PANEL: Lithuania Will Show Its Support For The Community of Democracies and Council of Women World Leaders On September 23

The Community of Democracies. and the Council of Women World Leaders will host a panel discussion on “Women As Critical Forces in Democratic Governance” in the ECOSOC Chamber at the United Nations on September 23.

The Council of Women World Leaders is a network of current and former presidents and prime ministers. Its prestigious members include former Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, Finnish President, Tarja Halonen, former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, and former Irish President and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson.

Lihuania took over the Presidency of the Community of Democracies in 2009, and will chair the organization until mid-2011. At this year's panel discussion, Audronius A�ubalis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania and Melaine Verveer, US Ambassador-at-large on Global Women's Issues, will welcome the distinguished guests. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė and Tarja Halonen, President, Republic of Finland, and Chair, Council of Women World Leaders, will moderate the discussion.
Invited to participate on this panel will be Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Michelle Bachelet, Head of UN Women, and former President of Chile, Helen Clark, Administrator, UN Development Program, and former Prime Minister of New Zealand, and many other women world leaders. (List of speakers is subject to change).

President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Prime Minister of the Netherland Antilles, Emily de Jongh-Elbage, and other members of the Council of Women World Leaders, are expected to participate in the discussion, as well.. Of course, some members are secretly hoping that Hillary Rodham Clinton, US. Secretary of State, will make an appearance. Her remarks usually pack a powerful punch, and inspire women around the world.

In addition, there will be a General Debate involving Ministers and other distinguished guests, moderated by Margot Wallstrom, Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, United Nations, and Chair, Ministerial Initiative, Council of Women World Leaders. The closing remarks will be made by Maria Otero, Under-secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, US Department of State, and Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Audronius A�ubalis.

From all indications, the panel discussion involving the Council of Women World Leaders and the Community of Democracies will be enthusiastically received by members of the international ommunity. The Council's objective is to promote good governance, gender equality, and democracy globally. It does this through its networks, summits, fellowships, and partnerships, according to the Council. A policy program of the Aspen Institute, the Council of Women World Leaders was started in 1996 by Vigdis Finnbogadottir, former President of Iceland, and Laura Liswood, Secretary General.

At the same time, the Community of Democracies which considers itself “a global inter-governmental coalition of democratic countries with the goal of promoting democratic rules and strengthening democratic norms and institutions around the world.”, is making a valuable contribution on a global level.

The organization, which has over 100 members, was actually founded in 2000 at a Ministerial Conference in Warsaw. It was initiated by the then Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Bronislaw Geremek and the former U.S. Secretary of State, Dr. Madeline Albright. It is expected that the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radoslaw Sikorski, will attend the meeting in the ECOSOC Chamber on September 23 at the United Nations.

Let's hear it for democracy and all those women world leaders!