WUNRN
OSCE - Organization for Security
& Co-Operation in Europe
Ukraine - Involve
Women in Politics & Peace Efforts in Ukraine, Urges OSCE Senior Gender
Adviser
OSCE Senior
Gender Adviser Miroslava Beham at the opening of the Gender
Equality Review
Conference, Vienna, 10 July 2014 (OSCE Micky Kroell)
KYIV, 12 September 2014 – More can be done to enhance
women’s participation in political life and in giving them a role in
reconciliation and peace efforts in Ukraine, said the OSCE Senior Adviser on
Gender Issues, Ambassador Miroslava Beham, as she concluded a five-day visit to
Kyiv.
During her trip, Beham met with representatives of
government, civil society and international organizations to discuss OSCE
commitments on gender equality and enhancing co-operation in this area. Her
programme included meetings with officials from the Ministries of Foreign
Affairs, Social Policy; Internal Affairs, and Defence, the Security Services of
Ukraine as well as women parliamentarians, the Ombudsperson and the
Presidential Envoy for the Peaceful Settlement of the Conflict in the Donetsk
and Luhansk Regions.
In light of the upcoming parliamentary elections, many
interlocutors noted with concern that Ukraine currently has one of the lowest
shares of women parliamentarians in the OSCE region, less than ten per cent.
"The low representation of women in Ukraine’s
parliament does not reflect the fact that women make up more than half of the
population in Ukraine,” said Beham. “Women are an essential component to strengthening
the country's ongoing reform process. It would be a loss for Ukrainian society
not to utilize women's potential in its aspirations to create a stable and
prosperous future. Therefore it is the responsibility of political parties and
their leaders to provide women with equal opportunities to be included in
electoral lists."
Beham noted the interest of both governmental and civil
society representatives in the commitments outlined in UN Security Council
Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and the need to gender mainstream
the efforts relating to Security Sector Reform. Interlocutors agreed a national
strategy was needed to ensure women’s inclusion in shaping future structures
for reconciliation and peace.
The Senior Adviser also stressed the importance of
implementing the existing National Gender Action Plan to support the
development of positive practices that bring prosperity to both women and men.
In her meeting with Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, Chief
Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, they agreed on the
need and benefits of including women in the peace and reconciliation efforts in
Ukraine.
“Women’s enhanced participation in the peace and wider
political process is key to achieving security and stability in Ukraine,” said
Apakan. “We need to acknowledge the essential contributions women make to the
democratic process in the country.”
Beham’s visit to Kyiv was organized in co-operation with
the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.
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