KATHMANDU: Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar on Sunday stated that issues of inequality needed to be addressed urgently at local, national, regional as well as global levels.

The Speaker stated so while taking part in a general debate on "Redressing inequalities: delivering on dignity and well-being for all" at the 136th Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Dhaka of Bangladesh yesterday.

Thanking the Speaker of the Parliament of Bangladesh and President of the IPU for the invitation, Speaker Gharti put forward her ideas on the topic, adding the issue was inequality was deeply associated with the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

In her speech, Speaker Gharti shared that inclusion in socio-economic and political sectors would play a significant role in reducing inequalities and overcoming deprivation. She also expressed her confidence that the Assembly would be a step towards it.

The governments of least developed, developing, and developed countries needed to adopt appropriate policies and programmes of social justice to ensure overall development without discouraging entrepreneurship so that the existing gaps would be mimimised, she added.

Stating that Nepal was aware of the conflicts that might occur due to inequalities, Speaker Gharti said the Constitution of Nepal ensured inclusive provisions of social justice, particularly for women, indigenous nationalities, marginalised communities, disadvantaged and backwarded segments of the society in the mainstream state affairs.

Statement by Speaker Onasari Gharti Magar at the General Debate on "Redressing Inequalities: Delivering on Dignity and Well-Being for All"

136th Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly

(Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1-5 April, 2017)

The Honorable President of the 136th Session of the IPU Assembly,

Rt. Hon. Speaker of the Parliament of Bangladesh,

Rt. Hon. Speakers of the Parliaments,

HE President of the Inter Parliamentary Union,

Members of the Parliament,

Distinguished Participants and Observers,

1. First of all, on behalf of the delegation of the Legislature-Parliament of Nepal I would like to thank the Speaker of the Parliament of Bangladesh and President of the IPU for inviting us to participate in the 136th IPU Assembly. I would also like to extend our gratitude to the Government, Parliament, and People of Bangladesh for extending generous hospitality to us since our arrival here in this historic capital city, Dhaka.
2. The topic of this general debate today, "Redressing inequalities: delivering on dignity and well-being for all" has a very wide scope of action as this issue is deeply associated with the Sustainable Development Goals- the SDG 10, that calls "Reduce inequalities within and among Countries".
3. Other SDGs, in particular the SDG 1: "End poverty in all its forms everywhere", the SDG 5 "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls", and the SDG16 "Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels", are close inter-linked with the topic this august Assembly is focusing on its deliberations today.
4. The main essence of these SDGs is to include all the segments of the society in order to redress inequalities. Any kind of unequal behavior and activities within the society, the country, and among the countries in the world remains the greatest threats not only to sustainable development but also for the global peace and harmony.
5. In many developing countries, large segments of our population are still far behind with regards to the generation of minimum income for their daily livelihood. The level of economic, social, and political participation of deprived population of the society is quite far behind in comparison to the people having multiple opportunities. Therefore, inequality among human beings is an alarming issue at the national level as well at the global level debates.
6. We may all share the similar thoughts that ensuring of equal opportunities especially in the economic, social, and political sectors of society would definitely assist to reduce the multiple inequalities that continue to prevail in our societies. It is therefore vital that respective parliaments, as the representative body of their people address these inequalities through the making of necessary laws, budgetary sanctions and oversight to the policies and programs of the governments.
7. Another important measure to redress inequalities is to ensure social justice, dignity and protection to those in need which contributes to nurturing human dignity and well-being for all in the society. To this end, the benefits and bonus of development and growth must be shared justifiably and not be concentrated within a select few in the society and nation.
8. It is my belief that all segments of the society must benefit from the growth and advancement. The government needs to adopt appropriate policies and programs of social justice to ensure benefits sharing of the overall developments without discouraging entrepreneurship. I believe, the similar approach of reducing inequalities can be applied to minimize existing gaps among the least developed, developing, and developed countries across the world.
9. My country Nepal is working on harmonizing policies and programs to incorporate the SDGs into our national development plans focusing on the objective of addressing poverty, reducing inequalities, and creating opportunities for all. We are very much aware that inequalities may cause conflicts. We have also observed that inequalities in social and economic sectors could lead to political unrest in a nation. The Constitution of Nepal has adopted various inclusive provisions of social justice, particularly for women, indigenous nationalities, marginalized communities or disadvantaged segments of the society as well as for those living backward in order to mainstream them into the various State affairs.
10. We all share the view that inclusion in socio-economic and political sectors along with State institutions plays a significant role in reducing inequalities and overcoming deprivation. The issues of inequality need to be urgently addressed at the local, national, regional, and at the global level. This forum of global Parliamentarians needs to work more in assessing our efforts to redressing economic, social, political and other forms of inequalities. Finally, I am very much confident that the 136th IPU Assembly would result in constructive exchange of ideas and adoption of more pragmatic resolutions for addressing inequalities across the societies and nations in the world in the days ahead.

I wish all the success of the Assembly. I thank you for your kind attention.