Nat’l Women Prosecutors’ Conference ends calling for proportional representation

Kathmandu, Sept 18: The First National Women Prosecutors’ Conference, which began on September 8, ended on Thursday by issuing 13 13-point declaration, including a strong call for proportional representation.

The Conference was postponed after the inaugural event and two sessions on September 8. The Conference was postponed due to the Gen-Z protests, which were completed on Thursday by holding the remaining sessions. The 13-point declaration of the Conference included the need for an equal opportunity for regular training, orientation and skill development for effective prosecution and defence of the offences against women and children and digital offences and others.

Likewise, emphasis has been given to providing proportional representation of women to uplift the capacity and efficiency of women prosecutors. Women-friendly workstation under the gender responsive budget should be created, and the fourth five-year strategic plan of the Office of Attorney General should be implemented, the declaration stated. Furthermore, the grievance handling mechanism, along with the formulation of the gender policy and its implementation, should be in place.

The Conference was instrumental in contributing to the strengthening of the criminal justice system with the enhancement of professional capacity and the development of women attorneys. The working papers presented at the Conference primarily focused on issues such as the current status of women attorneys, matters that are warranted to be addressed by the strategic plan of the Office of the Attorney General, the role of government attorneys in serving justice to victims of technology-assisted offences, and the participation of women prosecutors in the justice sector.