Chinese mission’s statement on minority women’s right to political participation at the Forum on Minority Issues (29 November 2011, Palais des Nations) Madam President: The Chinese delegation is honoured to take the floor in the discussion about minority women’s right to political participation at the Human Rights Council’s Forum on Minority Issues. The Chinese government attaches great importance to the increase of minority women’s opportunity to participate in politics and to discuss politics, and pays special attention to the education and selection of the best national minority women cadres. According to the relevant provision of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women, State bodies, Social organizations and Enterprise institutions always adhere to the principle of equality of men and women in the process of appointing the cadres and attach great importance to the education, selection and appointment of the minority women cadres. Some autonomous regions have already set the principle, or abided by it in their work practice, that the personnel of the people’s government in the autonomous counties and the leading members of the minority towns should include national minority women cadres. According to the relevant statistics, the level of women participation in politics and discussion of politics in Tibet, Xinjiang and other autonomous regions of minority nationalities, is clearly above the national average. In recent years, the proportions of minority women among the delegates of the National People’s Congress and the members of the Political Consultative Conference have gradually increased. Among the delegates of the Tenth National People’s Congress, minority women delegates accounted for 32% of minority nationalities’ delegates. In the committee of the Eleventh Political Consultative Conference, minority nationalities’ members approximately accounted for the 11% of all members and the sixty-eight minority women members accounted for the 27.3% of the minority nationalities’ members, with an increase of 2.9% compared with the previous edition. The Chinese government attaches great importance to the training of minority women cadres. The Chinese government, in order to raise the quality of the political work and the practical work ability of national minority women leading cadres, provided the organization of training classes for national minority women cadres every two years, in the frame of the systematization of national minority women cadres’ training work. Each autonomous region accordingly worked out a training plan for minority women cadres which included carrying out rotation training for regional and county levels’ minority women cadres, selecting middle-aged minority women cadres from counties, cities, regions and towns to receive different types of education at college or above level, selecting excellent and specialized technical personnel among middle-aged national minority women to attend training courses abroad. The above-mentioned act effectively increased the opportunity of Chinese minority women to participate in politics and to discuss politics, fully ensuring minority women’s right to political participation. Thank you Madam President.