The 13th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliaments took place in Vienna

In the parliaments of the world:

58 women hold the position of speaker, which makes 20.9%.

There are 165 women in the position of vice-speaker, which makes 28.3%.

In the RA National Assembly:

No woman has ever held the post of Speaker of Parliament since 1995.

One of the vice-speakers has always been a woman since 2007, but there are no women among the three vice-speakers in the 8th convocation parliament.

The 13th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliaments was held on September 6 in Vienna, the capital of Austria. The event provided an opportunity for women in high positions and decision-making to exchange experiences and knowledge on issues of interest that are included in their national as well as international agendas.

One part of the summit was entitled “Women in the center of attention. From Fighting the Pandemic to Maintaining Achievements in Rehabilitating Gender Response”, recognizing and honoring women from all walks of life who have played a significant role in the fight against COVID-19. The goal was to preserve the achievements of women, to make progress, as well as the means to help keep women and girls in the shadows.

Russia, Azerbaijan and Belarus from the CIS member states presented women speakers at the summit. They presented measures aimed at achieving gender equality in their country, increasing women’s activism, which will contribute to their inclusion in local and international organizations.

The Summit of Women Speakers in Vienna was followed by the 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments and the First Global Parliamentary Summit on Combating Terrorism. The conference was organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Austrian Parliament in cooperation with the UN.

The 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments brought together about 110 speakers from 115 national parliaments, as well as the heads of more than a dozen regional and parliamentary organizations. Armenia was represented at that conference by NA Speaker Alen Simonyan.

At the core of the agenda of the conference is the identification of issues related to the protection of human rights and their full implementation. In this context, the topics entitled “Achieving sustainable development requires more attention to human well-being and environmental protection than economic development”, “Repeal of laws discriminating against women and girls is the only way to achieve gender equality.” The speakers also focused on post-virus recovery, counter-misinformation, youth participation in politics.

At the end of the conference, the participants adopted a declaration on the most effective global solidarity. The Declaration emphasizes the importance of international solidarity and cooperation between “parliaments” in efforts to restore the COVID-19 epidemic. These efforts must uphold the rule of law, democratic principles and universal human rights. Recovery must be inclusive, sustainable, green, and include innovative solutions to the climate crisis.

Full text in Armenian