OSCE Chairperson: gender equality to be a priority for all OSCE statesMarch 8, 2012 - 13:22 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Promoting gender equality and ensuring women’s participation in political, public and economic spheres must be central to the work of the OSCE and all 56 participating States, said the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore on March 8 marking International Women’s Day. “Achieving a more secure, peaceful and democratic OSCE area in the long term is impossible without full and equal participation of women,” Eamon Gilmore stressed. “The Irish Chairmanship of the OSCE calls on the participating States to implement all of the gender-related commitments in politico-military, economic and environmental, as well as human dimension areas, and will continue to examine ways to integrate into the activities of the Organisation the relevant parts of UN Security Council resolution 1325 and related resolutions.” He underlined the significant role of women and the need to ensure their increased representation in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, OSCE website reports. “The participation of women in conflict resolution and peace processes is essential for establishing constructive dialogue with all stakeholders, and for accommodating all gender-specific concerns at all stages of the conflict cycle.” The Chairperson emphasized that “Gender-based violence remains a most serious problem, affecting women in all countries, of all classes and all backgrounds. Preventing violence against women is one of the key commitments contained in the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality and requires systematic follow-up. The Irish Chairmanship will seek to focus greater attention on this issue during 2012.” The Chairperson stressed also the importance of promoting equal opportunity for women in the economic sphere, including labour market participation. “We need to address obstacles which prevent women from fulfilling their potential and effectively contributing to economic security and prosperity in the OSCE region,” he said, adding that this is increasingly important in times of economic hardship. The Chairperson stressed the commitment of the Irish Chairmanship to advancing gender equality within the OSCE and its participating States, saying “I decided earlier this year to appoint an OSCE Special Representative on Gender Issues, Ms June Zeitlin. In addition to identifying key programmatic issues that could advance gender equality commitments in OSCE states, I have asked her to explore ways to increase coordination on gender issues within and between the OSCE Secretariat and Institutions, and to identify barriers to increasing representation of women in the OSCE, particularly in senior positions. Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18. Partner news | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |