The brief has been developed under the ‘Enhancing Access to Justice for Women in Asia and the Pacific’ Regional Programme, jointly implemented by UN Women, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the International Commission of Jurists, with generous support from the Government of Sweden.

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.

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.

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.

This facilitator’s handbook is designed for women peace activists and women leaders. Its purpose is to empower women leaders and women peace activists by giving them the necessary tools that will not only promote and increase their effective participation in the peace processes but equip them with the information and techniques to train other women peace activists.

This brief provides an overview of the Rights of Nature, how the global movement is being translated into regional action, and its connection with indigenous knowledge and systems of living in harmony with nature. 

This issue of the WA2J Quarterly Brief highlights the project initiatives from April - November 2021 under the joint UN Women, ICJ, and OHCHR project titled "Enhancing Women’s Access to Justice in the Asia Pacific: Bridging the gap between formal and informal systems through women’s empowerment." The aim of the joint project is to make justice accessible for women by strengthening the formal justice system and creating an enabling environment for justice seekers by working with civil society organizations, women human rights defenders, and community-based justice mechanisms as well as initiating regional, national and community dialogues. The project is generously supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SIDA.

This report on the proceedings of the global conference “Gender-inclusive peace processes: Strengthening women’s meaningful participation through constituency building” explores current challenges, best practices, and recommendations on how best to leverage the practice of constituency building to further gender-inclusive peace.

The Bangkok Rules commit states, including the Philippines, to reduce the incarceration of women, and if they are already in prison, protect their rights and uphold their dignity.

The finance maps work much like a dating site for women entrepreneurs and finance providers. First, you open the finance map for your country. Second, simply fill out your profile, filter on what you are looking for and the map will list the finance providers that best match your business.

The WE Rise Toolkit for Accelerators consists of three tools that provide actionable steps to unlock the power of gender inclusivity for your organisation and acceleration programme. This will enable entrepreneurs from all genders to benefit equally from the support you have to offer. To implement a more inclusive and innovative acceleration programme that yields business benefits for entrepreneurs and ecosystem partners, it’s advised to applying all of the three tools.

The WE Rise Toolkit for Entrepreneurs consists of four tools that provide actionable steps to unlock the power of gender inclusivity for your business. The WE Rise Toolkit is unique in the fact that it shows how gender equality means good business. You can use our four tools in an iterative manner. Once you’ve completed all four tools you can start over as to further sharpen your gender inclusive business.

The use of digital technologies in the justice sector has gained considerable momentum against a background of global trends in accelerating technology advancement, combined with an urgency to transform processes in the justice chain amid improve limited access to courts during the COVID-19 pandemic. What does this mean for access to justice for women and gender equality in the justice system? Read more in this op-ed titled What are the digital dividends for women seeking e-Justice?

The programme Enhancing Access to Justice for Women in Asia and the Pacific: Bridging the gap between formal and informal systems through women’s empowerment aims to make justice accessible for women by strengthen the formal justice system and to create an enabling environment for justice seekers by working with CSOs, women human rights defenders, and community-based justice mechanisms.

This Resource Pack for Orientation of Justice Sector Stakeholders has been developed by UN Women Pakistan to orient justice sector officials in Pakistan for understanding the process of legal aid/ assistance/ advice, client handling, and management of cases of Gender-Based Violence for better dispensation of justice. It details pro-women laws and legislative provisions and serves as a reference guide that can be adapted to respond to the needs of each particular audience.

The alternative dispute resolution (ADR) landscape in Timor-Leste is a dynamic and important source of justice provision. In the context of a formal justice system, as yet unable to deal effectively with its caseload, the operation of ADR is largely positive, allowing community members to deal with conflicts quickly, restore balance to the community and avoid further pressure on the courts. This UN Women research examines...

As the formal justice system in Timor-Leste develops to meet the needs of the population, many disputes and conflicts continue to be resolved outside of the formal system, using alternative dispute resolution (ADR), such as customary justice, mediation or arbitration. The Ministry of Justice, recognizing the importance of ADR in accessing justice, is working on draft legislation related to informal justice processes and has received support from the Ministry of Justice in Japan. The Ministry...

This study provides new insights into how women perceive the justice system in Viet Nam and how the victims are treated. When the very actors tasked with facilitating access to criminal justice instead “counsel” and pressure victims to settle cases out of court, or treat them without regard for their dignity or privacy, it should come as no surprise that many women eventually give up on a system which is often unresponsive to their needs. When the criminal justice system...

This study, the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region, seeks to analyze how the varying criminal justice systems in Thailand and Viet Nam respond to reported cases of rape and sexual assault, and to identify the key institutional factors associated with the disposition of cases in these countries. In doing so, the study aims to understand where and how attrition of sexual violence cases occurs and identify strategic entry points for strengthening the administration of justice in this area. The research incorporated the mapping of the sexual violence legislation and legal processes in each country, a quantitative review of a minimum of 120 police and/or court case files ...

Part of UN Women’s Stories of Change series, this publication tells the story of Najiba and Lalbibi, two survivors of violence who sought help at a UN Women-funded Women’s Protection Centre, help that likely saved their lives.