Ávarp forseta Alþingis á 3. heimsráðstefnu þingforseta á vegum Alþjóðaþingmannasambandsins í Genf
Ásta R. Jóhannesdóttir sat 3. ráðstefnu þingforseta aðildarríkja Alþjóðaþingmannasambandsins sem haldin var í Genf í Sviss 19.-21. júlí. Í ávarpi sínu þar lagði hún áherslu á gott samstarf sambandsins við Sameinuðu þjóðirnar og mikilvægi eflingar lýðræðis með aukinni þátttöku kvenna í stjórnmálum um allan heim. Í lokayfirlýsingu ráðstefnunnar var mikilvægi aukins jafnréttis kynjanna áréttað og hvatt til að efla verulega átak í að auka hlutdeild kvenna á þjóðþingum allra aðildarríkja sambandsins.
Forseti Alþingis heimsótti fastanefnd Íslands sem annast samskipti við alþjóðastofnanir í Genf og kynnti sér starfsemi hennar. Að því loknu fór hún til aðalstöðva EFTA. Þar átti hún fund með Kåre Bryn, aðalframkvæmdastjóra EFTA, og Guðmundi Einarssyni skrifstofustjóra, ásamt Kristni F. Árnasyni sendiherra, fastafulltrúa Íslands í Genf. Forseti Alþingis sótti sérstakan fund með þingforsetum evrópskra smáríkja í höfuðstöðvum Sameinuðu þjóðanna í Genf.
Heimsráðstefna þingforseta er haldin á 5 ára fresti og er öllum þingforsetum aðildarríkjanna 155 boðið ásamt þingforsetum þeirra níu ríkja sem eiga aðild að Alþjóðaþingmannasambandinu. Að auki sækja ráðstefnuna fulltrúar fjölmargra stofnana á vegum Sameinuðu þjóðanna og annarra alþjóðastofnana.
Ræða forseta Alþingis:
3rd World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, United Nations, Geneva, 19-21 July 2010
Address by Mdm. Asta R. Johannesdottir, Speaker of Althingi, the Parliament of Iceland
Madame President, dear colleagues, ladies and gentleman.
Securing global democratic accountability for the common good is an enormous and challenging task. The draft declaration of our conference is extensive and touches upon many important subjects.
I agree with the analysis of the changes that have occurred since last World Conference of Speakers of Parliament and the challenges we face are diverse and difficult.
Only by working together can we tackle the global challenges effectively. IPU is the main venue of parliamentary cooperation and I certainly support strengthening our organization.
Ideas about a State Convention formally conferring upon IPU the status of an international organisation are worth deliberations.
Changing the nature of the IPU would possibly make it easier to solve practical problems and strengthen our organization, but it is important to analyze holistically the pros and cons of such changes.
In the first decade of the new millennium we have witnessed increased cooperation between the IPU and the UN. It is important for the two organizations to keep on strengthening their collaboration.
The IPU and the UN are the cornerstones of democracy worldwide and closer cooperation will further enhance democratic development globally.
I participated in the Sixth Annual Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament last weekend, where we had fruitful discussions. Having such a venue is very important, but it is not enough that we women discuss these matters amongst ourselves.
Welfare and gender equality in general is the responsibility of us all; men, no less than women. Men must therefore participate in the discussion about gender equality and so-called "women issues".
I welcome especially paragraphs 8 and 9, about gender equality and increased participation of women in politics, in the draft declaration of our meeting here in Geneva. I fully support the ambitious target of thirty percent of women in parliaments by 2015.
The goal is ambitious. We must set the target high; in order to obtain results. We have the tools to do it, as I discussed in my address in the Meeting of Women Speakers this weekend. There I referred to good results of women in politics in Iceland. Now is the time for action and political will; globally.
Dear colleagues.
I encourage you, and all other participants present today, to keep in mind paragraph 25 of the draft declaration, in which it reads, with permission of the President:
Democracy, security, development, human rights and gender equality are inextricably linked.
We must all, men and woman alike, do our uttermost to obtain the ultimate goal of gender equality in politics. That is fundamental for democracy.
