Gender equality and empowering women are always a consistent policy of Vietnam, National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung said while addressing the 21st Meeting of Women Parliamentarians in Hanoi on March 28 within the framework of the 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly.
He stressed the Constitution and the Law on Gender Equality of Vietnam recognized the rights of equality for both male and female citizens in all areas of society.
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| NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan at the 21st Meeting of Women Parliamentarians__Photo: VNA |
The number of women serving in the Vietnamese NA during the last four terms remained at 25 percent, the NA leader said, adding that the NA had actively contributed to gender equality targets in Viet Nam, as well as the IPU.
"This meeting will be a chance to review the last 20 years of implementation and the role of parliaments in realizing those commitments in their countries through institutionalizing the nation's laws, creating an effective supervisory mechanism and allocating resources for implementation," the NA Chairman said.
He said he hoped the meeting would make active contributions to resolutions of the IPU, ensuring that resolutions to be adopted would reflect the voice of women parliamentarians.
Hung added the women parliamentarians' meeting was more meaningful when contributing to the theme of the 132nd IPU Assembly, which is “The Sustainable Development Goals: Turning Words into Action”.
He said he hoped the meeting would be an opportunity for members to exchange information and develop initiatives and suggestions for promoting gender equality in each country in particular and throughout the world in general.
Vietnamese NA Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, who was elected chairperson of the meeting, said the meeting played an important role in working out gender equality issues and empowering women in activities and organizations within the IPU, as well as its member parliaments.
She also expressed the hope that the meeting would become a forum for members to exchange their experience in converting voluntary commitments into compulsory regulations in their countries, as well as turning words into actions.
"The women parliamentarians will be important factors in carrying out the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on gender equality," Ngan said.-
