25/05/2010 Equality and Non-Discrimination
"National parliaments are key players to promote gender equalities - and synergies with governments are needed. It is time indeed to bridge the gap between de jure and de facto equality. Drafting and adopting laws is not enough", today said in Baku José Mendes Bota, Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, adressing the 7th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Equality between Women and Men.
"We may have de jure prevention, but we have de facto violence against women. We say yes, de jure, for access to justice, but de facto there is a lack of condemnations. We write, de jure, protection to victims, but de facto women are aggressed and killed everyday. We may pretend, de jure, change the electoral system, but de facto, are men who dominate the political parties", he added.
According to Mr Mendes Bota, "Parliamentarians should also be accountable for the implementation of the laws and responsible for controlling the effective implementation of the laws".