LAUNCH OF THE CEDAW HANDBOOK IN SOUTH AFRICA Members of parliament around the world have shown interest in the Handbookfor Parliamentarians on the CEDAW and its Optional Protocol,publishedjointly by the IPU and the United Nations. On 15 September 2004,thePresiding Officers of the Parliament of South Africa held a ceremony tolaunch the Handbook at the Old Assembly Dining Hall. The gathering hearda welcome address by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly,Ms. Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde,who formerly served as the President ofthe IPU Coordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians. Ms. MaviviMyakayaka-Manzini,a member of the Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women (the CEDAW treaty body),then gave a keynoteaddress on the role parliamentarians played in implementing the CEDAWConvention,and encouraged parliamentarians to refer to the Handbook formechanisms and initiatives they could pursue in advocating women's rights.The recently-elected Speaker of the National Assembly,Ms. Baleka Mbete(see photo) responded to the keynote address,and the ceremony wassubsequently closed by the House Chairperson,Mr. Nkosinati Nhleko.

IPU CONTRIBUTION TO BEIJING + 10

Participants in the Seminar

During the 111th IPU Assembly, the Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights considered parliamentary commitments to gender equality in its debate on the agenda item, Beijing+10: An evaluation from a parliamentary perspective.

Ms. Carolyn Hannan, Director of the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW), launched the debate with an overview of the Beijing+10 process, which would be the focus of the forty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), to be held in New York in 3 March 2005. Ms. Hannan invited further input from parliamentarians in the implementation of the strategic objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action.

A debate followed, with a total of 59 speakers taking the floor. The resolution emanating from this debate reaffirms commitment undertaken by the parliamentary community to pursue the objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action. Linking gender equality with global development, parliamentarians have noted the opportunity to reach the Millennium Development Goals by implementing measures contained in the Beijing Platform for Action.

The resolution notes with concern that "ten years after the Beijing Conference, effective gender equality is still far from being a reality". Women continue to be under-represented in decision making bodies; they continue to be paid less for work of equal value; more often than men they are victims of poverty and unemployment, and they are more frequently subjected to violence. Discrimination faced by the girl child remains as preoccupying as ever. In light of this, a series of measures are put forward by the resolution for the advancement of women in the olitical, economic, and social fields, placing specific focus on human security, conflict resolution and the girl child. (See the resolution).

US CONGRESS HOSTS IPU BRIEFING ON CHILD TRAFFICKING AND SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

Ever since the IPU and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) co-hosted the 2002 Parliamentary Forum on Children at United Nations Headquarters, the IPU has paid a great deal of attention to child protection as an important aspect of its overall work. The IPU and UNICEF are now engaged in a far-reaching joint programme to help the world’s parliaments take action on many of the recommendations issued by that groundbreaking event.

As part of this long-term effort, the IPU and UNICEF took the lead in organising a panel discussion at the United States Congress in Washington, DC, on an issue where legislative action is considered to be of the utmost importance: combating the sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. The event took place on 22 September, just weeks before the elections in the United States, with bipartisan support from the Congressional Children’s Caucus and the sponsorship of two other bodies - the Congressional Women’s Caucus and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. The briefing, which enjoyed sizeable attendance, was also an opportunity to distribute copies of the recently published IPU-UNICEF Handbook for Parliamentarians on Child Protection to members of Congress and their staff.

The panel was led by US Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who was particularly instrumental in organising the event, and Mexican Senator Fernando Margáin Berlanga, both of whom underscored the international dimension of the problem. Also on the panel were Ambassador John Miller, the Senior Advisor to the United States Secretary of State on Trafficking in Persons, Pamela Shifman of UNICEF and Sandee Payne of the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children.

Congresswoman Jackson Lee, who co-chairs the Congressional Children’s Caucus with Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and who had attended the 2002 Parliamentary Forum on Children in New York, spoke eloquently about the need to "shine the light" on the violence that young children endure, and urged those in attendance to take action to confront the problem. For his part, Senator Margáin focused on the prevention of the problem, stressing the role of pro-family social and economic policies to create an environment that is more favourable to children. He also described concrete actions that the Mexican parliament has recently taken to institutionalise a child-friendly legislative approach, such as the holding of an annual parliamentary seminar on the commercial exploitation of children.

It is most encouraging that an interparliamentary debate could be held at the US Congress. It was particularly significant that the Children’s Caucus was willing to tackle these issues in spite of a very busy schedule in the leadup to the elections. The IPU will continue to raise issues of international scope at the US Congress in an effort to engage more of its members in dialogue and cooperation with elected representatives from other countries.