Extract: As organisations committed to women’s human rights, development
for all and the elimination of violence against women, APWLD, together
with AIPP, DPI-AP and the FWCC submit this statement to bring attention
to concerns of Asia Pacific women. Our statement focuses particularly on
the concerns of the most marginalised women: indigenous, rural, migrant
and those living with disabilities. In the Asia Pacific region VAW
remains widespread, systematic and culturally entrenched. Women
experience violence within a continuum that includes daily acts of
harassment and extends to murder, femicide and the disappearance of
women, simply because they are women. Violence against women is the
manifestation of inequalities that are pervasive and tolerated. We
believe that VAW must be addressed by challenging the structural causes
of VAW: patriarchal systems fused with militarisation, fundamentalisms
and neo-liberal global economic systems.
Source: APWLD, AIPP, DPI-AP & FWCC 24/02/2013
See full Statement here:
http://www.awid.org/News-Analysis/CSW-Special-Focus3/CSO-Positions-and-Statements2/Southeast-Asia-Joint-Statement-For-The-57th-Session-Of-The-Commission-On-The-Status-Of-Women-APWLD-AIPP-DPI-AP-And-FWCC
Extract: This is a statement by Women’s Global Network for Reproductive
Rights (WGNRR) representing over one thousand organisations and
individuals from seventy three countries, working towards the fulfilment
of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of all, with a
specific focus on the rights of women and girls. While recognising the
substantial progress made over the last decade and half of toward the
achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through
implementation of ICPD Programme of Action among other international
agreements which recognise SRHR as human rights and promote their
inclusion as part national, regional and international policy
frameworks, it should be stated that such progress has not been
universal and many countries are still failing to meet targets set out
in the original ICPD Programme of Action(PoA). We continue to see a high
correlation between poverty, child and maternal mortality in the
countries that have failed to meet the targets agreed under MDG
development framework. There is a lack of real commitment to ensure the
right of women and girls to decide upon all aspects of their
reproductive health, including the right to choose whether to continue
or end a pregnancy. All efforts to curb the high rates of maternal
mortality (MDG 5) will remain fruitless without addressing unsafe
abortion.
Source: http://wgnrr.org/
See full Statement here:
http://wgnrr.org/wgnrr-statement-to-the-58th-csw-challenges-and-achievements-in-the-implementation-of-the-millennium-development-goals-for-women-and-girls/
This declaration was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly,
resolution 48/104 of 20 December 1993.
Extract:
The General Assembly ,
Recognizing the urgent need for the universal application to women of
the rights and principles with regard to equality, security, liberty,
integrity and dignity of all human beings, Noting that those rights and
principles are enshrined in international instruments, including the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
Recognizing that effective implementation of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women would
contribute to the elimination of violence against women and that the
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, set forth in
the present resolution, will strengthen and complement that process,
Concerned that violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement
of equality, development and peace, as recognized in the Nairobi
Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, in which a set
of measures to combat violence against women was recommended, and to the
full implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women,
Affirming that violence against women constitutes a violation of the
rights and fundamental freedoms of women and impairs or nullifies their
enjoyment of those rights and freedoms, and concerned about the
long-standing failure to protect and promote those rights and freedoms
in the case of violence against women,
Recognizing that violence against women is a manifestation of
historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have
led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to
the prevention of the full advancement of women, and that violence
against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are
forced into a subordinate position compared with men,
Concerned that some groups of women, such as women belonging to minority
groups, indigenous women, refugee women, migrant women, women living in
rural or remote communities, destitute women, women in institutions or
in detention, female children, women with disabilities, elderly women
and women in situations of armed conflict, are especially vulnerable to
violence,
Recalling the conclusion in paragraph 23 of the annex to Economic and
Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24 May 1990 that the recognition
that violence against women in the family and society was pervasive and
cut across lines of income, class and culture had to be matched by
urgent and effective steps to eliminate its incidence,
Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 1991/18 of 30 May
1991, in which the Council recommended the development of a framework
for an international instrument that would address explicitly the issue
of violence against women,
Welcoming the role that women's movements are playing in drawing
increasing attention to the nature, severity and magnitude of the
problem of violence against women,
Alarmed that opportunities for women to achieve legal, social, political
and economic equality in society are limited, inter alia , by continuing
and endemic violence,
Convinced that in the light of the above there is a need for a clear and
comprehensive definition of violence against women, a clear statement of
the rights to be applied to ensure the elimination of violence against
women in all its forms, a commitment by States in respect of their
responsibilities, and a commitment by the international community at
large to the elimination of violence against women,
Solemnly proclaims the following Declaration on the Elimination of
Violence against Women and urges that every effort be made so that it
becomes generally known and respected.
Source: http://www2.ohchr.org
See full text of the Declaration at:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/eliminationvaw.htm
The General Assembly welcomed the 50th Anniversary of the World
Health Organization and acknowledged that WHO's objective is the
attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. It
recalled and reaffirmed the commitments made in the Platform for Action
and the Beijing Declaration, the Programme of Action of the
International Conference on Population and Development, the Copenhagen
Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action of the
World Summit for Social Development and the obligations of the State
parties under the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination against Women and other relevant international agreements
to meet the health needs of women throughout the life span. The GA
reaffirmed the commitment made at the Beijing Conference to ensure
women's rights to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health, and recognized the efforts made by the World
Health Organization and other relevant United Nations bodies to promote
programs relating to all aspects of women's health. Also recognizing the
urgent need to undertake appropriate gender-sensitive initiatives and to
give priority to women's health, the GA called for the urgent
implementation of the health objectives of the Platform for Action and
other relevant international agreements to ensure progress in women's
health.
Source:
http://www.gawh.org/home.php5
See full text of the Declaration at:
http://www.gawh.org/publications/declaration.pdf
Extract from the Declaration:
The Women's Caucus comprised of women's organisations from the South and
North attending the Third Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) in Seattle, Washington, USA. We are concerned that
the rule-based system created by the WTO has produced increasing levels
of inequality in both the North and South. This system privileges
corporate interests over community and national interests. Trade
liberalisation is not gender-neutral and has a different impact on women
and men, similar to the different impact it has on developed and
developing countries. While some women may gain from opening up of
trade, the majority of the world's women and girls are adversely
affected by the unequal power relations created at the national,
regional and international levels by the new trade regime. We firmly
believe that the trade policies should ensure gender equality and equity
and people centered sustainable development.
Source:
http://www.twnside.org.sg
See the Declaration at:
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/caucus-cn.htm
The Women's Caucus formed at the 4th World Water Forum (2006)
produced a Declaration Statement and Recommendations at the 4th World
Water Forum in Mexico City, on 18 March, 2006 .
Key issues (Extract)
Throughout history, women have been the stewards of the global commons:
water, land, air, biodiversity, indigenous and traditional knowledge and
institutions. Women protect, conserve and enhance the water resources
and access within and across the contexts of household, community,
culture and subsistence livelihood generation.
For some 30 years, international and UN global conferences have
repeatedly recognized that effective sustainable water resources
management depends on engaging women at all levels of decision-making
and implementation.
See PDF of the Declaration at:
http://www.worldwaterforum4.org.mx/home/..%5Cfiles%5CDeclaraciones%5CWomen.pdf
This Declaration was written in November 2008 by grassroots African
women campaigners from Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan,
Angola, Rwanda and Nigeria who travelled to London to participate in the
launch of the ‘Voices of African Women’ campaign.
Extract from the Declaration:
We women of Africa from Angola, DR Congo, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria,
Sudan and Zimbabwe, together with activists and supporters from UK WILPF
and diaspora organisations, aware of the negative consequences of neo-colonisation
in Africa, have gathered in London in November 2008 to voice our
concerns. We take this opportunity to ask the general public for their
support and to raise our demands to decision-makers including the
international community, national governments and non-governmental
agencies.
Source: http://www.ukwilpf.org/
See full text of the Declaration at:
http://www.ukwilpf.org/voices-of-african-women/voices-of-african-women-declaration
716 women from 21 countries representing peasants, agricultural
workers, indigenous women, Dalit women, nomads, fisherfolk, informal and
formal workers, migrants and supportive activists met for the First
Asian Rural Women's Conference in Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu, India from 6th
March to 8th March to call for the Rights, Empowerment and Liberation of
rural women. Rural women in Asia continue to face exploitation,
oppression, multiple forms of discrimination and violence in all forms
from the impact of neo-liberal globalisation, fundamentalisms and
militarisation.
Source:
http://www.asianruralwomen.net/html/declaration.htm
See PDF of the Declaration at:
http://www.asianruralwomen.net/resources/declaration_english.pdf
Extract from the Kyiv Declaration on Women’s Health in Prison:
1. We, the government-recognized representatives of ministries concerned
with health in prisons, the WHO Collaborating Centre in the Department
of Health, United Kingdom, representatives of the United Nations Office
on Drugs and Crime, the Quaker Council for European Affairs, the Quaker
United Nations Office, the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, the AIDS
Foundation East-West and other international organizations with expert
knowledge of health in prisons throughout Europe and in the United
States of America, note with concern that current arrangements in
criminal justice systems for dealing with women offenders often fail to
meet their basic and health needs and are therefore far short of what is
required by human rights, by accepted international recommendations and
by social justice.
Source: http://www.unodc.org/
See PDF of the Declaration at:
http://www.unodc.org/documents/commissions/CND-Session51/Declaration_Kyiv_Women_60s_health_in_Prison.pdf
The Declaration was the outcome of the gathering of indigenous women
from the regions of North America, Latin America, the Arctic, Caribbean
and the Pacific, on June 30th to July 1st, 2010 at the INTERNATIONAL
INDIGENOUS WOMEN’S ENVIRONMENTAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SYMPOSIUM, in
Alamo, California, hosted by the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC)
and the North-South Indigenous Network Against Pesticides.
Source, and see full text of the Declaration at:
http://inciteblog.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/international-indigenous-womens-environmental-and-reproductive-health-symposium-declaration/
This is the Conference Declaration of indigenous women from 29
countries on climate change and REDD Plus (United Nations Collaborative
Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest
Degradation in Developing Countries), held in Mandaluyong City,
Philippines. Eighty (80) indigenous women from 29 countries that
participated in the Global Conference on Indigenous Women, Climate
Change and REDD Plus, held between 18-19 November, 2010, came out with a
declaration on climate change and REDD Plus. The Mandaluyong Declaration
captures indigenous women's stories on the adverse impacts of climate
change, how they are adapting and examined their direct contributions in
mitigating climate change. The declaration also spells out priority
areas of work and activities that they, as indigenous women -
collectively or individually, can do within their networks,
organizations and communities.
Source:
http://www.tebtebba.org/index.php/content/164-indigenous-womens-declaration-on-cc-and-redd
See PDF of the Declaration at:
http://www.tebtebba.org/index.php/all-resources/file/144-indigenous-womens-declaration-on-cc-and-redd
On 23rd November 2011, the Afghan Women’s Network (AWN) consulted 500
women leaders representing 500,000 women from more than 20 provinces of
Afghanistan. Their recommendations and perspectives on issues of
national and international interest are incorporated in this
Declaration. This Consultation was the culmination of AWN’s year-long
mobilization and advocacy campaign for women’s inclusion during the Bonn
process and beyond.
Source, and see full text of the Declaration at:
http://www.gnwp.org/afghan-womens-declaration-international-conference-on-afghanistan-in-bonn
On June 22-23, 2012, the ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human
Rights (AICHR) consulted civil society organizations from the 10 ASEAN
Member-State to comment on and provide recommendations for the ASEAN
Human Rights Declaration (AHRD).
Extract from the Declaration:
The ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) has
worked hard to draft an ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) that
reflects the true commitment among Member States to upholding human
rights, promotes adherence to recognized international human rights
standards and meets ASEAN’s main goal: “strengthen democracy, enhance
good governance and the rule of law, and to promote and protect human
rights and fundamental freedoms, with due regard to the Rights and
Responsibilities of the Member States of ASEAN .”
Under the ASEAN Charter, Member States reaffirm their adherence “to the
fundamental principles contained in the declarations, agreements ... and
other instruments of ASEAN.” Member States undertake to“[Uphold] the
United Nations (UN) Charter and international law, including
international humanitarian law, subscribed to by ASEAN Member States.”
In addition, Member States must comply with those rights, which now form
part of customary international law and which are universally
applicable.
The ASEAN Charter commits Member States to upholding the Charter of the
United Nations, of which all ASEAN countries are members. Under the UN
Charter, Member States pledge to maintain international peace and
security, reaffirm their faith in the “dignity and worth of the human
person,” and promote “respect for human rights for all without
distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.” The ASEAN Charter
and ASEAN human rights bodies and declarations reinforce these
principles.
Being one of ASEAN’s human rights bodies, AICHR must be guided by
“respect for international human rights principles, including
universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of
all human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as impartiality,
objectivity, non-selectivity, non-discrimination, and avoidance of
double standards and politicization.”
The recommendations listed in this submission have been formulated by
groups and activists from the LGBT, women’s rights and human rights
sectors, representing regions from across Asia. They have participated
in local and regional workshops and consultations concerning the AHRD,
including The Women’s Caucus, the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN
People’s Forum and PhilWomen on ASEAN Workshop.
We believe that LGBT persons in Asia have the right to be included in
the consultation process and have their recommendations scrutinized with
non-biased and non-prejudiced eyes, free from discrimination and
religious bigotry. As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Navanethem Pillay, has noted: “no discussion of human rights can be
complete or credible without significant input from civil society and
national human rights institutions”.
Seeing the value of the AHRD as a legal human rights document, lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals across Southeast Asia
aspire that the final document will recognize ASEAN’s obligations under
the UN Charter and protect the rights of all people, regardless of
sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). We believe that this will
only be achieved with the cooperation of AICHR, and its willingness to
include the human rights of LGBT individuals.
Source: http://www.dawnnet.org
See full text of the Declaration at:
http://www.dawnnet.org/advocacy-appeals.php?signon=250&id=250
Extract from the Statement by Development Alternatives with Women for
a New Era (DAWN):
22 June 2012, Rio de Janeiro. While governments were locked in their
semantic battles in the Rio+20 process, women’s and other social
movements continue to fight on multiple fronts for human rights, justice
and sustainability. These struggles take place on diverse territories
and geographies including the body, land, oceans and waterways,
communities, states, and epistemological grounds. Each of these terrains
is fraught with the resurgent forces of patriarchy, finance capitalism,
neo-conservatism, consumerism, militarism and extractivism.
An understanding of the deeper structural roots of the crises we face
today and analytical clarity on the interlinkages between different
dimensions are both critical. There is no core recognition that the
multiple crises we face are caused by the current anthropocentric
development model rooted in unsustainable production and consumption
patterns, and financialisation of the economy that are all based on and
exacerbate gender, race and class inequities.
In sharp contrast to twenty years ago at the historic Earth Summit when
linkages between gender and all three pillars of sustainable development
were substantively acknowledged, the Rio+20 outcome document has
relegated women’s rights and gender equality to the periphery without
recognition of a wider structural analysis.
Over the past few months we have witnessed and confronted attempts by a
small group of ultra conservative states (with the strong support of an
observer state – the Holy See), to roll back hard won agreements on
women’s rights. We are outraged that a vocal minority have hijacked the
text on gender and health and blocked mention of sexual and reproductive
rights, claiming that these have nothing to do with sustainable
development. Meanwhile most states concentrate on what they considered
their 'big ticket' items of finance, trade and aid with little interest
to incorporate a gender analysis into these macroeconomic issues.
Source: http://www.dawnnet.org
See full text of the Statement at:
http://www.dawnnet.org/uploads/documents/DAWN%20Analysis%20on%20Rio+20_22Jun2012.pdf
|
Healthy Documents