It Eash10n sbour ter the n on of sed in , on a of the ir s of ie i r :h rate id one o 149. The representative of the Byelorussian SSR also pointed out that, despite the fact that about 100,000 flats are being built in the Republic annually, the housing problem is not yet fUlly solved. That was why the Government had adopted a decree on preferential rights of young families to receive housing on a priority basis. The Government is now implementing plans aimed at expanding housing construction for newly married couples and promotion, at the enterprise level, of the practice of giving material grants to young families-and partial repayment of their credits for 1ndividual and co-operative construction. 150. The representative of the state party assured the members of the Committee that thelr interesting and varied questions and comments would be brought to the attention of the competent agencies and organizations of the Byelorussian SSR in order that th~y might be considered in the next report. 151. Some experts recommended drawing the attention of States parties to the desirabillty of uS1ng the positive experiences referred to in the above-mentioned report in order to make further progress in eliminating discrimination against women, not only de jure, but also de facto. Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic s 11 is on" , 152. The Committee considered the initial report of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (CEDAW/C/5/Add.ll) at its 16th and 21st meetings, held on 5 and 10 August 1983 (CEDAW/C/SR.16 and 21). 153. The report was introduced by the representative of the State party who underlined that the Ukrainian SSR, a sovereign Soviet socialist State associated with other Soviet republics in the USSR, had its own Constitution, which took into account the specific features of the Republic. According to article 74 of the USSR Constitution and article 71 of the Ukrainian Constitution, the laws of the USSR applied in the territory of the Ukrainian SSR; however, the Republic enacted its own legislation based on the principles contained in the Constitution of the USSR. , she )f 154. As a result of the Great OCtober Socialist Revolution, the principle of ..en :aae equality of the sexes had COllie to be applied fox the first time in history and had become an integral part of the policy of the State. .ed , of in the ts 155. The princ1ple of equality of the sexes was exprelsly laid down in the Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR and was guaranteed by a broad spectrum of legislative, economic and social measures. The policies of both the Party and the Government for the advancement of women had been further developed since the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Ukraine, which had adopted a social development programme for 1981 to 1985 and for the period ending in 1990, with a view to establishlng favourable conditicns for women to combine their work more completely with social and political activity and with motherhood. The legislation of the Republ1c had been altered to reflect that problem. In particular, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR, by its decree of 24 January 1983, had introduced amendments and additions to the Labour Code. ith 156. The law adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR concerning work iage f the ome were co-operatives and their roles in the administration of enterprise institutions and bodies directly influenced the application of the principle of equality between the sexes by, inter alia, entrusting the co-operatives with the task of formUlating and implementing measures designed to improve the working conditions of women workers and to increase protection for mothers and children. -25-