UN Women Asia and the Pacific to hold a regional workshop for judicial training institutions to promote Women’s Human Rights in the Southeast Asian judicial system

Date: Tuesday, 14 October 2014

Bangkok — Judges and representatives from judicial institutes from across Southeast Asia will gather at a regional workshop to discuss how they can help counter gender-based violence and gender stereotypes. The workshop, organized by the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in collaboration with the Office of the Thai Judiciary and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) will be held at the InterContinental Hotel in Bangkok from 15 to 16 October 2014. Journalists are invited to the opening session on the morning of 15 October and to the reception dinner on 15 October.

This workshop, Regional Workshop for Judicial Training Institutions on Good Practices in Promoting Women’s Human Rights Compliant Justice Delivery, will focus on using the CEDAW Convention and on eradicating gender stereotypes, especially in cases related to violence against women. It also aims to improve the progress of the implementation of the CEDAW Convention and strengthen the regional network of judicial training institutions in eight Southeast Asian countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

Speakers at the opening session in the morning of 15 October 2014 include Hon. Justice Pattarasak Vannasaeng, Secretary-General of the Office of the Thai Judiciary; H.E. Mr. Philip Calvert, Ambassador of Canada for Thailand; Ms. Roberta Clarke, Regional Director of the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific; and Mr. Sam Zarifi, ICJ’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.

Among the forum’s participants are Milena Pires, CEDAW Committee member, Timor Leste; Justice Vacharin Paijekvinyusakul, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeal, Region 6, Thailand; Justice Sittisak Wanachagit, Deputy Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal, Region 7, Thailand; Christine Mary Foster, Senior Lecturer, Law Faculty of the University of New South Wales; and Judge Maria Rowena Modesto-San Pedro, Judge of Regional Trial Court – Pasig City Philippines. The reception dinner on 15^th October will have members of the diplomatic community.

All Southeast Asian nations are party to the CEDAW, but there has been uneven progress among them in complying with international human rights standards in eliminating discrimination against women in their judicial systems and promoting gender equality. There is therefore a recognized need to ensure that core principles of CEDAW and the observations of the CEDAW Committee are implemented in South East Asian countries’ domestic court decisions.

This event follows an international conference held in September 2013, also organized by UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in collaboration with the Office of the Thai Judiciary and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), which focused on substantive issues of gender responsive jurisprudence and women’s human rights. Participating judges at that event also discussed the principles of women’s human rights as defined in international human rights laws.

This year’s Regional Workshop will offer a rare opportunity for all journalists to hold exclusive interviews with dignitaries in the international and regional judicial sector; learn about good practices from Southeast Asian tribunals in applying CEDAW and its principles and on rendering gender sensitive judgments.

This Regional Workshop is an important initiative, organized at this scale, with the judiciary of South East Asia, on women’s human rights. This activity is supported by the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD).

Media enquiries:

Pimvadee Keaokiriya, Programme Officer – CEDAW SEAP, UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Tel: +66 2 288 1684, Fax: +66 2 280 6030, Mobile: +66 89 694 9851, E-mail: [ Click to reveal ]

Emerlynne A. Gil, International Legal Advisor Asia Pacific Programme, International Commission of Jurists, Tel. 662 6198477, 662 6198478 Ext. 206, E-mail: [ Click to reveal ]

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