Government Updates National Council on Gender Policy

Belarus’ Council of Ministers, through Resolution No. 274 of June 1, approved a new version of the Regulations on the National Council on Gender Policy. The document was published today on the National Legal Internet Portal and enters into force upon publication.

The resolution also defines the composition of the council according to positions held rather than by individual members. The council will be chaired by the minister of labour and social protection. The chairperson of the Belarusian Women’s Union will serve as deputy chair.

The council will also include deputy heads of Belstat, the Health Ministry, the Justice Ministry, the Information Ministry, the Education Ministry, the Economy Ministry, regional executive committees, the Minsk City Executive Committee, the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, representatives of the Council of the Republic and the House of Representatives, a judge of the Supreme Court, and heads of departments of the Foreign Ministry and the Interior Ministry.

The main tasks of the National Council are to coordinate the country’s gender policy and to develop recommendations and proposals for improving legal, socio-economic, organisational and institutional conditions aimed at:

• ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men (girls and boys) in all spheres of life;
• taking gender factors into account in the drafting of legal acts, state programmes and plans;
• promoting a balanced combination of family and professional responsibilities for women and men;
• strengthening the institution of family and marriage, as well as the spiritual and moral values of family life, motherhood and fatherhood;
• improving the system of state support for families in connection with the birth and upbringing of children;
• ensuring gender-responsive healthcare;
• combating domestic violence and human trafficking;
• developing the information space.

The council will review draft periodic reports submitted by Belarus to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, as well as state programmes, information strategies and plans in the areas of gender equality and the promotion of the spiritual and moral values of family life, motherhood and fatherhood.