Meeting held to advocate greater women representation in Libyan Parliament

Tripoli, May 3 A group of Libyan female officials and lawmakers held a meeting to advocate greater women's representation in the country's Parliament, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said on Tuesday.

The meeting, attended by 20 female members of the Libyan High Council of State and the House of Representatives (Parliament), was held under the auspices of the UNSMIL, Xinhua news agency quoted the mission as saying.

The UNSMIL technical experts outlined different mechanisms for ensuring greater women's representation in political leadership and presented lessons learned from other countries.

The participants then analysed the pros and cons of the various approaches in the Libyan context, the statement said.

They agreed to advocate for allocating the majority of seats through a proportional representation system with candidates presented in lists with alternating women and men candidates.

Currently, women constitute around 15 per cent and 16.5 per cent of the High Council of State and House of Representatives, respectively, the UNSMIL said.

The newly published 13th Constitutional Amendment includes a temporary measure reserving 20 per cent of seats in the House of Representatives for women in the upcoming elections and charged a committee with designating seats for women in the Senate, the UN mission added.