18 March 2014 - The transitional Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau today highlighted the equal participation of women and men in consolidating democracy and the rule of law, while speaking at the launching of a study on Women Participation in Politics and Decision Making, supported by the United Nations Integrated Office for Peacebuilding in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS ) .

Rui Duarte Barros spoke at Franco-Bissau-Guinean Cultural Center during the ceremony also attended by the Minister of Women, Family and Social Solidarity, Gabriela Fernandes, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the UN in Guinea-Bissau, José Ramos-Horta.

This is an 86 pages document on the political trajectory of women and indicators of their participation in spheres of decision-making, including parliament, government and other public and private institutions, from independence to the present.

The leader of the transitional executive said: "Lasting peace and consolidation of democracy and rule of law depend largely on the equal overall participation of women and men in the sphere of decision making, and in the construction, implementation of programs and public policies towards sustainable development ".

"Breaking the barrier of social inequality and expand women's participation in decision-making is crucial to the development of democracy and also vital to achieve the goals of other developing countries" he added.

The Minister of Women, Family and Social Solidarity, Gabriela Fernandes, stated: "Statistics are not favorable to women, whether in government or parliament, where they represent only 10 percent in a universe of 100 MPs, all men."

"This study, which illustrates the situation of women in Guinea-Bissau and in the sphere of political decisions, should be seen as a support to claim rights denied and a proof of discrimination throughout history", the Minister add.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Guinea-Bissau, José Ramos-Horta, recalled: "The UN system supports all projects and initiatives that seek to enhance the status of women and gender equality.

And stressed: "I heard that in Senegal the parity between men and women in parliament is 50 percent, while the index in the European Union is only 18 per cent, in Norway, Sweden or Chile walks around 40 per cent, in Timor-Leste is 37 per cent and Guinea-Bissau is 10 percent. In the U.S. Congress is at two per cent and in the Australian parliament four percent. "
"So, I think that Senegal leads worldwide, I've never heard of a country that has 50 per cent of parity in the National Parliament, and so I hope that the experience of the neighboring country should be pedagogic, an incentive", he concluded.