The efforts made by the Prime Minister in
terms of his initiative for ethnic minorities were laudable.
66. Ms. GURDULICH DE CORREA said that she recognized the efforts made by the United Kingdom to withdraw some of the reservations entered to the Convention.
67. As an Argentine, she disagreed with the inclusion of the Malvinas and South Georgia in the report submitted by the United Kingdom in
document CEDAW/C/UK/2/Amend.1. The United Nations General Assembly had passed 10 resolutions in recent years recognizing the sovereignty dispute and urging both sides to negotiate to settle the matter in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
68. Ms. CARTWRIGHT welcomed the partial withdrawal of reservations to articles 11 and 13 of the Convention, but noted that the United Kingdom had entered significantly more, and indeed more substantial reservations, than any other State party which had reported to the Committee at its twelfth session. Had the United Kingdom, which had ratified the other four major Human Rights Conventions, entered the same number of substantial reservations to them? Furthermore, since both China and the United Kingdom had ratified the Convention, was there any reason why the protection provided by the Convention should be extended to the women of Hong Kong?
69.i
Ms. LIN Shangzhen said that in accordance with the basic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the rights and interests of Hong Kong's residents, including women, would be fully protected following Hong Kong's return to Chinese administration on 30 June 1997. If the British side wished to extend application of a given Convention to Hong Kong during the transitional period, or wished its implementation to continue after 1997, then the matter should be discussed through the correct channels.
70. Ms. NIKOLAEVA sought clarification with regard to hidden unemployment in the United Kingdom. It seemed that the unemployment benefit available in Britain was so low that persons who were out of work could not survive on it and were, therefore, not registering themselves as unemployed, which in turn meant that unemployment figures were incorrect.
General questions
1
71. Ms. QUEDRAOGO requested additional information with regard to migration. The report stated that although traditionally there was a net outflow of people from the United Kingdom to the rest of the world, the trend was beginning to change. In view of that, what was the nature of migration, namely, was it family-related, and if so, what impact did that have on women? Furthermore, in view of the trend in recent years, and the return of families to the United Kingdom, what were the effects on the social integration of women?
72. Ms. MÄKINEN reminded the Committee that general recommendation No. 18 had suggested that States parties should provide information on disabled women in their periodic reports. Although the report submitted by the United Kingdom had included some relevant statistics, it did not shed light on whether disabled women enjoyed equal opportunities, particularly in the labour market, education and public life.