Delegates to the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum in Hanoi pose for a photo at the opening ceremony on January 18 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi(VNA) - The 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific ParliamentaryForum (APPF-26) engaged discussions on different aspects of the theme“Parliamentary Partnership for Peace, Innovation and Sustainable Development”,reflected by its efforts to strive for gender equality and promoteparliamentary ties for the implementation of the UN Sustainable DevelopmentGoals (SDGs).
The meeting tookplace at a time when the world was witnessing substantial and drastic changesand complex security issues, which can impact peace and stability across theglobe, including in Asia-Pacific. Despite that, cooperation for peace, security,sustainable development and inclusive growth remains a prevailing trend. TheAsia-Pacific region, since the first Annual Meeting of the APPF in 1993, hasbeen the most dynamic engine of the global growth and among those at the frontlines of implementing the SDGs.
Vietnam, as amember of the parliamentary community engaging with the SDGs, realised the needto enhance the role of parliamentarians - the people’s elected representatives- and cement cooperation between parliaments to contribute to peace, innovationand sustainable development for almost 3 billion people living in 27 APPFmember countries.
Promoting gender equality for sustainabledevelopment
Gender equalitywas again the main topic of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians that kickedoff a series of meetings during the APPF-26 in Hanoi from January 18-21. As genderinequality has been one of the most fundamental challenges confronting theregion, achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls will requirevigorous efforts, including in lawmaking, to counter deeply rooted gender-baseddiscrimination and violence against women and girls.
Initiated byIndonesia at the APPF-23, the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians was first heldduring the APPF-24 in Canada in 2016 with theme “Women’s participation inpublic life”.
This year’s hostVietnam initiated debates on promoting gender equality for sustainabledevelopment and shared prosperity to address links between gender equality andsustainable development and reflect the determination to “turn words intoactions”, inspired by the IPU Hanoi Declaration adopted at the 132nd InternationalParliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly in Vietnam in 2015.
Gender equalityis a consistent policy of Vietnam as the country’s Constitution and Law onGender Equality acknowledges equal rights in all aspects for all citizens, menand women alike; and the Vietnam National Assembly hascontributed to realizing gender equality goals, said NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan in her opening remarks.
National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan opens the APPF Meeting of Women Parliamentarians in Hanoi on January 18 (Photo: VNA)Ngan emphasisedthe significance of the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians which has offered femaleparliamentarians from the APPF member countries a forum to network, increasetheir presence and influence, and discuss common concerns over gender equalityand other matters for the sake of women and girls.
One of the 2030Agenda for the SDGs is to touch upon gender equalitywhile the other goals set targets for gender issues and address gender-basedaspects of poverty, hunger, healthcare, education, employment, climate change andmore, said Truong Thi Mai, Head of the Communist Party of Vietnam CentralCommittee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation at the Meeting of WomenParliamentarians.
“This strong focus on gender issues is recognition that gender equality and theempowerment of women and girls are key to each and every one of the goals,” Mainoted.
She added that at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Weekin Da Nang last year, “APEC leaders also acknowledged greater economicparticipation by women spurs economic growth, and encouraged governments andthe private sector to implement initiatives that enhance women's economicempowerment, improve women's access to capital, assets and markets, increasewomen's participation in high-growth and high-wage sectors and promote women'sleadership, entrepreneurship, skills and competence.”
APPF delegatesagreed that gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a vitalfoundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. They sharedexperience and proposed parliamentarians maximise their roles in all steps of thedecision-making process, whether at the global, regional or national levels, indifferent areas to promote the implementation of the fifth Goal of GenderEquality out of the 17 SDGs.
“We fully support Vietnam’sincorporation of women empowerment and gender equality in this annual meeting’sagenda,” said Vice Chairwoman of the Russian State Duma OlgaEpifanova.
Promoting genderequality is necessary for sustainable development and it should have happenedlong ago, Canadian Senator Joseph Day told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA). “Ithas just been up to each country host to determine whether they want to havethe Meeting of Women Parliamentarians or not. Luckily, Fiji got last year andVietnam is doing it this year.”
"I think it is a very importanttopic", said Stephenie Ritland, Attorney Advisor for the Federated Statesof Micronesia. "We currently don’t have any female parliamentarian in ourcongress […] I think it’s fantastic (that Vietnam has a female NA leader) as itsets a great global example. Vietnam is taking great steps movingforwards."
Ritland also lauded Japan's recommendations forthe amendment to the APPF rules that are “very significant” to promoting genderequality.
This year, the Japanese delegation to the meeting proposed amendingthe APPF Rules of Procedure, allowing the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians tobecome a permanent side-event.
"Even though we come from different countries, we sharecommon issues when it comes to trying to solve gender equality issues. Havingdiscussions in this kind of women parliamentarians meeting will benefit eachdelegation in solving their own problems”, Yoshiko Kira, Member of House ofCouncillors at the National Diet of Japan explained.
“I think the most significant accomplishment is the process that is happeningright now here, in Hanoi, at the APPF. It is to make permanent the womenparliamentarian aspect of this meeting because if you include everybody, theless fortunate the people that need extra help, the young people, the olderpeople, the indigenous people and women are. Everybody needs to be included,everybody’s voices are important,” Senator Day stated.
The amendment wasunanimously adopted at the final plenary session on January 20 on the 25th anniversary of the APPF, marking a milestone in the regional progress onwomen’s rights.
The meeting also passed a resolution onpromoting gender equality for sustainable development and shared prosperity inAsia-Pacific, calling upon APPF parliaments to continue focusing on legislativesupport of the expansion of women’s legal, economic and social opportunitiesand to update laws that promote women’s access to financial and capital marketsand economic and digital education.
APPF’s role in fostering partnership forsustainable development
The “Hanoi Declarationon the SDGs: Turning words into action,” adopted by the 132nd IPUAssembly in Hanoi in 2015, stated that “As parliamentarians, we must supportefforts to reach the new goals in ways that respect each country’s nationalspecificities. Our responsibility is clear: to hold governments accountable forthe goals they have subscribed to, and to make sure that enabling laws arepassed and budgets adopted.”
The coreparliamentary roles of law-making, budgeting, oversight and representation ofconstituent interests are all critical to the full implementation of the SDGs. Tothis end, the APPF-26 in Vietnam again upheld the role of the APPF in promotingpartnership for sustainable development and inclusive growth in Asia-Pacific.
Regional issuesrequired solutions at the national, regional and global level in line with amulti-tier cooperation approach, including the active participation ofparliamentarians, as policy makers, and as legislators of nations, saidVietnamese NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong.
“Parliamentary diplomacy, particularly APPF activities, plays an indispensablerole in promoting cooperation, building legislative frameworks, deciding on andmonitoring the implementation of governments’ international commitments,” Phongstated.
She urged the APPFparliaments to promote more effective cooperation to respond to bothtraditional and non-traditional challenges.
“The people thatare able to make changes are parliamentarians as they are in the highestlaw-making body of each country,” said Senator Tan Sri Dato’ Sri SA.Vigneswaran, President of the Malaysian Senate.
“The perspectivesof parliaments and parliamentarians from across the globe have indeed enrichedthe formulation and articulation of the SDGs. In May 2017, the IPU and theNational Assembly of Vietnam for the first time gathered parliaments of thewhole Asia-Pacific region in a conference in Ho Chi Minh City, to discuss theirrole in delivering on the SDGs and contributing to the fight against climatechange,” said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong.
IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong attends as a guest at the APPF-26 in Hanoi from January 18-21 (Photo: VNA)“Parliamentariansplay a crucial role in translating the SDGs into legislation and policies, andin integrating them into national development plans with country-specific goals.”
“The newdevelopment of the agenda is what I qualify as a one-in-a-life-time opportunityfor parliaments to deliver on the expectation of the people because itidentifies the need and challenges facing the people. And parliaments andparliamentarians who are representatives of the people should be at the forefrontof giving concrete actions and taking concrete measures to implement the agenda,”he noted.
“They have totranslate this commitment into national policies and legislation. They have toprovide the resources for implementing these policies. They have to make surethe governments are held to contribute for the implementation of thecommitment.”
Parliamentarypartnership is even more important as it creates opportunities for freediscussions based on a long-term perspective in consideration of its people,and on specific policies, according to Yasuhiro Nakasone, Honourary Presidentof the APPF.
The Resolution onthe Role of the APPF in promoting partnership for sustainable development andinclusive growth in Asia-Pacific, sponsored by Vietnam and Japan, was among 14resolutions adopted in the APPF-26.
It called on theAPPF member parliaments to encourage their governments to initiate roadmaps andpropose ideas to realise commitments aimed at sustainable and inclusive growth,including the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the Paris Agreement onClimate Change and the APEC Action Agenda on Promoting economic, financial andsocial inclusion.-VNA
The Resolution onthe Role of the APPF in promoting partnership for sustainable development andinclusive growth in Asia-Pacific, sponsored by Vietnam and Japan, was among 14resolutions adopted in the APPF-26.
It called on theAPPF member parliaments to encourage their governments to initiate roadmaps andpropose ideas to realise commitments aimed at sustainable and inclusive growth,including the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the Paris Agreement onClimate Change and the APEC Action Agenda on Promoting economic, financial andsocial inclusion.-VNA
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