Economic and social issues affecting women are under discussion at the 53rd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Among those attending the meeting in New York are government officials, UN agencies, and non-govemment organizations.
第53届联合国妇女地位委员会(2009年3月22日)正在讨论经济和社会问题对妇女产生的影响。 会议在纽约举行,参加会议的有政府官员、联合国机构以及非政府组织。
This year, the annual meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women has a new focus: the global economic downturn. Economists say that in financial crises women are of the first to be fired， including for example, those in Africa engaged in exports like the sale of cut flowers to Europe. To make matters worse, there is often little social welfare program focuses on them.
今年的联合国妇女地位委员会年度会议关注的新焦点是全球经济衰退。经济学家认为，在金 融危机情况下,女性通常首先被解雇,包括在非洲从事鲜切花出口到欧洲的女性等。更糟的是，针
Development economists say the crisis could encourage donors and private banks to withdraw support for microcredits that finance many small businesses run by women. Activists say cutbacks in foreign support for health care and education projects would also set back progress made in recent years by girls and women.
发展经济学家说,危机迫使赞助人和私人银行收回支持小本 生意的贷款,这些生意多数是妇女在经营。社会活动家表示，缩减 对国外的医疗和教育项目的援助也会令近年帮助女童和妇女治病 或受教育的心血付之东流。
Economist Marina Durano is with the group Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era. “There is a lot of talk about fiscal stimulus packages, but if they focus on road construction [for example], that will mean men will be employed mostly. While women are losing jobs, we have not figured out how to rehire them or in the short term, especially as part of the fiscal stimulus packages around,” she said.
新世纪妇女发展选择机构的经济学家杜拉诺说有关经济刺 激计划的谈论很多’但是如果计划的重点都是道路建设等,这就意 味着雇佣的大部分工人是男人。当女人失去工作时，我们却还没有 找到办法如何让她们在短期内重新找到工作,特别是把她们纳人 目前金融刺激计划的一部分来考虑。”
Joining Durano in her concern is the UN Development Fund for Women Africa section chief, Micheline Ravololonarisoa. “The tendency is that in times of crisis, [among] the first decisions to be made by government is to cut off resources for women. And few decision-makers are paying attention to the social welfare for these unemployed women. There should not be a decision to cut women’s programs over infrastructure in the first place,” she said.
联合国妇女发展基金会非洲分部主管拉沃罗罗纳里索也表达 了同样的关注。拉沃罗罗纳里索说广在危机时刻通常的情况是,政 府第一考虑的就是削减为女性提供的资源。但决策人又极少关注 要为失业妇女提供社会福利待遇。当然,他们本来就不应该削减女 性项目来增加基础设施建设。”
For many at the UN meeting, that concern extends to programs by governments, NGOs and UN agencies.
对很多参加本次联合国妇女地位问题会议的代表来说，她们 关注的问题包括政府、非政府以及联合国机构的一些项目。
The World Bank has called for rich countries to set aside $ 15 billion, for a so-called ^vulnerability fUnd” to help developing countries weather the downturn. But some development experts say it is not the amount offered that is important~it is how it will be spent.
世界银行呼吁富裕国家拨款150亿美元，作为所谓“脆弱性基 金”来帮助发展中国家渡过经济衰退期。但是，一些发展问题专家 表示，问题的重点不是提供多少资金，而是如何支配这些基金。
For example, they say cuts in health funding often increase pressure on women to stay home to look after ill family members.UNIFEM senior economic adviser Yassine Fall says looking after ill family members takes women away from paying jobs that empower them economically. And she says some caregivers depend on remittances from relatives working abroad to help cover health costs, like hospital user fees. As migrant workers lose their jobs, there is more pressure on families back home, including on women, to earn an extra income.
他们说，例如,减少健康保险资金就会增加妇女的压力，她们不得不留在家中照顾生病的家人。 联合国妇女发展基金高级经济顾问福尔说,照顾生病的家庭成员意味着妇女失去了工作,没 有经济来源。她说，一些看护病人的妇女依赖在海外工作的亲戚汇款来帮助支付住院费等医疗费 用。一旦这些移民失去了工作，那么，他们在国内的家人就面临更大的压力，包括家中的女性，她们 不得不出去赚钱,补贴家用。
“Caring requires time and money: Women have to use their own small revenues to pay for user fees to take patients to hospital. If [the hospital] does not have water, they have to bring water in addition to cooking [and providing] physical and emotional [support] to relatives. It is time for boys and men to take responsibility to share the burden of work in the family，" she noted.
福尔说:“照顾病人需要时间和金钱:女性不得不动用她们自己微薄的收人来支付各种费用把 病人送进医院。如果医院没有水，她们还得自己带水。另外，她们还要做饭,并给亲人提供物质和精 神上的双重支持。儿子和丈夫也应该站出来分担家庭负担。”
But she says these are social services that are the responsibility of governments to provide—at least to citizens living in poverty. She says the provision of social welfare should not be shifted onto the backs of women because of budget cuts.
她还说，提供这些社会服务项目应该是政府的责任,至少是让处于贫困状态的人获得社会福 利。她说，不能仅仅因为预算减少就把提供社会福利的重任转嫁给妇女来承担。
The United Nations is to host a high-level conference in June to debate ways to finance packages for the least developed countries, while keeping social protections. The meeting is also expected to debate the failure of UN agencies to foresee the crisis and how the world body can help solve it.
联合国今年6月将举行髙层会议,讨论采取何种措施来资助最不发达国家的一些项目，同时保 证社会福利的提供。预计，这次会议还将就联合国机构未能预测这场经济危机进行讨论，以及联合 国如何解决这场危机。