Commission on status of women discusses preparations for women's conference.

The Commission on the Status of Women, acting as Preparatory Body for the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women (1976-1985), scheduled for 15-27 July in Nairobi, suspended its third session on 14 March without reaching consensus on the main documents for the Conference. Several delegations called for further discussion of the issues "in the spirit of co-operation, goodwill and understanding".

The Preparatory Body had hoped to finalize documentation and organizational matters for the Conference during its eight-day session in Vienna. Members could not agree, however, on the principal text to be adopted at Nairobi--dealing with strategies for the advancement of women in the next 15 years.

The draft text (A/CONF.116/PC/21) sets out basic strategies and measures for implementation in light of each of the three main objectives of the Decade: equality, development and peace. A separate section details strategies for women in priority areas--rural and urban poor women, and particularly disadvantaged groups including migrant, refugee, displaced, elderly and abused women, as well as single mothers, prostitutes, women in detention and women suffering under apartheid and foreign domination. Strategies for international and regional cooperatioon in behalf of women comprise a third section.

Participants also failed to reach consensus on a report prepared by the Secretary-General on progress and setbacks at the national level during the Decade for Women (A/CONF.116/5 and Adds. 1-16). Based on Governments' replies to a questionnaire, it is one of a series of reports for the Conference reviewing and appraising progress achieved and obstacles encountered in attaining the goals and objectives of the Decade. Included in the series are the world survey on the role of women in development (A/CONF.116/4) and reports on the situation of women and children in occupied Arab territories (A/CONF./116/4) and those living under apartheid (A/CONF./116/7).

The lack of consensus on the forward-looking strategies and the review and appraisal at the national level stemmed primarily from an inability to decide on the degree of emphasis to be placed on some of the issues. Separate sets of proposals for revising the forward-looking strategies were submitted by a group of Western countries, by the socialist countries and by the Group of 77 developing countries. The socialist countries also submitted proposals for...