Annex III: Closing remarks

Ms Baldoz,
Ms Leticia Shahani
Distinguished guests,
Participants,
Ladies and gentlemen

I would like to thank all those who are present here, both women and men, for their active participation in this very important consultation in Asia and the Pacific. The success of our meeting is due to your dedication and the partnerships you have forged – and I thank all of you for your efforts.

The meeting’s success is also due to the efforts of the Philippines. My special thanks go to His Excellency President Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Philippines Government for all that has been done to make this meeting so memorable. It was at the request of His Excellency President Estrada that the Secretary of Housing Ms. Karina David delivered her inspiring keynote address on Monday. Her blend of thoughtful scholarship and personal experience helped set the tone of the following three days and focused our attention squarely on the challenges we still face. My special thanks must also go to Secretary Laguesma and Ms. Baldoz. Both have given more than generously of their time, and without the support of the Department of Labor and Employment, the meeting could not have achieved anywhere near the success that it has. Our resource persons have also contributed enormously to our discussions, and I extend my thanks to you all. In addition, the acting director of the TESDA women’s centre Ms. Imelda Taganas and her staff also provided all of us with a valuable insight into the workings of the centre, which is one of the most notable developments to occur in Asia in the years since the Beijing Conference. Please also allow me to pause for a moment to thank the staff who have worked so hard behind the scenes – some even working through the night to produce the copies of the draft report distributed this morning

This meeting has really reminded me of the discussions at Nairobi and Beijing. And I am especially reminded this afternoon as my chief at the time of the Nairobi Conference is sitting here in this room. Mrs. Leticia Shahani – whose extraordinary list of career credits includes becoming only the second-ever woman Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations – was the Secretary-General of the Nairobi Conference. I am both pleased and honoured that Mrs. Shahani has agreed to deliver a special address to us today at this closing session. To me, it seems that not only Beijing, but also Nairobi, were only yesterday. I still vividly remember the feeling of elation among the delegates when the then PLO representative said, "I accept" (to the proposed wording), at midnight on the final day. That was, for me, the one moment that defines success. My friend, Patricia Licuanan, who chaired the preparatory committee for the Beijing Conference, also reminded me yesterday of the discussions that we held to agree upon subtitles for the Nairobi Conference. The success of the Beijing Conference was built upon the foundations laid at the Nairobi Conference.

Now, four years after Beijing and in the wake of our discussions this week, we have a clearer picture of the Conference’s impact. The Platform for Action was not created from scratch. It as formulated on the basis of the long-term commitment and continuous work of many people – although unfortunately, most of this work was done by women alone. I do not for a moment mean to denigrate this work – it was vital, valuable and its results still guide us. However, I think it is clearly recognized that the transformations needed to achieve gender equality require the commitment of society as a whole. This cannot be the responsibility of women alone – it has to be the responsibility of each and every citizen.

We women all know the particular problems that we face today. However, as Ms. David reminded us, the stubborn fact persists that women’s concerns are still too often forgotten, ignored, downplayed or even ridiculed. Because of this, we need unity. Because of this, we need a concerted effort to achieve real and lasting change. The common understandings which you have produced provide a lasting record of your joint undertakings and a guide that will help us set a course for a more equal society. I must once again thank you for your contribution to gender equality. Your common understandings are very comprehensive, and cover a wide range of actions that governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations and society as a whole should take. These understandings are also a good combination of normative measures and operational activities – a mixture of legislative and grass roots recommendations. Perhaps our next step is to consider how to prioritize these actions that we have identified.

The need to ensure women’s participation is one of the clear messages delivered to the ILO. Perhaps I can say that the ILO’s function is to serve as a house of service, knowledge and advocacy – and naturally we will continue to make analyses and to provide assistance, especially through capacity building for our constituents.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In conclusion it is important for us to gather here to confirm that, although progress has been made, it is far from satisfactory. Globalization is sometimes brutal to women, and many women are still marginalized, working in the informal sector beyond the reach of legal protection. The passion which we all share for an egalitarian society must go hand in hand with practical action.

As Mrs. Shahani stressed when she headed the United Nations Secretariat as Secretary-General to the Nairobi Conference, political will is still crucial. Let us continue to work together to ensure that the next generation lives and works in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.

Once again, may I extend my thanks to you all, and my best wishes for a safe journey.

Thank you

It is an honor and privilege to be the concluding speaker at this ILO Regional Consultation on Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing.

I should like to thank the Asia Pacific ILO Regional Office, in particular its Regional Director, Mitsuko Horiuchi, for the ILO’s invitation for me to participate at this important meeting. It is with a sense of pride that I share again the same platform with Ms Horiuchi, having worked with her fourteen years ago during the exciting period of preparations for the 1985 Third United Nations Conference on Women in Nairobi. This event today also gives me the welcome opportunity to thank the ILO Office in Manila under the present leadership of Mr Richard Szal, for the devoted assistance it has consistently given to the people and Government of the Philippines. I hope all the participants from abroad who have come to this consultation have had a pleasant stay in our country.

With the preparatory meetings for Beijing +5 taking place in many parts of the world, those of us who were in Beijing in 1995 realize how fast time has flow. We are reminded that we must redouble our efforts to implement the Beijing Platform for Action and monitor its enforcement. Yet despite our most intense efforts, we are sometimes overwhelmed by the vast amount of work that remains to be done in the field of women’s rights and its related problems of poverty, unemployment and discrimination.

But we should not lose hope nor despair; human nature being what it is, changes in attitudes and structural reforms, unfortunately, move slowly but a sense of historical perspective should help at this point. Since the founding of the United Nations in 1945 and the subsequent adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in which document the equality between women and men was proclaimed, definite progress has been achieved in the realization and exercise of women’s rights the world over. Let us also remember that the ILO, as the oldest of the United Nations specialized agencies, having been established during the period of the League of Nations, has pioneered in advocating and implementing the rights of working women and has led the way in setting minimum international standards for conditions of work. I remember the period I spent as a Philippine representative to the UN Commission on the Status of Women during the years 1968-1975. At that time when women’s issues were not given much importance at the United Nations, the ILO had already its Conventions awaiting the ratification of governments, strengthened by its tripartite system to monitor and oversee the implementation of these Conventions. Significantly the ILO has moved from its early position on the protection of women workers to the equalization of opportunities between men and women in the workplace.

But on the eve of the third millennium, with the completion of the UN Decade for Women, 1975-1985, and advocacy of its theme: "Equality, Development and Peace," and with the culmination of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, we should not be satisfied merely with citing and repeating the recommendations of these and related conferences. Mere verbal activity, debate, and analysis cannot provide the solutions we need. Even the best legislation is inadequate. Likewise , a purely sectoral approach towards women will not suffice. Why?

Because at the start of the 21^st century we have entered the era of integrated development, social solidarity; the need for a value-based sustainable national and global development _ if concrete results are to be achieved. The scientific and technical approach, so basic to human progress, by itself, has proven to be sterile and mechanical; it is a dead end unless balanced by the exercise of moral and spiritual values, by a political will that is committed to the good of the majority and a sense of social solidarity on the part of the population and civil society The challenge in the 21^st century is to give the highest priority to the security as well as to the empowerment of people. In the words of the eminent Director-General of the ILO and a good friend of mine, Juan Somavia, we are no longer threatened by the nuclear bomb, but by the "social bomb" so that we need to "move from the more limited notion of a welfare state to a larger vision of a state of equity." I thought there was no better way of clarifying the wide-ranging implications of the Beijing Conference than by relating it to the conclusions of the World Summit on Social Development which was also held in 1995 and chaired by one of its driving forces, Ambassador Juan Somavia. Let us recall some parts of that seminal vision contained in the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development: "We are deeply convinced that economic development, social development and environmental protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development, which is the framework of our efforts to achieve a higher quality of life for all people … we also recognize that broad-based and sustained economic growth in the context of sustainable development is necessary to sustain social development and social justice." The Copenhagen Declaration goes on to say: "We recognize, therefore, that social development is central to the needs and aspirations of people throughout the world and to the responsibilities of governments and all sectors of civil society. We affirm that, in both economic and social terms, the most productive policy and investments are those that empower people to maximize their capacities, resources and opportunities. We acknowledge that social and economic development cannot be secured in a sustainable way without the full participation of women and that equality and equity between women and men is a priority for the international community and as such must be at the centre of economic and social development."

In relating the Declaration of Copenhagen on Social Development to the Beijing Platform for Action, it is not my intention to subsume and subordinate the rights and responsibilities of women to social development; neither am I relegating women to social welfare. On the contrary, my objective is to demonstrate that women are at the dead centre of the development process since they constitute half of the world’s population and because their potential has not yet been fully appreciated nor utilized. Women have a key and unique responsibility in the 21^st century. With the central role of women in the family and the community, their proven talent and efficiency in the workplace, their tested integrity and honesty in whatever activity they undertake, their compassion for all living things and their capacity to heal and offer motherly love, they could well be the principal instruments in bringing the world to the threshold of a new human order. Women should not accept to be mere subjects or objects of the ongoing globalization process, they must be pro-active in shaping it, give it a woman’s ethical and spiritual orientation and thus humanize the globalization process.

But before women can transform the world they must first transform themselves. The self-transformation I am speaking of has a spiritual and moral basis, otherwise it cannot be sustained over the long term, nor will it acquire its own power. We, women, must exemplify through our lifestyle and daily behavior the very values on which we should build this new world. Let us demonstrate the values of sharing with and caring for each other, of being accountable and self-reliant, of being tolerant of cultural diversity. Women of Asia and the Pacific, arise and unite for this great task!

Looking at the violence and widespread poverty and misery in the world, it is evident that the traditional approaches to diplomacy and military alliances have not brought about world and regional peace and security. Neither has the delivery system of government bureaucracies facilitated full employment and the economic independence of women. What we are beginning to talk about in the 21^st century is not only about the security of states and governments but more important, about people’s security and empowerment, without which there can be no long term peace and progress. We must continue to demand from those who claim to be our leaders of society: "Empowerment for whom?" Security for whom?" The only valid answer is "empowerment and security for the people." People however, must go deeper to ask themselves: "What is life for?" "Who am I?" The reply seems to be that the human being has a moral and divine nature. Past experience in government and international relations have shown that the moral and spiritual have a great effect on progress and human development. However, it is not my task to explore at length the relationship between the physical and the metaphysical. My intention here is to point out the close relationship between the material and the spiritual.

Although governments have the legal and financial power, we cannot rely only on them, whether at the national, regional or local levels. Private industry is even proving that it can be more powerful than governments. The 21^st century requires the solidarity of civil society as well as the exercise of good governance which means the cooperation of government, private industry, the NGOs, the churches, academe, people’s organizations of farmers, workers, etc; indeed all sectors of society with a common cause to survive and prosper together. In these emerging trends, women can and should play a major role. They must help remove the scourges of poverty, unemployment and social exclusion, not only as these relate to women but also to oppressed groups or individuals in their communities. Remember the sign at the entrance to the Beijing NGO Forum at Huariou: "Look at the world through women’s eyes". That world as experienced by women at present is impoverished and victimized; but that world as envisaged anew by women can be transformed to become humane, prosperous and just, if they take part in shaping that world. In other words, we have to eliminate not only material poverty but spiritual poverty as well, It is the spiritual which will transform our vision.

The Beijing Platform for Action is strong on the subject of women and the economy. It recognizess that employment policies should integrate the gender perspective more fully; indeed the economic independence of women is the beginning of true equality between men and women. Without her own income, a woman remains a victim and a subject of men and of society in general.

The ILO Report considered by this consultation entitled, Towards gender equality in the world of work in Asia and the Pacific, deals with both old and new problems relating to the employment of women: (a) the negative and positive effects of the globalization process on the employment of women; (b) the booming sex industry, with the men, of course, behind this demand-driven sector; (c) the unprotected status of migrant women; (d) the unrecognized status of domestic and home workers; (e) the continuing neglect of employment of women in the agricultural sector; (f) the non-implementation by governments of ILO Conventions which they have ratified and the weak enforcement of labour laws at the national level.

I believe the most credible way for me to demonstrate at this stage what we, who have long laboured in the vineyard of the women’s area have done, is to share with you some of my insights directly harvested from my experience as a former Senator and a law-maker of the Philippines on the following issues:

• Concerning equal pay for work of equal value, I authored in 1986 the Republic Act No. 6725 which amended the Labor Code of the Philippines by identifying certain acts of gender discrimination as punishable such as unequal pay for work of equal value and unequal promotion, training and scholarship opportunities. Although considered a historic and landmark piece of legislation, this law remains unimplemented due to the fear of women of losing their jobs should they bring their employers to court. Thus, the easier recourse is to accept out-of-court settlements, if ever these are satisfactorily concluded for the women workers. Thus the spirit of the law is killed.

• Concerning remuneration for the work performed by housewives, I successfully inserted an amendment to the Revised Philippine Social Security Act, Republic Act 8282, to the effect that housewives can be part of the national security system on a voluntary basis. Although it fell short of its being compulsory, at least the amendment is a major step towards that distant goal of remunerating housework. Again, in this case, implementation and enforcement are the obstacles.

• As former Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Food and Agriculture, I have continuously pressed for an improvement of the employment of women in agriculture including fisherwomen, in the formal an informal sectors. Let us not forget that the majority of migrant women came from the agricultural sector in order to escape rural poverty and want. Ministries of Agriculture tend to overlook this vast sector of women underemployed in the rural economy. The departments of labor, agriculture, trade and industry and national machineries of women, all together, should assist rural women especially to become self-reliant entrepreneurs.

• As regards violence against women, I authored the Republic Act 8353 known as the Anti-Rape Law of 1997 which makes rape a public rather than a private crime and making rape punishable by life imprisonment or death, depending on certain circumstances. However, this law falls gravely short of effective enforcement.

• Realizing that trafficking in women and committing violence against them is not only a legal issue but also a moral and spiritual challenge, both for men and women, I have advocated and continue to advocate an educational program on values called "A Moral Recovery Program:" I launched this program in the belief that spiritual and moral values are so important in realizing the dignity of men and women and in developing a family and nation. Although the sex industry has to be recognized as an economic sector in official statistics, I would not encourage it as a desirable means of livelihood for women or to be part of the North-South dialogue!

• Women’s programs receive inadequate budgetary allocations, both in government and in non-governmental organizations. Yet budget is the ultimate policy tool and the acid test of the political will. Recognizing this, I had inserted in the 1997 General Appropriations Act of the Philippine Government a provision requiring that five per cent of the budget of every government department or agency must be allocated to programs for women, Five per cent seems small at first glance but in this year’s government budget this represents some P28billion or about US$500 million. So much can be done with this sum if properly utilized. Again, this provision is not yet fully implemented due to lack of knowledge on how to devise effective programs for women in many agencies of government.

It is obvious that the implementation and enforcement of laws is a grave shortcoming in many countries of our region. It is my fervent hope that the ILO, through its regional and national offices, could assist, at the request of the Asian and Pacific governments, in the implementation of important legislation on women and related areas. There seems to be no better way to show commitment to the spirit and letter of the Beijing Platform for Action.

Dear sisters and brothers, the historic struggle for women’s rights has been tortuous and painful. Much has been achieved but much remains to be done in implementing the gains of the past. But more than preoccupation with the past and the present, we see a new world emerging in the near future. If we wish to improve the human condition, highest priority should be given to people’s security. People’s security can be achieved by empowering women all over the world. We are not just talking about mainstreaming women in the existing order or making them adjust to the status quo as created by men. We mean remaking the world, through affirmative action, to become more just and equitable for all.

Let us therefore take initiatives in the Asia and Pacific region to create a new world and invite the men to become our equal partners in the moral and spiritual uplifting of our individual selves and in the structural transformation of our societies. As each of us lights a candle and keeps that flame burning, we can, step by step, set the world aglow with justice and equity, as well as the protection of the environment and respect for human rights of both men and women.

Updated by TN. Approved by BKL. Last update: 5 June 2000.

International Labour Organization (ILO): Contact us | Site map |

Copyright and Permissions 1996-2008 International Labour Organization (ILO) - Disclaimer