COPENHAGEN, 26 October 2010 -- Dr. Hedy Fry (Canada) was appointed the OSCE PA’s Special Representative on Gender Issues by PA President Petros Efthymiou on 19 October. In his appointment letter, Mr. Efthymiou reiterated the importance that the Assembly attaches to gender equality, particularly within the OSCE and the Parliamentary Assembly.

“The OSCE still has a long way to go before it provides equal opportunities for men and women,” Mr. Efthymiou wrote. “It is very visible that women are lacking in the top layers of the hierarchy of the OSCE, and I believe that the working atmosphere suffers from this.” In particular, there are no female Heads of OSCE Field Missions, which the President called a “huge problem.”

As part of her mandate, Dr. Fry will be following the gender situation within the OSCE, including in the Institutions and Field Missions, and report back to the President. She will also promote discussion of the gender issue within the OSCE and in particular the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and develop, in co-operation with the Gender Unit at the International Secretariat, a more active gender profile of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

Dr. Fry was elected to the Canadian parliament from Vancouver-Centre in 1993, defeating Canada’s last Conservative Prime Minister, Kim Campbell. From 1996 to 2002, she served as Canada’s Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women.

Prior to being elected to Parliament, Dr. Fry was well-known in Canada as a panelist on the long-running national CBC television programme “Doctor, Doctor.” She practiced family medicine at St. Paul’s Hospital in the West End of Vancouver for two decades and was a local, provincial and national leader in medical politics.

As the PA’s Special Representative on Gender Issues, Dr. Fry succeeds Tone Tingsgaard (Sweden), who served as Special Representative from 2003 until retiring from the Swedish Parliament this year.

Mandate:

• Follow the gender situation within the OSCE, including in the Institutions and Field Missions and report back to the President

• Promote discussion of the gender issue within the OSCE and in particular the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

• Develop, in co-operation with the Gender Unit at the International Secretariat, a more active gender profile of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

• Co-operate with the OSCE in the organization of relevant activities

• Draft reports on specific issues