The
parliamentary delegation of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée
parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) that attended the seminar on
including a gender perspective in the preparation of national budgets: putting
it into practice, which was held in Bitola, Macedonia, on November 4
and 5, 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. The Macedonian Branch was
also in attendance.
The Hon. Rose-Marie
Losier-Cool was invited to this seminar, which was co-hosted by the Organisation
internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) and the Council of Europe, in her
capacity as Chair of the APF Network of Women Parliamentarians, which had
recently hosted a very successful seminar on the same topic.
It was noted
that the cost of inequality between men and women is higher than the cost of
equality. Budgeting that takes gender into account addresses these
inequalities, ensuring that public funds are well-spent, thereby also working
toward true equality between men and women. Budgets that take gender into
account have objectives of equality between men and women, respecting human
rights and democracy, and also efficiency, performance, accountability, transparency
and social justice.
During the
seminar, participants talked about their experiences and good practices to
improve their knowledge of the practical application of integrating a women’s
perspective into the budget process.
As the 60 or
so people who attended the seminar came from very different
backgrounds—parliaments, government agencies, local authorities, international
organizations (Council of Europe, OIF and APF, UNIFEM), NGOs and
researchers/experts in the field—the discussion was very interesting and
fruitful.
The
following people, among others, attended the seminar:
-Xhelal Bajrami, Macedonian Minister of Work and Social Affairs;
-Liljana Popovska, Macedonian parliamentarian, Chair of the Equal
Opportunities Committee;
-Andrej Zernovski, Macedonian parliamentarian, Council of Europe
Parliamentary Association
-Vladimir Taleski, Mayor of Bitola;
-Socé Sene, international expert consultant, Senegal;
-Hary Andriamboabonjy, Director, Organisation Internationale de
la Francophonie;
-Elfriede Fritz, Austrian Department of Finance;
-Mohamed Chafiki, Moroccan Department of Finance and the Economy;
-Hannah Onwen-Humah, Finnish Department of Health
and Social Affairs.
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,
Rose-Marie Losier-Cool,
Senator
Member of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la
Francophonie (APF)