Overall a great deal has been achieved in a short period in Georgia. There are very grave difficulties, but these are being tackled by an able, innovative and optimistic people. Understandably the Russian presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia was the main theme on the minds of the parliamentarians whom the delegation met.
This parliamentary event was organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women on the occasion of the 55th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. The theme was: The role of Parliaments in promoting access and participation of women and girls to education, training, science and technology.
Over 70 Parliamentarians from 35 countries gathered to hear leading experts discuss a range of topics at the heart of the debate on how to stop the spread of the HIV virus, and care for those already infected. Despite its disappearance from the media headlines in Europe and North America, HIV continues to be a major epidemic. There are 33.4 million people living with HIV, with 2.7 million new infections expected this year, of whom almost half a million will be children.
