Women

Women and Political Participation

Noordwijk 1996

The Liberal International Congress, meeting on 5th – 8th June in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, in view of:

• the recommendation in the Platform for Action concluded at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing September 1995, that all governments should review the differential impact of electoral systems on the political representation of women in elected bodies;
• the substantial evidence that different electoral systems gravely affect the representation of women and ethnic minorities and that some systems operating in democracies remain highly discriminatory and undemocratic;
• all Liberal Parties world wide are committed to promoting truly democratic governments;
• the substantial evidence that fair representation of women promotes a shift towards liberal and egalitarian values in decision-making;

Calls on all Liberal Parties represented in Liberal International to:

• strongly endorse the Beijing Platform for Action; support in particular its recommendations regarding review of electoral systems;
• promote within their party structures and procedures which increase the possibilities for women to stand for election;
• encourage and promote women politicians within their own parties;
• do all they can to promote within their governments those forms of proportional representation in electoral systems which assist the fair representation of women in their parliaments and other decision-making bodies.