Luanda - National Assembly Speaker Carolina Cerqueira highlighted Wednesday the role of Parliamentary leaders in defending peace, stability and security in the regions of SADC and the Great Lakes.
The recognition was expressed at a meeting with the Speaker of the Senate of Zimbabwe, Mabel Chinomona, on the sidelines of the Annual Summit of the "Women Political Leader" (WPL) underway from 7 to 8 June in Brussels (Belgium).
Carolina Cerqueira defended that women leaders should be promoters and generating major changes to drive greater involvement in resolution to conflicts and humanitarian diplomacy to support the most vulnerable populations in war-affected regions.
The leader of the Angolan Parliament also defended the representation of women in decision-making at all levels and greater visibility in the adoption and implementation of policies at Parliamentary level in favour of the inclusion and participation of women in conflict resolution.
According to Carolina Cerqueira, the presence of young women and representatives of minorities and civil and religious society, academics and social activists lends more plurality and quality to the political debate, increasing proximity with communities.
The official took the opportunity to invite the leader of the Zimbabwean Senate to participate, between 23 and 27 October this year, in the 147th General Assembly of the IPU.
The WPL, which celebrates its 10th anniversary, is a space for sharing experiences among women leaders from around the world and for analysing advances and challenges towards strengthening equity, participation and opportunities for women globally.
The organisation functions as a global network of women political leaders at national level, including the European Parliament, which currently has around 9,000 members.
Headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, it was founded in 2003 by Silvana Koch-Mehrin, former Vice-President of the European Parliament (2009-2011) and Member of the European Parliament (2004-2014).
Currently, according to the Interparliamentary Union, almost 80% of parliamentary seats are occupied by men. In total, around the world, some 9,000 women are members of national parliaments. VM
