THE WORLD’S WOMEN MPs CALL FOR THE FULL PARTICIPATION OF THE WOMEN
IN COUNTRIES IN CONFLICT AND POST-CONFLICT SITUATIONS
The 160 women MPs from the 122 countries attending the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians in Mexico City as part of the 110th Inter-Parliamentary Assembly that will be held until 23 April at the Sheraton Céntro Histórico Hotel in the Mexican capital, debated, inter alia, the theme of reconciliation. They called for the full participation of women in countries in conflict and post-conflict situations, as well as for greater representation of women in government and in all decision-making spheres, including parliament, using quotas or other measures.
After being elected President of the Meeting, Mexican Senator Dulce María Sauri recalled that "it was in this very city almost 29 years ago that the First World Conference on Women was held; on the international level it was a huge step towards achieving equality between men and women and putting an end to gender discrimination in the fields of education, employment and in general, the areas of economic priority".
The President of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians referred to various international instruments defending women's rights and, inter alia, underscored the importance of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and corresponding Handbook for Parliamentarians, a joint IPU-United Nations publication, which was presented at the Meeting.
The President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Chilean Senator Sergio Páez, pointed out that through the consistently thorough work of the Co-ordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians and the Gender Partnership Group, "today the IPU was recognised as one of the leading organisations in fostering the participation of women in politics and gender parity in its broadest sense". He further stressed that the fact that "nowadays, women are participating more both qualitatively and quantitatively within the Inter-Parliamentary Union and in many of the world's representative organisations. It is obvious that the Union has helped to shape a more gender-sensitive global political climate".
In welcoming the legislators participating in the 110th Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, the Speaker of the Mexican Senate, Senator Enrique Jackson, stated that "there is nothing whatsoever that can justify the disadvantages, inequality, discrimination and exclusion to which many women in all regions of the world are subjected". He stressed that poverty affects millions of Mexican women, adding that "our indigenous women suffer from ignorance and lack of respect and opportunities, compounded by the violence and ill-treatment that unjustly hurt them". The Mexican Speaker highlighted that "in spite of calls for better social and political policies, those calls go unheard and the killing of hundreds of Mexican women in Cuidad Juárez goes unpunished. Overcoming these difficulties and other problems affecting the dignity and development of women is an issue that will require the collective efforts of all the political forces within the Mexican Congress".
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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, the IPU, the oldest multilateral organisation, currently has 140 affiliated national parliaments and five regional assemblies as associate members. The organisation of the world's parliaments also has an office as Permanent Observer with the United Nations in New York.
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