LPAs play a crucial role in ensuring human rights and gender equality at local level

The women’s chances of participating in the administration of local public affairs shouldn’t be diminished. Even if the number of women holding responsible positions has increased, their role in local governance is reduced, said experts who took part in the national conference “Role of the LPAs in Ensuring the Human Rights and Gender Equality at Local Level”, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the UN Resident Coordinator in Moldova Kaarina Immonen, only 10% of the women in Moldova work in the local public administration. “The women’s contribution to the development process in general and the development at local level in particular is of crucial importance. That’s why the women should have equal access to the local, not only central decision-making process. The women’s participation in public administration remains at a low level. The women represent only 10% of the district heads, but we saw that there are upward trends that should be encouraged,” said Kaarina Immonen. She considers that the reform of the LPAs and the decentralization of state power are factors that can significantly and qualitatively improve local governance as regards gender equality and this will lead to the economic development of the rural communities. The Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau Ulvi Akhundlu said gender equality de jure is not fully put into practice. Even if the women have the same rights, they not always have the same chances as men. Ulvi Akhundl stated that it is not enough to adopt a formal approach. “No country is immune to gender equality. The women are often regarded as a vulnerable category in society. They still represent 50% of the population. Equality between women and men is an integral part of the human rights and an element of fundamental democracy. We must eliminate sex-based discrimination from the public and private life and encourage the incorporation of the gender equality principle in all the programs and policies,” said Ulvi Akhundlu. The national conference “Role of the LPAs in Ensuring the Human Rights and Gender Equality at Local Level” was held as part of the European Local Democracy Week. The event was organized by the Government of Moldova with the support of the development partners – UNDP, UN Women, and the Government of Sweden - within The Joint Integrated Local Development Program. The program supports the Government of Moldova in its decentralization efforts and in the process of strengthening local autonomy and aims to ensure equal benefits for the underprivileged groups, including the discriminated, socially excluded and marginalized people, as a result of decentralization and local development.