110 HRES 294 EH: A resolution commending the Kingdom of
U.S. House of Representatives
2007-07-16
text/xml
EN
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Whereas the Kingdom of Lesotho is a parliamentary
constitutional monarchy that has been an independent country since 1966;
Whereas Lesotho is a low-income country with a gross
national income per capita of $960 and 50 percent of the population lives below
the poverty line;
Whereas, in Lesotho, the HIV prevalence is estimated at 23
percent for the total adult population and 56 percent for pregnant women
between the ages of 25 and 29, and the current average life expectancy at birth
is estimated to be 34.4 years;
Whereas the Kingdom of Lesotho, referred to by some as the
Kingdom in the Sky
, was a strong public supporter of the end of
apartheid in South Africa, and the Government of Lesotho granted political
asylum to a number of refugees from South Africa during the apartheid
era;
Whereas the Government of Lesotho has demonstrated a
strong commitment to ruling justly, investing in people, ensuring economic
freedom, and controlling corruption;
Whereas the Government of Lesotho has been named eligible
by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for a Compact of financial
assistance that, as currently proposed, would strongly focus on improving and
safeguarding the health of the people of Lesotho, in addition to supporting
projects for sustainable water resource management and private sector
development;
Whereas, historically, a married woman in Lesotho was
considered a legal minor during the lifetime of her husband, was severely
restricted in economic activities, was unable to enter into legally binding
contracts without her husband’s consent, and had no standing in civil
court;
Whereas legislation elevating the legal status of married
women and providing property and inheritance rights to women in Lesotho was
introduced as early as 1992;
Whereas for years women’s groups, nongovernmental
organizations, the Federation of Women Lawyers, officials of the Government of
Lesotho, and others in Lesotho have pushed for passage of legislation
strengthening rights of married women;
Whereas in a letter to the Government of Lesotho in
September 2006, the chief executive officer of the MCC stated that gender
inequality is a constraint on economic growth and poverty reduction and is
related to the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, and that inattention to issues of
gender inequality could undermine the potential impact of the Compact proposed
to be entered into between the MCC and the Government of Lesotho;
Whereas the MCC’s advocacy of gender equity played a
supportive role in the enactment of the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act
in the Kingdom of Lesotho, which effectively eliminated de jure
discrimination against women in the customary law system;
Whereas the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act was
passed by the Parliament of Lesotho and enacted into law in November
2006;
Whereas the MCC has already provided assistance to further
full and meaningful implementation of the new law; and
Whereas the MCC has promulgated and is currently
implementing a new gender policy to integrate gender into all phases of the
development and implementation of the Compact between the MCC and the
Government of Lesotho: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)applauds the
enactment of the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act by the Kingdom of
Lesotho;
(2)lauds the Kingdom
of Lesotho for demonstrating its commitment to improve gender equity;
(3)encourages the
Kingdom of Lesotho to continue its effort to ensure gender equity; and
(4)commends the
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for developing and implementing policies
to advance gender equity in the Kingdom of Lesotho and other countries eligible
for financial assistance from the MCC.
Lorraine C. Miller,
Clerk.