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to take into consideration the circumstances in the various countries and get the support and the sympathy of the various governments and organizations of the various countries so that the women of the world will march forward to progress and a better society hand in hand and side by side with the men and that they will help to bring in (as the women delegates and M. Paul-Boncour so elegantly stated) a world of peace and human brotherhood and a world of social justice and equality. (Applause.)

The PRESIDENT (Interpretation): I call upon the delegate for Uruguay.

Mr. FUSCO (Uruguay) (Interpretation): I must begin by saying that I was so moved by the appeal made by Mrs. Roosevelt that I was prompted to speak in a language which I do not know perfectly. I want to say, first of all, that of all the women who could be found to interpret the wishes and aspirations of women no better than Mrs. Roosevelt could have been found. Of all women during the war, Mrs. Roosevelt was a most delightful representative of womanhood in its deepest and nicest sense. She was, among all women, the woman who gave us proof of her tenderness to her great man in upholding the aspirations of mankind.

I must add that in Uruguay we will be the most faithful interpreters of Mrs. Roosevelt's wishes, but we do not need any practical measures to reach that result because my country, many years ago, did what Mrs. Roosevelt has asked for all women in the world. In Uruguay women enjoy the same equal rights as men. In our Parliament, in our Chamber of Deputies, in our Senate, there are many women who take part in our debates; and even at San Francisco, where the Charter was born, there was a woman among the members of the Uruguay delegation.

I had occasion recently to travel in the war-shattered area of Europe, and I had the good fortune, if one can call it good fortune, to see how equal women had been to men in this struggle. I was able to witness their effort in the fight for freedom and in the hope of a better world and happiness for mankind. While in Europe I was able to see that women had fought, suffered and died just as men fought, suffered and died.

Here, too, in this Assembly I have been able to observe their participation in our debates and I have been able to witness that women were equal to, and sometimes surpassed, the efforts of men, because they add to the work their sentiments and their emotion.

It will, therefore, be our pride to have been, in Uruguay, one of the first countries to give these equal rights which are now, I hope, going to be extended throughout the world.

The PRESIDENT (Interpretation): I now call upon the delegate for the United Kingdom.

Mr. NOEL-BAKER (United Kingdom): I am reluctant that the voice of the United Kingdom should not be heard in this debate, if only for the reason that it was in our country 40 years ago that the first struggle for the political rights of women took place. I have not chosen to express my adherence to the proposed declaration or to the cause of the rights of women. I have chosen only to draw the attention of the Secretary-General, very respectfully, to two practical points: first, that there ought to be representation of women in responsible posts in the Secretariat itself; and secondly, that the services of the information section of the Secretariat ought to keep close contact with the great women's organizations throughout the world. (Applause.) I think, in those ways, the views of Mrs. Roosevelt, and her colleagues, so eloquently expressed, could well be served. (Applause.)

The PRESIDENT (Interpretation): The general discussion is closed. There is no formal proposal to submit to the vote, but I think I can safely tell Mrs. Roosevelt and those who supported her intervention, that the manner in which it was received by the General Assembly leads us to hope that it will be taken into very serious consideration.

3. First Session Economic and Social Council, London, February 1946

RESOLUTION OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ESTABLISHING HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AND SUBCOMMISSION ON STATUS

OF WOMEN, LONDON, 16 AND 18 FEBRUARY 1946.1

Resolution of the Economic and Social Council of 16 February 1946 (document E 20 of 15 February 1946), on the establishment of a Commission on Human Rights and a Subcommission on the Status of Women, supplemented by the action taken by the Council on 18 February 1946, completing paragraphs 6 and 7 of Section A and paragraphs 4 and 5 of Section B concerning the initial composition of these bodies.

Section A.

1. The Economic and Social Council, being charged under the Charter with the responsibility of promoting universal respect

1 Source: United Nations, Journal of the Economic and Social Council, First Year, No. 12, 10 April 1946, p. 123 ff.

for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion, and requiring advice and assistance to enable it to discharge this responsibility, ESTABLISHES A COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS.

2. The work of the Commission shall be directed towards submitting proposals, recommendations and reports to the Council regarding:

(a) An international bill of rights;

(b) International declarations or conventions on civil liberties, the status of women, freedom of information and similar matters;

(c) The protection of minorities;

(d) The prevention of discrimination on grounds of race, sex, language or religion.

3. The Commission shall make studies and recommendations and provide information and other services at the request of the Economic and Social Council.

4. The Commission may propose to the Council any changes in its terms of reference.

5. The Commission may make recommendations to the Council concerning any subcommission which it considers should be established.

6. Initially, the Commission shall consist of a nucleus of nine members appointed in their individual capacity for a term of office expiring on 31 March 1947. They are eligible for reappointment. In addition to exercising the functions enumerated in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, the Commission thus constituted shall make recommendation on the definitive composition of the Commission to the second session of the Council.

7. The Council hereby appoints the following persons as initial members of the Commission:

Mr. Paal Berg (Norway)

Professor René Cassin (France) [elected vice chairman]
Mr. Fernand Dehousse (Belgium)

Mr. Victor Paul Haya de la Torre (Peru)

Mr. K. C. Neogi (India), [rapporteur]

Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt (United States of America) [elected chairman]

Dr. John C. H. Wu2 (China)

and, in addition, persons whose names will be transmitted to the

In accordance with the procedure laid down by the Economic and Social Council, Dr. C.

L. Hsia has since been nominated in place of Dr. John C. H. Wu.

Secretary-General not later than 31 March 1946 by the members of the Council for the USSR and Yugoslavia.*

Section B.

1. The Economic and Social Council, considering that the Commission on Human Rights will require special advice on problems relating to the status of women, ESTABLISHES A SUBCOMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN.

2. The subcommission shall submit proposals, recommendations, and reports to the Commission on Human Rights regarding the status of women.

3. The subcommission may submit proposals to the Council, through the Commission on Human Rights, regarding its terms of reference.

4. Initially, the subcommission shall consist of a nucleus of nine members appointed in their individual capacity for a term of office expiring on 31 March 1947. They are eligible for reappointment. In addition to exercising the functions enumerated in paragraphs 2 and 3, the subcommission thus constituted shall make recommendation on the definitive composition of the subcommission to the second session of the Council through the Commission on Human Rights.

5. The Council hereby appoints the following persons as initial members of this subcommission:

Mrs. Bodil Begtrup (Denmark)

Miss Minerva Bernardino (Dominican Republic)

Miss Angela Jurdak (Lebanon)

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and, in addition, the names of one national each from Poland s and the USSR to be transmitted to the Secretary-General, not later than 31 March 1946, by the member of the Council for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and three members ap

3 [Mr. Alexander Borisov was the Russian representative from 13 May on.]

4 Dr. Jerko Radmilovic has since been nominated by the Member of the Council for Yugoslavia. [In his place Mr. Dusan Brkic later was nominated and seated.]

5 [Later, Mrs. Hansa-Mehta of India was appointed in place of Rani Amrit Kaur; Miss Gabriela Mistral of Chile resigned: Miss Fryderyka Kalinowska was appointed from Poland: no appointment was made for the USSR; the following were appointed ex officio from the Commission on Human Rights: Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt (U. S. A.), Mr. Dusan Brkie (Yugoslavia), R. René Cassin (France). For list of members, first session, see p. 27.]

In accordance with the procedure laid down by the Economie and Social Council, Madame M. H. Lefaucheux has since been nominated in place of Madame Viénot. Similarly, Mrs. Way Sing New has been nominated in place of Miss Wu Yi-Fang.

pointed by the Commission on Human Rights to serve as ex officio members of this subcommission.

4. Subcommission on Status of Women, New York,
April-May 1946

REPORT OF THE SUBCOMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN TO
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, 13-14 MAY 1946 1

The Subcommission on the Status of Women, established by the Economic and Social Council under Council Resolutions of 16 and 18 February 1946 to submit proposals, recommendations and reports to the Commission on Human Rights regarding the status of women and to submit proposals to the Council through the Commission on Human Rights regarding its terms of reference and definitive composition met at Gillet Hall, Hunter College, New York City, during the period 29 April to 13 May 1946 under the chairmanship of Mrs. Bodil Begtrup. Discussions centered on the fundamental principles to be adopted, the scope and program of work to be undertaken, and the composition of the full Subcommission.

There was a general feeling among the members of gratitude towards the Economic and Social Council for taking up the question of the status of women, and for setting up this Subcommission to study the problems involved, and in this way, implementing the principle stated in the preamble of the Charter "the equal rights of men and women."

It was recognized that the Subcommission was set up to advise the Commission on Human Rights on problems relating to the status of women. In consequence, the Subcommission must work in harmony with that Commission. There was general agreement that the Subcommission should study the status of women in all its aspects and make the broadest possible recommendations to the Commission on Human Rights on the scope of the work to be undertaken by the Subcommission when fullv constituted. The ideals at which to aim, and guiding principles on which to work, were defined by the members as a preliminary to their detailed discussions. Members considered that the work of the Subcommission should last until women had reached the point where they were on equal footing with men in all fields of human enterprise. In practice priority had to be given to political rights since little progress could be made without them. Nevertheless,

1 Source: United Nations, E/HR/18, 13 May 1946; Journal of the Economic and Social Council, First Year, No. 14, 24 May 1946, p. 169 ff.

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