EWLA News

written by and from EWLA Board Members

Ms KIM, Pill-sik, Representative of Women of Gwangju (right), and Professor Dr. Beate Rudolf (left), EWLA, speaking at the closure of the conference. (© NEWSIS)

President of EWLA invited to the European Network of Women in Decision-making

Equal participation in decision-making is a priority of the European Commission’s Roadmap for Equality between Women and Men (2006-2010). One of the actions in the Roadmap is the setting-up of a European network of women in decision-making in politics and the economy in order to boost equal participation of women and men in decision-making. By establishing such a network, the Commission is demonstrating its strong attachment to fostering the participation of women in the political arena and in top management positions in business.

The network will be a European network for the exchange of ideas and good practice, will search for practical solutions to remedy under-representation of women in decision-making and will submit a report containing examples of best practice and summarising the results of the exchanges and reflections of the members of the network.

The Commission has now taken action to set up the network. The members of the network will be appointed by the Commission among leaders of existing European level networks active on the promotion of women in decision-making positions for a period of two years. At the first stage, the network is expected to be composed of 16 members.

EWLA is very honoured and pleased that the Commission has invited Leena Linnainmaa, President of EWLA, to become a member of the network. She is very much looking forward to contributing to the activities of the network.

EWLA has been actively promoting women in decision-making positions. EWLA’s activities include resolutions and statements on the subject, a director training program for women lawyers in Helsinki, a corporate governance conference in Berlin and workshops at our congresses. EWLA also helped with the organisation of the Corporate Governance Dinner in Berlin, held in October 2008. EWLA will organise a Corporate Governance conference at the EcoSoc in Brussels on the 10th of November 2008 and hopes that this event will highlight the importance of promoting balanced participation of women and men on the boards of listed companies.

April, 9th 2008

Conference on the implementation of the acquis on non-discrimination in Cyprus

On 14 December 2007, Dr Maria Alvanou, EWLA member from Greece, represented EWLA and spoke at the Conference on the implementation of the acquis on non-discrimination organised by the European Commission in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and Public Order of Cyprus, in Nicosia, Cyprus. Attached you will find a summary of her presentation.

PROCEDURAL ISSUES AND ENFORCEMENT PRACTICES (BURDEN OF PROOF &REMEDIES): THE CASE OF GREECE- SUMMARY

Dr. Maria Alvanou

1. General legal Frame of protection.
A) International Law
Greece has ratified all important international conventions regarding human rights protection: the International Conventant on the Individual and Civil Rights, the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Obliteration of any Form of (Racial) Discrimination, the Convention on the Obliteration of any Form of Discrimination againt Women, the Convention on the Rights of Child, the European Convention of Human Rights and the Convention No of 111 of thw International Labour Organisation.

B) Greek Domestic Law
Law 3304/2005- “Application of the principle of equal treatment regardless racial or national origin, religious or other convictions, infirmity, age or sexual orientation” incorporates in the Greek legal system the Directives 2000/43 and 2000/78, on all the reasons of discrimination mentioned by the above Directives.

With the provisions of Law 3488/2006- “Application of the principle of equal treatment of men and women with regard to the access in employment, in professional education and evolution, in the terms and working conditions”, it is put forth a complete regulating frame for the effective application of equal treatment of the two sexes in work, via extended legal protection legal tools.
Apart from the above provisions, there exist constitutional provisions that, guarantee the rights of people against discriminations. For example, the article 25 of the Greek Constitution is very important, as it declares that the private individuals as employers are compelled, like the state-employer, to ensure the constitutional rights of their workers (eg equality and not discrimination-article 4).

There are certain regulations, which the victims of discriminations can invoke, seeking equal treatment in their working place. The legislation regarding labour is rich with provisions against discriminations. Law 1414/1984 on the Application of the principle of equality of sexes in labour relations limits discriminations, even if it aiming to protect only the working force in the private sector. There are also provisions against discrimination practices, like firing pregnant women or decisions of employers connected with the racial or national origin of employees.
In penal legislation, the antiracist law in Greece remains Law 927/1979, as it was modified by Law 1419/1984 and Law 2910/2001.

2. Monitoring-inspecting bodies against discrimination.
There are three specialised institutions for the promotion of equal treatment:

a. Advocate of Citizen, an independent authority recognized by Constitution, responsible for the promotion of equal treatment in public services. It publishes reports and examines charges of violation of equal treatment.

b. Committee of Equal Treatment, overseen by the Minister of Justice. It covers the private sector (not public services), except for working places and employment issues. It examines charges for violation of equal treatment and tries to reconcile, publishes reports and examines witnesses.

c. Body Inspection of Labour. A public service responsible for promotion of equal treatment in employment in the private sector (not public services). It acts as a reconciler between the employer and the empployee while it can impose fines payable to the state and examines charges of discriminations, publish reports etc.

3. Legal Remedies

a. For the labour field.
According to article 13 of Law 3304/2005, individuals that have suffered any violation of the particular Law enjoy legal protection from courts, administrative authorities and bodies. The victim of discriminations should exhaust all internal (legal) remedies in order to resort to international or European bodies (courts and other). The responsible national court can submits prejudicial questions to the Court of European Communities after relative demand of the victim

b. Other cases- national origin etc.
Law 927/1979 “On the punishment of actions aiming to racial discriminations”, as it has been modified up to date, is a penal statute. A sentence of imprisonment up to three years and a pecuniary sentence is threatened against anyone who, in public, orally or via written texts or illustrations or other means, prompts willingly in action or activities that are able to cause discriminations, hatred or violence against persons or team of persons, for alone reason the racial or national origin of them or their religious convictions. The term discrimination, can be interpreted with such way so as to include a wide spectrum of action or activities, as the legislator has not determined them specifically.

4. Procedural issues.

The victim of discrimination can resort in Greek civil, penal or administrative courts. If the affair is related with labour issues there are special processes in the Greek civil courts that guarantee shorter-faster trial periods. The aim of the trial is compensation. If the charge concerns employment, it should be submitted within the time margin of three months. Otherwise, there exists a time margin of five years. The courts examine all the proofs and evidence that he who denounces brings. In the event that the denouncing part proves that his income is very low, he can demand legal aid. The denouncing part is entitled also to judicial expenses.
Victims can move juridical processes so that they are vindicated, but they have to prove their statements in the court or the responsible administrative authorities, while the offender should prove he did not break the law.

In practice there exist quite a few problems in the effective protection against discrimination. For example little to no support is really provided to victims of discrimination, so that they can have true access to various processes, economic support provisions (legal aid) etc. Also, problems pose the only recent familiarization with the directives and the national provisions against discriminations on behalf of the judges, trade unions, syndicates and lawyers, plus the excessive delays of judicial processes in general.

Februrary 2008

The Council of Europe Campaign to Combat Violence against Women, including Domestic Violence

At the 4th and 5th June 2007 the conference of national focal points took place in the Palais de l`Europe in Strasbourg, organised by the Equality Division Directorate General of Human Rights (DG II) of the Council of Europe.

At the 4. of June the main focus was the developments of the national levels, f.e. Crotia, San Marino, Lithuania and others. The second part of this day were legal measures and possibilities of protecting and supporting victims. Keynote speaker were here the Ms Carol Hagemann-White from the University of Osnabrück, Germany, who introduced in the stocktaking study on the measures and actions taken in Council of Europe member States (www.coe.int) and Rosa Logar, who informed of the Domestic Abuse Intervention Centre in Vienna, (www.wave-network.org).

At the 5. of June the main focus was the interaction between government and parliament and the multi-agency co-operations to combat violence against women. Here I had the opportunity to speak about the German “gewaltschutzgesetz” and the possibilities given by the German law.

The conference is part of the Campaign of the Council of Europe to combat Violence against Women, including domestic violence,
(www.coe.int). “It starts with screams but must never end in silence.”

Statistics show that 12 % to 15 % of women in Europe face violence in the home every day.
The Council of Europe – Europe’s leading human rights organisation - has decided it is time to stop it. It has launched a campaign in its member countries to criminalise domestic violence, ensure support for victims and foster new attitudes so that violence against women in the home will no longer be tolerated.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the national parliaments are involved in the campaign. Parliamentarians of all countries will co-ordinate and implement initiatives, (www.coe.int). National governments of the Council of Europe are contributing to this Campaign through national campaigns and other activities to implement a recommendation on the protection of women against violence, which they adopted in 2002. Focal points and high-level officials have been appointed within national governments to taken action at national level. Almost 100 members of the Parliamentary Assembly have committed themselves to supporting the Council of Europe Campaign “Stop domestic violence against women”, (www.coe.int).

Now it is in the hand of the member states to continue and it is in the hand of everyone to ask his member state what actions within the campaign are planed or took place in her home country.

written by Angelika Nake, Germany

EWLA in South Korea

From 26-28 June 2007, the World Women’s Peace Forum (www.wpf2007.org) took place in Gwangju, the fourth largest city in the Republic of Korea. EWLA was represented by its Vice-President, Beate Rudolf, upon invitation by the South Korean Government. The Forum was organized by the city of Gwangju and brought together women’s organizations and academics from South Korea with human rights activists and scholars from ten other countries. Its aim was to foster an exchange of ideas and experiences among them. The conference followed the “2005 Asian Women’s Peace Forum” held in Gwangju to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, and the “2006 Gwangju Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates for consolidating peace in East Asia as well as the Korean Peninsula.” Thus, Gwangju, which was the center of the democracy movement in South Korea during the authoritarian régime until the late 1980s, tries to establish itself as a city of democracy and human rights in the Asian hemisphere.

The conference, entitled “Women’s Human Rights and Culture,” was chaired by Ms LEE, Hee-ho, wife of former President and Peace Nobel Laureate KIM, Dae-jung. She had become an activist for democracy in the Republic of Korea when her husband was imprisoned by the military régime. In her keynote speech, she emphasized the role that women played in Korea’s struggle for democracy and called for a full inclusion of women in public life and for practical measures to ensure women’s empowerment and economic independence. Three panels then dealt with the following subjects: “Multiculturalism and Women,” “Women’s Human Rights and Violence against Women,” and “Empowering Women and Peace.”

EWLA Vice-President Beate Rudolf chose to speak on the subject of “Women’s Human Rights and Violence against Women” from a European perspective. Her presentation Recognizing Women’s Human Rights and Combating Violence against Women - A European Perspective focused on EWLA’s contribution to realizing substantive equality in Europe as well as its work on combating violence against women. Other contributions to this panel dealt with the issue of moral and legal responsibility for the so-called “comfort women”, i.e. the sexual slavery imposed by the Japanese military on Asian women during World War II. Particularly impressive was the fact that representatives of Japanese women’s organizations and the former (female) speaker of the Japanese parliament supported the call for a formal apology by the Japanese government. Equally inspiring was the presentation of Ms Mukthar Mai from Pakistan, who had been gang-raped in her village upon order of the council of tribal elders, so as to force her to commit suicide to save the “honour” of her family. Instead, she sued the perpetrators and used the compensation paid to set up a foundation (www.mukhtarmaiwwo.org) building schools for girls in her village and provide support for women and advocate of women’s rights.

In the session on “Multiculturalism and Women,” speakers explored questions of integration, with a particular focus on migrant women. As it turned out, the problem of “mail-order brides” is not limited to Europe, but also exists in Asia, where women from poorer countries often see no other possibility for legal migration to rich countries, such as South Korea, than through organized marriages. While Korean participants emphasized the need for multiculturalism so as to overcome the prevalent ideology of “purity of blood” in their country that excludes persons of foreign or “mixed” origin, European and North-American participants stressed that multiculturalism is not a value as such, but presupposes mutual respect and acceptance of basic principles, in particular non-discrimination, gender equality and democracy. Another typical fate of migrant women is that they become victims of human trafficking and/or are forced into prostitution. All speakers agreed that preventive measures and criminal prosecution of traffickers must be accompanied by psychological support for the victims and possibly a right to stay.

The panel “Empowering Women and Peace” delved into questions of how women and their organizations can contribute to building peace in conflict-torn societies. Lessons were drawn from a variety of examples, such as women scientists who refused to participate in the development of new weapons, and the activities of the Korean anti-war movement. Numerous speakers emphasized the need for a balanced representation of both sexes in public decision-making. The use of new information technologies for exchanging ideas and building coalitions was also analyzed. In a special lecture, Dr. Ruchama Marton, founder of Physicians for Human Rights in Israel (www.phr.org.il/phr) , described the activities of her organization, in particular in providing medical services for Palestinians in the occupied territories and its advocacy actions for promoting human rights and non-discrimination.

Thus, the Forum proved the vitality of women’s organizations in Korea and other Asian countries, and the high quality of women’s studies in Korean academia. Moreover, it also underscored that the principle of substantive equality between men and women is a universal aspiration and legally binding upon all states.

19.07.2007

Director Training Program for Women Lawyers in Helsinki

EWLA is actively promoting women’s advancement to decision-making positions. EWLA launches a regional Director Training Program for Women Lawyers in cooperation with the Finnish Women Lawyers Association in Helsinki. The program includes ca 20 evening seminars during one year’s time starting on Monday 27 August at 4.30 pm. Ms Tuija Brax, Minister of Justice, will give the opening speech of the program. The training program covers different aspects of leadership including for example strategic planning, board work and personal development. The language will be Finnish.

Participation in this program will be free of charge for EWLA members. This program would not be possible without the generous sponsorship of the Cultural Foundation of Länsi-Uusimaa and Association of Finnish Lawyers, Central Chamber of Commerce of Finland, Ernst & Young, Federation of Finnish Enterprises, Kesko, KPMG, Marimekko and WSOY. Numerous women directors and experts have agreed to be trainers free of charge.

For more information please contact president@ewla.org.

22.05.2007

TIEDOTE 13.5.2007 JULKAISTAVISSA HETI

Anneli Jäätteenmäki Euroopan Naisjuristien kongressissa Zürichissä:

Perusoikeudet jätettävä Euroopan perustuslailliseen sopimukseen
Naisjuristeja noin 20 maasta on kokoontunut tänä viikonloppuna European Women Lawyers Associationin (EWLA) Zürichissä järjestämään kongressiin, jonka aiheena on Equal Opportunities for All from Women Lawyers’ Perspective

Kongressissa lauantaina 12.5.2007 puhunut Euroopan Parlamentin perussopimus-valiokunnan varapuheenjohtaja Anneli Jäätteenmäki totesi, että uutta Euroopan unionin perustuslaillista sopimusta neuvoteltaessa on vaarana, että kansalaisten perusoikeudet pudotetaan pois jo neuvotellusta paketista. Muun muassa Iso-Britannia on esittänyt tällaisia vaatimuksia.

- Perusoikeudet ovat arvokkain osa perustuslaillista sopimusta. Tällä hetkellä Niz-zan sopimuksessa vuonna 2001 määritellyt oikeudet eivät ole oikeudellisesti sito-via, eikä esimerkiksi EY-tuomioistuin ole uskaltanut käyttää niitä päätöstensä poh-jana, Jäätteenmäki totesi.

- Perustuslaillisen sopimuksen myötä perusoikeuksista tulisi laillisesti sitovia. Kan-salaisille täytyy taata oikeus valittaa perusoikeuksien loukkauksista Euroopan unionissa, korosti Jäätteenmäki.

- Perusoikeuksien merkitys kasvaa, kun unioni saa lisää valtaa sisä- ja oikeusasi-oissa sekä kamppailussa terrorismia vastaan. Euroopan unioni ei saa vahvistues-saan unohtaa ihmisoikeuksia. Instituutioiden unionin on muututtava ihmisten unioniksi, Jäätteenmäki totesi.

Lauantai-iltana pidetyssä EWLA:n yleiskokouksessa varatuomari Leena Linnain-maa valittiin yhdistyksen puheenjohtajaksi toiselle kaksivuotiskaudelle. Linnainmaa toimii Keskuskauppakamarissa apulaisjohtajana.

European Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) on perustettu vuonna 2000 Euroopan unionin tuella. Yhdistys pyrkii vaikuttamaan siihen, että tasa-arvoasiat otetaan huomioon EY-lainsäädännössä, ja yhdistys antaakin vuosittain lukuisia lausuntoja ja julkilausumia. Yhdistys toimii myös verkottumismahdollisuutena eurooppalaisille naisjuristeille. Yhdistys järjestää kong-ressin vuosittain eri puolilla Eurooppaa, joihin osallistuu puhujina mm. Eurooppalaisten instituuti-oiden edustajia. Yhdistyksellä on jäseniä eri puolilla Eurooppaa. Lisätietoja www.ewla.org.

Lisätietoja: Leena Linnainmaa, EWLA:n puheenjohtaja puh. 050-356 1183

Women in Decision Making Positions - Seminar organised by the European Commission

The European Commission is taking an active role in promoting women in decision making positions. It has set up a website on women and men in decision-making (http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/women_men_stats/index_en.htm).

On the 6th of March 2007 the Commission organised the Seminar WOMEN IN DECISION MAKING POSITIONS, Sharing experiences and good practice. Six European Commissioners participated in this event. EWLA was represented by its President Leena Linnainmaa, Past President Elisabeth Müller and board member Sophia Spiliotopoulos.

EWLA prepared a statement for the seminar. Only one other NGO had prepared a statement for this occasion although some other participating NGO’s have major funding. In the statement

EWLA

1. Urges the Commission to promote a balanced participation of women and men on the boards of listed companies and other executive positions by issuing a specific Recommendation on this matter including:

o national programs which include concrete actions, such as leadership training programs for women, promoting women directors’ networking, transparent recruitment policies, flexible working conditions, statistics disaggregated by sex, research on the glass-ceiling phenomenon, and follow-up procedures.

o a duty for companies to give information on gender distribution in management in the annual accounts of companies with more than 50 employees. This information should include board members, managing director and other members of a company’s management. This positive measure would contribute to a better distribution of women and men in leading positions without noteworthy costs to companies.

o annual reports on action and results.

o creation of a high-level government and private sector forum to discuss regularly actions for promoting women in decision-making positions.

The Commission should assess the effectiveness of its Recommendation after a period of no more than five years with a view to recommending further measures if it finds that it has not been implemented.

2. Suggests that the Commission launches an annual prize for employers who take innovative action in promoting women’s advancement. Candidates should have more than the average number of women in managerial and highest executive positions, including board membership. The best practices should be published and promoted as models for other employers.

The full text of the statement can be found at http://ewla.org. We disseminated the statement actively at seminar. Leena Linnainmaa, President of EWLA, intervened in the discussion a couple of times. EWLA’s suggestion of launching an annual prize for employers taking innovative action in promoting women’s advancement was welcomed and maybe we’ll see in the future that the Commission launches a diversity prize for employers.

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Women and Housing: Gender Makes a Difference
On Friday, 1st June 2007 Ingrid Westendorp, EWLA board member representing the Netherlands, will defend her doctoral thesis entitled: ‘Women and Housing: Gender Makes a Difference’. In this study it is examined how, and to what extent gender may have a negative impact on the realization of women’s right to adequate housing and ways and means are discussed to level this barrier. The right to housing is approached in a holistic manner, and the indivisibility, interdependence, and interrelatedness of all human rights is stressed.

In the first part (Chapter II) an inventory is made of the development of international rules and regulations pertaining to the right to adequate housing since the Second World War. The contents, justiciability, and corollary State obligations are discussed. The focus is on housing as a human right in the framework of the United Nations.

The second part (Chapter III) discusses all kinds of factors that directly or indirectly affect the fulfilment of women’s housing rights. First, the causes of homelessness and inadequate housing are under scrutiny. Next, private law issues such as property rights, legal capacity of women, equality as regards marriage, and the law of inheritance are reviewed. Furthermore, human rights issues like political participation, the right to land, security of tenure, the right to employment, and the right to privacy are discussed. The last part of this chapter is dedicated to structural discrimination inherent in cultural patterns.

The third part (Chapter IV) goes into the adequacy of existing norms and procedures for women’s housing rights. First, the adequacy of the international law system is analysed as well as the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Next, the specific international housing norms are applied to women’s situations and conclusions are drawn as to their adequacy. Other subjects that are studied are legal ways and means to influence culture and gender stereotyping, and State responsibility for violations of women’s housing rights. The last part of the study is devoted to monitoring and analysis. The mandates and tools at the disposal of relevant UN treaty and Charter-based bodies are examined, and suggestions and recommendations are made for improving their standard-setting and monitoring work.
(15.04.2007)

Nomination for the Equal rights award 2006
Professor Herdís Thorgeirsdóttir, Vice President of EWLA, was nominated for the Equal rights award 2006 of the Equal Rights Council in Iceland (the only individual to be nominated). The others were two banks and one NGO. A bank received the award. This is the second time that Dr. Thorgeirsdottir is nominated for the equal rights award for her contribution to equality matters in Iceland.