AMERICAS: The UN Women Canada National Committee Launch to be Held at COPA

Ms. Almas Jiwani, President of the UN Women Canada National Committee is pleased to announce that a celebration of the National Committee for the newly established United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) will be held in Quebec City on September 6, 2011. This event will be hosted by the National Assembly of Quebec in conjunction with the 10th Annual Meeting of the Network of Women Parliamentarians of the Americans and the 11th General Assembly of the Parliamentarian Confederation of the Americas (COPA), also hosted by the National Assembly.

The creation of UN Women by the United Nations marks a new era for gender equality and signals the commitment by the UN Member States to accelerate progress on gender rights and women's economic empowerment. UN Women will provide a powerful voice for women's issues and will spearhead a more coordinated and effective response to gender inequalities around the world.

"When we talk about women's leadership and participation we are talking about more inclusive representation, greater transparency and better systems for accountability – all basic to strong democracies. We are determined that UN Women will offer a new dynamic to the global dialogue on gender equality, and bring new energy, drawing on multiple talents, and bringing together men and women from different countries and communities in a shared endeavour", said Dr. Moez Doraid, Director of the Coordination Division at UN Women.

The Network of Women Parliamentarians of the Americas encourages the representation and action of women in the Parliaments of the Americas and works to ensure that both men and women parliamentarians take the rights and demands of women into consideration at all levels of decision making. The launch with COPA provides a unique opportunity to network and raise awareness of UN Women and its work among parliamentarians from 36 countries.

The launch of UN Women in Canada is a milestone for its newly formed National Committee to begin its work advocating UN Women programs and initiatives in Canada. "We are honoured to partner with, the National Assembly, the COPA and the Network of Women Parliamentarians in celebrating the establishment of UN Women," said Ms. Jiwani. "UN Women, the Network and COPA share parallel goals in supporting women in parliament and this event will serve to further our engagement with key global leaders, while also raising awareness and garnering support locally in Quebec for UN Women and its work."

The event will feature remarks by Mrs. Diva Hadamira Gastélum, President of the Network of Women Parliamentarians, Ms. Monique Richard, Representative of the National assembly of Québec in the Network of Women Parliamentarians, Dr. Doraid, and Ms. Jiwani.
As the host of the event, Ms. Richard commented that: "Both in Québec and across the Americas, the empowerment of women in all aspects of their life is yet to be materialized. It is important to create opportunities like this one to get together and share our ideas in order to find concrete solutions to this essential issue".
The launch in Quebec City is one of three launch events in Quebec, and celebrations will take place in cities across Canada throughout the year.

About UN Women

UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to implement these standards.

It stands behind women's equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: increasing women's leadership and participation; ending violence against women; engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes; enhancing women's economic empowerment; and making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting. UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system's work in advancing gender equality.

About National Committee for UN Women-Canada

The National Committee for UN Women - Canada raises UN Women's profile and promotes its work in Canada; raises funds for UN Women projects; creates awareness within the Canadian governments for increased funding for UN Women projects; and encourages non-governmental organizations to promote and support UN Women initiatives.

About COPA

The Parliamentary Confederation of the Americas (COPA) is an organization that brings together the congresses and parliamentary assemblies of the unitary, federal, federated and associated States, the regional parliaments and the interparliamentary organizations of the Americas. The Network of Women Parliamentarians of the Americas brings together the women members of parliamentary assemblies of unitary, federal and federated states, regional parliaments, and interparliamentary organizations in the Americas. Its members engage in concerted action on matters relating to women so that they may be taken into account within the continent's legislative bodies. As part of the COPA since 1999, the Network has been actively developing expertise on various women's issues on which parliamentarians have the power to take action.