3 December 1982

Improvement of the situation of women in rural areas

The General Assembly,

Bearing in mind the objectives of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace,

Recalling its resolution 35/136 of 11 December 1980, in which it endorsed the Programme of Action for the Second Half of the United Nations Decade for Women,

Reaffirming the importance attached by the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade to the need to improve the status of women and ensure their full participation in the development process as agents and beneficiaries of development,

Reaffirming further the importance attached in the Programme of Action for the Second Half of the United Nations Decade for Women as well as in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to the need to improve the situation of women in rural areas in many parts of the world,

Recalling the Declaration of Principles and the Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, particularly concerning the integration of women in rural development,

Bearing in mind that a majority of women, particularly in developing countries, live and work in rural areas and suffer most from the exploitation of agricultural labour, in particular by transnational corporations,

Convinced that the eradication of apartheid, all forms of racial discrimination, colonialism, neo-colonialism, aggression, foreign occupation and domination is essential to the further improvement of the situation of rural women,

Considering that the strengthening of international peace and co-operation is one of the most important conditions for further improving the situation of rural women,

Convinced also that the effective implementation of fundamental human rights is essential for the improvement of the situation of rural women,

Recognizing the urgent need to take additional appropriate measures aimed at further improving the situation of women in rural areas,

Recognizing also the importance of exchanging experiences in this field among States,

1. Calls upon Member States to take additional appropriate measures for further improving the economic and social conditions of women in rural areas;

2. Requests the Economic and Social Council, the Commission on the Status of Women, the regional commissions and other bodies of the United Nations system, in particular the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to devote greater attention to the problems of elevating the status of rural women;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to prepare, within the framework of the integrated reporting system on the status of women decided upon by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1980/38 of 2 May 1980, a comprehensive report containing the observations and comments received from Governments on national experience in improving the situation of women in rural areas, paying special attention to such aspects as social insurance, mother and child care, health facilities, training, education and employment opportunities;

4. Also requests the Secretary-General to consider holding within the Programme of Action for the Second Half of the United Nations Decade for Women, as a matter of priority, an interregional seminar on national experience relating to the improvement of the situation of women in rural areas, with special emphasis on the problem of developing countries;

5. Further requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its thirty-ninth session, through the Commission on the Status of Women and the Economic and Social Council, the report mentioned in paragraph 3 above.