International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

(25 November 2010)

Dear Madam President,Dear Mr. President,On 25 November, the world will mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence againstWomen. As part of its campaignParliaments Take Action on Violence against Women,the IPUencourages your parliament to join forces with other parliaments and organizations everywhere inorganizing a special event with a view to making this issue a top political priority.This year, the IPU is calling on parliaments to mobilize under the theme:Building partnerships tocombat violence against women.Tobe effective, action to curb violence against women must be built onclose collaboration between the variousstakeholders involved in preventing and responding to theproblem. We, men and women parliamentarians, need to build a united front to work effectively forthis cause.Last year, 33 parliaments organized around 50 activities to mark the Day, and thus heightened thevisibility of the problem at the national level. The activities took many forms and yielded tangible results.Resolutions were passed and special debates and speeches were held in parliament. Members ofparliament participated in workshops, held discussions with women’s and civil rights organizations andsigned petitions to show their support for the issue. We are counting on you to take many and ifpossible even more initiatives this year.We enclosea note providing examples of activities that could be undertaken on 25 November andbeyond, together with IPU booklet on what parliaments can do to end violence against women. Allparliamentary events to mark the International Day will be posted on the IPU website at:www.ipu.org/vaw.They will also be included in a report to the IPU Governing Council and listed asparliamentary contributions to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Campaign UNiTE to EndViolence against Women on thewww.saynotoviolence.orgwebsite.