QNA
Geneva
The Shura Council participated in the second Meeting of Preparatory Committee for Sixth Global Conference of Speakers of Parliaments and the second meeting of the preparatory committee for the 15th Conference of Women Parliamentarians in Geneva, within the framework of the preparation for the two conferences slated to be convened in July 2025.
Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council and representative of the Arab Group in the preparatory committees HE Dr Hamda bint Hassan Al Sulaiti, represented the Council in the two meetings.
In her remarks at the meeting of preparatory committee for the Conference of Speakers of Parliaments which discussed applying multilateralism for bright future for the generations, Dr Sulaiti highlighted the global challenges facing the international community, including armed conflicts, climate change, as well as the continuation of food gap and cybersecurity.
She affirmed that parliaments are required to play a significant role in addressing these issues through reforming the UN Security Council and UN institutions, stressing that an executive mechanism should exist to ensure adherence to international laws.
She focused on Qatar’s efforts in bolstering global peace through mediation and conflict resolution via peaceful dialogue.
She highlighted the new technological challenges such as cybersecurity, emphasising the importance of utilising the technological advancements through responsible methods to achieve justice and stability.
At the meeting of the preparatory committee for the 15th Conference of Women Parliamentarians, Dr Sulaiti underlined political violence against women, noting that notwithstanding the steady progress of women engagement in the political work in the past two years, women still face massive challenges, as they are exposed to multiple forms of verbal and cyber violence, and sometimes physical threats.
She pointed out that such violence remarkably escalates during political conflicts and wars, citing the constant struggle of the Palestinian women who endured detention, violence and displacement throughout their careers to call for political and economic rights. This outright struggle underscores the fact that Arab women have been stoically enduring the political violence.
On another topic under the theme of women’s role in the political participation, the Shura deputy speaker pointed out that 2024 witnessed an increase in the major elections but highlighted that many countries witnessed a decrease in the democratic process.
She underlined that education and women economic empowerment have played a critical role in increasing their engagement in policy, but there is a need for an in-depth study of the circumstances and obstacles that beset women in all countries with the aim of preferring solutions that boost their participation.
She also addressed the role of women in building peace, stressing that women should significantly be engaged in all phases of peace processes, starting from negotiations to reconstruction, in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution 1325, affirming that the number of women participating in official peace processes is still low, albeit the significant efforts on the part of the United Nations.
By virtue of their diverse expertise and patience, women are capable of being active partners in achieving peace and stability once they are given the appropriate chance, she pointed out.
She shed the light on the State of Qatar’s efforts in supporting global peace through mediation and peaceful dialogue.
The two events were intended to lay the final groundwork for the agenda of the Sixth Global Conference of Speakers of Parliaments, in addition to identifying the major themes that would receive a sharp focus during the 15th Conference of Women Parliamentarians.
The meetings focused on issues of women’s empowerment, especially considering the challenges faced by women in politics and the violence many women activists experience in this field. The issue of the technological gap was also raised.