PEACE-MAKER

Cambodia has broken a historic ground with the imminent election of the Khuon Sudary as the first woman president of the National Assembly. 

A veteran parliamentarian, she currently serves as vice president of her country’s lawmaking body. She is also one of our steadfast allies in advancing the cause of peace and security in Asia and the international community through political party- and parliamentary diplomacy. 

An “internationalist,” she serves as one of our vice chairpersons in the standing committee of the 352-member International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) and, much earlier, as co-chairperson of the Asia-Europe Political Forum and of the ICAPP Women’s Wing. 

When this columnist founded and launched ICAPP in Manila in September 2000, not many people believed that it would be possible to bring together Asia’s ruling and opposition parties and with various ideologies under one organization. One of the few who did was Khuon Sudary, then a young political leader.

Since then, ICAPP has grown steadily in both membership and influence, with 352 political parties from 52 countries in Asia as members and with working partnerships with South American political parties under the Association of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean; African political parties under the Council of African Political Parties; political parties and groupings in Europe – European  People’s Party (EPP),  European Conservatives and Reformists Group, and Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe; as well as other international organizations.

*
The ICAPP Women’s Wing recently held its seventh meeting in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia last Aug. 4 to 7, following previous meetings in Baku (2013, 2015, 2019), Colombo (2014), Kuala Lumpur (2016), and Moscow (2018). 

The meeting was hosted by the ruling Mongolian People’s Party led by Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, who is also chairman of the party. 
With the main theme of “Promoting women’s leadership to achieve a gender-responsive post-pandemic recovery,” the women participants from 14 countries declared the following in their official statement: 

1. We confirmed our commitment to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in attaining sustainable and inclusive societies with equitable economic growth and development. In this regard, we recalled the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by the UN on Dec. 10, 1948, and other human rights instruments which enshrine the obligation of the States, in particular,to prevent any form of discrimination against women.

2. We recognized the need for full and equal participation of women in the discussion and decision-making process at the local, national, regional and global levels to ensure the inclusive and equitable recovery from the pandemic, and called upon all stakeholders, governments, political parties and civil societies, to continue their efforts to further enhance women’s engagement at all levels. As such, we encouraged designing and implementing legal frameworks that promote and protect fundamental rights and freedom by women and in which their violations or abuses are not tolerated.

3. We called upon all stakeholders to integrate a gender perspective into the design, implementation, and evaluation of development policies that may especially require adjustment due to the impact of the pandemic. In this regard, we noted that higher involvement of women is vital in areas of human development so that the concerns of women can be better woven into the fabric of society. We also stressed the need for the elimination of all discrimination against the disabled, migrant and indigenous women.

4. We underlined the importance of increased cooperation with UN agencies, as well as relevant stakeholders, to address challenges hindering women’s empowerment, thus fulfilling the pledge of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to leave no one behind.