In 2012 APWLD will be developing our next 5 year plan. To do that we will commission an evaluation report that analyses the impact of our work and identifies areas where APWLD may need to adjust, continue, grow or conduct further review and assessment.

The evaluation should take place between 1 May –30 June with the draft report due by 7th July 2012. The final report should be provided by July 25th, 2012.

Experienced evaluators are invited to submit a short proposal and personal resumes for the following consultancy. Consultancy fee will reflect competitive rates payed within the region. Travel costs to APWLD activities will be borne by APWLD and need not be included in the proposal.

DEADLINE for Proposals: 29 April 2012 via email to Ms. Navarat Nophiran, Liaison Officer at navarat@apwld.org.

APWLD External Evaluator TOR

Confronting corporate control over land and productive resources: Securing our rights and strengthening our movements

Fri. 20 April 4:30- 6:30pm

Eyup Auditorium

Organised by Asian Rural Women’s Coalition, the session with feature speakers from APWLD members Tenganita (Malaysia), Society for Rural Education and Development (India), and Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (Malaysia)

Rural women’s rights to access and control over land and resources are hampered by aggressive corporate control and gender disparities. The session is an opportunity to share struggles, lessons and key strategies from women’s movements.

Strategies for Women’s Economic Empowerment: Challenges and Perspectives

Fri. 20 April 1:30 – 2:30pm

Halic (Golden Horn) Congress Centre, Room Kasimpasa 3 &4

Organised by Forum of Rural NGOs of Kyrgyzstan with APWLD member Rural Women’s Public Association, “Alga” and moderated by APWLD member Nurgul Dzhanaeva, the session includes discussion of ways of economic empowerment of poor, rural, disabled, and migrant women, women’s NGOs experiences, lessons learnt and challenges, and rural women as new actors in the development process.

Kasimpasa 3 & 4

Understanding ‘network society’- Political economy conversations with the CITIGEN research community

Sat. 21 April 11:30am- 1:00pm

Room: Cibali 3

Organised by APWLD Regional Coordinator Kate Lappin and Anita Gurumurthy, Binitha Thampy, Margarita Salas (CITIGEN Researchers), and Andrea Cornwall and Srilatha Batliwala (CITIGEN Advisors)

Learn more as the CITIGEN research community members discuss the links between technology, economic power and women, including small group discussions on:

-Why is technology an issue of economic power and gender justice?

- What do we see play out- the good, the bad, the ugly and the invisible

- What alternative practices do we see?

- What would techno-utopia be from the perspective of economic and gender justice?

“Accountability, rather than impunity, should become the norm for all acts of violence against women,” said the independent expert charged by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate violence against women, its causes and consequences. “The responsibility to prevent violence, protect against violence, provide remedies for victims, and to punish perpetrators for all acts of violence against women, is primarily an obligation of the State.”

Ms. Manjoo noted that Papua New Guinea is a culturally rich and diverse country, in which the respect for tradition plays an important role in the daily lives of its population. However, she stressed, “violence against women is a pervasive phenomenon in Papua New Guinea, with a wide range of manifestations occurring in the home, the community and institutional settings.”

In her preliminary observations, the Special Rapporteur noted that violence against women in the country begins at home, with women and girl children being subjected to physical and sexual violence, mostly by male family members. “Domestic violence is socially perceived as a normal aspect of a woman’s life and a family matter that should not be discussed publicly,” she said.

Polygamy was also identified as a common cause of violence in the family by the UN independent expert: “The abuse usually starts with neglect and lack of resource provision for the first wife and her children, but can escalate to physical and sexual violence, and in some cases murder.”

“Complaints of violence and sexual abuse of women by the police while in detention and outside was a systemic issue, including against sex workers,” Ms. Manjoo said. “Regardless of the specific manifestations of violence suffered, most interviewed victims felt that the policing sector had not provided them with an adequate response to their cases.”

The expert welcomed a number of positive measures adopted by the Government, like the Family and Sexual Violence Units set up by the police; the Women and Children’s desks set up through the Community Policing; and the Family and Sexual Offence Unit of the Office of the Public Prosecutor, together with the appointment of a Victim Liaison Officer responsible for assisting women victims of violence who use the criminal justice system.

“Currently these units have very little resources and, as awareness and usage of these specialized units’ increases, there is a growing need for additional staff and resources to be allocated to them,” she warned highlighting the lack of adequate human and financial resources for such initiatives.

“It is my hope that relevant and much needed laws are passed soon, existing laws are adequately enforced; that existing specialized units are strengthened and replicated at the provincial and district levels; that women are encouraged and supported by the state sector in bringing their cases to the District and National Courts,” the rights expert said.

“The empowerment of women must be coupled with social transformation, to fully address the systemic and structural causes of inequality and discrimination, which most often lead to violence against women,” she stressed.

During her fact-finding mission from 18 to 26 March, Ms. Manjoo met with Government officials, National and Provincial authorities, and members of the Autonomous Bougainville Government. She also held meetings with representatives of civil society organisations, UN agencies and the donor community.

“Most importantly,” the UN Special Rapporteur added, “I want to thank the individual women who courageously shared their personal experiences of violence and survival with me.”

Ms. Rashida Manjoo (South Africa) was appointed Special Rapporteur on Violence against women, its causes and consequences in June 2009 by the UN Human Rights Council, for an initial period of three year. As Special Rapporteur, she is independent from any government or organization and serves in her individual capacity. Ms. Manjoo is also a Professor at the Department of Public Law at the University of Cape Town. Learn more, log on to:http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/women/rapporteur/index.htm

(*) Check the full end-of-mission statement

UN Human Rights Country Page – Papua New Guinea:

For more information and press inquiries, please contact:In Port Moresby: Christina Saunders (+675 321 28 77 / +675 715 59 980) or Gabriela Guzmán Garza (+41 79 444 43 32/ or write to gguzman@ohchr.org)In Geneva: Thierry del Prado (+ 41 22 917 92 32 / tdelprado@ohchr.org)

In terms of good news, ten states, including Bangladesh, agreed on the importance of empowering rural women as critical actors for enhancing agricultural and rural development, as well as food and nutritional security.

However, key text was deleted or ‘bracketed’, as was the case with the US and important text on right to food and replacing ‘equity’ with ‘inclusion’. The Women’s Major Group (WMG) said this will impact negatively on poor women around the world.

What became clear by the end of the session is negotiations have only just begun.

Read the full report here

Activities and advocacy carried out by APWLD delegation during the CSW 56 include:

• Hosted the side event “Re-thinking Development Frameworks”, focusing on rural women’s vision of development.
• Delivered an oral statement as one of only 12 NGOs during the General Discussion of the CSW. Member Panha Sok from Cambodia read the statement on behalf of APWLD.
• Delegation members spoke at various NGO events sharing issues, achievements and challenges to the enjoyment of rural and indigenous women’s human rights
• Met with the Malaysian government delegation, the Australian and with the Timorese Permanent Mission to influence the negotiation processes of the agreed conclusions with stronger human rights language particularly on women’s access to resources such as land, peace and eradication of violence against women and militarization, democratic ownership and meaningful representation and participation of rural and indigenous women in development

Reflection and impact assessment are taking place based on which future strategies towards CSW and other key political decision making processes at national, regional and international levels will be developed.

Attending CSW was a pivotal experience for the women delegates as they “truly felt their voices were heard” and “took ownership of the process”.

“I feel I now have more power.  I have APWLD and Asia Pacific women’s movement.  Thank you very much for supporting my participation to CSW and my work for human rights, peace and democracy in Burma.  I too will always be there to support you in solidarity and in sisterhood.”                    Participant from Burma

Unfortunately the CSW ended with a political stalemate, and the governments failed to adopt Agreed Conclusions of the CSW 56.  Government’s failed to reach a consensus on the basis of safeguarding ‘traditional values’ at the expense of human rights and fundamental freedoms of women, particularly around gender equality and women’s sexual and reproductive rights. APWLD together with other leading women’s rights groups issued a statement strongly demanding all governments and the international community to reject any attempt to invoke traditional values or morals to infringe upon human rights guaranteed by international law, nor to limit their scope. The statement is open for signatures so please click here to endorse it.

Working with women engaging in politics to strengthen their political participation and challenge gendered political structures, APWLD organises capacity building on Gender & Politics with women political leaders, activists, campaigners and trainers.

The Level 1 training aims to build on skills and capacity of women who want to engage in political processes and advance women’s agendas in their respective countries and across the region.

To apply, please see download the information and the application below and email/fax completed application form to the attention of:

Diyana Yahaya, Programme Officer, Women in Power  diyana@apwld.org

For applications through email, please include in the subject line “Application for East & Central Asia Gender and Politics Level 1 Training”

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS FRIDAY 23 MARCH 2012

More information: Sub-regional (East & Centra Asia) GPL1 Training Mongolia 2012

Application Form Sub-regional (East & Central Asia) GPL1 Mongolia 2012

Social and gender equality and environmental justice must form the heart of sustainable development, and of the outcomes of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).

This international summit from 20- 22 June 2012 marks 20 years after the first UN conference on sustainable development. Yet 20 years later, great social and economic inequalities still remain, especially for rural, indigenous and other marginalised women.

Our campaign uses a rights-based approach to promoting just development. Development will not be sustainable without fulfilling the human rights of marginalised women.

APWLD is helping lead the way as part of the Women’s Major Group, a network of over 50 women’s organisations worldwide, and is adding the voices of Asia Pacific women into the Rio+20 outcome document.

Through issues and recommendations identified at all levels will be developed into policy recommendations. They will further inform initiatives on sustainable development goals and feminist architecture for expansion to ensure initiatives match the development priorities of marginalised women.

Join in and add your voice!

“This statement is on behalf of the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), representing rural women, including indigenous women from over 25 countries in the region. As part of the APWLD delegation of nine rural women, first time attending the CSW, I’d like to voice out our concerns and recommendations to the CSW.

This world is an unjust place for the majority of rural and indigenous women living in the global south. With the least economic resources of all populations we face systemic violations of our rights in a world where economic power increasingly equates to political and personal power. We urge the Commission to recognise that the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms is an essential principle for development and poverty eradication, not the other way around. Material wealth and economic growth does not automatically result in the enjoyment of human rights and can infact exacerbate the divide between us and the wealthy.

While there have been repeated international commitments to realise rural women’s rights, our experiences demonstrate that there still are many obstacles restricting the full enjoyment of our rights. We identified right to a dignified livelihood and access to resources, violence against women, women’s access to education, health care, and discriminatory laws and practices as key priority issues.

Access, ownership and inheritance of land is important for rural women’s economic empowerment. However, many of our lands are being sold to private investors, large corporations and developers. These practices are encouraged in the name of economic development and growth but women’s access to land is commonly undermined by the privatization and promotion of large scale agro-business over small scale farming. Furthermore, they reinforce the divide between those who are enriched by corporate profits and those of us whose loss of livelihoods enable that profit. We call on governments to support small scale and subsistence farming and stop promoting large scale, foreign agro-investment that reduces access to land by local, rural women.

Violence against women is a major obstacle to rural women’s rights and empowerment. Our communities are less likely to have state services to provide support to survivors of violence, less likely to have access to justice through courts and police and less likely to be able to leave violent relationships or pay legal expenses with little financial resources. We urge governments to pay special attention to the needs of rural women in the process of preparing the CSW 2013 where the Commission will look into the issue of elimination and prevention of all forms of VAW.

Education and training for women is key to empowering women in rural and remote areas. Yet, communities and villages away from the big cities do not always have facilities or resources for schools. Experience tells us that cut backs in public education expenditure and the privatisation of education translates into the withdrawal of more girls from schools. Subsequently, lack of education and training limit women’s access to decent employment opportunities and participation in political and public life.

The right of women to control all aspects of their health is fundamental to our life and integrity. Rural women face significant barriers to health care, especially when it comes to sexual and reproductive health. Fertility rates and maternal mortality in rural areas are generally higher than those in urban areas as we have less access to sexual education, family planning and health care services. Neoliberal economic policies have resulted in reduced government spending, privatisation of health and increased user fees for essential public services. Since our health is not sufficiently profitable so we become the last priority for healthcare. We call upon government to allocate the financial, technical and human resources necessary for rural women’s access to education and training, information, healthcare and nutrition services and infrastructure.

The under-representation of women from rural areas in political and public life remain high in most societies. Discriminatory attitudes and practices limit the space for women’s political participation within their communities. We call upon the States to ensure equal representation and meaningful participation of rural and indigenous women in the decision-making processes at all levels.”