on the occasion of the 51st session
of the Commission on the Status of Women
New York, 1 March 2007
Addressing discrimination and violence against the girl child:
the role of Parliaments
Doina DRETCANU
Member of the Committee on Equal Opportunities
for Women and Men, Chamber of Deputies
ROMANIA
Madam Chairperson,
Distinguished colleagues,
I am a member of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies. Together with my colleague, Vice-Chairman of the Senate’s corresponding Committee, we participate for the second time in this annual IPU event, which we find of utmost relevance to our work.
The topic chosen for this year’s meeting is a priority on the current agenda of our parliament. We address it in the broader context of parliamentary action aimed at enhancing gender equality and the rights of the child.
During the last years, Romania made significant legislative progress in these two areas. Today, the status and the rights of the girl child are subject, although not explicitly, of a new, comprehensive legislative framework, in line with the international and European standards.
The Law for the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, which entered into force in 2005, is built around four fundamental principles: best interest of the child, right to life and development, right to free opinion and non-discrimination. Other key laws in this field focus on the promotion of gender equality, the protection of the family, the elimination of discrimination, the fight against domestic violence and the countering of human trafficking.
The legislation of relevance for the children’s and women’s rights is complemented with specific strategies and plans of action, and with enabling institutional mechanisms. I should mention, in the first place, the National Strategy for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child, which is to be adopted soon. It covers the period until 2013 and is based, among others, on the principle of non-discrimination and equal opportunities.
National strategies have been adopted also for the promotion of equal opportunities (2006-2009), and the countering of trafficking in persons (2006-2010). Corresponding national agencies were set up, in charge with their implementation. Amongst them the National Authority for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, a specialized body of the central public administration, which acts in compliance with the provisions of the UN Convention (ratified by Romania in 1990).
At the same time, in line with the recommendations of UNICEF and the Council of Europe, individual complaints regarding the violation of the children’s rights are received and examined by a special department within the institution of the Advocate of the People - the Romanian Ombudsman. This is an independent body, entitled to conduct its own inquiries based on full access to information from public authorities, and to issue recommendations to the same.
The Advocate of the People acts upon request, but also as a matter of course. According to the law, complaints may be lodged by any person, irrespective of his/her citizenship, age, gender, political affiliation or religious beliefs, which means that children may address themselves in writing to the Advocate of the People. At the same time, the information obtained verbally from children or other persons can serve as basis for self-notification. The Advocate of the People treats the child as an adult complainer, it keeps him/her informed with the action taken, while observing the confidentiality of the interventions. In terms of parliamentary involvement, it is important to mention that the Advocate of People presents activity reports to the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, annually or on request.
In relation to the rights of the child, particularly those of the girl child, the recent legislative and oversight activity of the parliamentary committees on equal opportunities has been guided to a great extent by the recommendations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which considered Romania’s sixth periodic report in June 2006. Let me give you some examples.
The Committees drafted recently a series of amendments to the Family Code, including one aimed at raising the minimum age of marriage for young women to 18 years, on equal basis with young men, as stipulated by the UN relevant Conventions. According to our evaluations, this would result, among others, in lower rates of school dropouts by girls, in particular Roma girls, who are often facing multiple discrimination. The proposed amendment is currently under examination.
Another step forward is the revision of the law on equal opportunities, with a view to responding to the CEDAW recommendation to strengthen the national machinery in the field of gender equality. As a result, the National Agency for Equal Opportunities was given increased financial and human resources and the coordination and distribution of responsibilities among all state actors concerned were enhanced. Moreover, a mechanism of parliamentary oversight - consisting of regular reporting by the Agency to the Committees on Equal Opportunities - was put in place.
Let me add also that our work benefits enormously from inputs by civil society organizations. We find such interaction particularly important in efforts to provide a girl child sensitive approach to national legislation, policies and programs. These partners help us with research and statistics disaggregated on both sex and age. For instance, a civil society study that we have recently examined illustrates the perceptions of the girl child in school on the various children’s rights and the importance she attaches to each of them. It illustrates also the extent to which girls belonging to this category are involved in household activities, the level of their information on health, drugs and sexual related risks, and the extent to which they participate in decision-making bodies at school level.
Dear colleagues,
In the Romanian Parliament, children related issues are presently addressed by various specialized committees - human rights, equal opportunities, family and social protection, health and youth. In view of taking a more coherent and effective approach, the Committee on equal opportunities of the Chamber of Deputies has initiated the procedures for the setting up of a sub-committee on children. Such a specialized body would enable us to have a clearer picture of the situation of children, in general, and to devote more attention to the specific needs of the girl child, in particular.
We are therefore most interested in knowing the experience of those parliaments in which specialized bodies for children exist.
Before concluding, I would like to congratulate the IPU for holding this meeting and to stress that today’s debates in connection with the 51st session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women might represent a good starting point for designing an IPU plan of action for the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child.
In the same context, let me express our satisfaction with the fact that the resolution of the 114th IPU Assembly, entitled How parliaments can and must promote effective ways of combating violence against women in all fields ?, is mentioned as a reference document in the UN Secretary General’s In-depth study on all forms of violence against women.
Thank you very much for your attention.