RI told to ratify conventions on women workers

By Santi WE Soekanto and Carla Bianpoen

BEIJING (JP): The International Labor Organization (ILO) yesterday singled out Indonesia among major exporters of labor for failing to ratify world conventions on the protection of women migrant workers.

ILO Deputy Director General Mary Chinery-Hesse told the press on the sidelines of the ongoing UN World Conference on Women that Indonesian workers sent abroad are vulnerable to abuse and maltreatment.

"These workers provide a large portion of the country's income, but they are in very vulnerable positions," she said.

The Indonesian government should be morally pressured to ratify the conventions, she said, warning that Jakarta will face continuous international political pressure unless it does so.

The fate of women migrant workers has also been widely discussed at the parallel non-governmental organization forum on women being held in Huairou, 50 kilometers from here.

On Wednesday, representatives of 40 Asian NGOs staged a demonstration demanding better protection for women workers in various countries. An Indonesian worker spoke at the rally, recounting abuse she had suffered at the hand of her former employer in Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, at the UN conference, the two working groups deliberating on the documents to be adopted at the end of the meeting reportedly made progress yesterday.

Spokesman John R. Mathiason said the groups, deliberating behind closed doors, had been able to "unbracket" at least two paragraphs in the contentious Draft Platform for Action.

He justified the wrangling, saying that "these are government documents, and they are words which the governments must be able to live with domestically."

Once adopted and ratified, governments are bound by the statements, he said, which is why a great deal of care is going into the formulation of language and wordings.

Of the 362 paragraphs in the Platform for Action, 171 are currently still within brackets, signifying a lack of consensus among participating countries, he said.

The Platform will be the world's blueprint for efforts to advance women and ensure their "equality."

Debates have been frequent over the choice of phrases, such as "family structure" versus "family structures."

"This is a very slow process. We are far behind schedule," Mathiason conceded.

In Huairou, the NGOs were already putting the last touches on their documents, including a 149-page Global Platform for Action which they plan to issue at the end of their forum.

Most representatives of Asia and the Pacific dwelled primarily on what had been done in their regions to date, but China and Vanuatu were specific in defining action plans and making strategic suggestions.

Quan Minziang of China gave a perspective for the status of Chinese women by the turn of the century. She said that the Action Program had been promulgated on the eve of the NGO Forum.

Produced by the All-China Women's Federation, its highlights include equal rights in all aspects of life and the promise that the state will take care of child-bearing expenses for women workers through special programs.

Hilda Lini of Vanuatu made suggestions relevant, not only to Vanuatu, but to other countries in the regions. The former minister of health of Vanuatu suggested that a post-Beijing government/NGO forum be convened to help interpret some of the outcomes of the current meeting.

She pointed out that only four countries in the Pacific have ratified the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, which she said could be of guidance in formulating comprehensive national plans of action in countries which have not ratified the convention.

For other Pacific countries, Hilda warned that women should not be led apart by their disputes and differences, but should rather seek to develop united strategies and agree on fundamental issues that affect women's rights.

Lini, who is now a member of Vanuatu's parliament, said women's organizations must coordinate all programs for the mobilization and advancement of women, communities and nations.

She also said that governments should also coordinate the formulation of national action plans, allocate resources and coordinate the implementation in various sectors.

"National women's bureaus should interpret women's visions and perspectives into government policies," she urged. "Parliaments and legislatures should enact laws and women, as political leaders, should ensure that women's aspirations and perspectives are included in their party policy platforms."

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