UNITED
NATIONS, New York -- The Parliament of The Bahamas is considering several
critical amendments to the Constitution of The Bahamas in fulfillment of the
government's commitment to the promotion and protection of the human rights of
women, Minister of Social Services and Community Development, the Hon. Melanie
Sharon Griffin told a key United Nations Women's Forum.
"Once
approved by both Houses, the amendments will open the way for a referendum by
the people to remove the last vestiges of discrimination against women and
bring about equality for women and men under the law," Minister Griffin
said
on Monday.
Addressing
the 59th Session of the United Nation's Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)
on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform
for Action -- Mrs. Griffin said the Government of The Bahamas "has
aggressively undertaken" a number of initiatives in order to meet some of
the international obligations included in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action.
Mrs. Griffin
said the initiatives have been undertaken with the support of local Civil
Society Organizations as well as international partners such as UN Women, UNFPA
(United Nations Population Fund, formerly known as the United Nations Fund for
Population Activities) and ECLAC (The Economic Commission for Latin America and
the Caribbean).
ECLAC is
one of five United Nations Regional Commissions responsible for assisting with,
and promoting economic and social development in major regions of the world.
Minister
Griffin told CSW delegates that while the Secretary-General's Report -- which
outlined the five priority areas to accelerate implementation of the Platform
for Action -- confirms that in spite of significant advances achieved since
Beijing countries are lagging behind, and in some cases, many have regressed,
The Bahamas has achieved success in a number of critical areas of the Platform
for Action "despite being a relatively young nation."
The Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted by the Fourth World Conference
on Women in 1995 and reaffirms the fundamental principal that the rights of
women and girls are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal
human rights. The Bahamas was represented at that session by former Cabinet
Minister the Hon. Janet Bostwick (Head of Delegation) who joined Mrs. Griffin
in New York for the historic 20th anniversary.
Mrs. Griffin
highlighted a number of initiatives undertaken by the Government of The Bahamas
to address some of the critical areas included in the Platform for Action.
The
initiatives include the introduction of the First Phase of the Conditional Cash
Transfer (CCT) Programme, a Social Safety Net Reform Initiative in November,
2014, that is designed to modify human behavior and break the cycle of poverty
in households, the majority of which are headed by females; the establishment
of a Domestic Violence Unit in the Department of Social Services; ongoing campaigns to raise awareness of violence
perpetrated against the girl child, such as violence in dating situations and
bullying; the ongoing facilitation of workshops and seminars to encourage the
participation of women in politics with the support of former and current
female parliamentarians; and the appointment of a Task Force by the Cabinet of
The Bahamas with a view to ending Gender-Based Violence. [The Task Force is in
the final stages of a report for the development of a national strategic plan.]
"Concomitant
with this is a National Implementation Plan to address gender-based violence,
sponsored by UN Women," Mrs. Griffin added.
The Bahamas
was represented at the CSW by a sixty-member delegation that was headed by
Minister Griffin. The delegation represented a cross-section of women’s civil
society organizations, women representatives from the various political parties
and two men, and included former Cabinet Ministers.
Minister
Griffin said despite many successes in The Bahamas, challenges still exist in
the areas of poverty, violence against women, and power in decision-making.
"Cognizant
of this fact, we have aggressively undertaken a number of measures and
initiatives with the support of local civil society organizations, as well as with
partners such as UN Women, UNFPA and ECLAC, to meet these challenges."
Mrs. Griffin
told the Commission that The Bahamas is about to embark on a new Post-2015 Development
Agenda.
"The
task ahead of us is challenging but we remain committed to achieving gender
equality and empowerment of all women and girls. As stated by Mrs. Bostwick
twenty years ago in Beijing with respect to women, “
our cry for change has been long and loud; our pain intense.” It is
a cry, which was as long and loud
then,
as it is now.
"The
women and girls of the world "are depending on us, policy-makers, to
provide the means of implementation by which they can transform their lives. It
is the hope of The Bahamas’ Delegation that this session would not only result
in a commemoration of Beijing+20, but spur renewed commitments, action and results
for women and girls throughout the world. We have
the blueprint – the Beijing Platform for Action. Now is the time to build
the future we want," Mrs. Griffin added.