Beijing+25 Asia-Pacific Youth Blog

Date: Wednesday, July 17, 2019

[Call for submissions] The Beijing+25 Asia-Pacific Youth Blog will be hosted on the UN Women Asia-Pacific website and will accept submissions from young people aged 14 to 30 years from any country in the region. The year 2020 will also mark the five-year review of the Sustainable Development Goals, the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and the 10th anniversary of the creation of UN Women.

Take five: “If we have policies and services but no one knows about them, it’s useless”

Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2019

As NGOs or youth representatives, we do not have such a loud voice among the governmental delegations in New York. But it is good for us to negotiate with some of the governments. Some are more supportive than others, of course, but for example Australia and Nepal are really pushing for our agenda in their meetings. And if the right recommendations are then adopted, then this makes it easier for Y-PEER to then deal with other governments...

Take five: “We would like to see something done about the women workers who are not currently recognized as formal labourers”

Date: Thursday, February 21, 2019

Nepal’s hospitality and entertainment sector includes dance restaurants, singing or “duet” restaurants, open restaurants, and the smaller snack bars known as cabin restaurants, as well as massage parlours. The workplaces in this sector are sometimes registered and sometimes not, but the women who work there are almost always unregistered. In researching women who work in the small bars and massage parlours...

Regional stakeholders say a holistic and gender-responsive approach to social protection is needed

Date: Thursday, February 21, 2019

Gender inequalities remain profound and entrenched across Asia and the Pacific, despite recent rapid economic progress. Women’s inequitable access to health, education and other basic social services starts young and has a life-long, cumulative impact on their social and economic opportunities. To overcome such disadvantages, investment in well-coordinated and gender-responsive social protection systems, public services and sustainable...

Opening Remarks to Asia-Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for CSW63

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2019

On behalf of UN Women, I thank you for being here to prepare for the sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which is taking place in New York next month. I want to thank our UN partners, particularly ESCAP, FAO, UNDP, and UNFPA, for their partnership in organizing...

Opening Remarks to Asia-Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for CSW63

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2019

Gender-responsive public services and infrastructure investments are key in reducing and redistributing the burden of unpaid work, thereby opening opportunities for women to participate in labour markets, community events, or leisure activities. This would include the provision of affordable child care services, which would free-up time for mothers to engage in activities that are appropriate to their situations. Provision of water, sanitation and clean energy, especially in rural areas...

Take five: “Access to certain services has been diminishing as a result of public-private partnerships”

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2019

Gerifel Cerillo is the coordinator of Tanggol Bayi, the Association of Women Human Rights Defenders in the Philippines. In February 2019 she attended the Regional Civil Society Strategizing Workshop in Bangkok for the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women and Beijing + 25 Review. This year’s CSW is focused on social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure. Cerillo’s organization works mostly with the urban poor in and around...

Canadian ambassador: “We need to amplify the voices for good and equality” nearly 25 years after Beijing Declaration

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2019

Donica Pottie, Canadian Ambassador to Thailand, participated as a young diplomat and activist in the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in China, which resulted in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. As the global community prepares to mark 25 years of the Declaration in 2020, she spoke about the challenges facing the new generation of advocates fighting for gender equality and the empowerment...

Bangladesh holds consultation rural women ahead of Commission on the Status of Women

Date: Monday, March 12, 2018

The rural women of Bangladesh have learned much about overcoming gender inequality amid the other challenges of development. Their experiences and recommendations were shared at a multi-stakeholder consultation in Dhaka, ahead of the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), to be held in New York from March 12. This year's CSW priority theme is "Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment...

Asia-Pacific countries commit to empower rural women and girls at high-level UN forum

Date: Thursday, March 1, 2018

Senior officials from ministries responsible for agriculture, rural development and gender equality across Asia and Pacific have agreed on key priorities for advancement of rural women's and girls' human rights at the Asia-Pacific High-level Meeting for the 62th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) concluded in Bangkok on 23 February. Organized as the regional preparatory meeting leading up to CSW62, which is taking...