The Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Dr. Abass Chernor Bundu has spoken on gender empowerment and women’s involvement in leadership and decision-making process at the annual Parliamentary hearings at the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York.
This hearing is part of the Sierra Leone Parliament’s international obligation where they will participate in a two-day annual Parliamentary Hearings. This year’s theme is ‘Building political support and inclusive responses to sustainable recovery, and it is organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at the United Nations General Assembly.
The 2022 Parliamentary Hearing is a joint initiative of the IPU and the Office of the President of the General Assembly, to amplify the global conversation at the United Nations and in capitals around the world about sustainable development in the face of the on-going pandemic.
This year’s Parliamentary Hearing drive home to governments, parliaments and the United Nations community a critical perspective on key actions to build economies that work for all, societies that bring people together, and environments that are sustainable for generations to come.
The Sierra Leone Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Dr. Abass Bundu noted that it was timely for some introspection by the international community through an innovative penetration of the glass ceiling by taking a pause in the adoption of more and more new treaties, conventions and resolutions and adopting instead some stocktaking on how much actual implementation has taken place of the plethora of international instruments adopted so far.
“At the national level, this speaks to a critical convergence of responsibilities between the Executive and the Legislature. The Executive bears the responsibility to negotiate and sign international agreements while the Legislature is responsible for ratifying and passing them into the mainstream of domestic law,” he said adding that it has been nearly 43 years since the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrim Against Women (CEDAW) Convention; 27 years since the Beijing Declaration; 21 years since the UN Security Council Resolution 1325; 11 years since the establishment of UN Women; and 7 years since the world set itself a set of targets in the Sustainable Development Goals.
