In partnership with the Governments of Australia and the Republic of Korea, UN Women developed a five-year Regional Framework Towards Inclusive and Peaceful Societies, outlining strategies to tackle the most pressing governance and peace and security challenges across the Asia-Pacific region. This brief summarizes key approaches under the framework.

The valuable contributions of these people are acknowledged, and it would not have been possible to prepare this toolkit without them. This work has identified many appropriate initiatives being undertaken in different localities, as well as evidence about pitfalls to be avoided, and there is now an opportunity to pool this practical experience and promote good practice.

This multi-country study on women-led MSMEs, with a focus on microenterprises in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Rwanda and Uganda, is a key output of the Together Digital Programme. It is intended to inform the design and implementation of programmmes, initiatives, and strategies supporting women’s entrepreneurship.

Indonesia recognizes that a stable, just and peaceful society cannot be achieved without acknowledging and highlighting women’s important role in building peace, preventing conflict and addressing emerging security threats such as climate change and violent extremism. Within the global framework of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), Indonesia has endeavoured to localize the WPS agenda into a National Action Plan (NAP). In 2014, through a Presidential Decree (Perpres No. 18), the first NAP for the Protection and Empowerment of Women and Children during Social Conflicts, also known as NAP WPS, was launched. It included three pillars: prevention, mitigation and empowerment, and participation of women and children.

Since the adoption of UNSCR 1325 in 2000, and to ensure the protection and participation of women, including in conflict-affected settings, Thailand has localized and implemented UNSCR 1325 by prioritizing full, equal and meaningful participation of women in peacebuilding and by integrating the WPS agenda into both existing or newly developed national laws and policies, especially those related to women and gender.

To effectively meet these challenges in the years ahead— and to avoid a backslide in women’s rights and the progress that has been achieved on the WPS agenda—continued efforts and stronger partnerships are needed to ensure that women’s voices, including young women’s voices, are heard and respected and that their leadership is strengthened across all sectors. This brief outlines how the UN Women Regional Office in Asia and the Pacific will support the implementation of the WPS agenda in the region for the years to come.

Gender equality is a precondition for achieving Sustainable Development Goals and any kind of meaningful and sustained progress, including in laying out the foundation for peaceful and resilient societies. This brief outlines how the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific will support inclusive governance processes in the region for the years to come.

This brief provides an evidence-based analysis of recent trends in online hate speech. Focused on Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, this brief analyses misogynistic hate speech which has occurred in the context of increasing polarization, shrinking democratic space and the ongoing gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through this programme, UN Women contributed to the implementation of the Secretary General’s Plan of Action on Preventing Violent Extremism and to the achievement of the Agenda 2030 goals, particularly SDG 16 on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, and Goal 5 on promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment.

In this edition, we share updates on our partnership with the Government of Indonesia, local and village administrations, and civil society organizations (CSOs) to protect and empower women migrant workers for safe and fair migration. We worked closely with ASEAN and development partners to promote women, peace, and security in Southeast Asia

UN Women in India has adopted a multi-pronged approach to advance the goal of gender equality through interventions that support the formulation of gender policies and norms at par with global standards. Our Inter-governmental Processes (IGP) programme works with the Government of India in supporting an enabling environment necessary for the fulfillment of India’s international commitments to advance the goal of gender equality. Through the Generation Equality Forum (GEF) initiative, we provide a platform for dialogue and action on gender-based issues. Our support of global peacekeeping efforts has ensured that women play a decisive leadership role in UN humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts. UN Women has an important role in working across the UN in India, supporting and coordinating the UN system’s work in support of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The project is implemented with the generous support of the Government of the Republic of Korea, and the Government of Australia under the Cyber & Critical Tech Cooperation Program, and falls under the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Regional Framework Towards Peaceful, Inclusive Societies: Advancing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and Inclusive Governance in the Asia Pacific Region. Learn more about UN Women’s approaches to conflict-sensitive and gender-responsive cybersecurity in this brief.

Based on an analysis of 11 countries, this research brief summarizes, explains and furthers the understanding of the linkages between gender, security and natural resource management (NRM) in the Asia-Pacific region by analysing the land, water and forestry sectors. Although countries traditionally view NRM as separate from women, peace and security issues, NRM is a field in which the currents and risks of climate change, conflict, security and gender-based disadvantages concretely intersect.

The second thematic brief looks at the legal and justice system changes and implications for gender equality and women’s rights in Afghanistan since the Taliban take-over on 15 August 2021. While incremental progress was made prior to August 2021 to advance access to justice for women and girls in Afghanistan, there has been an observable and swift backslide. Institutions and infrastructure supporting the legal rights of women, such as legal aid and shelters, have been largely dismantled.

In this edition: [*] Gulbahar Promotes women’s rights at age of 70 [*] Lucky on Feminist Leadership [*] Women-led team constructing shelters

Implementing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda has long been recognised as essential to achieving sustainable peace and prosperity in the ASEAN region. ASEAN member states remain committed to gender equality and the full protection of women’s rights. They also remain steadfast in their aim to maintain regional peace, address shared security concerns and advance development and prosperity for all citizens. Member states consider the development of this Regional Plan of Action on Women, Peace and Security (RPA WPS) as a critical step to making progress on these commitments. The RPA WPS aims to mobilise the whole of ASEAN to advance implementation of the WPS agenda to promote sustainable peace and security for all citizens.

Over the last three years, the WeEmpowerAsia programme (WEA) has worked to increase the number of women who lead and participate in business in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam, during which period there has been much progress on gender equality in business in Asia.

This ‘Easy Read’ document highlights the key learnings and recommendations discussed during the joint event ‘Access to Justice for Women With Intellectual and Psychosocial Disabilities,’ led by UN Women in partnership with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Irish Centre for Human Rights, University of Galway and the International Disability Alliance, during the World Justice Forum 2022.

Women with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities are among the most marginalized of the estimated 690 million persons with disabilities living in Asia and the Pacific. This brief analyses the key barriers women with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities face in accessing justice and proposes targeted actions to close the justice gap.

Entrepreneurship is a catalyst for women’s economic empowerment. In China, as in the rest of the world, despite a recent surge in women’s entrepreneurship, women-owned businesses tend to be small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are more vulnerable in emergencies than larger companies are, and many women-owned SMEs are situated in the service sector, which was hit the hardest by the pandemic.