• programmes, the National Solidarity Fund (26-26) and the National Employment Fund (21-21); The integration of needy families in the economic system by means of lucrative projects capable of contributing to the improvement of the imcomes and living standards of these families, to help them overcome poverty. -The National Aid Programme for needy families 431. This programme consists of: • The granting of permanent aid in the context of the national aid programme for needy families. The number of beneficiaries of this programme rose from 73,590 in 1987 to 114,544 in 2005 of whom 244 were site workers aged 65 years and more. The budget allocated to this programme increased from 4.6 million Dinars (MD) in 1987 to 55.9 MD in 2005; • The granting of financial and material assistance, at the re-opening of school and univeristy, to the pupils and students from needy families for the 2004-2005 school year. This aid, totalling 12.4 MD, affected 428,826 pupils and students. • The granting of assistance in cash and in kind during religious feasts. This assistance involved 365,000 individuals in 2004 for a total amount of 11.9 MD. Moreover, exceptional assistance in cash and in kind had been given to a certain number of persons and families in difficulty. The amount of this assistance rose from 1.080 MD in 1996 to 5.1 MD in 2004. II- Protection of Women 432. In Tunisia, the principle of equality between men and women in its different aspects has a constitutional value. In effect, in its Article 6 the Constitution of the Tunisian Republic stipulates that « all citizens have the same rights and the same responsibilities. They are equal before the law ». 433. Similarly, Tunisia has ratified the « Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women » under the terms of the law n° 85-68 of 12th July 1985. In June 2002, Tunisia presented its 3rd and 4th combined Reports to the Committee monitoring the implementation of CEDAW. This Committee lauded the efforts by Tunisia which ceaselessly promotes the rights of Women by placing the country in a dynamic of modernism whilst remaining attached to its authenticity. A)- Sanctioning Gender Equality in Law and in practice 434. The Personal Status Code (CSP), promulgated on the 13th August 1956, constituted a normative and political vector for the emancipation of women and opened the way for initiatives on the emancipation and promotion of women confirming Tunisia’s attachment to all its commitments with regard to the protection and consolidation of the rights of women. 435. This principle is also confirmed in the « National Pact », signed on the 8th November 1988, by the representatives of the Political Parties, the Social and 93

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