political citizens. rights, the rights of aliens were restricted as compared to those of 427. Members of the Committee wished to know what types of post were not open to womenj what obstacles stood in the way of women’s advancement: what resources had been made available for the programme of affirmative action on behalf of women: what was the current situation of aliens, in particular those of Chinese origin, and what had been done for aliens who had suffered discrimination and ill-treatment; whether the special status accorded to Christianity did not in fact constitute discrimination against other religions: what was the rationale behind the different conditions for divorce applicable to men and women] whether women enjoyed equal participation in respect of the disposal of conjugal property; why Panamanians who were citizens by birth enjoyed a higher status than those who were not; and what was the position of persons seeking asylum in embassies in Panama, particularly military personnel accused of serious offences. 428. In reply to questions posed by members of the Committee, the representative explained that the Ministry of Agricultural Development was establishing women’s organizations in rural areas that were financially supported by a national organization for rural development. In promoting the advancement of women, the Government encountered economic and cultural obstaclesr the latter, in particular, would not easily be overcome. Aliens did not have political rights and were subject to special conditions in the exercise of certain activities. Certain public service posts were reserved for Panamanian nationals and although any person was free to exercise any profession or trade, subject to the relevant regulations, only Panamanian nationals were entitled to practise law and retail trading. 429. In reply to other questions, the representative pointed out that earlier reports had concentrated on legislation and constitutional guarantees and had failed to give a true picture of the real situation regarding human rights in Panama. For example, the allocation of resources to social progrsnunes had been hampered by extravagant military spending. No restrictions were placed on the profession of religions other than the RomanCathrlic faith and they also enjoyed full status in law. The legal grounds for divorce had been amended and the Civil Code now placed men and women on an equal footing before the law in that regard, Men and women also enjoyed equal rights with regard to matrimonial property and inheritance. The only difference between citizens who were Panamanian by birth ana those who were naturalieed was that the President of the Republic, judges of the Supreme Court, the Attorney-General and the Comptroller General haa to be Panamanians by birth, Panama recognfzed the right to asylum and believed that a solution to current problems might Se found in the use of machinery established under the Charter of the Organization of American States. Large sums of money had been illegally disbursed to Chinese nationals, and a Commission had been established to investigate the problem. Eight: to life 439, With regard to that issue , members of the Committee wished to know whether there had been any complaints concerning alleged disappearances or killings caused by the police or the security forces or undertaken with their support and, if so, whether such allegations had been investigated by the -107-