Kigali declaration on Gender, Nation Building and the role of Parliament,
23 February 2007
Background
As the country with the highest number of women legislators in the world,
and on the auspicious occasion of its 10th anniversary, the Forum of
Rwandan Women Parliamentarians (FFRP) organized a major international
conference from 22 – 23 February 2007 on “Gender, Nation
Building and the Role of Parliament”. Hosted by H.E Paul Kagame,
President of the Republic of Rwanda and honoured by the presence of
the first ever African woman elected President, Her Excellency Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia as chief guest, the international conference
was attended by over 400 delegates – mostly Parliamentarians –
from all over the world, as far away as the Cook Islands in the Pacific
and as near as Burundi in the Great Lakes region of Africa.
The themes addressed during the conference included: Gender based
violence as an obstacle to development, the correlation between sustainable
human development and gender equality, the high cost of chaotic and
unplanned urbanization, the need to integrate a gender perspective
in international trade, the importance of gender analysis in informing
policy and legislation, the critical role of partnerships with the
private sector and civil society, and the need to pay particular attention
to the situation of women in conflict and post-conflict contexts.
It was noted that visionary and committed leadership at all levels
underpins the achievement of equitable and sustainable development.
The objectives of the conference were to:
- Share experiences and best practices on the role of parliaments in
promoting nation building through gender equality;
- Build parliamentary networks and partnerships in promoting development
and gender equality;
- Build partnerships with development partners in the area of nation
building;
- Consolidate the gains made over the past decade and elaborate strategies
for further strengthening the contribution of women parliamentarians
in the future.
The conference hailed the President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as the
first African democratically elected woman President and resolved
to give her full and unreserved support, and to reinforce solidarity
with the people of Liberia, recognizing that her achievement is Africa’s
achievement!
Cognizant of the centrality of gender equity to social, economic
and political development and acknowledging the achievements to date,
the delegates called upon:
Governments
1. To provide the framework and resources for national capacity development
for nation building.
2. To set up mechanisms to increase the number of women in parliaments.
3. To strengthen the financial and technical capacities of national
machineries and parliament for gender equality and women’s empowerment.
4. To undertake structured gender analysis and needs assessments in
order to inform macroeconomic policy formulation and decision making.
5. To develop comprehensive policies and programmes aimed at providing
access to financial and technical resources for women’s economic
empowerment.
6. To provide a structure and mechanisms for gender equality oversight
and accountability.
7. To ensure equality and equity in education.
Parliaments
1. To raise awareness in parliaments about the centrality of gender
in development.
2. To review and repeal existing discriminatory laws, and to pass
specific laws where none exist for the protection of rights, with
particular reference to laws on inheritance and succession and gender-based
violence.
3. To establish “Housing and Urban Development” committees
in Parliament.
4. To provide Gender specialist staff in Parliaments.
5. To establish a monitoring mechanism with concrete indicators to
track progress on the attainment of the goal of gender equality in
all areas.
6. To seek to be informed on international trade issues for better
negotiation capacity and informed decision-making.
7. To recognize the importance of international trade for the future
of developing countries and design strategies for a positive conclusion
to the Doha round of negotiations.
8. To advocate for the integration of gender perspectives in international
trade negotiations and legislate the outcomes into national policy.
9. To reinforce partnerships and networks across parliaments for a
common agenda.
Women Parliamentarians
1. To ensure that the increased numbers in parliaments translate into
positive impact on legislation and benefits for women.
2. To scrutinize public expenditures and ensure that the allocation
of resources is based upon a thorough assessment of the varying gender
needs.
3. To set up internal mechanisms for assessment of the impact of their
contribution to equitable social transformation
Civil Society
1. To undertake analysis and research on the reasons for persistent
inequality in economic participation among men and women in order
to inform policy for equitable economic empowerment.
2. To document best practices on the role of Parliament in promoting
gender equality across Africa.
The UN and the International Community
1. To support overall national capacity development as an entry point
for development.
2. To honor the Gleneagles commitment to increase financial flows
for development.
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Rwanda
