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 Women's
Human Rights Working Group (Page 2) |
Women Human Rights Framework
When the WHR Working group was created in 2003 one of the specific mandates given to it by the Regional Council was ‘to promote and facilitate integration of WHR framework in APWLD’. The working group decided an important starting point was the creation of a position paper on APWLD’s women’s human rights framework. The purpose of the paper is to clarify and articulate APWLD’s understanding and position/s on women human rights and formulate conceptual tools for addressing APWLD’s programme issues. Before drafting the paper and seeking to facilitate the integration of a women’s human rights approach into APWLD, the Working Group felt that it was important to assess if there is an agreed upon or common WHR framework within APWLD. Different programmes have different ways of approaching and looking at WHRs. So the working group sought the input of members of APWLD at both APWLD’s General Assembly Meeting in February 2004 and at the FLTP for Staff and APWLD members in February 2004. These consultations with APWLD members sought input into: what should be the essentials of a WHR framework; what are the conceptual tools that should be included in the framework; and what are the strategies for the promotion of WHRs that APWLD uses and should use in the future. Based on these discussions the working group prepared the framework for the paper which has now been drafted. The paper traces the conceptual tools of a women’s human rights approach, including feminism as a framework for analysing and interpreting discrimination; the public/private divide; substantive equality approach; intersectional approach; and the substance, structure, culture analysis of the law. The paper traces critical emerging issues in the region, such as fundamentalisms; militarisation and armed conflict; globalisation and neo-liberalism; violence against women; sexual and reproductive rights; accountability of private actors (individuals, trans-national actors, multi-national corporations); and impunity. The paper also outlines the strategies to promote advocacy of women human rights, including engagements with the law as well as informal institutions and processes; building and sustaining networks and movements; and implementing a rights based approach. The paper will be circulated for comment and feedback to APWLD Task Forces and members to ensure that it is reflective of the programme and members issues and concerns. Input from APWLD Task Forces and members will be solicited at the General Assembly and Regional Council meeting in February 2006 and Task Force meetings throughout 2006. The outcomes of these discussions will inform the further development of the paper and its finalisation at the end of 2006. Paper on Fundamentalisms and Women’s Human Rights
The Working Group identified a need to develop a more nuanced understanding on the inter-linkages between gender, diversity and identify politics, women’s human rights and fundamentalisms and how these impact on the current situation for women’s struggle for these rights. Thus the working group decided to draft a conceptual framework for deepening our understanding on these issues. The broad outline of the paper includes: strategies; definitions of fundamentalisms and related issues; manifestations; and strategies for addressing fundamentalisms. The paper will include examples of how fundamentalisms have manifested in various countries around the region gathered from members of APWLD. This paper will be circulated to APWLD Task Forces and members to help enrich each programmes’ analysis of these issues in APWLDs programmes and focuses. Additional Activities These additional activities were: Ten resolutions were approved by CSW - six new resolutions (on gender mainstreaming in national policies and programmes; the possible appointment of a special rapporteur on discrimination against women; trafficking; integrating a gender perspective in post-disaster relief, particularly in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster; indigenous women; and women’s economic advancement) and four traditional texts (on women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS; the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW); the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan; and the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women). A resolution that will be of particular interest to women’s groups and members and partners of APWLD, considering APWLD’s extensive work with Special Rapporteurs, is the resolution put forth by the Philippines and Rwanda, on creation of a Special Rapporteur on laws that discriminate against women. This would hopefully intensify efforts to revoke laws that discriminated on the basis of sex and to remove gender bias in the administration of justice. The Commission would decide to consider at its fiftieth session the advisability of the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on laws that discriminate against women. For more information on resolutions, please, visit: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/Review/english/news.htmFrom the Asia-Pacific region, several women’s groups participated. The Asia Pacific Women’s Watch (APWW) was coordinating the efforts within the region. APWLD has worked very closely with Asia Pacific Women’s Watch (APWW) since last year for activities relating to BPFA+10. As part of their lobbying efforts, APWW had put together a “Negotiation Kit for Beijing+10”, commonly known as the “little purple book”. It identified the gains, gaps, emerging issues and recommendations per the 12 critical areas of concern. APWLD had prepared the chapter on Human Rights of Women for the “little purple book”. From the region, the Philippines proposed a resolution on integrating a gender perspective in post-disaster relief efforts, particularly in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster. The resolution strongly called on governments and other relevant bodies, in their responses to disaster situations, to take into account the particular needs of women and girls including taking necessary measures to protect women and girls from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse and all other forms of violence in the context of natural disasters. It also called on governments to involve women in all levels of decision-making in disaster situations. As mentioned, APWLD, in collaboration with others, organised a side event on Women Human Rights Defenders, which was well received. APWLD members from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan (Forum of Women’s NGOs of Kyrgyzstan and Feminist League) were lobbying for introduction of special measures to promote women’s participation in political processes in Central Asia, members from Burma (Women’s League of Burma) were advocating for de-legitimising the military regime of Burma and ending the state violence, members from Korea (Korean Women’s Association United) were advocating on trafficking issues and on the comfort women issue — to make the Japanese government accountable for its war-time military sexual slavery and also calling for ‘no permanent security council seat for Japan until justice to ‘comfort women’’ is achieved. The Programme Officer also joined the documentation team of APWW. Participation at CSW furthered the objective of the WHR Programme to engage with strategic international venues to further APWLD’s advocacy issues. Participation at CSW in 2005 was crucial to follow-up the WHR Programme’s advocacy and involvement in the Beijing +10 review and to further our advocacy and campaign on Women Human Rights Defenders. Participation in the Consultation on Women and Land Rights, February 10th Delhi, India APWLD was invited to attend the Consultation on Women and Land Rights organised by Sathi in collaboration with Asia Pacific Women’s Watch and India Women’s Watch. The consultation was basically using the BPFA+10 momentum to hold governments accountable to its commitment of giving land rights to women—including access to and control over resources. It emphasised the inter-linkages between VAW and women’s right to adequate housing, an area APWLD has worked extensively on. The PO participated in the Consultation.Participation in the Global Consultation on the Ratification and Use of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 27-30 August 2005, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia WHR Working Group Meeting
Lessons Learnt: With the end of the 49th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and with it the end of the BPFA+10 review process, the women’s movement is reflecting on where to go from here with BPFA. In 1995, the BPFA was adopted by 189 governments, reaffirmed in 2000 and again in 2005. The critical step now is to make governments deliver against their promises. The gap between commitments and the reality for women is large and is in fact widening for many women. The WHR Programme will take up this challenge in the next programme cycle by building capacity of APWLD members to advocate and protect their rights using a women’s human rights framework which rests on implementation of international standards and government’s accountability for the fulfilment of WHRs.The WHRD activities and Consultation revealed once again that ‘WHRDs’ is a new term for many activists across the world. There is little awareness and consciousness among women on the concept of WHRDs or articulation of the difficulties and challenges they face as arising from being women human rights defenders. There is even less awareness on the existence of the declaration on HRDs, thus, there is a need to continue this campaign under the WHR programme and circulate and disseminate widely the HRD Declaration. The Consultation also demonstrated the widespread nature of the threats and attacks against WHRDs and the need to continue the campaign. Two of the working group members also participated in the VAW Programmes Planning Meeting on Access to Justice which took place in Mumbai, India from 22-23 April 2005 to assist the VAW TF to conceptualise a campaign on Access to Justice for Violence against Women which has a women’s human rights framework approach. Participation of WG members in the meeting was valuable and provided an example of future involvement in other APWLD programmes. Future Plans: For FLTP trainings in the future, APWLD’s national partners should play a more active role, in selecting participants and in follow-up with these participants later on how they have been able to utilise what they learnt at the training. Women’s groups already conducting trainings should also be targeted so that an even larger audience can be reached. The WG will assist members in Indonesia to conduct National FLTP training in Indonesia in 2006. Alumni from Indonesia of FLTP training of the last few years will be enlisted to assist with the training. The WG hopes to encourage other members to do similar trainings at a national level with the assistance of the WG members and the completed FLTP Training Manual. Diversifying the pool of FLTP trainers is also important and thus APWLD will hold a TOT in 2006. Recognising the fact that the issues raised by the WHRDs campaign is new for many women activists in the region, the WG will continue to work on this issue at a regional level and support on-going campaigns at a national level. The WG has received requests to translate the Human Rights Defender Declaration into languages from the region for dissemination at the national and grassroots level. |
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For further information, Please contact :
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)
189/3 Changklan Road
Amphoe Muang
Chiang Mai 50101
Thailand
Tel: (66) 53 284527, 284856
Fax: (66) 53 280847
Email: apwld@apwld.org
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