status to migrant workers in the legal sense; to narrow the disparity in the civil status of migrants compared with that of nationals; to make the problem more visible and to take it up as a human rights issue; and to see that regional and international forums take up the problem with the recipient countries. 12. One representative stated that, on account of their being poor, female and foreigners in their places of employment, women migrant workers were doubly vulnerable to all kinds of maltreatment. While acknowledging that it was the primary duty of a State to provide employment and appropriate training and education to its citizens to enable them to improve their lot in life, receiving countries also had a moral obligation, as signatories to the Charter of the United Nations, to ensure that the fundamental human rights and freedom of all persons within their boundaries were protected. The representative stressed the need for concerted efforts on the part of sending and receiving countries to find ways of addressing the problem on the bilateral or multilateral level. She believed that the measures mentioned in articles 4 and 5 of the draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women were useful guidelines for implementing the provisions of General Assembly resolution 47/95. In particular, the compilation of statistics on the extent of violence against women migrant workers could be undertaken as an initial measure. Furthermore, it was suggested that the Commission consider the issue at its thirty-eighth session as a sub-item of the item on the priority theme of Peace: measures to eradicate violence against women in the family and society. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women 13. Several representatives urged those States that had not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to do so. Concern was expressed by many representatives about reservations that ran counter to the object and purpose of the Convention in that they undermined the very rights that the Convention was aiming to protect and eroded the competence of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. They stated that other States parties should object to such reservations and they urged the States parties that had not yet done so to consider reviewing and withdrawing their reservations. They recommended to the Committee that it should include the issue of reservations in its work and raise the question of the validity and legal effect of reservations in the appropriate bodies. A few representatives, as well as the representatives of the United Nations system, pointed out that the main obstacles to the implementation of the Convention were the lack of appropriate national laws or of their enforcement in cases where they existed, on the one hand, or the existence of laws that contained elements of discrimination, on the other hand. Regarding the issue of additional resources for the Committee to help it clear the backlog of reports awaiting consideration, a few representatives supported the Committee’s request, and said that if the Committee’s backlog in considering reports had not been reduced by the end of its thirteenth session, an extension of the annual sessions by an additional week on a regular basis ought to be granted. Women and the United Nations Decade against Drug Abuse 14. Some representatives emphasized the crucial role that women played, and especially non-governmental women’s organizations, in combating drug abuse and trafficking. The importance of involving women at all stages, in a holistic approach to the drug problem, was stressed. Others expressed satisfaction with the activities being carried out by the United Nations system and suggested that the matter be discussed further by the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-eighth session under the key priority theme in the area of development namely, women in urban areas: population, nutrition and health factors for women in development, including migration, drug consumption and AIDS. One -59-