All women represented in parliaments across the world must wage a concerted fight against gender discrimination and gender-based violence, Sylvia Lucas, the deputy chairperson of the National Council of Province, said on behalf of the South African delegation at the 144th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Lucas was speaking at the Forum for Women Parliamentarians, a platform that offers women MPs space to provide a gender perspective on draft resolutions before the IPU Assembly.
“As we position ourselves as women parliamentarians to address the various forms of violence that women across the world suffer on a daily basis, it becomes particularly imperative that we ensure that we strengthen our oversight and accountability processes, so as to ensure the effective implementation of the legislative instruments that are in place,” Lucas said.
The local delegation has managed to influence amendments on two important draft resolutions during the meetings of the standing committee on peace and international security and the standing committee on sustainable developments.
The committee meetings debated and considered various draft resolutions proposed by member parliaments. The South African delegation submitted 12 written amendments to the draft resolutions, with at least 11 of them endorsed by the committees.
The written submissions on the recognition of the promotion of peace and conflict prevention were combined with those of the Indonesian parliament, where the two countries said organisations, including women, children, and indigenous people are essential in fostering peace and conflict prevention.
At the standing committee on peace and international security, the parliamentarians also made submissions to encourage the use of information and communications technology to support, enhance and optimise the delivery of knowledge and information.
Dorries Dlakude, who represented the South African parliament in the standing committee on peace and international security, said it is important that the country continues to contribute to the agenda of the IPU and to shape its international work.
“We have so much to offer to these crucial world forums and we are therefore pleased that other sister parliaments continue to show appreciation to the interventions we are making, not only to strive for a more just, sustainable, and equal world, but also to bolster the role of this inter-parliamentary body,” Dlakude said.
Forum of Young Parliamentarians
The South African delegation also made a significant contribution in the meeting of the Forum of Young Parliamentarians of the IPU, where they discussed a number of topics including updates on youth participation in parliaments, contribution to the work of the 144th Assembly, and preparations for the 145th Assembly.
According to IPU survey, about 37% of chambers of parliament in the world have no MPs under the age of 30, with individuals aged between 20 and 39 making up 38.6% of the world population.
However, the survey shows that only 17.5% of the MPs are under the age of 40, and it is understood that many countries have barriers that exclude young men and women from participation in politics and representation in legislatures.
South Africa’s young delegate, Fikile Masiko, noted that the IPU defined young people as persons under the age of 45, and believed that the quota system in South Africa can be achieved if it is introduced at the political party level to ensure increased youth representation.
The delegation was also expected to take part in various committee meetings, including the standing committee on democracy and human rights, which will debate the draft resolution on parliamentary impetus to local and regional development of countries with high levels of international migration, and to stopping all forms of human trafficking and human rights abuses.
The draft resolutions adopted by the committees and forums will be considered and adopted by the plenary of the General Assembly before the conclusion of its business on Thursday.
– SAnews.gov.za
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