YEREVAN, 17 November 2023 – Today, the OSCE PA Special Representative on Gender Issues Hedy Fry (Canada) held a meeting with a group of civil society organizations to discuss gender-related issues in Armenia. After providing an overview of her mandate, the debate focused on a wide range of issues pertaining to gender equality.

The meeting, gathering 11 representatives of nine civil society organizations, provided a timely platform to raise awareness about such issues as gender-based violence, domestic violence, sexual violence and harassment, sexual education in schools, rights of persons with HIV, LGBTQ+ rights, as well as the rights of displaced people, especially women from Karabakh. The NGO representatives had the opportunity to share the challenges faced in their work of promoting gender equality in Armenia, establishing a channel of direct communication with the Special Representative through the meeting.

Considering that the Special Representative regularly monitors the gender equality situation in the OSCE region and reports to the Assembly to keep the issue high on the agenda of OSCE parliamentarians, the meeting in Yerevan also helped inform her upcoming report, as well as her initiatives related to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence Campaign.

The meeting took place ahead of the OSCE PA 2023 Autumn Meeting, which is being held on 18-21 November in Yerevan focusing on "OSCE in Times of Crisis: Role of the PA in Responding to Internal and External Challenges".