Expectations Before the Conference
Community of Democracies Blog
By Michelle Bekkering

This week hundreds of pro-democracy supporters will gather in Krakow, Poland, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the inauguration of the Community of Democracies; a coalition of democratic countries from around the world whose goal is to promote global democratic development, rules, norms and institutions.

As part of this event, the CoD has placed emphasis on several thematic themes; one being the role of women in democracy. However, before preparations for this event had even began, the CoD had already made clear its intentions to place an emphasis on the rights of women, and Lithuania should be heartily congratulated for propelling this topic to the forefront when assuming its presidency of the organization in 2009.

This past April, the CoD launched a “Working Group on Gender Issues,” which focuses on the issue of gender equality, increasing women’s political participation and developing women’s economic opportunities among other very important endeavors. The Working Group has already developed a list of projects it will implement to achieve these goals, and is drafting three recommendations to be undertaken by CoD member countries seeking to address a cross-sectored promotion of the rights of women.

Importantly, the Working Group not only consists of members of the CoD member governments, but also activists and civil society organizations committed to the cause of gender equality and whom often have the unique advantage of working closely with the very marginalized women we are seeking to empower. The CoD should be applauded for recognizing the role that civil society has to play in this debate alongside its colleagues in government.

The WDN, established by IRI, is one such organization dedicated to increasing the numbers of women in the political process worldwide. The work of WDN is to provide women with the skills training necessary to take on leadership roles in their countries and offer them the vital opportunity to interact with their peers in other countries to share their common experiences, challenges, best practices and ultimately, advice, with each other.

Last week, WDN hosted a conference in Morocco for Arab women leaders. During the debate, we discussed the progress that has been made in raising the issue of gender equality.  But as one of our participants from Lebanon said, “In theory, this is all good, but what is happening in practice is something different.  As women, we have many liberties, but in reality, we have few rights.”

The anniversary event this week in Krakow is not only a perfect opportunity to recognize the progress that has been made with regards to gender equality but to emphasize what more needs to be done to help women attain their rightful place as partners in determining the democratic future of their country.  The Working Group on Gender Issues has the opportunity to offer recommendations for concrete actions that will advance women’s rights, and help attain the goals of increasing women’s political participation and economic empowerment around the world.

The CoD is by its definition a coalition of democratic countries whose goal is to promote global democratic development, rules, norms and institutions. Who better then to take a firm stand on promoting women’s participation within these very institutions and create a new platform for action; one which specifically promotes the rights of women in all spheres of life?