Pacific Parliamentarians Forum: gender equality in Pacific

18 April 2013

Pacific Parliamentarians Forum can shine the spotlight on gender equality in the Pacific

The Pacific Parliamentary and Political Leaders Forum, opening today, provides a unique opportunity to explore why there are fewer women in Parliament in the Pacific than in any other region in the world, and what can be done to get more women into Parliament in the Pacific, Women’s Rights and Advocacy in the Pacific (WRAP) said today.

70 Parliamentarians and political leaders from 22 Pacific nations are meeting in the New Zealand Parliament for the next five days. The forum includes sessions on issues of key importance to the Pacific, including one session on gender equality with a particular emphasis on women’s representation in parliaments.

“We welcome the initiative to bring Pacific parliamentarians and leaders together in this important forum, and particularly that one session will explore gender equality in the Pacific,” said Rebecca Emery, WRAP Chairperson.

The lack of women in parliament in the Pacific is one of the key gender issues of the Pacific. Women make up just five per cent of MPs in the Pacific, and three nations have no women Members of Parliament (Micronesia Nauru, Palau) or just one MP in their parliament (Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands). These statistics are the worst in the world, with the rates of women’s presence in Lower Houses of Parliament even below that of the Arab region.

“WRAP believes that women parliamentarians could play an important role in championing legislation to improve the status of women and children in the Pacific and protect them from violence, and help to eliminate discrimination against women,” said Ms Emery.

Pacific leaders signed the Gender Equality Declaration at the Pacific Island Forum meeting in the Cook Islands in 2012, which committed Pacific leaders to taking action to get more women in Parliament and in positions of leadership in the Pacific.

“The Pacific Parliamentarians Forum provides an opportunity to shine the spotlight on what progress has been made in improving the status of women in the Pacific, and implementing the Gender Equality Declaration”, said Ms Emery.

The Pacific Parliamentary and Political Leaders Forum runs from 18 -22 April.

Background
WRAP is a New Zealand based coalition of international NGOs and UN agencies, made up of organisations working to promote the rights of women in the Pacific. WRAP’s key focus areas are women’s political participation and women's legal and human rights, specifically violence against women.

For more information about WRAP visit www.wrap.org.nz

ENDS

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