LIU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 49: Henvendelse af 31/1-2020 fra Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, om invitation til møder, bl.a. den 11/3-2020, i forbindelse med CSW64 (FN's Kvindekommissions 64. session)

Ligestillingsudvalget 2019-20
LIU Alm.del Bilag 49
Offentligt

Beijing +25:

Parliaments accelerating action to achieve gender equality for all

women and girls

Parliamentary event organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women

at the 64

session of the Commission on the Status of Women

11 March 2020, Trusteeship Council Room, UN Headquarters, New York

CONCEPT NOTE AND AGENDA

INTRODUCTION

The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace,

held in Beijing, China, in 1995, established a comprehensive

global policy framework for women’s

empowerment and gender equality. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action remain a central road

map for UN Member States’ implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination against Women. The 12 critical areas of concern identified in this landmark document

remain as relevant today as they were 25 years ago: women and poverty; education and training of

women; women and health; violence against women; women and armed conflict; women and the

economy; women in power and decision-making; institutional mechanisms for the advancement of

women; human rights of women; women and the media; women and the environment; and the girl-child.

While progress has been made in all 12 areas to differing degrees, no country can claim to have achieved

full gender equality. In addition, new challenges have emerged, such as the backlash to gender equality,

violence against women in politics, and the adverse effects of climate change, violent extremism and

conservatism, and digital technologies on women and girls, either exacerbating existing gender

inequalities or posing new threats to hard-won

women’s human rights.

In 2020, as we mark a quarter of a century since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the time

has come to build on progress and scale up good initiatives, while reaffirming the commitments made and

devising effective responses to ongoing challenges globally, nationally and locally. Additionally, this

anniversary coincides with the first five-year milestone of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development, which includes a goal on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls

(SDG 5) and stresses that gender equality is key to achieving progress across all development goals.

Likewise, 2020 marks the 20

anniversary of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 on women,

peace and security, which highlights the importance of

women’s agency and empowerment to building

and sustaining peace.

These milestones provide momentum to accelerate progress towards achieving gender equality and

fulfilling the rights and empowerment of women and girls. Parliaments have a crucial role to play in

translating international standards into national legal and policy frameworks and accelerating concrete

outcomes in the lives of women and girls. Parliaments can make laws that deliver on equality between

men and women. They can also influence policy decisions and budgetary allocations by applying a gender

lens, demanding accountability from government, being gender-sensitive institutions, and partnering with

stakeholders from government, civil society, academia, the media and the private sector. Parliaments

must lead the way in scaling up the political will to fulfil the promise of achieving gender equality through

accelerated action.

LIU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 49: Henvendelse af 31/1-2020 fra Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, om invitation til møder, bl.a. den 11/3-2020, i forbindelse med CSW64 (FN's Kvindekommissions 64. session)

Participants are invited to share good practices developed in their respective parliaments to pass laws on,

allocate budgets to and oversee implementation of gender-responsive policies and legislation, as well as

building their own internal capacities to drive such practices. The event will focus on three specific

priorities for accelerated action by parliaments in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and

Platform for Action: achieving equality in political decision-making; promoting gender-responsive

legislation; and eliminating violence against women and girls, including in the context of armed conflict.

AGENDA

11 March 2020

Chaired by Ms. Susan Kihika, President of the IPU Bureau of Women Parliamentarians

10–10.30 a.m.

10.30 a.m.–1 p.m.

Welcome remarks

Session 1: Accelerating achievement of gender balance in politics

Women’s political participation has

steadily increased since 1995, but gender

balance is still far from being achieved. Today 24.5 per cent of parliamentarians are

women, compared to 11.3 per cent in 1995. At the current pace of progress, it

would take another half-century to reach gender balance as set out in the Beijing

Platform for Action.

According to the World Economic Forum, political

empowerment is the gender gap that remains the widest.

Ensuring equal participation of women and men in decision-making processes is

vital for achieving not only gender equality (SDG 5) but also the goals across the

development spectrum, such as ending poverty (SDG 1), ensuring healthy lives

(SDG 3) and quality education (SDG 4), as well as fostering good governance and

effective institutions (SDG 16).

For this, political leaders need to support

women’s

equal political participation

inter alia by: adopting legislation that includes temporary special temporary

measures, such as ambitious gender quotas with enforcement mechanisms;

providing financial incentives or sanctions for political parties; raising awareness of

and educating for gender equality in schools, communities and the media;

supporting initiatives led by civil society and other actors that enhance

accountability on gender equality; fostering a political culture that is gender-

sensitive, starting with exemplary behaviour by parliament and building a culture of

zero tolerance towards sexism, harassment and violence against women.

This session will examine existing good practices and action required to secure

political and institutional commitment to gender equality. The discussion will explore

how to address the specific challenges that impact women’s

opportunities

and

willingness to enter into and pursue politics, and their influence while in office.

See also the Joint Statement by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

and the IPU,

Women’s political leadership:

Striving for balance: 50/50 by 2030,

Geneva, 8 March 2019:

www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24279&LangID=E

World Economic Forum (2018),

The Global Gender Gap Report,

p. 8.

UN Women, UNDP (2018),

Gender Equality as an Accelerator for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

UN General Assembly resolution,

Intensification of efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against

women and girls: sexual harassment

(A/RES/73/148), operative paragraph 7; and IPU resolution,

The freedom of

women to participate in political processes fully, safely and without interference: Building partnerships between men

and women to achieve this objective,

adopted at the 135

IPU Assembly (Geneva, 27 October 2016).

Following panellists’ presentations, there will be a moderated debate which will

consider the following questions:

•

What national legislation has effectively promoted gender balance in

parliaments?

•

What good practices have emerged to promote the participation of more diverse

cohorts of women in parliament, including young women and women with

disabilities?

•

How have parliaments created a space for women to occupy key leadership

positions and effectively influence decision-making?

•

How can parliaments liaise with civil society to build partnerships for gender

equality in political decision-making?

•

How does violence against women in politics affect

women’s

participation and

influence in the political arena, and impact the participation of future

generations? What best practices exist in addressing this issue, including in

parliament?

12.30 p.m.

Presentation on the Generation Equality Forum

1–2.30 p.m.

2.30–4.15 p.m.

Lunch break

Session 2: Eliminating discrimination in the law: A sine qua non for

accelerated action towards gender equality and the empowerment of women

and girls

Over 2.5 billion women and girls around the world are affected by discriminatory

laws and the lack of legal protections, often in combination.

Discrimination in law

spans various domains that affect women’s

right

to travel, seek employment, start a

business, receive inheritance, transmit their nationality to their children or spouse,

seek protection from violence and decide whether and when to get married.

Equality in law is therefore a game changer for the human rights of women and

girls. While laws alone are not enough, they are an indispensable guarantee and

convey an important message to society as a whole.

Parliaments are part of the solution, especially as members of parliament can draft

bills and amend laws. Parliamentarians can also reach out to constituents to solicit

their feedback and garner their support, as well as to hold the government

accountable for improving and implementing gender-responsive laws.

In March 2019, UN Women launched a strategy together with partners, including

the IPU, to provide a framework for a concerted and multi-stakeholder approach

aimed at fast-tracking the elimination of discriminatory laws across the board, while

documenting experiences and lessons learned for further reform efforts.

Following panellists’ presentations, there will be a moderated debate which will

consider the following questions:

McKinsey Global Institute (2015),

The Power of Parity: How Advancing Women’s Equality Can Add $12 Trillion to

Global Growth.

McKinsey & Company, p. 74.

•

What are the most recent legal reforms enacted by parliament to address

gender-based discrimination in laws and practice? What strategies were used

for these reforms?

•

What existing discriminatory laws and practices in your country are priorities for

reform today?

•

What are the specific cultural/social barriers to legal reform that need to be taken

into consideration? How can they be overcome?

•

What challenges are faced in the implementation of gender-responsive

legislation and how best can they be addressed?

•

What is needed for a multi-stakeholder initiative in your own country to eliminate

discrimination in the law?

•

Concerning the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women,

is your parliament involved in its reporting process and the follow-up of its

recommendations? How has the Committee helped promote gender equality in

laws in your country?

4.15–5.30 p.m.

Session 3: Eliminating violence against women and girls: Placing zero

tolerance on the parliamentary agenda

Violence against women and girls is prevalent across the world. It includes acts

such as threats, coercion, deprivation of liberty, harassment, and psychological,

sexual or physical abuse that affects women and girls or is inflicted on them

because of their gender. It is a serious human rights violation that occurs in the

broader context of gender-based discrimination and unequal power relations

between men and women in both the public and private spheres. Violence against

women and girls not only deprives them of their dignity and integrity, but also

prevents them from realizing their full potential for themselves and for society.

One out of every three women worldwide has experienced physical and/or sexual

intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence. No country is free from

this violence that exists across generations, ethnicity, disability or any other

background, and can be justified or tolerated in the name of culture or tradition.

Situations of armed conflict, violent extremism, insecurity and population

displacements place women and girls at greater risk of gender-based violence and

abuse. Women’s bodies are directly targeted by the use of sexual violence as a

weapon of war.

In response to this appalling reality, the right of women to be free from violence has

been recognized in international and regional human rights instruments, and

important achievements have been made to bring national legislation in line with the

norms established by these instruments. However, passing laws and developing

policies is not enough. Their implementation remains the key challenge. Without it,

these laws and policies will not fulfil their intended objective of preventing violence,

protecting and supporting victims, and ensuring that they have access to justice and

reparation and that the perpetrators are prosecuted. Parliamentarians have a

responsibility to review and adopt laws and policies on ending violence against

women and girls, and to use their parliamentary oversight to ensure that such laws

and policies are effectively implemented.

Following panellists’ presentations, a moderated debate will begin in which

panellists and parliamentarians are invited to respond to the following questions:

•

What good legal frameworks and parliamentary practices exist to prevent

and protect women and girls from gender-based violence? What is the

key to their successful implementation?

How can parliaments influence policies to address the differentiated

impact of conflict and violent extremism on women and girls, as well as

supporting survivors of violence in such contexts?

How is gender budgeting being applied to enhance the prevention and

protection of women and girls from violence?

5.30–5.45 p.m.

Concluding remarks