Mr. Speaker, on November 10, UN Women elected its first executive board. This new agency “will work...to improve the status of women and girls”, said United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro. This entity, charged with ensuring that the UN's commitments to establish gender equality within its institutions are kept, is a competent authority among member states for bringing about this equality.
It is troubling to see that Saudi Arabia has a seat on this executive board. The customs and traditions of that country infringe on women's rights daily. It is a country where Nathalie Morin, a Quebecker, is stuck and being held prisoner, along with her children.
If Saudi Arabia wants to demonstrate its desire for equality and justice between men and women, then its authorities have to take the first concrete step and let Nathalie Morin and her children return to Quebec.