Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, April 13 /Trend News, G.Hasanov/

Today - on April 13 Ashgabat is hosting the regional conference on "International standards in development if gender policy" organized by the UNFPA, Turkmen Foreign Ministry and Turkmen Democracy and Human Rights Institute at the president.

The event aims to approve obligations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and assembled over 100 representatives of governments, parliamentarian and experts on gender issues from the CIS countries and Turkey. The UNFPA reported that participants will discuss issues to develop and implement legislation in line with gender specificity, strategy to expand women's rights and opportunities, issues on gender rights and reproductive health.

The conference aims to exchange experience in gender equality and expand women's rights and opportunities as part of implementing regulations of the CEDAW Convention, Action Program to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW) and Action Program of the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo in 1994.

"Gender equality and expanding women's rights and opportunities are necessary tools to accelerate development and cut poverty. Expanding women's rights positively influences on families' and communities' health and efficiency, as well as leads to improving perspective for the next generation," the press-release reported.

Importance of gender equality is stressed by including it in one of 8 Aims of the millennium development and is a corner stone of the UN Fund mandate in population, UNFPA Representative to Turkmenistan Richard Young said.

Turkmenistan joined key international acts on human rights, including declarations and conventions on women's rights. They include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Convention on Women's Political Rights, International Labor Organization Convention on Equal Remuneration For Men And Women Workers For Work Of Equal Value, on Discrimination in Labor, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Human Trafficking, especially with women and children and others. The Turkmen Constitution and all national legislations guarantee gender equality. Some 50.2 percent of Turkmen population is women.