WUNRN
DRAFT CONFERENCE DECLARATION
CHANGE IN MUSLIM SOCIETIES AND ROLE OF WOMEN
23-24 December 2011
ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Ministers,
parliamentarians, civil society organisations, academicians from OIC member
states met in Istanbul between the dates 22-24 December at the Conference
titled “Change in Muslim Societies and Role of Women”: The Conference:
1. Expressed its deep appreciation to the Prime Minister of
Turkey H.E Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his participation in the Conference
and for his inspiring Statement where he called upon the international
community to condemn and act against all forms of violence towards women, including violence under armed
conflicts.
2. Expressed deep appreciation to Minister for Family and
Social Policies of Turkey H.E Fatma Şahin and the Ministry for hosting the
Conference and also for their excellent hospitality and arrangements for the
participating delegations. Also commended the Minister for her welcoming
statement where she underlined the importance of formulating comprehensive,
multidisciplinary, institutional and coordinated action to ensure gender
equality in all countries
3. Expressed deep appreciation to the Secretary General of
the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Prof.Dr. Ekmeleddin
İhsanoğlu for his participation in the Conference.
4. Expressed deep appreciation to the Secretary General of
PUIC , Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç
for the excellent organization of the Conference.
5. Took into account the constructive and valuable
recommendations and proposals made by the Parliaments and the Heads of
Delegation of the OIC member states in addressing the issues and challenges
faced by women.
6. Expressed praise to the women of the countries of Arab
Region that underwent many reforms in recent times, for their active role in
bringing the change in their respective societies.
7. Reaffirmed the conclusions of the OIC and PUIC
Conferences on the empowerment of women in Muslim Societies that
took place in different Muslim countries in the last years.
8. Lauded the provisions of the OIC Plan of Action for
Advancement of Women (OPAAW), also known as Cairo Plan of Action, as a positive
road map for addressing the concerns and challenges faced by women in muslim
societies and reaffirmed the recommendation at paragraph 8 of the preambular
part, which refers to all international documents for enhancing gender
equality, in particular CEDAW.
9. Commended the establishment of units dealing
with women’s issues in most organisations in Muslim countries
10.
Acknowledged the legal reforms in
Muslim countries that empowers women but also reiterated that they have to be
translated into practice recalling that there is still much to be done to
achieve women’s empowerment and gender equality
11.
Stressed the necessity and need for continued
international cooperation and assistance among
countries, to formulate comprehensive, and
multidisciplinary policies and to strenghten the role of women.
12.
Reaffirmed that the full integration of women
into the formal economy, in particular, into economic decision-making, means
changing the current gender-based division of labour into new economic
structures where women and men enjoy equal treatment, pay and power, including
sharing of paid and unpaid work.
13.
Underlined that women’s rights
become central to economic, social and political reforms; emphasized that
innovative support is necessary for anti-poverty programmes .
14.
Acknowledged the need to address violence
against women holistically, including through the recognition of linkages
between violence against women and other issues such as HIV/AIDS, poverty
eradication, food security, peace and security, humanitarian assistance, health
and crime prevention;
15.
Acknowledged that women‘s full enjoyment of
their rights, opportunities and participation and leadership requires
comprehensive gender-responsive measures encompassing budgetary, legal, policy
and institutional frameworks.
16.
Affirmed
that establishing national, regional and international gender equality
mechanisms; collecting and disseminating reliable data and devising monitoring
and evaulation systems are critical tenants for instituting gender equality in
all countries including Muslim countries.
17.
Recalled mainstreaming
gender perspectives into all legislation, policies and programmes and promote
incorporation of gender-responsive budgeting processes across all areas and at
all levels, and enhance international cooperation to promote gender equality.
The
Conference invited parliaments, governments, including local authorities,
regional organizations, private sector, trade unions, civil society
organizations, including women’s organizations, media and other relevant actors
to:
a) Promote
the participation of women at all levels of decision-making; by enacting and
implementing legislation and tools including temporary specific measures,
quotas and parity laws, where appropriate.
b) Devise strategies to fight multiple forms of
discrimination and violence against women and ensure that women and children
have full and equal access to effective legal protection against violations;
c) Become party to CEDAW without further delay, if they had not yet done so and to recognize the pivotal role it plays in ensuring women’s human rights;
d) Ensure full and effective implementation of CEDAW, and withdraw their
reservations, where appropriate.
e) Undertake
legislative and administrative reforms to give women full and equal access to
economic resources, including the right to inheritance and to ownership of land
and other property, credit, natural resources and appropriate technologies;
f)
Develop national strategies for promoting employment and self-employment,
including entrepreneurial and organizational skills, in order to generate
income for women; provide care services to reconcile family and working life.
g)
Promote measures to achieve a balanced portrayal of women and girls in the
media. Support and encourage women's equal participation in management,
programming, education, training and research, including through positive
action and equal opportunity policies, with the goal of achieving gender
balance in all areas and at all levels of media work,
h) Ensure
a hospitable environment for non-governmental organizations especially women’s
organizations, who play an important role for the advancement of women and
gender equality.
The
Conference took note of the proposal to establish a region-wide Gender Equality
İnstitute (or Regional Knowledge and Information Center) in Istanbul-
Turkey, mandated to collect and disseminate gender disagragated and age
disaggragated data and develop gender-sensitive indicators to inform
policymaking; enhance civil society and government dialogue through projects;
conduct gender-sensitive research and training programs and conduct assessments
in a coordinated manner and measure progress, to enhance the the status of women.
The
Conference also noted that the Institute proposed will serve as a center of
excellence and also contribute to the
implementation process of CEDAW.