E/2000/27 E/CN.6/2000/9 noted that globalization brought opportunities for women, and could lead to better distribution of work. 4. With regard to information and communications technologies, speakers called for a focus on the situation in developing countries, where access to such goods was precarious, and its use low. Efforts were needed to increase the use of available capacity, as well as to increase its multiplier effect. Women’s groups and networks could derive great benefits from such technologies through increased information and exchange and better networking. Greater attention to the role of public policy with regard to the use of information and communications technologies was urged, as the role of public policies, especially in poor countries, was critical in determining rules of access and benefits. Such processes could potentially have a major contribution to gender equality issues in conjunction with information and communications technologies, and several Governments had taken on gender equality issues in their telecommunications legislation. There remained a great need for capacity-building on policy-making in information and communications technologies, especially on how to use the gender-mainstreaming strategy. Efforts at increased gender equality awareness were needed with regard to the development, as well as the use, of such new technologies. Young women should be a particular focus. 5. The limited capacity of national machinery to implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women remained a challenge, as well as the limited capacity of non-governmental organizations to monitor implementation. Budgetary provisions were needed for national machineries, and donor resources should be made available to national machineries and to non-governmental organizations. It was noted that women continued to have fewer rights than men, and that their rights were often not commensurate with their responsibilities. The continuing parallel existence and use of statutory law and contradictory customary rules with regard to many aspects of family and personal status issues was raised. Women’s rights should form an integral part of all government policy, and non-governmental organizations had a continuing role in raising awareness and facilitation of change in this area. There was also a gap between Governments’ commitment in international forums to women’s human rights, and their practical realization at the domestic level, especially in areas such as poor women’s right to land, land tenure, and property. Women’s inheritance and succession rights also remained precarious. Timetables and benchmarks for the realization of such rights were therefore necessary. Governments were urged to adopt such laws, and to enforce them. Furthermore, rural women’s knowledge of their rights and availability of legal aid remained insufficient and needed further strengthening. 6. While some progress had been made, the persistence of violence against women, and its effects on women’s lives, required further attention. While the issue now formed part of the international agenda, women in many parts of the world still lacked the capacity and support to speak out against violence, especially domestic violence. The work of non-governmental organizations had been critical in making violence against women a public issue and a societal responsibility. Further efforts were needed to raise the awareness of the negative impact of such violence on families as a whole. General Recommendation Number 19 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on violence against women provided essential guidance on governmental responsibility for addressing violence against 19