BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 20. At the request of Speaker of the Parliament of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova, Vice President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) from Azerbaijan, member of the Azerbaijani Parliament Sevil Mikayilova delivered a report at the meeting of the Bureau and Forum of Women Parliamentarians held as part of the 151st IPU Assembly in Geneva, Trend reports.
Speaking at the event on behalf of the IPU Gender Partnership Group, of which she is a member, S. Mikayilova pointed out that the Group aims to promote equality in participation by men and women – both within the IPU and in national parliaments.
"On October 18, the Group held its first sitting here in Geneva and as per our mandate, we began by monitoring the participation of women delegates at this Assembly. As of October 18, 37.1% of the delegates announced here in Geneva were women. This is close to the percentage at our last Assembly in Tashkent, and better than the previous 5 Assemblies. This is good news! Let’s hope these figures are confirmed as the Assembly progresses.
As you know, our ultimate goal is parity. But the devil is in details. And here there is a lot of contrast. Out of 125 delegations of at least two members announced, 8 are all-male and 1 is all-female. This is similar to the situation in Geneva a year ago, and a fairly low number compared to previous years. But we also have 11 single-member delegations announced. Among them, 9 are composed of a man, and 2 of a woman. So all in all we are expecting 17 delegations to be only represented by men. And 3 only by women," the MP said.
S. Mikayilova noted that the Group also looked at gender balance in delegations – by that it means delegations that are composed of at least 40% men and 40% women.
"Here we saw a decrease from the record-high of 49 delegations that were gender-balanced at the past two Assemblies, down to 40 here in Geneva. So we know we can do better. And we must do better. Within every geopolitical group there are gender-balanced delegations, so we can serve as role models to one another within our respective groups. The Group also welcomed the release of the second edition of the toolkit for gender-responsive assemblies, which was developed by the International Gender Champions, in collaboration with the IPU and Women at the table. The toolkit is a how-to guide to create an enabling and inclusive environment for women’s participation and make sure assemblies deliver on gender equality.
In this tool you will find many of the pioneering policies that the IPU has been advancing over the years. Our Group is proud to have been at the forefront of these advances. We encourage you to take this toolkit home and apply the tips and good practices provided," she said.
The MP went on to add that the Group also reviewed progress in the implementation of the IPU policy against harassment, including sexual harassment, at Assemblies and other IPU events, as required within the policy itself.
"At this Assembly the policy is being made more visible than ever before. And for the first time, the IPU is offering training on anti-harassment to participants - this will be on Wednesday 22 October at lunch time. We encourage all of you to take part. The Group also invites you to reach out to the IPU Secretariat should you be interested in carrying out similar trainings in your own Parliament," she said.
S. Mikayilova noted that the Anti-harassment policy foresees that the Gender partnership group reports on its implementation every two years.
"So this was discussed at our session. Since the adoption of the policy two years ago, 11 incidents were reported and addressed. They were all handled under the informal procedure, as requested by those who made these complaints. In all cases, measures were taken to protect the victim. Our Group welcomed the fact that more and more people feel comfortable to report incidents at the IPU, which shows there is growing awareness and trust in the response mechanism.
Finally, the Group will continue to hold dialogues here in Geneva with delegations that have less than 10% women in parliament to offer our support. We know the value of peer-to-peer support and there is a lot that we can learn from one another as we pursue gender parity in decision-making. Our Group counts on your continued support to promote this agenda at the IPU and in your respective countries," she concluded.
The 151st Assembly of the IPU will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, on 19-23 October 2025. All IPU statutory bodies, including the Governing Council, Standing Committees, Committees on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and on Middle East Questions, as well as the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and the Forum of Young MPs, will meet on this occasion.
The General Debate will focus on the overall theme Upholding humanitarian norms and supporting humanitarian action in times of crisis and provide a platform for delegates to deliberate, exchange views and galvanize parliamentary action in this area. The Assembly will adopt resolutions on the emergency item and on the subject item taken up by the Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights entitled Recognizing and supporting the victims of illegal international adoption and taking measures to prevent this practice. The Assembly is expected to conclude with the adoption of an outcome document on the overall theme of the General Debate
