Les femmes rwandaises et la campagne électorale - Inter ...

Rwandan Women and the Electoral Campaign • 30 - 31 July 2003
Ms Kareen Jabre, Manager of the
Programme for the Promotion of Partnership
Between Men and Women,
Inter-Parliamentary Union
OPENING SPEECH
Mr. Speaker,
Madam President of the Forum of Rwandan Women Parliamentarians,
Honourable Members of the National Assembly,
Distinguished Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me singular pleasure to address you today on behalf of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, on the
occasion of the opening of this important seminar. I convey to you the best wishes of the authorities of the
IPU for a very successful seminar.
Mr Speaker, I would like to extend to you our heartfelt thanks for agreeing to host this seminar in the context
of our joint efforts to promote the participation of women in political life. We are grateful for your continuing
commitment to this endeavour.
Let me also thank the Honourable Berthe Mukamusoni, President of the Forum of Rwandan Women
Parliamentarians, and her team, who have worked relentlessly over the past several weeks to put together
this event. We are pleased to be able to work with such a dedicated team.
May I also express special thanks to the Resident Representative of UNDP, our sister agency, with whom
we have established a long-lasting relationship in the promotion of democratic governance in the
parliamentary context worldwide. As you all know, this seminar is being organised in the framework of that
co-operation and I wish to record the IPU's gratitude for this excellent co-operation and UNDP's support.
Indeed, the seminar opening today is taking place as part of the IPU/UNDP programme of assistance to the
Parliament of Rwanda, notably to the Forum of Rwandan Women Parliamentarians. It comes in the wake of
a series of other activities, the end goal of which is to make sure that women in Rwanda play a meaningful
role in political life. For us in the IPU, this is extremely important. As our Universal Declaration on
Democracy says, "The achievement of democracy presupposes a genuine partnership between men and
women in the conduct of the affairs of society in which they work in equality and complementarity, drawing
mutual enrichment from their differences". We are happy that this precept has found fertile ground here in
Rwanda and that there is a broad recognition of the important role women have to play in society.
One need only look at the Constitution you have just adopted to find evidence of this fact. The IPU is proud
to have contributed to this satisfactory outcome, notably through its support to the Forum. You will
remember that almost two years ago to the day, we were meeting in these same premises to discuss ways
and means of engendering the new Rwandan Constitution. We understand that many of the
recommendations made on that occasion have found their way into the new Constitution.
While it is important that women's rights and responsibilities be enshrined in the fundamental law of the
land, it is equally important that these provisions be translated into concrete reality and that women, in
actual fact, be allowed to compete for and be voted into public office. For this to happen, we need to
address the constraints that face women when they seek election to public office. We need to identify
solutions to these constraints and help implement them, thus creating a favourable environment. The
seminar opening today is seeking to do just that. It comes at a most opportune moment, when historic
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