28 DE DEZEMBRO DE 2013

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Participation of women in the Parliamentary Assembly

To be fair, I should say that the Parliamentary Assembly has taken a key measure in order to increase the

participation of women as members. In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, each national

delegation to the Assembly should include (I quote) “members of the under-represented sex at least in the

same percentage as in their parliaments and, at a very minimum, one member of the under-represented sex

appointed as a representative” (Rule 6.2).

Failing to comply with this requirement, the credentials of the national delegation will not be ratified by the

Parliamentary Assembly. I should specify that, on several occasions, the participation of delegations has been

suspended because they did not comprise a woman representative among them (Ireland, Malta, for example).

As a result of this measure, women parliamentarians in the Assembly represent one-third of the total number of MPs.

This ratio of women and men in the Parliamentary Assembly can of course be improved. But it is quite good

and encouraging if compared to the situation in certain parliaments of our member States, where only

approximately 23% of members of national parliaments are women.

This average figure of 23% hides in reality a huge gap between a handful of countries in which women’s

representation in parliament exceeds 40% (Andorra, Finland, Sweden) and many more countries in which it is

under 20% (Albania, Georgia, Estonia, Monaco), or even under 10% (Hungary, Ukraine).

Various measures have been recommended by the Parliamentary Assembly in its Resolution 1898 of

October 2012 on “Political parties and women’s political representation”, in particular the introduction of a

minimum quota of the under-represented sex.

Despite all these recommendations and incentives, we have to admit that the road ahead is still long. But we

must continue tirelessly our efforts, including within the Parliamentary Assembly.

Excellencies

Ladies and gentlemen,

What can we do to give a follow-up to the recommendation of Transparency International to combine

empowerment of women in governance with targeted anti-corruption policies?

As members of parliament, we can adopt legislation on combating corruption and code of conduct for

parliamentarians.

We can also improve the level of participation of women in our legislative bodies, by encouraging them to

stand for elections, by creating favourable conditions for their candidacies, such as quotas or measures

enabling them to reconcile political engagement and family commitments.

We can also encourage women parliamentarians to participate in committees dealing with matters which are

not directly linked to what is often seen as “women’s issues”.

I am convinced that a higher participation of women in our institutions will strengthen our democracies and

will therefore help us to fight against the scourge of corruption.

To conclude, I would like to say that the gender dimensions of corruption are in my view a very innovative topic for the Council of Europe. And I want to assure you that the Committee on equality and non-discrimination

of the Parliamentary Assembly would be pleased to contribute to this work and to participate in the meetings of

GRECO dedicated to this issue if you decide to continue working on it.

I thank you for your attention.

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