Report

The multiple members of the parliamentary delegation of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) that attended the seminar held by the APF Network of Women Parliamentarians, which addressed both the role of women parliamentarians in promoting a gender perspective while preparing national budgets and the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), held in Lomé, Togo, on October 6 and 7, 2010, has the honour to present its report.

The delegation was made up of the Hon. Rose-Marie Losier-Cool, Senator and Chair of the APF Network of Women Parliamentarians, and was accompanied by Mr. François Michaud, Branch Executive Secretary. The following branches were also present: Belgium/French Community/Wallonia-Brussels, Benin, Burkina Faso and Togo.

Since 2004, the APF Network of Women Parliamentarians has been running an independent co-operation program in partnership with the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). It has also organized information and awareness seminars about the CEDAW for women parliamentarians in Francophone nations.

To date, the Network has held seven seminars on the CEDAW:

·in Mali, for women parliamentarians in West Africa,

·in Madagascar, for women parliamentarians in the Indian Ocean area,

·in Gabon, for women parliamentarians in Central Africa,

·in Tunisia for women parliamentarians in Northern Africa and the Near East,

·in Haiti,

·in Mauritania, and

·in Kinshasa, for women parliamentarians in the African Great Lakes area.

The CEDAW was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979. It aims to establish equal rights between men and women around the world. As such, the CEDAW is the most important international legal instrument concerning women’s rights developed thus far.

Approximately 75 people attended the seminar held in Lomé by the APF Network, including men and women parliamentarians from Togo and women parliamentarians from the neighbouring countries of Benin and Burkina Faso. International experts were also in attendance. The high turnout was partly because this issue is very important to Ms. Telou (Mila-Bellé) Belei, the Chair of the Togo National Assembly’s Network of Women Parliamentarians and a member of the Steering Committee for the APF’s Network of Women Parliamentarians, and because of the proactive participation of the Network of African Women Ministers and Parliamentarians (REFAMP).

The opening remarks were given by Mr. Dago Yabre, First Questeur of the National Assembly of Togo, on behalf of the President of the National Assembly of Togo. Other speakers included Senator Rose-Marie Losier-Cool; the Togolese Minister for the Promotion of Women, Ms. Henriette Kouevi Amedjogbé; and Ms. Belei.

The seminar opened with discussion on CEDAW. Ms. Huguette Bokpe Gnacadja, of Benin, a former member of the UN CEDAW Committee, gave a presentation on the CEDAW and its additional protocol, the procedure for submitting reports, follow-up procedures, and the role of parliamentarians in enforcing the CEDAW. She then responded to many questions.

Ms. Françoise Bertieaux, Member of Parliament (Belgium/French Community/ Wallonia-Brussels), Ms. Joséphine Drabo Kanyoulou, Member of Parliament (Burkina Faso), and Ms. Amissétou Affo Djobo, Member of Parliament (Benin), gave a presentation on previous and current efforts to enforce the CEDAW in their countries.

The seminar adjourned briefly to allow time for an official opening ceremony for a new computer room for Togolese women parliamentarians. This was an initiative of the APF Network of Women Parliamentarians, so Senator Losier-Cool conducted the ceremony.

The seminar then continued with a presentation by the Togolese Minister of the Promotion of Women, Ms. Henriette Kouevi Amedjogbé, who outlined previous and current efforts to enforce the CEDAW in Togo.

A question-and-answer session followed, led by the Hon. Rose-Marie Losier-Cool.

The second part of the seminar focused on involving women in preparing national budgets.

Ms. Irène Yameogo, Member of Parliament (Burkina Faso), Ms. Françoise Bertieaux, Member of Parliament (Belgium / French Community / Wallonia-Brussels), and Ms. Yibatou Sanni Glèlè, Member of Parliament (Benin), presented the situation in their countries.

Mr. Socé Séne, a consultant and expert in gender contributions in preparing national budgets, gave a presentation on the role of women parliamentarians in promoting their gender while preparing national budgets. It was an interactive presentation, and seminar attendees participated enthusiastically.

The Togolese Minister for the Promotion of Women, Ms. Henriette Kouevi Amedjogbé, and the Togolese Minister for Literacy and Primary and Secondary Education, Ms. Bernadette Essosimna Legzim-Balouki, spoke about how the budget is prepared in Togo.

After a question-and-answer period, the Hon. Rose-Marie Losier-Cool noted the value of seminars like this one in promoting and defending issues of great importance, such as preparing national budgets and implementing the CEDAW.

The Canadian Branch of the APF would like to recognize the financial support of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie for this important mission.

Respectfully submitted,