
Violence           |          |          |     3     |    15    |    18
Peace/Unification  |          |          |     3     |    22    |    25
Economy            |    10    |     9    |     2     |    14    |    35
Politics           |     9    |     2    |           |     3    |    14
National Machinery |     3    |     3    |           |    10    |    16
Human Rights       |     6    |     7    |    10     |    19    |    42
Media              |     2    |          |     3     |     5    |    10
Environment        |          |          |           |     2    |     2
Girls/Family       |     1    |     6    |     6     |    10    |    20
CSW                |     6    |    12    |    21     |    50    |    89
-------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+----------
Total              |    43    |    46    |    48     |   161    |   298    
-------------------+----------+----------+-----------+----------+----------


   According to Table 1, during the  past 50 years, the number of  resolutions
related to poverty is 5, education and training 11, health 11, violence 18,  peace
and unification  25, economy  35,  politics 14,  national machinery   16, human
rights 42, mass media  10, environment 2,  girls and family  20, and CSW 89.
This shows that  the resolutions of  the CSW are  focused very much  on its
own projects.  Among  the 12   themes of the   Beijing Platform  for Action,
continued attention  was paid  throughout the  four periods  to  the issues  of
human rights, girls and family, economy, national machinery, and politics.
   During the first period  between 1945-1962, a  total of 43  resolutions were
adopted, and  the major  areas  of concern  were economy   (10), politics (9),
education and training (6),  and human rights  (6). Besides the  resolutions on
CSW (6), national machinery (3), media (2), and girls and family (1) were also
adopted. Since  it was  the period   where the efforts  were made  mainly  to
consolidate the legal  and institutional basis  of women's rights  and concerns,
interest was  concentrated on  economy, politics,   and education and  training
areas. It is to be  noted that the concerns  with the media were  connected to
the adoption of resolutions.
   During the second period between  1963-1975, the major goal was  to draw
attention to   the role  of women   in development.  Among the   total of  46
resolutions, major interest was  expressed on economy  (9), human rights  (7),
girls and family (6), and CSW projects (12). Resolutions were also  adopted on
education and training (4), national  machinery (3), politics (2), health  (2), and
poverty (1). During the  first period, economy  and human rights  issues were
dealt with as major issues, while relatively lower interest was paid to political
issues. It is a positive phenomenon that health and poverty issues are drawing
attention.
   During the third period between  1976-1985, the United Nations Decade  for
Women was planned  and evaluated.  Among the  total of 48  resolutions, the
highest concerns were  shown on  CSW (21)  and human  rights (10),  and 3
resolutions were adopted on each of health, violence, peace and unification, the
media, and girls  and family.  During this  period, the  economy issues which
occupied a major place during the first and the second periods were reduced to
two, and no resolution  was adopted on politics  and national machinery.  This
can be interpreted as a result of the  tasks of CSW becoming the major issue
of controversy  in the  process  of implementing  the projects   of the United
Nations Decade  for Women  after “The  International Year  of Women”  in
1975. However, positive evaluation can be made of the fact that concerns  with
human rights   still continue,  and  new concerns   are expressed  on  health,
violence, and peace and unification.
   During the fourth  period between 1986-1996,  active efforts were  made to
move toward equality, development, and peace. During the  short 10 years, 161
resolutions were  submitted, showing  the busy  activities of  the CSW.  It is
emphasized that the  efforts of  the UN  CSW (5)  to promote  the status  of
women should  precede  women's efforts  toward  equality. There  were  also
activities toward   peace, and  to  be noted   are the  efforts  for peace   and
unification (22),  human rights  (19), and  elimination of  violence (15).  There
were also efforts  to promote  the empowerment of  women in  economy (14),
national machinery (10), and girls and  family (10). Besides, the resolutions on
health (6), media (5), poverty (4), politics (3), and environment (2) are drawing
international attention. To  be noted  during this  period is  the fact  that the
issues of economy  and human rights  have emerged as  core concerns which
have been the  major areas  of concern  since the first  period; secondly  that
there were a remarkable  number of resolutions  on peace and  unification and
the elimination of violence; thirdly that the  concerns on girls and family have
increased; fourthly that there is a continued interest in poverty, health, and the
mass media; and fifthly, the environment issue has newly emerged.


Ⅳ.   CSW   AND  THE   WOMEN’S   POLICIES   OF  THE   KOREAN                
     GOVERNMENT


   The representatives of the Korean government  have participated in four of
the World Conferences on Women and all the sessions beginning from the 31st
session up to the current one of the 41st UN CSW meetings.
   Analyzing the characteristics of  Korean women's policies according  to the
periods of United Nations  activities for women's  development, it was  during
the third period (1976-85) that  Korean women's policies started providing  the
basis for promoting the  status of Korean women  according to the  results of
the United Nations  Decade for  Women. The  Korean Women's  Development
Institute was founded  in 1983,  the National Committee  to Review  Women's
Policies was   established in  1983,  and the   basic materials  were  collected
through basic surveys and research,  core policy tasks were selected,  concrete
development   measures   and  alternatives   were   suggested,   and   model
implementation of the various kinds of development directions was provided. In
fact, Korea implemented the  improvement of the national  machineries, ratified
the United  Nations Convention  to Eliminate  Discrimination Against  Women
(1984), and formulated the Basic Plan for Women's Development (1985).
   During the fourth  period (1986-1996),  the basis  for gender  equality was
prepared through the formulation  of the long-term  plan for women's policies
and the legislation and revision of women-related laws. The  Women's Section
was included in the National Long-Term  Development Plan Toward the Year
2000 (1986),   the Mother  and  Child  Health Act   was revised   (1986), the
Women's Section was  included in  the 6th  5-year Social  Development Plan
(1987), Guidelines to Eliminate Gender Discrimination were provided (1987), and
the Basic   Plan for  Women's  Development  (1987)  was established.   More
systematic women's policies  than ever before  were formulated. Especially  in
1987, in the constitutional  revision, an article  on gender equality in  marriage
and family life was inserted in concrete  form, and in 1987 the legal  basis for
gender  equality  was  prepared  in  various  fields  of  society  through  the
legislation of the  Equal Employment Opportunity  Act. Also, it  is remarkable
that  the  basis   for eliminating   the  limitations  on  women's   educational
opportunities was prepared by  taking step by step  measures to eliminate the
limitations on girl students entering colleges and universities.
   The characteristics   of this   period are   the integration  of  a  women's
development plan   in the   Sixth Social   and Economic   Development Plan,
participation in  various policy  planning and  decision-making processes,   and
legislation and  institutionalization. It   is to be  noted  that Korea  became a
member state of the UN.  The Ministry of Political Affairs  II was established
(1988) to prepare for  the basis for  making policies on  women's issues. The
Ministry of   Political Affairs   II carries  out  the  role  of  formulating and
coordinating  women's  policies,  and  relevant  agencies   are in   charge of
implementation and   of women's   welfare policies.  The  government  newly
established the  agencies in   charge of women's   welfare in the   Bureau of
Family Welfare in each city and province.
   As legislation  and revision,   the Family Law  was  revised in  1990,  the
Fatherless Family Welfare Act was  legislated (1989), and the  Child Care Act
was legislated  (1991).  This shows  that  policies have  been  formulated for
gender equality  in the  family and  for the  promotion of  the quality  of life
through promoting women's welfare.
   In addition, as legislation  and revision, the Act  on the Punishment of  the
Crime of Sexual  Violence and  the Protection  of the  Victims was legislated
(1993), the Act  to Assist  the Livelihood of  the Women  Forced into Sexual
Slavery by the  Japanese Military  was legislated (1993),  the Act  to Prevent
Prostitution, etc, was legislated (1994), the Equal Employment Opportunity  Act
was revised (1995), and the  Basic Act for Women's Development  (1995) was
legislated. Also, the Act  to Prevent Sexual  Violence was revised (1997),  and
the Act to Prevent Family Violence (1997) was legislated. Such legislation and
revision of laws can be  seen as a part  of the activities to provide  the basis
for equality, social participation, and promotion of welfare.
   Since  the  basis  for  gender  equality,  social  participation  and  welfare
promotion has been prepared, the social system and  practices should follow in
the future.   In concrete,   the basic  plan  for  women's policies   should be
formulated  and  implemented  according  to  the   Basic Act   for Women's
Development, and those  areas where  the women-related  laws are  separated
from social changes should be  revised. Efforts should be  made to strengthen
the function of the Ministry of Political Affairs II so that women's policies can
be implemented. Also, in the legislation and revision of laws, those parts which
are obstacles to gender  equality should be revised,  the legal basis should  be
prepared for  the punishment  of sexual  harrassment at  work, and  women's
perspective  should  be  taken  into  consideration  in  the  legal  design  for
unification.


Ⅴ. WOMEN'S   INTERNATIONAL NGO  CONFERENCES  AND  KOREA'S      
    ACTIVITIES


   The UN CSW has held international conferences of NGOs parallel with  the
governmental conferences since  the First World  Conference on  Women. The
purposes  of   NGO conferences   are:   firstly to   impact   the government
representatives in the formulation of  the Platform for Action, and  secondly to
provide a forum to develop global sisterhood and friendship through the festive
events of seminars,  workshops, and events  on women's  issues. In fact,  the
NGOs carry out very active lobbying  activities on government representatives
and have significant impact on the adoption of agenda. Governments also carry
out lobbying activities  in cooperation  with NGOs  for those  issues that  are
difficult to be raised by government  representatives. Korea has participated in
the series of such conferences since the First World Conference on Women.
   When the First World  Conference on Women  was held, the  NGO Forum
Tribune was held  at the  same time  as the  main governmental  conference.
When the second conference  was held in Copenhagen,  Denmark, in 1980, the
NGO Forum   was held   at the   same time  on  the  theme  of  "Women's
Participation in Education, Employment, and Health.” In 1985, the Third World
Conference on Women  was held in  Nairobi, Kenya, where  they adopted  the
"Nairobi Forward Looking  Strategies Toward  2000.” At the  same time  the
Third NGO Forum  was held on  the theme  of “Equality, Development,  and
Peace.” In  succession to  such large  international conferences,  in 1992   the
United Nations  Environment Development   Conference was held   in Rio De
Janeiro, Brazil, where Agenda 21 was adopted.
   In 1993, the International Conference on Human Rights was held in Vienna,
Austria, and a United Nations Special Report on Violence Against Women was
presented. In November the same year, in Manila, Philippines, the  Asia-Pacific
NGO Symposium and  a regional  preparatory meeting  in preparation for  the
World Conference on Women was held in which about 600 people participated.
   Finally the Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, China,
in 1995, and the NGO Forum was held between August 30 and September 8 in
Huairous, which is  in the  suburbs of Beijing.  At the  Beijing Conference, a
Platform of Action was adopted  which reflected the consensus of  180 nations
and the opinions of  the NGOs. In this NGO forum, 30,000  people participated,
recording the largest of such conferences. Since Korea became a member state
of the UN CSW, private organizations started participating in UN CSW, and at
the Beijing NGO Forum  they formed the Korean  NGO Committee and  many
representatives and members of women's organizations participated.
   The NGO Forum  is held  parallel with the  World Conference  on Women
sponsored by   the United   Nations, centering  around  the  organizations  in
consultative status with ECOSOC  and the organizations which  participated in
the regional preparatory meetings  or regional conferences.  This forum is  the
place where all the  concerned women of  the world gather  together to share
opinions on  equality, development,  and peace  through seminars,  discussions,
and exhibitions. For this  forum, an NGO Planning  Committee is formed,  and
regional preparatory meetings are held dividing the world into the five  regions
of Africa, Asia-Pacific, West Asia,  Latin America and Caribbean,  Europe and
North America. At  the Asia-Pacific region,  an NGO conference  was held in
Manila in  November 1993.  As a  result of   the conference, the  East Asian
Women's Forum was formed centering around Korea, China, and Japan.
   The active preparation for the '95 World Women's NGO Forum began from
March 1995. Group workshops  were held where  the theme presentations  and
discussions were  made on  the issues  to be  discussed at   the forum. Two
preparatory symposiums for the forum were held. The first was held in March
1995 under the title  “Preparatory Symposium for  the Management of Group
Workshops,” and  the  second was   held in  August 1995  with  the theme
"Review and Adoption of NGO Reports,  Korean Women's Platform for Action
and Declaration.” An expert workshop was held in May 1995, and the draft of
NGO report,  Korean women's  Platform for  Action, set  up of  the Working
Committee to formulate  the Declaration,  and a workshop  of group  presiders
were presented at the Second Preparatory Symposium (August, 1995).


Ⅵ. UN CSW AND KOREA'S TASKS


   Firstly, domestic interests should be raised with the international network in
the areas that  should be  dealt with in  the future  from the findings  of the
review of  the major  areas of  concern of  the Platform  for Action.  So far,
Korean women's policies have prepared the laws  and institutions as the basis
for gender  equality, social  participation  and welfare  promotion, and   in the
future the  quality of  the social   institutions should be  promoted and   there
should be changes in customs and  practices. In concrete, in the same  context
as the tasks of each area of the Platform for Action, a basic plan for women's
policies  based  on  the  Basic  Act  for  Women's  Development  should  be
formulated and implemented.
   Secondly, assistance   should be   provided so   that Korean   women can
participate actively  in the  United Nations  by opening  the  opportunities for
Korean women to work in the Bureau to Promote the Status of Women. While
the Korean activities in the CSW are evaluated to be very active, Korea is not
performing a core role. One of the reasons  is that there is no Korean woman
on the staff of the  Bureau to Promote the Status  of Women. Employment of
the staff of  the United  Nations is  not possible  without the  active political
support of the government, and therefore governmental assistance is essential.
   Thirdly, priority   should be   given to  an  agency  solely  in  charge  of
strengthening  networks   in  the   Asia-Pacific  region   and of   promoting
international exchanges. This is because Korea is not performing  its role very
well although   it should  carry  out a   leading role  as  the  center of   the
Asia-Pacific region.  Women experts   with language and  international  sense
should be recruited with active governmental assistance.
   Fourthly, international   networks should  be  strengthened among   Korean
NGOs and UN NGOs.  It was after the  Four

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