Author: Carole Shaw

It is with deep sadness and loss that we say goodbye to our friend, colleague and ally Mavic Cabrera Balleza.

Over three decades ago our work began in the run up to the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and continued as we strategized, lobbied and advocated together for gender equality, media engagement, ending gender-based violence, and advancing women, peace, and security.

Mavic who was at that time with ISIS International, a women’s NGO in Manilla, worked alongside us with different women’s groups, NGO’s and networks.  She supported women in the media, communications, and the aim to build justice, peace and equality.  Alongside sister organisation ISIS International, Mavic worked in the coordination role with Asia Pacific Women’s Watch for many years, as we ran complex processes to advance the progress of women’s rights and gender equality over the years through the Beijing Platform for Action Work, especially women and media and peacebuilding.

Mavic moved to IWTC in New York and became a key link with APWW in the region on international issues of women, peace and security.  Her leadership and collaboration with civil society governments, UN Women and other UN entities resulted in the establishment of two important global mechanisms: the UN Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) and thee Generation Equality Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action.

She was the visionary behind the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) her brainchild, her passion, her legacy.  Against immense odds, she built and led it with unwavering determination and grace, establishing its presence in New York, with an office standing proudly opposite the UN Headquarters in Manhattan.   Nurturing her team into strong advocates for building peace and security for women in the world.

Mavic was many things, but most of all she was a true friend, compassionate and caring.  Joyful and mischievous.  She was a light in the darkness and brought sustainable and enduring solutions to the table.  She shared openly and no matter what time of the day (or night) it was, would answer your call.

Her passing leaves an irreplaceable void in – not only in my life and in APWW members who worked alongside her, but in the lives of countless individuals and communities she touched.  Let her rest knowing her legacy persists —in the movement she built, in the voices she empowered, and in the change she so fiercely fought for.

Rest my friend, rest in peace, love and light.  we will miss you greatly.

The 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) will take place from 09 to 20 March 2026, bringing together representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from across the world to discuss the priority theme of ‘ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and addressing structural barriers’.

Across Asia and the Pacific, women and girls—particularly those from marginalized and excluded communities—continue to face significant obstacles in accessing justice. These include discriminatory legal frameworks, weak enforcement mechanisms, limited legal literacy, economic barriers, digital divides, conflict and displacement, and intersecting forms of discrimination based on gender, disability, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and migration status. And those with multiple barriers face compounded injustice.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) play a critical role in advancing legal reform, providing survivor-centred services, documenting rights violations, and amplifying the lived experiences of women and girls. Meaningful civil society engagement is therefore essential to shaping regional priorities and strengthening outcomes for CSW 70. In facilitation of this, UN Women ROAP has joined hands with the Asia Pacific CSO Forum Steering Committee comprising organisations such as the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), Asia Pacific Alliance for SRHR (APA), Asia Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW), Asia Pacific Women’s Watch (APWW) and Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM) to organise an Asia Pacific Regional CSO Forum on the Priority Theme of the CSW70 in hybrid format from 27 to 28 January 2026., preceding the Asia-Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting on CSW 70, This Regional CSO Forum aims to collectively examine and identify actionable regional priorities and put forth recommendations for the CSW70 session and the agreed conclusions on the priority theme.

The Collective Statement from the AP CSO Forum on CSW 70th can be found

HERE

Today APWW and it’s member organisation gather to remember Anne Walker.  Anne was an ally, a friend, a mentor, a supporter and guide to many of us on the APWW Steering Committee and to the hundreds of organisations we have represented over the years.  She was a women of extraordinary energy, passion and ability who dedicated her life to promoting peace, democracy and social justice.

Anne worked to support many of our members and member organisations over the years some from as early as the World Conferences on Women (Mexico) and her work with Ruth Lechte and the establishment of the YWCA in Fiji.

She had the ability to make the most complicated systems, processes and procedures seem accessible, such was her way of sharing and movement building.  Anne served on the Steering Committees and Boards of some of our organisations and was tireless in her support of us.

Meeting annually at the IWTC with Anne was always a pleasure – the small gesture of a cup of tea, or a seat to sit and warm up during the cold winter months, a smile and welcome made the long travel and difficult work so much easier.

Her light and the joy she brought to us all will be missed.  Know Anne that you have spread your light far and wide through the many young activists you have mentored and befriended.  Some of whom came to work with you at the IWTC.  We know you as a friend who was genuinely interested in us as women, as feminists and as someone who was always supportive and happy when we reached our goals.

We thank you Anne for who you were in this world and we thank those who supported you through your journey and send you love in your final resting place.

Developed by the Civil Society Steering Committee (SC), the CSO report highlights priority areas of action to accelerate gender equality and women’s empowerment based on the lived experiences of civil society members in the region.
Through this report, we hope to impact the political declaration that will be drafted at the Beijing +30 Ministerial Conference in Bangkok from November 19 to 21.

Based on these consultations that involved 503 participants across 32 countries, the report provides key recommendations for the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) and the Beijing +5 Political Declaration and Outcome (B+5).

Read the report: https://www.unescap.org/…/asia-pacific-ministerial…
#Beijing30 #GenderEquality #Beijing30AsiaPacific #BPfA30 #SRHR4ALL

Join the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference Town Hall for updates on the planning and preparation for the Conference and learn how you can become involved!
Watch LIVE on UN WEB TV
#2024UNCSC #WECOMMIT

When: Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Time: 11:30 am – 1:00 pm EST
Location: Conference Room 1, UNHQ, New York

This parallel event hosted by Asia Pacific Women’s Watch focuses on the continuing impact on women in a post Covid19 world and, the economic downturn evident in many of the countries in the region. The panel, comprising representatives from the Asia Pacific region, will address issues of economic security of women in a context where households are sliding into poverty across socio-economic divides with women’s unpaid care work intensifying, leaving them and their families vulnerable to negative health outcome. It is now imperative that national as well as regional financial institutions reprioritize investment in sectors (labour, health education) that will strengthen avenues forgender equality. Women are pushing back on patriarchal social norms in collective efforts to highlight alternate strategies that can respond to these critical issues.