16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence: Day 15

Day 15: CEDAW Consultation – Pacific NGO/Government Dialogue Towards Effective Implementation of CEDAW and Ratification of the Optional Protocol to CEDAW

“States can’t do everything on their own… they need partners in the form of NGO’s to help the state to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of women”.

This was the message given by Professor Savitri Goonesekere to participants at a regional Pacific NGO/Government Dialogue Towards Effective Implementation of CEDAW. The consultation which was organised by the International Women’s Rights Action Watch, (IWRAW) Asia Pacific and the Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT), in collaboration with UNIFEM Pacific and the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM) was held from 29^th November – 2^nd December 2010 in Nadi, Fiji. The event was attended by officials and NGO representatives from the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Fiji, Solomon Islands, PNG, Vanuatu, Tonga and Federated States of Micronesia. . 

The objectives of the three day dialogue were to;

• ~ Build on existing understanding of the importance of CEDAW and international human rights standards and obligations of states towards the promotion and protection of women’s rights to substantive equality and non-discrimination
• ~ Assess the status of CEDAW implementation in the Pacific through sharing of experiences of ratification
• ~ Identify strategies to take advantage of opportunities and address challenges and constraints in the Pacific region
• ~ Formulate strategies to strengthen Government/NGO collaboration for CEDAW implementation in the Pacific
• ~ Identify next steps to carry forward national action plans for CEDAW implementation and progress review
• ~ Utilise regional assistance and resources to strengthen capacity to implement national action plans

“The [CEDAW] committee emphasises the idea that it is a constructive dialogue to assist actors to carry forward the convention…hard questions may be asked but it is in this sense a constructive dialogue. (Savitri Goonesekere  – IWRAW) 

During sub-regional group discussions IWDA partner countries Fiji, PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu all identified violence against women, increasing women’s participation in decision making and mainstreaming gender across all sectors, (government, NGO’s and the private sector) as key priority areas for the fulfillment of CEDAW and women’s equality in their countries.

 “There is a need to push for structural changes and more awareness to support Temporary Special Measures… the current system is not supporting women to get into parliament”. (Maryline Kajoi,  Government Representative, PNG)

Ethel Sigimanu from Solomon Islands identified a number of challenges associated with temporary special measures when she cited cultural norms as a massive barrier for women in the Solomon Islands, “convincing a 2/3 majority in government of the role women can play in decision-making is very difficult. We are being curtailed by our own cultural limitations…CEDAW is not well understood and there is this perception of ‘we alright’”.

In Fiji, a safe space for women to be involved in the decision making process and the idea of protection and legal justice was an important factor which was identified to encourage more participation of women in senior management/parliament.

This notion was supported by Professor Savitri Goonesekere (IWRAW) who commented that, “no country that marginalises its women in this way can expect to reach their potential in the development paradigm”.

The final day of consultations finished with all countries drafting action plans for next steps towards implementation of CEDAW. IWDA’s Fiji Program Manager was at the consultation and spoke with all partner countries; Fiji, Solomon Islands, PNG and Vanuatu to discuss ways in which IWDA could support more effective implementation of CEDAW across the region.

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16 Days of Activism is a global campaign encouraging organisations and individuals across the world to take a stand against gender-based violence. The campaign starts on 25th November: The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and ends on 10th December: World Human Rights Day.

16 Days of Activism was started by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership 18 years ago. The campaign’s beginning and end dates highlight that violence against women is a human rights violation.

Thousands of diverse groups and individuals now take part in 16 Days, together calling for an end to all types of violence against women. Each year people organise events in their communities, including meetings, conferences, demonstrations, exhibitions and performances.

This year at IWDA, we have decided to use the 16 Days to highlight the work our partners in Asia and the Pacific are doing to improve the situation for women and girls in their communities, as well as the work IWDA is undertaking in Australia. Each day between 25th November and 10th December, we will post a short article about 16 Days on our website, Facebook page, and Twitter page.

Tags: 16 Days of Activism

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 9th, 2010 under 16_Days, Recent.
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