UN's GQUAL Seeks to Achieve Gender Parity in Intl. Representation

On March 17 at the United Nations Conference Room, join GQUAL, a Campaign for Parity in International Representation, for a special event during the 60th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations, featuring a discussion on the importance of promoting equal participation of women in international positions of authority to promote sustainable development.

A critical, but often not visible, component towards women's empowerment and equality is the representation of women on international adjudicatory and monitoring bodies, such as international tribunals, international and regional human rights commissions, United Nations Treaty Bodies, and United Nations Special Procedures. Such bodies make important and wide-reaching decisions for society and individuals yet women are woefully underrepresented in the vast majority of them.

Women are underrepresented across almost all international and regional tribunals and monitoring bodies in charge of making important decisions for societies, including issues of human rights, borders, security and peace. Up until September 2015, only 17 percent of all positions within major international tribunals are occupied by women and in regional human rights courts, only 25 percent. At the UN Special Procedures, 19 out of 52 positions have never been held by a woman.

Gqual: A Campaign for Gender Parity in International Representation aims to #ChangethePicture and encourage the presentation and appointment of qualified women in international courts and other bodies.

The campaign will launch during the UN General Assembly and will feature the publication of a Declaration that has garnered the signed support of more than 600 prominent academics, lawyers, representatives of civil society, Nobel laureates, government representatives and diplomatic figures, including Vice-President of Costa Rica Ana Helena Chac�n; Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Margot Wallstr�m; President of the International Criminal Court, Silvia Fern�ndez de Gurmendi; and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Jody Williams.

SPEAKERS

Welcoming remarks:
Viviana Krsticevic, Executive Director, CEJIL, and Member of the GQUAL Campaign Secretariat

Judit Arenas, Director, External Relations & Deputy Permanent Observer to the UN, IDLO

Remarks by:
Alejandra Mora, Minister, Ministry of Women Affairs, Costa Rica

Hon. Ms. Sicily Kanini Kariuki, Cabinet Secretary, Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs, Kenya

Catherine M. Russell, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large, Global Women's Issues

Ann Bernes, Ambassador-at-Large, Global Women's Issues, Sweden, and Coordinator of Sweden's Feminist Foreign Policy

Stefan Barriga, Deputy Permanent Representative, Liechtenstein

Liriola Leoteau, Director, National Institute of Women, Panama

Mariella Mazzotti, Director, National Institute of Women (INMUJERES), Uruguay

Mara Marinaki, Principal Advisor, Gender and Women Peace and Security (WPS), European Union

Concluding remarks by:
Mary Shanthi Dairiam, Founding member and former Executive Director, International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW-AP)