WUNRN
APWLD is circulating this Papua New
Guinea Women's Political Leadership Call for Action among political
leaders and activists to endorse it. Please send your name and scanned signature
to us and we will include it in the Statement.
APWLD-Asia Pacific Forum on Women,
Law & Development - www.apwld.org
_________________________________________________________________
Deadline
for adding Signatures - June 30, 2010
See
APWLD Letter after Call for Action
Papua New Guinea - Call for Action
8 June 2010
Women in
Decision-Making: A Key to Sustainable Development
Women continue to be dramatically underrepresented in decision-making positions in Papua New Guinea (PNG). It is necessary to ensure full and equal representation and participation of women in the decision-making processes to address social and economic issues in an integrated way. It is also imperative to have a State consistent program with a budgetary allocation for effective implementation and monitoring mechanisms on women’s political empowerment.
Women's participation in political processes is crucial for reaching
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); States and donors must remember their commitments to gender equality.
They must also remember the findings of the Global Monitoring Report of the
World Bank and the Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum,
which demonstrates that countries score high on competitiveness, also enjoy
high levels of gender equality.
The PNG government committed itself in Beijing
Platform of Action (BPFA), under Article
190 “To establishing
the goal of gender balance in governmental bodies and committees, as well as in
public administrative entities, and in the judiciary, including, inter alia,
setting specific targets and implementing measures to substantially increase
the number of women with a view to achieving equal representation of women and
men, if necessary through positive action, in all governmental and public
administration positions”.
In May 2010, as a result of the tireless
efforts of PNG women, the PNG government tabled the Bill as a Notice, once
again proposing 22 seats reserved for women in the Parliament. This Bill will
be put up for debate and voting in July 2010. The constitutional amendment will
ensure close to 20% seats reserved for women.
Recognising positive steps of the PNG state towards the implementation of MDGs, BPFA and Convention on the Elimination of all
kinds of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); We the women from Asia Pacific
region call upon the PNG State to
implement international and national commitments made for women’s political
empowerment through the following:
LIST
OF SIGNATURES IS GIVEN IN ATTACHED FILE.
_________________________________________________________________
Dear All,
Women's rights
groups, activists and political leaders across Asia-Pacific have been
campaigning for quota legislation in the Papua New Guinea
(PNG) Parliament, under CEDAW and Beijing Platform for Action
(BPFA). The Campaign started in 2009 and received heavy opposition.
But tireless efforts by women's rights groups, activists and political
leaders resulted in the PNG government tabling the Bill this year in May.
This time, there were more people who showed support to the Bill.
The Bill will be put to vote in July 2010.
APWLD
recently organised a Gender and Politics workshop for women political leaders
and activists, in Malaysia. As an outcome of that workshop, the
participants prepared a 'Call for Action' urging the PNG Parliament to
seriously adopt and implement articles under CEDAW and BPFA to promote and
institutionalise women's particiaption and leadership in political processes.
APWLD would like to circulate this
'Call for Action' amongst other political leaders and activists to endorse
it. Please either add your name and signature to the document or send
your name and scanned signature to us and we will include it in the Statement.
The
deadline for this is 30th June 2010, after which the 'Call for
Action' will be sent to concerned groups in Papua New Guinea.
Looking
forward to your support and solidarity.
Rohini Ghadiok
Programme Officer
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)
189/3 Changklan Road, A. Muang Chiangmai 50100
Ph: (66) 53 284527
Fax (66) 53 280847
www.apwld.org
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