STATEMENT OF FEMINIST AND WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS ON THE VERY LIMITED AND CONCERNING RESULTS OF THE 56^TH SESSION OF THE UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN[1]

We, the undersigned organisations and individuals across the globe, are alarmed and disappointed that the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) failed to adopt agreed conclusions at its 56^th session. This failure has diminished the considerable work, energy, time and costs that women all over the world invested on the 56^th session of the CSW.  The advancement of women’s human rights should not be put on hold because of political battles between states.  We say NO to any re-opening of negotiations on the already established international agreements on women’s human rights and call on all governments to demonstrate their commitments to promote, protect and fulfill human rights and fundamental freedoms of women.

We  are particularly concerned to learn that our governments failed to reach a consensus on the basis of safeguarding “traditional values” at the expense of human rights and fundamental freedoms of women. We remind governments that all Member States of the United Nations (UN) have accepted that “the human rights of women and of the girl-child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights” as adopted by the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna.   Governments must not condone any tradition, cultural or religious arguments which deny human rights and fundamental freedoms of any person.  After more than 60 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was embraced and adopted by the UN, the relationship between traditional values and human rights remains highly contested.  We affirm the UDHR as not only ‘a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations’ but a common standard of assessment for all traditional values.  The UDHR is an embodiment of positive traditional values that are universally held by this community of nations and are consistent with the inherent dignity of all human beings.  We remind governments that under the Charter of the United Nations, gender equality has been proclaimed as a fundamental human right.  States cannot contravene the UN Charter by enacting or enforcing discriminatory laws directly or through religious courts nor can allow any other private actors or groups imposing their religious fundamentalist agenda in violation of the UN Charter.

“No one may invoke cultural diversity to infringe upon human rights guaranteed by international law, nor limit their scope.  Not all cultural practices accord with international human rights law and, although it is not always easy to identify exactly which cultural practices may be contrary to human rights, the endeavour always must be to modify and/or discard all practices pursued in the name of culture that impede the enjoyment of human rights by any individual.” (Statement by Ms. Farida Shaheed, the Independent Expert in the field of cultural rights, to the Human Rights Council at its 14^th session 31 May 2010)

Amongst other things, it is alarming that some governments have evoked so-called “moral” values to deny women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. Sexual and reproductive rights are a crucial and fundamental part of women’s full enjoyment of all rights as well as integral to gender equality, development and social justice.  Social and religious morals and patriarchal values have  been employed to justify violations against women. Violence against women, coercion and deprivation of legal and other protections of women, marital rape, honour crimes, son preference, female genital mutilation, ‘dowry’ or ‘bride price’, forced and early marriages and ‘corrective rapes’ of lesbians, bisexuals, transgender and inter-sexed persons have all been justified by reference to ‘traditional values’.

We remind governments that the CSW is the principal global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women with the sole aim of promoting women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields.  Its mandate is to ensure the full implementation of existing international agreements on women’s human rights and gender equality as enshrined in the Convention on  the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action as well as other international humanitarian and human rights law.

We strongly demand 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.  Customs, tradition or religious considerations must not be tolerated to justify discrimination and violence against women and girls whether committed by State authorities or by non-state actors.  In particular, we urge governments to ensure that the health and human rights of girls and women are secured and reaffirmed at the coming Commission on Population and Development and the International Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).  Any future international negotiations must move forward implementation of policies and programmes that secure the human rights of girls and women.

We call upon the member states of the UN and the various UN human rights and development entities to recognise and support the important role of women’s groups and organisations working at the forefront of challenging traditional values and practices that are intolerant to fundamental human rights norms, standards and principles.

ASIA PACIFIC FORUM ON WOMEN, LAW AND DEVELOPMENT (APWLD)

ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN DEVELOPMENT (AWID)

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S HEALTH COALITION (IWHC)

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTION WATCH ASIA PACIFIC (IWRAW ASIA PACIFIC)

WOMEN LIVING UNDER MUSLIM LAWS (WLUML) / VIOLENCE IS NOT OUR CULTURE CAMPAIGN

YOUR NAME HERE

This will be submitted to UN Member States, CSW and other relevant UN human rights and development entities. Endorse here. The deadline is 5 April 2012.

Download the statement in:

FRENCH

SPANISH

More information:

Download the statement here: Statement from Women’s Organisations on CSW

Click here to read statements from Norway and the EU supporting women’s human rights

Click here to read UN Women’s Michele Bachelet “Impasse at CSW deeply regrettable”

APWLD is a regional network of women’s organisations and activists in Asia Pacific, committed to enabling women to use law as an instrument of social change for equality, justice and development. APWLD’s members are drawn from 26 countries and the secretariat is based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

This position is a fulfilling role working closely with our membership to advance rural, indigenous and migrant women’s rights. This programme officer will be responsible for anchoring and implementing our “Breaking out of Marginalisation” programme. The successful candidate will work closely with APWLD membership, particularly the organising committees responsible for the programme areas, but will report directly to the Regional Coordinator. Click here for more information.

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!

Mr. Kumara has reported receiving repeated threats and intimidation, as well as being under surveillance since February 2012 following protests by fisherfolk in the Chilaw (Puttalam district) and Negombo (Gampaha district) areas. They were protesting an increase in fuel prices by the Sri Lankan government.

An official complaint was filed at the Pannala Police Station and an English translation of his written statement has been posted on the Asian Human Rights Commission website.

APWLD condemns these human rights violations and urges the Sri Lankan government to:

1. Ensure a full investigation is immediately conducted into Mr. Kumara’s complaint filed with police;

2. Ensure the safety and security of Mr. Kumara, his family and staff of NAFSO;

3. Uphold the rights of human rights defenders under the Sri Lankan Constitution and follow its commitments as a signatory to international human rights instruments.

Letters of support may be sent through the Asian Human Rights Commission.

Please circulate this widely to your networks.

In solidarity,

Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development

Links and articles:

NAFSO website with interview with Herman Kumara

“A plot to kill or otherwise harm the human rights defender Herman Kumara” Tamil News Network

“Media smear campaign, threats and intimidation against human rights defender Mr. Herman Kumara” Lankan News Web

“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.”

This includes migration, violence against women, economic rights, political participation and discrimination in laws, policies and practices. Learn more on how ASEAN is relevant to you and how you WC can help you promote and protect your rights. Download the new Women’s Caucus on ASEAN brochure here.

Cambodia: Borei Keila Settlement

January 12, 2012 – In early 2003, Phnom Penh’s Borei Keila settlement became a test case for a new model on relocation of Cambodia’s urban poor. At least 1,770 families lived on prime land near the city center, which authorities wanted to redevelop. The residents did not want to leave their homes.

As part of a compromise, the parties came to a “land-sharing” agreement, with the construction corporation, Phan Imex, to build 10 buildings to host all of Borei Keila residents in exchange for being allowed to commercially develop the remaining 2.6 hectares of land.

In April 2010, Phan Imex unilaterally reneged on the agreement, having only constructed eight buildings, leaving roughly 300 Borei Keila families excluded from the original agreement. On January 3, 2012, Phan Imex proceeded to destroy these homes with the help of armed state forces.

On 11 January, 30 women and children in Cambodia were arrested in the country’s capital, Phnom Penh, for protesting against this forced eviction.

Boeung Kak Lake

In 2007, almost 4,000 families living near Boeung Kak Lake were stripped of their housing rights. After women-led groups conducted intensive lobbying, the municipality agreed to give land to some families, but arbitrarily left others homeless. Developer Shukaku Inc. has now torn down the remaining homes to start development. LICADHO released this video at our Asia Pacific Regional Consultation on “Women’s Right to Development” with UN Special Procedure Mandate Holders in October.  It looks at three incidents showing the impact on women within communities affected by forced evictions. These abuses are perpetrated in the name of “development”.

21 January 2012: Further violence as military shoots land protesters in Northeastern Cambodia: Click here for more information

25 January 2012: The Phnom Penh Post:  Evictees unite for anniversary

Reflections on solidarity, activities and accomplishments set the tone for the annual meeting of the Southeast Asia Women’s Caucus on ASEAN. In just a short time, the Women’s Caucus (WC) has made a notable impact in advancing women’s human rights perspectives. Key achievements include a submission made to the ASEAN Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) to influence its rules, procedures and work plan. In the process of engaging with ASEAN, linkages are made between regional and national concerns. Some of the participants shared their testimonies in their ongoing struggles to address women human rights issues at national level. Cambodia was pleased to announce that national representatives are increasingly getting aware of the WC and its objectives regarding women’s rights. Additionally, in Indonesia strong lobbying efforts have intensified relationships with government officials, and in Timor-Leste, dialogues between government agencies and interest groups have taken place. Timor-Leste has been involved in the Women’s Caucus in the anticipation that it will soon be a member of ASEAN.

The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) is currently drafting the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD). Seeing that this is the first time that a regional human rights document is being drafted, the WC made its submission of guiding standards and inclusions to reiterate the importance of including women’s human rights in this historic document. Between the AHRD submission and dialogues with ASEAN officials, the WC has been recognised as a serious stakeholder in ASEAN.

In a WC assessment group activity, the stronger relationship between regional and national women’s movements was cited as a positive development. During the three-day meeting, participants also looked back at how the Women’s Caucus has evolved in the past few years using a unique visual exercise. Stations featuring key Women’s Caucus events were presented by date throughout the room. The number of participants at each station increased, visually displaying the growth of the Women’s Caucus membership, especially in recent years.

During this annual meeting, the structure of the WC was also high on the agenda. The coordinating group was affirmed and includes APWLD, IWRAW-AP and the representatives of the three countries, which represent the past, present and future of the ASEAN chairship. The coordinating group plays a large role in strengthening members at national level.

As part of enhancing the movement, the WC assured the participation of young women and others who attended a WC meeting for the first time. “During this time, we have been sharing a lot of ideas. Although we might have differences regarding religion, country, our objective is the same and it is for the equality of women,” said an appreciative first time participant from Indonesia. An eighteen-year-old woman from Cambodia reflects: “I now understand more of the Women’s Caucus and gained more experience in Bali at the meeting, including how to strategically implement programs in my country. Another thing I learned from this meeting is how regional meetings are organised.”

The WC activities and equality message are seeing a broader audience and as dialogue continues the women in the region are confident that the space for CSOs to engage with ASEAN will continue to develop. The annual meeting was organised and held by the Southeast Asia Women’s Caucus on ASEAN from November 23 to 25, 2011 in Bali, Indonesia.