Visit our Facebook pageWassenaar, April 2016
Dear member,
As I mentioned in my last letter, we were present at the 60th Liberal International Congress in Mexico City, where we held our INLW General Meeting.
During this meeting some new members of our Board were installed.
Our new Board consists of:
President: Margaret de Vos van Steenwijk, Netherlands;
Deputy President: Hakima El Haité, Morocco;
Secretary General: Mireia Huerta Sala, Spain;
Treasurer: Lysbeth van Valkenburg-Lely, Netherlands;
Vice Presidents: Kaba Fofana Yaya Fanta, Côte d’Ivoire; Marianne Kallen-Morren, Netherlands; Khadija El Morabit, Morocco; Patricia Olamendi, Mexico; Maysing Yang, Taiwan
Member: Leticia Gutíerrez, Mexico
Immediate Past President: Joaquima Alemany Roca, Spain
We took a few decisions of which I mention here:
Each Vice President will be responsible to create different networks within their region. In other words there will be INLW local networks in each country. There can be several networks in one country.
Moreover we decided to change our membership fees.
We kindly request you to pay your membership fee for 2016 (or the coming 2 or 3 years in one transaction) as soon as possible!
Individual membership fee is for 1 year €25; 2years € 45, 3 years € 65.
Annual membership fee Group/NGO € 150
Annual membership fee Political Party € 250
Payable by International Money transfer to INLW account in Wassenaar, NL:
Name: Stichting INLW;
Account number:
BIC: ABNANL2A;
IBAN: NL19ABNA0537746102
Margaret de Vos van Steenwijk, President INLW
Last event:
Between 14-24 March 2016: A delegation of INLW participated at the Commission on the Status of Women (60th CSW) at the United Nations in New York; The delegation consisted of Khadija El Morabit, Lysbeth van Valkenburg, Maysing Yang, Patricia Olamendi, Leticia Gutierrez, Joaquima Alemany and Margaret de Vos van Steenwijk. INLW has submitted a written Statement.
INLW co-organized a side event on Monday 14th March and on Tuesday 22nd March, focusing on preventing and fighting violation against women.
Coming events:
20-22 May 2016: Executive Commission of Liberal International in Tiblisi, Georgia: INLW as a member of LI will participate with a delegation. INLW will hopefully be able to organize an INLW panel discussion.
INLW will be creating local regional Chapters in various countries. Interested is starting one up? Please contact INLW for information.
Short review of our meeting in Mexico
After the General Meeting on 29th October 2015 INLW held a public panel discussion on:
“Violence against women is a worldwide disgrace: Will globalizing the Istanbul Convention be the remedy?”
After an introduction by Margaret de Vos van Steenwijk who explained that INLW together with Liberal International are campaigning to globalize the Istanbul Convention. This is the most comprehensive international legally binding instrument on violence against women and girls and domestic violence. It is open for member nations but also nations outside the Council of Europe. We aim to encourage liberal leaders and parliamentarians across Europe and the larger global community to lend their support and positions of power in globalizing this Convention. On the social media there will be a campaign held under #1in10neveragain. This refers to the fact that more than 1 in 10 girls worldwide have experienced forced sexual activity.
Margaret introduced and welcomed Signora Leticia Gutiérrez Corona, the National Coordinator of the Women Movement of the organizing partner party of the Liberal International Congress, the Nueva Alianza in Mexico. She invited her to open the floor Signora Gutiérrez spoke passionately on the Mexican situation. The Mouvement de Mujeres had prepared a draft “Consensus of Mexico”, which she introduced. She was followed by Khadija el Morabit, who spoke of the situation in Morocco and in other countries in the MENA. Maysing Yang from Taiwan shed light on the women’s rights and the violation of these rights by continued cases of violence against women. Joaquima Alemany gave a description on the situation in Catalonia, Spain.
After some Q and A, Margaret read out the Consensus of Mexico, which is a very comprehensive statement on the necessary steps to be taken to gain gender equality and women’s rights in general. She also showed that Signora Laeticia Guittérrez and Dra Patricia Olamendi have published a comparitive research between the Istanbul Convention of 2011 and The Inter-American Convention on the prevention, punishment and eradication of violence against women of 1994. All present were invited to sign the “Consensus of Mexico” and to ask other congress members to sign this document. The Mujeres Movement of NA had become a member of INLW before the beginning of the congress and the Mujeres of NA will cooperate with INLW in future.
Dra Patricia Olamendi will start working together with INLW as newly designated INLW Vice President for Latin America. Leticia Gutíerrez is also designated to be Member of the Board. Both will be nominated by the Board at the next General Meeting of INLW.