Draft Resolution Submitted by the Australian Delegation

THE SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASIA PACIFIC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM

Having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of 1979, which provides, inter alia, that signatory states shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of their country;

Recalling that the Convention on the Political Rights of Women of 1952 provides that women shall be on equal terms with men and shall be, without any discrimination, entitled to vote in all elections, eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies established by national law and entitled to hold public office and to exercise all public functions established by national law;

Having regard to the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in September 1995, the Declaration and the Platform for Action adopted in Beijing as well as the following outcome documents adopted at the successive UN Beijing + 5 and UN Beijing +10 Special Sessions on further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action adopted respectively on 9 June 2000 and on 11 March 2005;

Having regard to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in particular MDG3 on promoting gender equality and empowering women as a prerequisite to overcoming hunger, poverty and disease, reaching equality at all levels of education and in all areas of work, equal control over resources and equal representation in public and political life;

Having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 adopted on 31 October 2000 (“UNSCR 1325(2000)”), in particular paragraph 1 thereof, which urges Member States to ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional and international institutions;

Reaffirming the importance of strengthening the presence of women in parliamentary roles in the Asia Pacific region under generally recognised principles and rules of international law;

Recognising balanced participation by women and men in the political process and decision-making will more accurately reflect the composition of society and is essential for future generations and the proper functioning of democratic societies;

Aware that good governance includes respect for fundamental freedoms and treating women’s rights as basic fundamental rights;

Committed to increase its support for projects designed to ensure women’s participation in political life in and outside the Asia-Pacific region;

Welcoming the promotion of women in politics, in particular the participation of women as voters and political candidates, the inclusion of gender issues on political parties’ programmes during election campaigns, including in its dealings with other regional organisations, in particular with respect to capacity-building;

Supportive of changing the cultural acceptance of balanced decision-making through awareness raising campaigns and achieving gender balance in politics often requires changes in public attitudes;

Noting the situation of women in international politics depends primarily on the situation of women nationally and on the strategies for the advancement of women put in place at national level;

Resolves to:

1.      Call on the Member States to adopt appropriate legislative and/or administrative measures to support elected representatives in the reconciliation of their family and public responsibilities and, in particular, encourage parliaments and local and regional authorities to ensure that their timetables and working methods enable elected representatives of both sexes to reconcile their work and family life;

2.      Promote a whole range of other tools to ensure increased participation of women in politics, such as positive discrimination measures aiming at ensuring women's presence and activity in parliaments and other elected positions;

3.      Uphold efforts that promote gender equality at a regional and a global level, through dialogue and cooperation;

4.      Encourage member states to utilise fully the potential of other regional arrangements, such as APEC, EAS, PIF, and ASC, which are contributing to strengthening gender balance in accordance with their specific mandates;

5.      Encourage Member States to raise public awareness in their countries with a view to ending negative societal attitudes about women's capacity to participate equally in the political process at national and international levels; encourages Member States to promote the goal of gender balance in all public positions;

6.      Urge all Member States to encourage women to apply for high-level positions on the international scene and urges Member States to provide names of female candidates along with the names of male candidates for high-level positions in international negotiations and policy making, namely in international organisations.