Report on Delivery to Women

8. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Internal Achievements

• South Africa submitted its first country report in terms of CEDAW to the Secretary General of the UN in February 1998 and to the CEDAW Committee in June 1998.
• The Department has an official policy on acceleration of equality between men and women.
• The Department has been elected to chair the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, which is overtly concerned with women’s rights, in particular violence against women.
• In the report of the 1998 government delegation to CEDAW it is reflected that the department established a gender unit in October 1997 and will shortly be appointing a Gender officer as head of the Gender Unit at the level of director.
• The report stated that the department has recently commenced with a module on gender sensitizing in its annual diplomatic training programme.
• In relation to staff breakdown, the report reflects that 47,41% of officers in the department were women as at 1997.
• As at December 1996 the percentage of women in South African missions was as follows: Heads of mission: 12,5%; Foreign Service officers 25,8%; Foreign Administration 44,0%; Foreign Assistants 96,7% and Other 25,9%. In the management ranks the composition was as follows: management echelon: 12, 8% and middle management 19,7%.
  • The 1998 CEDAW delegation report reflects that fourteen of 92 (15%) of foreign missions are currently headed by women and eight of these placements are in G7 countries.

Achievements For South African Women

Policies and Legislation]

• State Obligations: Article 8 of CEDAW provides that states must take measures to ensure to women, on equal terms with men, and without discrimination, have the opportunity of representing the government internationally and of participating in the work of international organisations.
• SA signed CEDAW on 29 January 1993 and ratified it on 15 December 1995 without reservation.
• Programmes and Activities
• The 1997 ministerial CEDAW report indicates that an affirmative action policy to promote representivity at South African missions was being implemented.
• The Department advances women in its representation on the Economic and Social Council at the UN, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women; the UN Division for the Advancement of Women; the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the Africa Regional Coordination Committee for the Integration of Women Development; the UN Development Fund for Women and the Southern African Development Community.
• The Department provided aid to the Nelson Mandela Peace Village near Kigali in Rwanda.

Budget Allocations

• The Department pledged R100 000 to both the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women and UNIFEM in 1997/8.
• The Foreign Affairs budget comprises less than 1% of the national budget.