Vietnam calls on IPU to promote gender equality
At the ongoing
131st IPU Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, the NA Vice Chairwoman
stressed that gender equality was not only a target in its own right,
but also a precondition for the advancement of women and social-economic
development in any country.
The Vietnamese NA has undertaken
efforts to improve legislative and policy frameworks to implement human
rights and gender equality, and eliminate violence against women, Phong
said.
She added that as a member of the United Nations Human
Rights Council in the 2014-2016 tenure, Vietnam was actively
implementing its international commitments to promote and protect human
rights, including women’s rights and the rights of children and girls,
and to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against them.
Gender
equality is a basic human right, which is considered an important
measure of progress and development in society, Phong noted.
She
also stated that it was essential to boost links between national
governments and legislative bodies all over the world; between the IPU
and its member states’ parliaments; and UN organisations and
international forums on women in an effort to uphold the rights of women
and promote gender equality in the future.
In
recent years, many achievements have been made in the field of gender.
In one third of developing countries, girls have a higher attendance at
school than boys. Women account for more than 40 percent of the global
workforce and their engagement in politics has increased substantially.
However,
violence against women remains a global challenge, with about one third
of women and girls experiencing gender-based violence.
The IPU
Assembly under the theme “achieving gender equality and ending violence
against women” evaluated the organisation’s efforts to enhance the
participation of women in politics.
It
was found that IPU is currently in the lead in terms of the number of
female legislators. Furthermore, the organisation’s recommendations on
measures to improve legal and policy frameworks to give women a voice on
the political stage have also had an impact in the field of gender
equality.
IPU is currently the
largest inter-parliamentary union in the world, with 165 member states,
and focuses on a number of areas, such as security, economics, democracy
and the environment.-VNA