INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 8th MARCH 2007

That this House celebrates 8th March as International Women's Day; welcomes the advances women have made so far in society; recognises that there is still a long way to go; notes that this year's theme for International Women's Day is Ending Impunity for Violence against Women and Girls; is aware that, according to the UN, violence against women is the most common but least punished crime in the world; understands that violence against women, in addition to physical and sexual violence, can include trafficking, honour killings and female genital mutilation; further recognises that domestic violence is the most common form of abuse of women worldwide, irrespective of region, culture, ethnicity, education, class and religion; is aware of the fact that systematic rape is used as a weapon of terror in many of the world's conflicts and that it is estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 women in Rwanda were raped during the 1994 genocide; and calls upon the Government to continue to work towards ending violence towards women and to support international attempts to do so.