IRI Hosts Forum to Promote Women in Government

April 25, 2005

April 25-27, 2005 – IRI and USAID co-sponsored a national forum entitled “Women’s Partnership in Politics and Governance” in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The event brought together women from all major political parties of Mongolia to develop a long-term plan for increasing the involvement of women in politics and to encourage partnership among women’s organizations within political parties and civil society. More than 160 women political activists from across Mongolia attended the three-day event where government leaders stressed the importance of women in Mongolian politics.

Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey, the U.S. Representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, spoke at the event, focusing on the positive impact of women in emerging democracies across the world. The conference began with a video-taped message from U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein in which she discussed her career path and offered guidance on how to be an effective legislator. At the conclusion of the forum, leaders from four major political parties (Democratic Party, MPRP, CWRP and Motherland Party) signed an action plan – the lkh Tenger Declaration – to promote women in the political process and in Mongolia’s political parties.

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