PØU, Alm.del - 2006-07 - Bilag 55: "The role of parliamentary committees in mainstreaming gender and promoting the status of women", fra Inter-Parliamentary Union

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UNION INTERPARLEMENTAIRE

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CHEMIN DU POMMIER 5

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INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION

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LE GRAND-SACONNEX / GENEVE (SUISSE)

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[email protected]

Geneva, 22 December 2006

Dear Madam President,

Dear.Mr. President,

Earlier this month, the Inter-Parliamentary Union held its first ever seminar for chairpersons and

members of parliamentary committees dealing with the status of women and gender equality. Members

of parliament from 38 countries came together to discuss ways and means in which the functioning of

these committees can be enhanced and policy and legislative outcomes bolstered to promote gender

equality.

I am pleased to send you the summary and recommendations of the seminar. As you will see,

participants discussed a variety of topics, including the functioning of parliamentary bodies, .their

mandates, membership and working methods; best practices and recommendations on how

parliaments and committees can effectively address gender issues at the national level and relations

between committees and other partners to enhance their work. It also examined lessons learned about

the development of policy and legislation to promote gender equality and support mainstreaming, and

included a special session focused on combating violence against women.

I hope that you will find this document of interest and trust that it can serve as a useful reference tool. I

would be grateful if you would ensure its widest possible distribution within your parliament.

We are currently working on a publication that will contain a detailed account of the seminar's

proceedings, including the texts of the presentations made by the resource persons and excerpts from

the debates. Needless to say, we will be pleased to send you copies in due course.

Yours sincerely,

Anders B. Johnsson

Secretary General

PØU, Alm.del - 2006-07 - Bilag 55: "The role of parliamentary committees in mainstreaming gender and promoting the status of women", fra Inter-Parliamentary Union

INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION

CHEMIN DU POMMIER

1218 LE GRAND-SACONNEX / GENEVA (SWITZERLAND)

TELEPHONE (41.22) 919 41 50 - FAX (41.22) 919 41 60 - E-MAIL

[email protected]

THE ROLE OF PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES IN

MAINSTREAMING GENDER AND PROMOTING THE STATUS OF WOMEN

Seminar for Chairpersons and Members of Parliamentary Bodies Dealing with Gender Equality

IPU Headquarters, Geneva, 4-6 December 2006

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SEMINAR

The meeting elected Ms. G. Mahlangu-Nkabinde, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of

the Parliament of South Africa, as its rapporteur. The following report is based on concluding

comments presented by the rapporteur at the closing session.

The seminar for chairpersons and members of parliamentary bodies dealing with gender

equality on the "The Role of parliamentary committees in mainstreaming gender and promoting

the status of women" brought together more than 100 members of parliament and

parliamentary staff from 38 countries. Over two and a half days participants discussed and

exchanged experiences on the functioning of parliamentary committees dealing with gender

equality and the status of women and how policy and legislative outcomes can be bolstered to

promote gender equality.

The seminar was opened by IPU Secretary General, Mr. A. B. Johnsson, and chaired by

President of the IPU Coordinating Committee of Women Parliamentarians, Ms. M. Xavier

(Uruguay). The keynote address was delivered by Ms. A-M. Lizin, President of the Belgian

Senate. Nearly 70 interventions were heard in the plenary debates, the highlights of which are

presented below.

The participants began by noting that as elected representatives of the people,

parliamentarians have a crucial role to play in the promotion of gender equality in parliaments.

They must see to it that norms for the protection of equal opportunities for women and men

are translated into national laws. Likewise, parliamentarians have a duty to oversee the

implementation of policies and programmes to ensure that they meet the standards and goals

set. Finally, as politicians, they have a natural role to raise gender equality issues in public

debate and to help forge national consensus on these issues.

Mandate, composition and working methods

During the meeting, participants discussed the functioning and mandate of parliamentary

committees dealing with gender. In so doing, the raison d'&re of such committees was

PØU, Alm.del - 2006-07 - Bilag 55: "The role of parliamentary committees in mainstreaming gender and promoting the status of women", fra Inter-Parliamentary Union

debated. It was clear that their existence was not an end in itself, but rather that they were

instrumental in contributing to the work of parliament to promote and defend gender equality.

In some parliaments however, this goal is achieved not through the existence of specialized

gender committees, but through mainstreaming gender equality in the existing committee

structures. There is, however, no one model - it varies from country to country depending on

parliamentary practice and history. The two approaches are, however, complementary and the

existence of a specialized gender committee should not take the onus off other committees to

address gender concerns. This task is facilitated by the presence of women in parliament. The

importance of having a critical mass of women in Parliament - the 30% objective - was

highlighted.

Discussions also focused on the specific powers of parliamentary committees, ranging from

committees that have the power to propose legislation to those that exercise mainly a

monitoring function. Despite some differences, participants agreed that one of the most

important functions of such committees is their role in parliamentary oversight and holding

governments to account. Parliamentarians have many tools at their disposal for this oversight

function such as oral and written questions, the right to summon ministers and government

officials, holding public hearings and holding open meetings to allow the public to engage with

the committee. It was noted that it is also important for the reports of gender committees to

have an official status so as to enable follow up of the proposals and recommendations made.

The achievement of gender mainstreaming also depends on coordination with other

committees in parliament. The specific example was cited of convening common sittings with

other parliamentary committees to debate the contents of a bill and ensure that a gender

perspective is considered. This type of cooperation is crucial with finance and budget

committees with the view to developing gender-sensitive budgets. Another idea was to have

gender focal points in all committees.

According to the data collected by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in its World Directory on

Parliamentary Bodies on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, nearly all parliamentary

gender committees are composed of both women and men. However, men's participation

remains weak. Participants agreed that men should play a greater role in the work of gender

committees, as indeed it is as much in their interest as that of women to ensure equality.

Relations with partners

The meeting also examined the importance of partnerships in order for parliament to fully

contribute to national efforts to promote gender equality. Parliamentarians can be isolated and

need to develop cooperation with government and civil society. It was very clear from the

debate that there is a need to formalize relations between national women's machineries and

parliaments, as they have complementary roles to play. Cooperation with ombudspersons and

the judiciary was also highlighted. Within that general context, the specific role of

parliamentary committees on gender should be monitored to ensure efficiency and to avoid

overlap with other bodies.

In addition, cooperation with civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is

crucial. NGOs are a key source of information and are critical partners in ensuring follow-up

of parliamentary action. Women's parliamentary caucuses can be useful fora for women to

meet beyond party lines and can provide additional support to the work of parliamentary

gender committees.

PØU, Alm.del - 2006-07 - Bilag 55: "The role of parliamentary committees in mainstreaming gender and promoting the status of women", fra Inter-Parliamentary Union

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Participants also discussed the vital role of the media and outreach strategies to inform the

public of parliamentary action and raise awareness of gender issues. Despite what some may

see as a love-hate relationship, it is important to enlist support of the media and make use of

all possible communication avenues to reach out to people, especially to those who are most

isolated, through initiatives such as community radio and free newspapers. The media has an

advocacy role to play and a role in holding Parliaments accountable for follow up on actions

and decisions taken.

Legislative and policy outputs

The meeting heard about the wide range of issues that are being addressed in committees and

the immense challenges to attaining gender equality. The importance of developing strategies

that can be used to meet objectives was raised, such as gender-sensitive budgeting. This is a

new approach for many parliaments. The development of gender-sensitive budgets is a long-

term process that requires changing policies and transforming processes. Parliamentarians have

an important role in the development of such a tool and should press governments to develop

gender-sensitive budgets. One way to accomplish this is by introducing requirements for

gender budgeting in laws and rules on budgeting.

Undertaking a gender-sensitive budgeting process requires analysis at all stages of the process

starting with the planning and programming. In order to have substantive input and the

capacity to develop such budgets, parliaments need to have access to sex-disaggregated data

and comprehensive information - an obligation under the Convention on the Elimination of all

Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The role of gender committees is to raise

.gender issues during the budget debates, develop partnerships with the budget committees,

and serve as conduits between women's organizations and the parliament. The importance of

parliamentary oversight was again raised - parliamentarians need to closely follow and monitor

the implementation of the budget by conducting gender audits and analyses.

Given the novelty of this exercise, the necessity of implementing training programmes for

parliamentarians as well as parliamentary staff was noted.

CEDAW

Another important function - of gender committees is to oversee proper implementation of

international and regional commitments. The meeting gave particular attention to the

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), a tool

that we can use to legitimize our demands for gender equality.

CEDAW brings together - in a single comprehensive human rights treaty - the provisions of

previous United Nations instruments concerning discrimination on the basis of sex and extends

them further to create a tool dedicated to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against

women.

Participants discussed in particular the role of parliaments and agreed that they had to be more

involved in overseeing implementation of the obligations and rights included in CEDAW. One

of these obligations has to do with reporting. States Parties must report regularly to the United

Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on progress made in

implementing the CEDAW. Parliamentarians have to make sure that these periodic reports go

to parliament for debate before they are submitted to the UN, and that parliament ensures that

PØU, Alm.del - 2006-07 - Bilag 55: "The role of parliamentary committees in mainstreaming gender and promoting the status of women", fra Inter-Parliamentary Union

they contain a wide variety of views, including those of civil society and independent analysts.

In addition, members of parliament should be included in the national delegations to the

CEDAW Committee so as to better understand the concluding comments and

recommendations that are subsequently made. These comments have to be presented to

parliament in order to be followed up and implemented at the national level.

Parliamentarians also have a role to raise awareness among their peers and society at large on

CEDAW, monitor government implementation, review national legislation to bring it in line

with CEDAW principles, monitor the validity of reservations to CEDAW and work towards their

removal. It is important that all parliamentarians and parliamentary staff have an understanding

of the principles of CEDAW, hence the need for training programmes.

A wide range of issues related to women's rights and gender equality was discussed. From the

many interventions that were made, it was clear that gender equality spans across all policy

areas and that it is at the core of society's well-being and development. The challenges are

immense, including poverty, poor health care, low levels of education, violence, and

HIV/AIDS. While responses to these challenges are varied, education has a key role to play,

starting in the home.

Many participants also mentioned the question of enhancing women's participation in political

life. With a world average of nearly 17per cent, we all agree that we have to do much better,

much sooner. Several related initiatives were mentioned such as the SADC 50/50 campaign

by 2020.

Combating violence against women

The main thematic debate of the seminar was the question of violence against women. Acts of

violence against women are among the most potent obstacles to the advancement of women

and are a fundamental violation of their basic human rights. Violence against women is a

problem that affects all countries without exception.

To address violence against women, the importance of understanding it is a pattern of

behaviour was stressed. Strategies to combat this scourge need to be holistic in their approach,

moving beyond mere criminalization, prevention and assistance measures to include initiatives

aimed at changing the environment in which women live (looking at health care issues,

housing, security, domestic legislation, stereotyping in the media). Indeed it is necessary to to

do a much better job at bringing up new generations who do not view violence and gender

inequality as something which is natural. To achieve this, there has to be a radical - even

revolutionary change in education and in the multiple messages we receive through TV, radio,

movies, advertisement etc.

Effective policies to combat violence against women require accurate data. Data is also

needed for parliamentary committees to fulfil their watchdog role and properly oversee and

assess government action and progress. Participants had a long discussion on the problem of

defining violence against women and developing indicators to measure its prevalence.

Establishing common global or regional indicators was raised as an objective; this would

certainly help in developing a common framework of analysis and defining coordinated

responses. The United Nations was called upon to assist in developing such common

indicators. Committees should request the development of sex-disaggregated data and press

for the "engendering" of national statistics laws, as well as ensure that statisticians are

adequately trained and sensitive to gender issues.

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Participants agreed that responses to violence against women have to be multi-sectoral and

build on the contribution of all stakeholders. Providing a solid legal framework to combat

violence against women and impunity was underscored, together with the need to ensure

adequate financing of policies and oversee proper implementation. The crucial role of

awareness- raising and education, particularly using a rights-based approach, was raised,

together with the need to train and sensitize the judiciary, law enforcement agencies as well as

health and social services.

Follow-Up

The meeting spent time discussing support to parliament. It was clear that parliamentarians

would like to see greater efforts in strengthening parliament's ability to carry out its work to

promote gender equality and defend women's rights.

Participants expressed their wish to have similar meetings convened in the future. The

important role that gender committees can play in the process of mainstreaming gender was

underscored.

Parliamentarians also highlighted the value of convening thematic meetings to discuss

particular gender issues in-depth, such as trafficking of women and children, health care,

HIV/Aids and women's economic empowerment.

It was noted that it is important to also work with parliaments that do not have specialized

parliamentary committees on gender to provide support, solidarity and to examine different

avenues in which gender can be mainstreamed.

Participants agreed to share the results of the meeting with their colleagues in parliament and

to follow up on suggestions made.