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The parliamentary delegation of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF), which participated in the meeting of the Executive Committee and the first intersessional meeting of the Network of Women Parliamentarians held in Dakar, Senegal, on April 25 and 26, 2013, is honoured to present its report. The delegation consisted of the Hon. Pierrette Ringuette, Senator and Network Rapporteur, accompanied by François Michaud, the Branch Executive Secretary. The following branches were represented at these meetings: Belgium/ Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Jersey, Morocco, Niger, Quebec, Romania, Senegal, and Togo. Steering Committee Françoise Bertieaux (Belgium/Wallonia-Brussels Federation) opened the proceedings by thanking the Speaker of the National Assembly of Senegal for his warm welcome; greeted the new members of the Steering Committee, including the Hon. Pierrette Ringuette; and acknowledged former members, including the Hon. Rose-Marie Losier-Cool and Shelly Glover (Canada). Following approval of the draft agenda and the minutes of the Steering Committee meeting held in Brussels on July 12, 2012, Françoise Bertieaux delivered her report as Chair. The rapporteurs briefly introduced the new topics they wanted to address in July 2013. Pascale Boistard (France) will present a report on women and politics, Mariam Marie‑Gisèle Guigma Diasso (Burkina Faso) will present a report on unwanted pregnancies, and the Hon. Pierrette Ringuette will present a draft report on financial cooperatives for women in La Francophonie. Lastly, Lise Thériault (Quebec) proposed a report on female representation in businesses. Lise Thériault talked about the 5th UN World Conference on Women to be held in 2015. Various problems have arisen with regard to the organization of this conference and it may not be held. The Hon. Pierrette Ringuette suggested a number of options and said that the Network must not allow the UN not to convene the 5th World Conference on Women. Network of Women Parliamentarians Moustapha Niasse, Speaker of the National Assembly of Senegal, opened the first intersessional meeting of the Network. Françoise Bertieaux, Network Chair, thanked the Speaker and National Assembly of Senegal, especially Marie-Joséphine Diallo, for the warm welcome. She pointed out that the role of women in politics is changing, especially in Senegal, where, as a result of legislation adopted in 2010, 45% of the members of the National Assembly are women. Following the approval of the draft agenda, the rapporteurs gave brief overviews of the new topics they want to address in July 2013. Pascale Boistard will present a report on women in politics, Mariam Marie-Gisèle Guigma Diasso will present a report on unwanted pregnancies, and the Hon. Pierrette Ringuette will present a draft report on financial cooperatives for women in La Francophonie. Lastly, Lise Thériault proposed a report on female representation in businesses. Lise Thériault presented the follow‑up report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); Mila‑Bellé Telou Épouse Belei (Togo) and Jesusa Obono Engono Nchama (Equatorial Guinea) presented voluntary reports on their respective country. Mairame Kane (Senegal) spoke about women’s rights in Senegal. Mariam Marie-Gisèle Guigma Diasso spoke about attending the meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York in March 2013. Joséphine Odéra, Regional Director of UN Women for West Africa, spoke about initiatives developed by UN Women to promote women’s participation in parliament. The Hon. Pierrette Ringuette thanked Ms. Odéra for her presentation. She said that the 2015 World Conference on Women should be a priority, and asked her to promote it as such among the other UN bodies. Socé Sène facilitated a workshop on women leaders. Additional information on this meeting is available at http://apf.francophonie.org/spip.php?article134 (in French only). By participating in these meetings, the Canadian Branch achieved its objectives of meeting its international obligations, presenting a draft report that promotes the exchange of information, maintaining international connections and defending its interests.
Respectfully submitted,
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