Following the successful experience of recent years, the IPU held its annual parliamentary meeting at the United Nations, in the context of the spring session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Held on 1 March with the participation of over 150 legislators from around the world, in the form of a lively and constructive exchange of views and experiences, the meeting also sought to complement and enrich the deliberations of the CSW itself, by providing a parliamentary dimension to the ongoing efforts to curb discrimination and violence against the girl child.
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Discussions focused on legislation – the need to develop and adopt strong laws that cover outlawing all types of violence against the girl child, physical and psychological, but also in more sensitive spheres such as violence in the home. It was agreed that legislation needed to be reviewed on a regular basis and that parliaments had to exercise their oversight function more thoroughly, through select parliamentary committees, questions addressed to government, and ombudspersons so as to ensure that legislation is in place and enforced, responding to the real needs of the girl child. Partnership with men was also much discussed, participants highlighting the need to develop policies that would empower men to take a more active role in spheres where they have been traditionally less active. Last but not least, the importance of education and building the capacities of girls was stressed.
With a view to highlighting the achievements of women and providing good examples and mentoring for the girl child, IPU joined its partners from IDEA, NDI, UNDP and UNIFEM in launching the international Knowledge Network of Women in Politics, or iKNOW politics, which is a virtual network linking women in politics around the globe. The new network’s on-line workspace (http://www.iKNOWPolitics.org) is designed for parliamentarians, election candidates, political party members, researchers and practitioners to support women’s full political participation through the sharing of information, expertise and best practices.
And to round up a weeklong series of CSW events in New York to which IPU brought its unique contribution, on 8 March Ms. Dilian Francisca Toro Torres - President of the Senate, Congress of the Republic of Colombia – joined United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, international Prosecutor Carla del Ponte, Reverend Jacques De Graff and other prominent personalities in marking International Women’s Day and calling for an end to impunity for violence against women and girls. In a powerful testimony evoking the type of violence that women continue to be subject to at all levels of society – in the household, in the community, in social and public life – Ms. Toro Torres underscored the value of cross-party solidarity among women legislators, at both the national and international levels, with a view to drafting and enforcing key legislation in this area.
