Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Council on Women’s Affairs Holds First Meeting
On December 10, 2019, the first meeting of the Council on Women’s Affairs was held, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan. Tigran Avinyan made a speech, in which he stated:
“Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to welcome you to the first meeting of the Council on Women’s Affairs. International Human Rights Day is being marked today across the globe in celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which on December 10, 1948, proclaimed the inalienable rights of all human beings, regardless of sex, age, race, language, and origin.
Equality is a fundamental human right. It is enshrined in all international human rights treaties and implies fair and impartial treatment of people in various spheres of public life. On the basis of this universal principle, the Women’s Council is committed to ensuring equal participation of women and men in social, economic and political processes, promoting equal rights and opportunities for men and women, and providing for a safe and secure environment for all citizens.
Significant steps have been taken to promote gender equality. Nevertheless, instances of abuse, discrimination and violence against women continue to be one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world and in our country. We are aware of the problem of inadequate implementation of the state-administered gender policies and inadequate enforcement of relevant laws. Therefore, I hope that the Council will be able to find more innovative, targeted and in-depth solutions.
I am sure that everyone knows the Council’s objectives. In the meantime, I would like to highlight and reformulate some of them, which I consider to be priorities:
- Ruling out violence in all spheres of public life - in the family, at work, on the street;
Everyone, regardless of gender, has the right to live in an environment free of violence and hatred. And if this basic human right is violated, the State is obliged to protect it. No matter employment or the provision of services, any act of discrimination should be deemed as unacceptable and should be prosecuted.
- Increasing women’s economic potential; It is no secret that women have enormous potential for human capital, which is often unrealized for many objective and subjective reasons.
Through broad social cooperation, the State should provide the conditions necessary for developing women’s human capital, thereby contributing to gender equality and promoting inclusive economic development. Specific measures are envisaged under the Work, Armenia strategy, and I think they will be implemented in a very short time.
And the last one has to do with the institution of general prevention: we are talking about the implementation of measures aimed at preventing discrimination, violence, including the eradication of stereotypes, and the elimination of hate speech. In this context, the role of schools and media outlets is particularly important, which should rule out the dissemination of discriminatory content.
I think the implementation of the aforementioned steps will lead to an atmosphere, in which my two daughters, our wives, mothers, all women, citizens and non-citizens of the Republic of Armenia living in our country will be able to fully develop their skills and capabilities for the sake of harmonious development and prosperity of our society.”
