A/HRC/30/70
65.
Other recommendations proposed by panellists included the promotion of
secularism and the establishment of mechanisms and financing to facilitate consideration of
women candidates for senior appointments in the public sector. Calls were also made to
motivate and involve men in promoting awareness of gender equality and changing
attitudes, as well as to support debates on masculinity, in order to bring about lasting
change and combat harmful gender stereotypes.
66.
Panellists also emphasized the need for States to support the women’s movement, in
particular women’s associations and organizations, which were crucial in their systematic
monitoring and reporting on women’s human rights. In conclusion, the need was expressed
to more aggressively promote the beneficial role of women’s values in the business sector,
which were often neglected. This included a greater concentration on welfare within the
business community, a more consensus-based approach and a stronger inclination to search
for peaceful solutions that would benefit everyone.
67.
Panellists also shared examples of good practices to promote the equal participation
of women in power and decision-making. This included public procurement policies that
provided greater opportunities for women in small and medium enterprises to thrive, as
well as the setting of targets by multinationals themselves to make their supply chains more
inclusive.
68.
Other examples included moving women from the informal to the formal sector by
ensuring access to credit, reforming the taxation systems and reducing bureaucracy.
Support by countries and communities to vulnerable refugee communities, the majority of
whom were women, and efforts to connect them to markets, was highlighted as bringing
benefits to everyone.
69.
Panellists also shared good practice examples, such as networking initiatives in
some Latin American countries to connect and establish relationships between civil society
organizations and national human rights and women’s institutions; the establishment of
bodies to monitor the situation of women’s participation in politics; and the existence of
organizations that help finance political campaigns of women candidates who are
committed to defending the human rights of women, including their sexual and
reproductive health and rights.
70.
The panel discussion provided an opportunity to consider what has been
accomplished since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and to
emphasize the international legal underpinnings of women’s equal participation in power
and decision-making in all spheres—political, economic, social and cultural. The panel was
unanimous in calling for action at all levels, from the family to the regional and
international levels. It said that States should remain committed and persist in the common
endeavour to accelerate and ensure that the targets adopted in Beijing were met.
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