BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. At the request of
Speaker of the Parliament of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova, Member of
Parliament and Vice President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
(IPU) from Azerbaijan Sevil Mikayilova is taking part in the 153rd
Assembly of the IPU in Arusha, Tanzania.


During the meeting of the Bureau and Forum of Women
Parliamentarians held as part of the Assembly, Mikayilova, Chair of
the Gender Partnership Group, delivered the report of the Gender
Partnership Group.


Talking about the work of the Gender Partnership Group, she
noted that as per its mandate, the Group monitored the
participation of women delegates at this Assembly.


"As of yesterday, 39.2% of the delegates announced to be in
Arusha were women. If confirmed, this will be the highest
percentage ever in an IPU Assembly. This shows the impact of our
incentives and sanctions. But we still have 9 delegations of two or
more members that do not include both men and women. These
single-sex delegations stem from all geopolitical groups. Among
them, two all-male delegations are expected to face voting
sanctions at this Assembly. Our Group decided to reach out to them
to avoid this from happening again in the future," she said.


Mikayilova added that the Group also looked at gender balance in
delegations – this means delegations that have at least 40% men and
40% women.


"Out of 132 national delegations announced, 37 are
gender-balanced, which is a similar trend to the last Assembly,"
she explained.







Mikayilova pointed out that the Group also discussed the state
of women’s participation in national parliaments.


"We are particularly concerned that many parliaments still have
no or few women members. We remain committed to engaging
delegations that are facing challenges in this area. To continue to
promote progress nationally, as per its mandate, here in Arusha our
Group will hold dialogues with other delegations that have less
than 10% women in parliament, and offer our support," she
added.


The 153rd Assembly of the IPU will last until October 9. All IPU
statutory bodies, including the Governing Council, Standing
Committees, Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and
Committee on Middle East Questions, as well as the Forum of Women
Parliamentarians and the Forum of Young Parliamentarians, will meet
on this occasion. The Governing Council will be invited to elect a
new IPU President at its session in Arusha.


The General Debate will focus on the overall theme Enhancing
good governance and empowering communities through inclusivity,
trust and opportunities for all and provide a platform for
delegates to deliberate, exchange views and galvanize parliamentary
action in this area. The Assembly will adopt resolutions on the
emergency item and on the subject item taken up by the Standing
Committee on Democracy and Human Rights entitled Inclusive social
development for all: Parliamentary strategies to promote the rights
and empowerment of people living with disabilities.


The Assembly is expected to conclude with the adoption of an
outcome document on the overall theme of the General Debate.