Resources & Reports

APWW Commission on the Status of Women 65th  Session Written Statement (2021)

Asia Pacific Women’s Watch recognises the CSW 65 thematic area as critical, especially in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a disproportionate impact on the lives of women in all their diversity.

The reality is that despite normative and developmental frameworks to advance gender equality over the last 25 years, and national and regional Gender Equality Plans and Declarations, women in all their diversity remain under-represented in leadership at all levels of political and high level decision making. Women in parliaments across the Asia Pacific is below 25 percent, 2 countries in this region have crossed 30 percent representation and 3 countries have no women in Parliament. Women’s representation in the Pacific is the lowest at 19.4 per cent. Asia recorded the slowest growth rate of any region, having gained only 6.8 percentage points over the last 25 years. This is far from the 30 percent target committed to in the Beijing Platform for Action and falls short of the Sustainable Development Goal targets

Full Statement Click Here

 

APWW Commission on the Status of Women 64th  Session Written Statement (2020) – Beijing + 25

For the last 25 years women’s advocates, human rights defenders and feminist groups in the Asia and Pacific region have been actively involved in shaping a new development agenda that adequately addressed human rights, including women’s rights and gender equality. As the development agenda changes and the goalposts move under the guise of a new global development agenda spaces for activism shift and change. The negotiation processes are complex, frustrating and at times dangerous but with each new development paradigm new opportunities arise to re – shape global understandings of development in a struggle towards social, economic, ecological and gender justice. The internet and social media for communication has given rise to new advocacy spaces, quicker mobilising and connecting across different feminist groups and movements around the world; it is allowing speedy responses to key issues. Many younger feminists have come into the movement, championing new forms of protest and movement building. New feminist agendas are emerging, linking intergenerationally, documenting progress and gains, providing evidence of lives’ realities, changes and challenges in the women’s human rights agenda. There is also constant political push back and an increasing militaristic climate that continues to impact on safety and security of human rights defenders.

Over recent years feminist groups and networks in the Asia and Pacific region have experienced increasingly harsher push back in civil society participation in national, regional and global processes, including United Nations bodies and processes. Civil society advocates have been facing ever more repressive and securitized political environments. Intimidations, restrictions and reprisals have been common tactics used by Member States, as well as non-state bodies, to silence and fragment women’s groups and networks. Individual and collective activism is facing a global pushback from Member States, corporations and the politically far right. This push back is felt at the national, regional and international levels

Full Statement click here

APWW Commission on the Status of Women 63rd Session Written Statement (2019)

Social protection systems, public services and sustainable infrastructure are at the heart of achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Without scaling up investments in this area, virtually all of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals — be they social, economic, environmental or political — will remain out of reach.

Social protection, public services and sustainable infrastructure play a critical role in“transforming our world”. As such, their provision must be geared to changing unequal gender relations to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Social Protection and security must be viewed through women ’s rights perspective. Gender responsive social protection should not be perceived only about women in labour markets, it has to be about women at home, in farms and forests and fields where women are. There is need for social security discourse to be redefined to look at the strategic and practical needs of women especially from the socially and economically vulnerable groups.

Full statement  /APWW-CSW63-Statement-N1840035 here

Final Declaration Asia Pacific NGO Forum on Beijing +15  

Following the NGO Forum on Beijing + 15 held  22-24 October, 2009 at Miriam College, Quezon City , Phlippinnes – the Weaving Wisdom, Confronting Crises, Forging the Future Declaration was drawn up to reflect the position of the Asia Pacific Region – this Declaration was tabled at ESCAP at the Intergovernmental Meeting on Beijing + 15 and read out in the opening ceremony by Dr Patricia Licuanan, Chair Asia Pacific Women’s Watch (APWW)

Full Declaration here   AP NGO Final Declaration

Research Report – ‘Linking the Networks – Enhancing Social Media Strategies to Advance UNSCR 1325 in Asia – A Grass Roots Research Initiative’

Hash tag advocacy : young women explore social media for UNSCR 1325 at CSW 58th Session.

In 2014 a number of countries in Asia already had, were working on, or were thinking about implementing a National Action Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace and Security). This research brought together feminists and peace advocates from countries in Asia to investigate how social media and networking on line could be used to promote real advocacy work to advance UNSCR 1325 in their countries and in Asia.

This video contains a summary of the research training, key issues and reflections of the research participants ‘Status Update : Women, Conflict and Social Media’ was launched at CSW 58th session to a packed audience of over 200 international feminist and peace advocates.

This research was partially funded through AusAID in Australia.

Research Report – ‘Joining the dots – Exploring the economic empowerment of women in conflict affected areas – combining UNSCR 1325, CEDAW, BPFA and MDGs’

Joining the Dots shares the findings of an Asia Pacific regional research inquiry conducted collaboratively between Justice Equality Rights Access (JERA) International, an Australian based women’s NGO; Asia Pacific Women’s Watch (APWW) a regional network of women’s organizations and groups in the Asia Pacific Region; and Women and Media Collective (WMC), a Sri Lankan based NGO.

The research was carried out in six countries from the Asia Pacific Region; Aceh (East Asia), Fiji (the Pacific), Kyrgyzstan (Central Asia), and Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka (South Asia). These countries were identified as having been affected by conflict; by the overthrow of governments and the institution of repressive regimes, or by other military operations, resulting in large numbers of people being killed or becoming Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs) and by the destruction of property.

The inquiry explores the reality of the lives of women affected by conflict and the effect on opportunities for livelihood enhancement and economic empowerment.

Full Report can be found here Joining_the_Dots

As part of this study, a short documentary was produced 

Joining the Dots Documentary  part 1

Joining the Dots Documentary  part 2

Beijing + 10 Review Report – The Little Purple Book (2005)

In 2005 for the ten-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action (Beijing +10)  Asia Pacific Women’s Watch worked with counterpart organisations and networks to develop The Little Purple Book, consisting of regional statements and recommendations for each critical area was a key advocacy tool for the advancement of women in the Asia and Pacific Region.