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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Women’s Ministers meet in New York to Advance Commonwealth Gender Goal

23 February 2006

Women in Decision-Making at All Levels will top the agenda of a consultation meeting with Commonwealth Women's Affairs Ministers in New York on 26 February 2006 - the eve of the 50th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN-CSW).

"The Commonwealth has a goal, committing member countries to achieving 30 per cent women's representation in the political, public and private sectors of member countries by 2015," said Dr Rawwida Baksh, Head of the Gender Section of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Already six Commonwealth countries have achieved this target in Parliament: Grenada, Guyana, Mozambique, New Zealand, Tanzania and South Africa.

"On the eve of the 50th UN-CSW, it is important to look at what Commonwealth countries have achieved so far, but also to look forward to what needs to be done," added Dr Baksh.

The Commonwealth meeting will include Women's Affairs Ministers, senior officials, international partners and civil society organisations. The Commonwealth will discuss the implementation of the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015 (PoA). The PoA reflects the Commonwealth member government's commitment to advancing gender equality and women's rights in the Commonwealth and globally.

Ms Rachel Mayanja, UN Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, will give the feature address at the Commonwealth meeting and speak about progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals as they relate to gender.

Ministers will also initiate planning of their 8th Commonwealth Women's Affairs Ministers Meeting, to be held in 2007 in Uganda. The consultation meeting will be chaired by Zoe Bakoko Bakoru, Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development of Uganda.

The Commonwealth Secretariat will also use the opportunity of the 50th Session of the UN-CSW to hold two expert panels on Gender Mainstreaming in Conflict Transformation:

Building Sustainable Peace on 28 February 2006; and Women's Access to Global Markets: Gender, Trade Policy and Export Promotion on 2 March 2006. Both will highlight Commonwealth experiences of advancing gender equality in these key areas.

Note to editors:

The Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015 (PoA) provides the framework within which the Commonwealth contributes to advancing gender equality in the 2005-2015 decade. The PoA focuses on four critical areas for Commonwealth action: gender, democracy, peace and conflict; gender, human rights and law; gender, poverty eradication and economic empowerment; and gender and HIV/AIDS. The PoA reinforces the Commonwealth's commitment to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on 'Women, Peace and Security' (UNSCR 1325).

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