[women-rights] CEDAW 29th Session: Ecuador's gender equality mechanisms need real power

UNITED NATIONS
Press Release

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xxxxxxxxxxECUADOR'S GENDER EQUALITY MECHANISMS NEED REAL POWER TO
ACHIEVE POSITIVE RESULTS, SAY EXPERTS IN WOMEN'S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION
COMMITTEExxxxxxxxxx

Committee on Elimination of
Discrimination against Women
11 July 2003
622nd & 623rd Meetings (AM & PM)

Ecuador's gender equality mechanisms, including National Council of
Women, needed to have real power to advance actual equality between
sexes and implement the laws enacted in the country, several members
of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
stressed during today's day-long discussion of the situation in that
country.

Acting in their personal capacity, the Committee's 23 experts monitor
compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, which is often described as an
international bill of rights for women. Ecuador, which ratified that
instrument without reservations in 1981, is one of eight countries
presenting reports to the Committee during its current three-week
session. The others are: Brazil, Costa Rica, France, Morocco, Japan,
Slovenia and New Zealand.

Introducing the country's fourth and fifth periodic reports,
Ecuador's Director of the National Council of Women, Sonia Garcia
Alvarado, said that notwithstanding economic difficulties, poverty,
political instability and natural disasters, which impeded
improvement in the status of women in Ecuador, the Government had
undertaken a serious review of its national legislation. Those
efforts had resulted in over 30 revisions of the Constitution and
numerous amendments of the civil code. Other examples of legislative
action included reforms of the penal code and laws on domestic
violence and sexuality.

Ecuador was the first Latin American country to grant women the right
to vote, she said. Still, only some 50 per cent of women had voted in
recent elections. The reform of the election law and the
establishment of quotas had led to some 27 per cent women's
representation in local elections, but patriarchal forms of
exercising power prevented women from participating in government,
judicial and legislative positions.

Although the laws and institutional machinery for equality had been
put in place, prevailing gender stereotypes still promoted multiple
forms of discrimination against women, imposing on them most family
responsibilities and giving priority to boys' education, for example.
She said labour and political discrimination was still present in
Ecuador.

During the Committee's article-by-article consideration of Ecuador's
compliance with the Convention, its members commended "some admirable
strides", which included the country's legal, institutional and
political initiatives, including temporary special measures for the
advancement of women.

One speaker pointed out that elimination of legal discrimination was
crucial for the implementation of the Convention. With great
disparities between the de jure and de facto situation of women in
Ecuador, however, it was necessary to strengthen national gender
equality machinery to achieve real changes and move from the
strategies of the Convention to the institutionalization of its
provisions.

Speakers pointed out that a large portion of the country's female
population lived in conditions of poverty and was still unaware of
its rights. Violence against women still presented a serious source
of concern, as did the economic, political and educational situation
of vulnerable groups of women, including indigenous and rural women.
The issue of child labour needed to be addressed.

In that connection, an expert said that not only was there a high
number of early pregnancies in Ecuador, but in rural areas, eight out
of 10 children were engaged in manual work. It was very sad that
instead of getting an education, children were forced to either work
or have children at a very young age. The expert from Bangladesh said
that child labour existed in her country, as well, but incentives
were also provided to encourage children to go to school.

Quite a few questions were also asked about the country's remaining
outdated and discriminatory legal provisions. For example, sexual
conduct of women played a role in paternity suits, and widows and
divorced women could not remarry, unless a certain period of time had
elapsed. The Committee Chairperson, Ayse Feride Acar, an expert from
Turkey, pointed out that the guarantee of equality contained in the
Constitution did not seem to apply to married women.

Others noted that while the age of marriage in Ecuador was 18 years,
in fact, a large number of girls got married at an earlier age with
authorization from their parents. Although not invoked for the last
35 years, an article justifying so-called "crimes of honour" still
existed in the country's legislation.

Among other issues highlighted in the debate were illiteracy, early
pregnancies, the situation of indigenous women, sexual education and
prostitution.

Also participating in the discussion were the delegation's expert on
domestic violence, Elsie Aguilar Montalvo, and expert on
international relations, Susana Flores Ortiz, as well as Silvia
Espindola and Marisol Nieto of the country's Permanent Mission.
The Committee will resume its work at 10 a.m. Monday, 14 July, when
it is scheduled to take up the situation of women in New Zealand.


Background

Today, the Committee was scheduled to take up the situation of women
in Ecuador, which ratified the Convention in November 1981.
Ecuador's combined fourth and fifth periodic reports (document
CEDAW/C/ECU/4-5) cover the period from 1990 through 1998. The
Government has also submitted a report on its implementation of the
outcome of the fourth World Conference on Women to the preparatory
committee to the special session of the Assembly entitled "Women in
2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first
century".

The Government reports that the country's civil code was amended in
1989 in order to address the issues of the legal status of women
within marriage, the administration of conjugal property, mutual and
responsible parenthood, marital rights and obligations of spouses,
parental rights and termination of marriage. Recent legislation also
includes the Law to Combat Violence against Women, Children and the
Family, the Employment Protection Act and the Free Maternity Reform
Law. In response to the Committee's request to strengthen the
National Agency for Women, the Government created an autonomous
National Council for Women in 1997, which is tasked with coordinating
public policies on gender issues.

In addition to enforcing relevant laws, the Government's efforts to
prevent and punish acts of violence against women include information
campaigns and setting up of Women's Commissariats –-
institutions that have backing from the legal system, the police and
non-governmental organizations. Regarding measures to overcome sexual
stereotypes and eliminate prejudices, the report states that changing
mentalities is a complex process in a multi-ethnic country where
sexist practices are deeply rooted in tradition. The condition of
women and values varies according to geographic location and the
medium involved. For example, indigenous women "tend to pay more
attention and give higher priority to the daily needs of the family
than men do".

While the Government strives to raise awareness of human rights
through the media, much still remains to be done to alter the
standpoint of news analyses and their presentation. Gender-specific
advertising still persists in Ecuador, especially regarding domestic
service. One television programme, however, also broadcasts short
commercials promoting the concept of democracy based on the equality
of children and adolescents of both sexes. Efforts are being made to
change stereotypes in textbooks as part of the wider curriculum
reform.

Regarding the country's measures to eliminate discrimination in
political and public life, the report states that Article 102 of its
Constitution provides for equitable participation of men and women as
candidates in elections. There is also a transitory provision, which
ensures that women should constitute 20 per cent of the lists of
candidates for multi-person elections. There is no sex discrimination
in public sector appointments, which are governed by the Civil
Service and Administrative Career Act.

The 1997 Employment Protection Act provides for positive
discrimination measures, the report states. Paradoxically, however,
application of this law, "without having established a system of
alternacy and given the system of quotas per province, prevented
greater representation of women in Parliament" at the congressional
elections in May 1998. Nonetheless, women's participation was then at
its highest level in the country's history (16 women deputies at the
national and provincial levels).

Despite scant female presence in the top decision-making posts, a
feature of the 1990s was the presence of women in the public domain.
During that time, there was always at least one female minister in
the Government, and women have held positions of governor and mayor,
as well. In 1998, 50 per cent of participants in the diplomatic
training course were women. In 1994, three of the country's 69
ambassadors were female.

As for the situation of rural women, the report states that gender
issues are mainstreamed in the national economic development plan.
Various projects have prioritized participation by women and young
people as direct beneficiaries of development projects. A project
entitled "Integrated Development for Campesino Women" began in 1994,
focusing on opening up opportunities for women's participation and on
direct action to generate employment and income for women, give them
access to community power structures and raise their self-esteem.
Also in the nineties, a "Land Tilting by Gender" project handed over
some 12,500 property deeds to women.

Regarding equality in marriage, the Government reports that marriage
is based on free consent of the contracting parties and equality of
rights, obligations and legal capacity of spouses. Similar rights and
obligations are upheld with respect to common-law unions. Divorce can
be initiated by either husband or wife, although the law establishes
that where no specific declaration has been made, "it shall be
understood" that the ordinary administrator of such conjugal society
is the husband. The minimum age for marriage is 18 years old. In the
case of minors, either parents' authorization, or a decision of a
competent judge is required.


Introduction of Report

Among those presenting Ecuador's report were: Silvia Espindola,
Second Secretary; Marisol Nieto, Second Secretary; Elsie Aguilar
Montalvo, expert on domestic violence; and Susana Flores Ortiz,
expert on international relations.

MIGUEL CARBO BENITES (Ecuador) said Ecuador had made great progress
since ratifying the Convention in 1981. In 1997, the National Council
of Women (CONAMU) was created to coordinate public policies regarding
women. Ecuador was convinced of the need to strengthen the role of
women, as it was crucial to the country's socio-economic and
political well-being. Ecuador was committed to protecting the rights
of women, girls and children.

SONIA GARCIA ALVARADO, Director of the National Council of Women,
said CONAMU had prepared the draft report, which was then examined by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. CONAMU was created in 1997 with
clear financial and political autonomy in its structure and
leadership. The CONAMU's predecessor, DINAMU, had focused on small
projects, whereas CONAMU focused on general issues and public policy
in general. The work of the new institution had resulted in important
constitutional reforms.

In the 1990s, Ecuador had faced a serious political and economic
crisis, she said. There had been six successive presidents. The
parliament had denied the first female Vice-President the right to
sit in her post. The economic crisis had resulted in the collapse of
the economy, and the dollarization of the economy. Five out of 10
Ecuadorians lived below the poverty line. Some two out of 13 million
Ecuadorians lived outside its borders. The country had also suffered
from numerous natural disasters resulting from the El Nino effect.
Throughout the time of difficulty, however, the indigenous and the
women's movement had gained strength.

Local governments in Ecuador were autonomous since the 1998
Constitution, she said. There had been numerous reforms to the civil
code to eliminate discrimination against women. The National
Constituent Assembly had reformed the Constitution, enacting 30
reforms for the enjoyment of fundamental human rights. That
achievement had been a result of a well crafted alliance between the
women's movement and female members of Parliament. In 1986, 18 draft
laws to eradicate discrimination had been presented to the Congress.
The law against violence in the family, the electoral law, the law on
sexuality and love and reforms to the penal code were examples of
legislative reforms.

The CONAMU, with the participation of the women's movement, had
formulated an equal opportunity plan as the primary instrument to
coordinate women's policies, she said. Despite much juridical
progress, cultural patterns remained at the ground level that
introduced different forms of discrimination against women, including
giving priority to educating boy children and sexual harassment. The
decade could be characterized as one of formal and institutional
progress, with the maintenance of cultural practices that promoted
discrimination against women.

Violence against women and the family was covered by special
legislation, she said. That legislation included civil and penal
provisions, and appeal measures. It also had established
responsibility for political and civil officials. In 2002, the public
ministry had adopted medical and legal protocols for dealing with
violence. In March 1994, five commissariats for women and the family
had become operational as a pilot project. By 2002, the number of
commissariats had grown to 32, and a decentralized plan had been
crafted to prevent violence in certain provinces.

In the 1990s, the topic of domestic violence had been placed on the
social agenda, she said. It was first recognized as a public health
problem in 1998. Institutional machinery had been created for the
prevention, punishment and implementation of the law. Corrupt
practices within the judiciary existed, along with sexist cultural
attitudes that prevented the implementation of domestic violence
legislation. The 1998 Constitution established protections for women
in several areas, and the labour code guaranteed pregnant women the
right to protection in the workplace. The law on labour protection
had established a 20 per cent minimum quota for women in the
judiciary and election lists. In 2000, a reform of the electoral law
to include quotas had been adopted.

With the new millennium, there had been a proliferation of programmes
for the poor, she said. School vouchers were available to guarantee
equal access to education. The new Government was currently
developing human development vouchers. Women and children were the
main beneficiaries of social protection programmes in the 1990s. In
everyday language, they were called poverty vouchers.

Sexual harassment was considered a crime in Ecuador, she said. Until
1998, there had been no research on the phenomenon of prostitution.
Of the total number of sex workers, some 50 per cent were organized.
In 1998, HIV-prevention programmes were created and 33 per cent of
prostitutes used condoms. Prostitution was a criminal offence in
Ecuador. However, certain establishments with municipal permits for
sanitation were maintained. The network against child abuse had not
established care for minors who were sexually exploited.

Ecuador was the first Latin American country to grant women the right
to vote, she said. Despite that, only some 50 per cent of women had
voted in recent elections. The reform of the election law and the
establishment of quotas had lead to some 27 per cent women's
representation in local elections. Patriarchal forms of exercising
power hindered the number of women participating in government,
judicial and legislative positions. Regarding diplomatic careers,
while there was no de jure discrimination, women did not hold
higher-level positions in the Foreign Service.

She said gender equality and equal opportunity in the field of
education was now incorporated in the educational process. Indigenous
languages were now also taught in the schools. The CONAMU had had
different programmes to include a gender approach in education,
working with different training modules that allowed for promotion
when training courses were taken by professors.

Noting that public school education was inferior to private
education, she said sex education was also being incorporated into
school curricula. Despite the fact that literacy and education gaps
had narrowed between men and women, gender stereotypes existed
throughout the education system.

Regarding employment, in the 1990s, the number of self-employed women
was some 26 per cent. The Constitution guaranteed equal pay for equal
work. Social security coverage was 100 per cent for women in public
positions. In the private sector it was 60 per cent. Some 90 per cent
of indigenous workers lacked coverage. Given the conditions, the
migratory process had increased. Of the total number of people
migrating, some 30 per cent were women.

Ecuador had seen a drop in the maternal mortality rate, she said.
There had been an increase in the number of visits women had to make
to doctors during and after childbirth. Indigenous women usually only
had two prenatal visits. One great achievement had been the access of
pregnant women to health care. While the modernization of the health
system had resulted in considerable achievements for pregnant women,
other areas of health had not progressed.

On rural women, she said Ecuador was a multi-ethnic country. Rural
women did not fare as well as urban women in terms of employment and
education, receiving about 35 per cent less income than men. Women
headed about 50 per cent of rural households. The establishment of a
council for indigenous groups had led to the creation of programmes
for rural women for credit, training and development assistance.
About 50 per cent of rural women who migrated to cities did so to
help their income.

The constitution recognized the same rights of men and women in
marriage and civil unions, she said. Although legal reforms provided
for equal status for men and women in marriage, culture still placed
heavy burdens on women, who assumed the costs of economic
adjustments. The 1990s had made great formal progress in the social
programmes for poor and ethnic groups to eradicate discrimination.
The maintenance of cultural and patriarchal patterns persisted,
however.


Reaction of Experts

As the Committee began its article-by-article consideration of
Ecuador's compliance with the Convention, its members commended the
Government for its will to implement the Convention through
amendments to national legislation, despite the constraints imposed
by economic difficulties, political instability and natural
disasters. Experts pointed out, however, that patriarchal and sexist
stereotypes still hindered progress in Ecuador. A large portion of
the country's female population lived in conditions of poverty and
was still unaware of its rights. Violence against women also
represented a serious source of concern.

In that connection, MARIA REGINA TAVARES DA SILVA, expert from
Portugal, said that she was struck by great disparities between the
de jure and de facto situation of women in Ecuador. With some 88 per
cent of the population living in conditions of poverty, many women
did not get recognition for their work, and the wage gap was growing.
With the Government displaying the political will to improve the
situation of women, national mechanisms needed to have real power and
means to advance the actual equality of women.

MARI'A YOLANDA FERRER GO'MEZ, expert from Cuba, agreed that there was a
need to strengthen national gender equality machinery to move from
strategies of the Convention to the institutionalization of its
provisions within the judiciary and legislative branches. Was there a
plan to raise the National Council of Women to the Ministerial level?
Did focal units still exist in the Ministries? Regarding the problem
of emigration, she wondered if there was a Government policy to
protect the rights of the women left behind to take care of families.
Several experts expressed serious concern over the phenomena of
sexual violence and exploitation, which were widely spread in
Ecuador. KRISZTINA MORVAI, expert from Hungary, said that various
manifestations of sexual violence testified to the fact that men felt
entitled to treat women and children as "something less than human".
It was important, however, not to use the label of cultural norms to
justify complacency towards violence. Under international law, the
Government was called on to address the roots of the problem and was
entitled to request assistance from the international community
towards that end.

On the same subject, VICTORIA POPESCU SANDRU, expert from Romania,
noted that, while several legal provisions had been adopted to
address violence against women, in practice, sexual exploitation
still persisted. What measures was the Government envisaging to deal
with that serious situation? she asked. She also expressed concern
over the situation of indigenous women and requested additional
information in that regard.

FATIMA KWAKU, expert from Nigeria, addressed the issue of
effectiveness of the Government's efforts, asking if an assessment
had been made of the national human rights plan and other measures
undertaken by the Government. She also wondered about the details of
the country's most recent equal opportunities plan. What strategies
had the Government put in place to monitor the implementation of its
employment legislation? How many complaints by women workers had been
heard and resolved by employment inspectors?

AI'DA GONZA'LEZ MARTI'NEZ, expert from Mexico, wondered about various
types of crimes against women and children and asked about the
phenomenon of denunciations described in the report. It was worrying
that incest was not criminalized by the penal code. She was also
concerned that trafficking in women was not prosecuted, as it should
be.

An expert from Croatia, DUBRAVKA ŠIMONOVIC, stressed that
elimination of legal discrimination was crucial for the
implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women. Last time, the Committee had pointed
out that not all laws in Ecuador had been brought in compliance with
the Convention. The answers received indicated that many laws were in
the process of adoption, and she wanted to know about the reforms of
the criminal court, which were based on the notion of family honour.
Did the courts acquit persons under that norm? How many people had
been acquitted?

The Committee Chairperson, AYSE FERIDE ACAR, an expert from Turkey,
congratulated the country on its presentation and welcomed the
ratification of the Optional Protocol in Ecuador 2002. Both the
achievements and remaining challenges had been articulated by the
Government in its reports. At the same time, she recalled that the
country's sixth report had been due in 2002. Welcoming the fact that
the Government had taken advantage of the Committee's decision to
invite the countries with overdue reports to combine them in a single
document, she still reminded the delegation of the need to keep up to
date with further reporting.


Country Response

Ms. GARCIA ALVARADO said structural adjustment programmes and unfair
trade patterns had had a particularly negative effect on women.
Prostitution in Ecuador was an ongoing problem. While the Ministry of
Health had attempted to tackle the problem, it had legitimized the
phenomenon to a certain extent.

Ecuador had not been able to promote a law to institutionalize the
National Women's Council, she said. The last Government had issued a
decree that would limit CONAMU's role. So far, the present President
had not used that prerogative. The women's movement was actively
engaged with civil society, and it was important to strengthen its
technical and leadership abilities.

In the 1990s, much time and energy had been lost, working with
officials that were going in and out of governments, she said. There
had been very little progress in implementing State policies. The
CONAMU provided technical assistance, but did not have the capacity
to monitor policies. That was a major shortcoming for the Council.
The restructuring of DINAMU to CONAMU had been an achievement in that
CONAMU had much larger status. Delays in overcoming cultural patterns
had hindered its effectiveness, however.

On violence against women, she said Law 103 was most important as it
countered deeply rooted cultural patterns. Some 80 per cent of the
women were aware of the law, even though they could not issue
complaints. The new Equal Opportunity Plan had not been completely
developed, as the political process to consider it had stopped during
a time of transition. A new Equal Opportunity Plan would be a
Government plan, assigning responsibility to the various Government
sectors.

The National Commissariat was a traditional system for resolving and
handling penal offences, another member of the delegation said. Many
turned into Women's Commissariats. The system had been applied to
offences not falling within the judicial system. The 1998
Constitution had ordered the unification of all judicial authorities.
In the coming years, women's and family commissariats and national
commissariats would fall under the judiciary. There was no political
will to do so now, however. Commissariats provided eight different
measures to deal with violence against women, including vouchers to
make phone calls in cases of violence. The level of women filing
complaints, however, was very low.

As for sanctions for rape of children, the revised penal code had
determined the crime of rape, including the rape of minors, and had
prescribed a punishment of eight to 12 years in prison. However, the
rape of boys and girls was not specified as an aggravating factor.
The owners of houses of prostitution could not be punished under the
law. Sanctions were stipulated for cases when minors were discovered
there, but they were often not imposed. The crime of incest was not
included in the code.

Members of the delegation also informed the Committee that a series
of initiatives had been started in the past decade to address the
needs of immigrant women, and women whose husbands had left to find
work in other countries. Some counties, with the help of the Church
and non-governmental organizations, had set up networks to provide
credit and assistance to the families of emigrants. Measures were
also being introduced to strengthen migrant women's organizations
within the country.

Work was under way to modify laws relating to the family, a country
representative said. Following a detailed discussion, it had been
decided not to push for the law to be reviewed now, since the main
players involved did not think that the right attitude existed for
the new code to be adopted.
Experts' Comments

MERIEM BELMIHOUB-ZERDANI, an expert from Algeria, said Ecuadorian
women had achieved significant progress, and she was proud of their
determination. While the results were not excellent yet, the
achievements were quite impressive, particularly in view of the
country's economic difficulties and its developing country status.
While the world's rich States had been called upon to provide some
0.7 per cent of their gross domestic product to the developing
countries, many of them had failed to do so, and she appealed to the
Ecuadorian women to continue their fight on behalf of all the third
world women.


Country Response

Ms. GARCIA ALVARADO said Ecuador wanted to create more programmes to
eradicate discrimination against women. Many programmes focused on
rural women. The terms "rural" and "indigenous" women, however, were
not used interchangeably in Ecuador. Many rural women lived in urban
areas. In some cases, rural women were not indigenous. There was no
clear data, however, on the ethnic breakdown of rural women. Senior
women had not been included in "vulnerable" groups.
Responding to a question on political participation of women in
Ecuador, she said that at the end of 1998, as part of the
Constitutional reform, a transitional article had been inserted into
the Constitution, whereby parties were required to include 30 per
cent women on the their election lists. Top posts were essentially
given to men. A draft law to modify the quota was pending. Women
often acted as fillers on the bottom of electoral lists.


Expert's Comments and Questions

SJAMSIAH ACHMAD, expert from Indonesia, said she was concerned about
intercultural, bilingual education programmes started in 1993. While
such programmes might be successful in terms of allowing indigenous
students to attend schools, she was concerned that local language
education programmes might increase their isolation. On the reform of
the education system, she said not many countries started their
reforms with teachers. Ecuador should be congratulated in that
regard. How was the reform being taught to teachers? Did life-skills
education include sexual and reproductive health?

HANNA BEATE SCHO"PP-SCHILLING, expert from Germany, said she was
concerned that CONAMU's efforts were not being implemented in all
Government ministries. She could not understand why the Ministry of
Health had not been able to report on its activities. Had the
Committee's concluding remarks been examined by the different
Government ministries? She applauded temporary special measures under
the employment act. Who monitored implementation of the quotas? What
had been the impact of CONAMU's sitting on the minimum wage
commission?

FRANC,OISE GASPARD, expert from France, said, given the economic and
political situation in Ecuador, as well as the number of natural
disasters, Ecuador had done quite well. Such disasters adversely
impacted women, often reinforcing negative stereotypes. On the
question of women's access to sport, she said it would be interesting
to know the relative participation of women and men in Ecuador's
Olympic teams. The next report should include more information on
that inequality.

Regarding early pregnancies, she said the figures in the reports
dated from 1994. At the time, some 17.5 per cent of young girls were
mothers or pregnant. The rate was even higher in the countryside.
Unwanted pregnancies were tragic for young girls, often leading to
unwanted marriages, high drop out rates, abortion and even suicide.
Had CONAMU considered media campaigns to help young women avoid
undesired pregnancies?

Ms. FERRER GO'MEZ said that the problem of poverty was far more
extensive in rural areas, where the situation was serious indeed.
Several programmes had been introduced by the Government to improve
the situation, and she wanted to know about their results. As many
women did not have access to land ownership or leases, it was
important to know about the projects to improve the position of rural
women. Another issue of great interest was women's illiteracy.

PRAMILA PATTEN, expert from Mauritius, noted an abundance of labour
legislation promulgated in the country. Yet, she was very concerned
that huge inequities existed. The Government admitted that those laws
were often not implemented. Women were paid up to 46 per cent less
than men for their work, and it was important to know what concrete
steps the Government was taking to rectify the situation. Sex
disaggregated data should be provided on work distribution. What were
the obstacles to women filing complaints against their employers?

FATIMA KWAKU, expert from Nigeria, said that she herself came from a
developing country, but she had never seen revelations as shocking as
those contained in the report concerning the situation of young
women, including a high number of early pregnancies. She had been
shocked to read that in 1995, some 43 per cent of the girls between
the ages of 10 and 17 had been either working or seeking employment.
In rural areas, eight out of 10 children were doing some manual work.
It was very sad that instead of getting an education, children were
forced to either work or have children at a very young age. She
wanted to know what the Government was doing to change that shocking
situation.

SALMA KHAN, expert from Bangladesh, agreed that child labour was a
serious concern. In her country, it existed, as well, but incentives
were also provided to encourage children to go to school. She also
asked if sexual education was provided to young women in rural areas
and wanted to know what was being done to address domestic violence
in rural areas, where, as far as she knew, no centres for victims of
violence existed.

FUMIKO SAIGA, an expert from Japan, asked several questions about the
country's education system, wondering if primary education was free
and obligatory.

Ms. POPESCU SANDRU, expert from Romania, asked for updated
information on the number of children carrying out productive
activities in Ecuador. Children had a right to be free from
exploitation under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which
had also been ratified by Ecuador.


Country Response

Regarding education reforms, Ms. GARCIA ALVARADO said bilingual
teachers had to be indigenous members of the community. The reform
had expanded the primary education period and there was also no
longer a strict division between primary education and high school.
Education concepts to treat the issue of gender stereotypes had also
been introduced. Another crosscutting theme was that of values. The
educational reform was ten years old. It had been a slow process. She
hoped the next report could include more data on the tangible results
of the plans and programmes in place.

Regarding education in remote areas, she said there was usually only
one teacher for every 100 students ranging in ages from 5 to 14.
Teaching was one of the worst paid professions in the country. In
many cases, teachers in rural areas did not take the time to include
crosscutting themes.

Addressing the issue of domestic labour, she hoped that in the
future, women working in the home could have access to social
security. Regarding quotas, she said there was no system to monitor
the labour quota for women in private firms. Sanctions were issued
when pregnant women lost their jobs.

Early pregnancy was a problem, especially in coastal areas, where
many girls aged 15 to 17 were already mothers, she said. Ecuador did
not have policies to protect against early pregnancy. Children in
many indigenous communities often had their first childbirth early in
life. The situation had worsened, as Ecuador did not have a serious
or sensible policy on sex education. Many early pregnancies were
indeed unwanted. The CONAMU, along with the Ministry of Health, was
implementing a project for the first time to prevent early pregnancy.
It was very early in the programme, however.

On child labour, she said a programme called "support for child
workers" ensured that child workers could have access to schools. The
programme was quite limited, however. It would not be possible to
remove schools from the labour market any time soon, since they were
part of the economic survival of many families. The CONAMU was
developing a programme to improve women's access to land deeds.
Continuing with their response, the country representatives said the
Government had been discussing universal health coverage for the
country's population. The project envisioned measures to improve
basic health care, sanitation and nutrition. Currently, a large
percentage of the population lacked medical insurance. The risk
involved in the proposal was that Ecuador was planning to place
health care in the hands of private companies, following an example
of several other countries. Employees would be insured through their
companies, and a special programme would facilitate rural women's
access to credit.

As for agricultural reform, the Government envisioned re-distribution
of land to the rural inhabitants involved in farming and the
country's indigenous population. It was true that indigenous women
did not have easy access to justice, and effective services for
indigenous people were needed. Denunciations were quite frequent
among the indigenous population, and there was a high degree of
violence there. Since 1997, work had been under way with women
leaders. Indigenous courts also dealt with cases of violence.
Regarding child labour, it was said that precise statistics were
provided in the report. Under prevailing cultural traditions, girls
were supposed to participate in household chores, and boys were sent
to work at an early age. The legislation prohibited child labour,
particularly in harsh conditions, but those laws were not strictly
enforced. The revenue generated from child labour was in the hands of
the entrepreneurs, but no precise statistics were available in that
respect.


Experts' Comments

CORNELIS FLINTERMAN, expert from Netherlands, noted that over 90
amendments to the civil code had been enacted in the past decade. At
the same time, the question remained whether any discriminatory
provisions remained in the legislation. For example, he knew that
under the country's laws, the sexual conduct of women played a role
in paternity suits, and widows could not remarry unless a certain
period of time had elapsed. While the age of marriage in Ecuador was
18 years, he asked if in fact women could marry at an earlier age
with authorization from their parents.

Ms. PATTEN, expert from Mauritius, echoed that concern, as did Ms.
GONZA'LEZ MARTI'NEZ, expert from Mexico, who said that quite a few
discriminatory and outdated provisions remained in Ecuador's family
code. For example, women's conduct should have no impact on the
determination of paternity. A waiting period between marriages to
determine if a woman was pregnant from her first husband also seemed
obsolete, in view of recent scientific developments. The number of
marriages authorized between the ages of 15 and 19 seemed quite high.
What were the eligibility criteria for divorce and what were the
rules for division of property? What were the provisions of the law
regarding alimony?

Also on family matters, Ms. TAVARES DA SILVA, expert from Portugal,
said that the high incidence of early pregnancies was not the only
troubling phenomenon. Connected to that were such issues as teenage
abortions and a high number of school dropouts. According to the
country's response, there was no law –- only some pioneering
experiments -– on sexual education. That issue needed to be
seriously addressed. It was also necessary to monitor the courts'
compliance with the laws.

HUGUETTE BOKPE GNANCADJA, expert from Benin, said that she highly
appreciated the legal reform, but was concerned about the gap between
the legislation and its implementation. Court procedures lasted a
long time, and stereotypical attitudes were reflected in the judges'
decisions. The reports acknowledged that, in many cases, the
country's institutions made implementation of reforms difficult. For
example, if land belonged to a couple, the property title was not
issued in the names of both partners. In practice, she wondered how
the law requiring written authorization from a spouse for the
conclusion of contracts was applied. What was the country doing to
address the gap between the de jure and de facto situation of women?

Ms. ŠIMONOVIC, expert from Croatia, said that international
treaties and conventions had precedence over domestic legislation.
What was the status of the Convention in relation to the country's
laws? She also asked if the country had plans to change the norm
under which women could not remarry immediately after a divorce.
Country Response

Responding to the question of early pregnancy, Ms. GARCIA said
statistics provided by the Ministry of Public Health did not account
for social class. There were numerous reasons for early sexual
activity, including poor living standards, shorter life expectancies
and lack of education. Abortion was a criminal offence in Ecuador and
those who practised it were strictly judged.

The Code for Children and Adolescents stipulated that people could
enter into contracts and legal acts at age 15. Marriage, therefore,
could be contracted at 15 years without permission from parents.
Common law marriages enjoyed the same rights as legal marriage. Under
common law marriage, couples must live together for two years. In
cases of divorce, property was divided equally before both parties.
In civil cases, the State did not provide legal assistance. Some
NGOs, however, had set up legal aid offices to help women in dealing
with family affairs.

Regarding the civil code, she said it contained provisions for
pregnant women. Prenatal care was provided even when paternity was
not proven. According to the code, women had to wait one year to
remarry following divorce. Women were still unable to belong to an
agricultural cooperative if her husband was a member. Regarding land
ownership, reforms to the civil code had meant that women had equal
rights to land and property. Some aspects of the law, however, were
not equal.

She said acts of violence were often classified as misdemeanours,
which meant that such cases did not have to go through the legal
system. The penal code still contained an article justifying honour
crimes. That provision, however, had not been used in 35 years.
The Constitution clearly stated that international treaties had
primacy over national law, she said. In that respect, measures were
being taken to adjust national laws. It would take at least four
years for those measures to enter into force.
Concluding Remarks by Committee Chairperson
Committee Chairperson and expert of Turkey, AYSE FERIDE ACAR, said
the difficult economic and political conditions facing Ecuador were
well known to the Committee. She congratulated the Government for
efforts to implement the Convention in the period covered by the
report, as some admirable strides had been made in the legislative
arena. Many new laws had been amended, including the constitutional
reform for gender equality, the law on domestic violence, reforms of
the penal code and amendments to the civil code. The employment
protection act that provided for temporary special measures was a
welcome addition to the legal system.
Ecuador's' recognition of violence against women as a social problem
and health issue was well appreciated, she continued. However, the
essence of the Convention was to recognize violence as a violation of
women's human rights. In that regard, much remained to be done.
Inconsistencies between laws and implementation of the laws were
striking, as were discrepancies between the economic, educational and
employment status of different population groups. Vulnerable groups,
namely, rural and indigenous women, faced compounded forms of
discrimination. Regarding the protection of women and girls from
prostitution, the laws needed to be enhanced with stronger sanctions
and vigorous implementation.

There was still a long way to go regarding family laws and matters
regarding married women, she added. The guarantee of equal rights
under the Constitution did not extend to married women. That was a
consequence of numerous factors, including a reluctance to apply the
law and persistent stereotypical patterns. To eliminate
discrimination, laws must be both proactive and effective.

The continued adherence to stereotypical roles was a foundation for
de facto discrimination in Ecuador, she said. The Committee would
expect the next report to contain results, particularly in the areas
of education and employment. Other concerns included a gender
segregated labour market and its impact on women, the gender gap in
literacy and early pregnancy and child mothers. She urged the
delegation to widely disseminate the Committee's concluding
recommendations. Ecuador's ratification of the Optional Protocol was
a sign of the country's political commitment to the Convention.

* *** *


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