11:28 AM |
News briefs on Pacific@Beijing+15
Coverage from Commonwealth consultations with Commonwealth National
Women's Machineries and Civil society partners
Feb 28, 2010, Millennium Plaza Hotel, UN Plaza, NYC
For full details and photos as well as more stories and our CSW
archive, visit www.pacificGAP.blogspot.com
1. Tonga advocate steps up for Pacific on key Commonwealth Gender group
2. Gender and Finance Ministers set to make Commonwealth history at 9WAMM
3. All quizzed out – Pacific, world feels burnout from Beijing +15 reporting
4. Two Pacific nominations sought for renewed Commonwealth 1325 working group
5. 2010 a 'decisive' year for progress on gender equality: UNIFEM
Tonga advocate steps up for Pacific on key Commonwealth Gender group
At 15 years of Beijing and here at CSW 54, Tonga's Emeline Siale
Ilolahia is eyeing new strategies to engage Pacific Commonwealth
networks in achieving the vision of the Gender Plan of Action.
Ilolahia is the Executive Director of Tonga's Civil Society Forum and
took on a new hat this year, representing Pacific civil society
networks to the Commonwealth Gender Programmes Monitoring Group
(CGPMG).
Ilolahia like many of the Pacific civil society leaders looking at one
of the lowest turnouts ever in the number of Pacific leaders at CSW
says the absence is a sign that some work needs to be done to bring
the leaders back into the room. "I can understand the issue of
financial difficulty," she says, "but even then, if they could have
had some form of coordination to ensure we do have representation
here, to take on the responsibility of sharing the challenges and
successes of the Pacific and take up that role." She says the key is
networking and dialogue amongst diverse partners at national and
regional level, and says the impact of civil society growth and change
in Tonga bodes well for fresh approaches and understanding of issues
like CEDAW, which the Kingdom has yet to endorse."I will say that
option is open. We are going through an interesting time of political
reform. The leaders who thought Tonga is not ready to sign CEDAW are
facing an election, so we might have new leaders coming up to try and
convince. So you never know. ...there's hope. There is always hope.
It's just for us to take up the opportunity in a more strategic and
different approach, to make that come around."—ENDS
Gender and Finance Ministers set to make Commonwealth history at 9WAMM
If all goes to plan Gender and Finance Ministers from the Pacific and
other world regions will get up close and sensitised this year. The
Commonwealth Secretariat is looking into opening up mutual dialogue
between the two groups of high-level officials to help build a more
inclusive, robust and people-oriented financial sector. The historic
plan to bring two sets of Commonwealth Ministers to Barbados comes as
Barbados today formally announced its red carpet welcome to the 9th
Commonwealth Women's Affairs Ministers meet (WAMM) and Civil society
partners forum to its shores. The WAMM is a showcase of partnership
between civilian and political leadership on gender issues. Civil
society groups run their own forum in the leadup to the official
event, and are granted spaces and speaking rights within it; with the
rule of thumb being that one in every five interventions will come
from civil society. This was observed during the 7WAMM in Nadi, Fiji,
where regional NGO PACFAW mobilisied civil society networks in the
Pacific to this historical event. Organisations linked to the
logistics, agenda, and reporting aspects of both the partners forum
and the 9WAMM have been confirmed. For official delegations from the
Pacific, letters of invite have been sent to Foreign Affairs
Ministries. The Commonwealth Women's Network will also be assisting
the Commonwealth Foundation and its own civil society regional focal
points to mobilise and inform Commonwealth stakeholders on the 9WAMM,
from 7-9 June.--ENDS
All quizzed out – Pacific, world feels burnout from Beijing +15 reporting
Reporting gender progress via a range of questionnaires seeking the
same answers, written in different ways, has proven a bureaucratic
nightmare for Commonwealth governments this year. It's an area
highlighted by ESCAP boss David Clarke during a partners statement to
ComSec consultations with national women's machineries held on
February 28 in New York. "There is a critical need to look at ways of
strengthening both the coordination and collection of data on
analysis," said Clarke, (right).
"It just doesn't make sense for all of us to go out seeking the same
information from the same people in the same timeframe."
On top of reporting 15 years of progress from the 1995 Beijing
Platform for Action; Pacific countries have had to participate in
national reviews, a Pacific review, an Asia-Pacific review and a
Commonwealth mid –term review!
CEDAW reporting, one of the most challenging reports for nations such
as Papua New Guinea, adds another strain to the writing workload for
2010. The many layers of external reporting for Pacific nations, added
to the day to day gender work, are seen as a key challenge for
ensuring a credible sample size. Reporting to the February 27
Commonwealth Mid Term review discussions, Professor Barbara Bailey
noted the 34% success rate of the questionnaires. For the 10
Commonwealth Pacific nations, only two -- New Zealand and Tonga,
provided completed questionnaires. The task is difficult, but not
impossible. A UN review done for the 52 nations on the African
continent saw 49 completions. The problem with the remaining three?
Something also often raised in the pacific region: a lack of
gender-disaggregated data.-- ENDS/photocredit: Comsec
Two Pacific nominations sought for renewed Commonwealth 1325 working group
Reporting on progress from nations to the world at the CSW provides a
great opportunity for agencies to also report back on their work to
national stakeholders attending the UN meetings. For the Commonwealth
Secretariat, that comes in a pre-CSW two day event which allows staff
to make contact with the 54 Commonwealth nations attending CSW.
Pictured above are Commonwealth Secretariat Head of Gender Esther
Eghobamien and Social Transformation Programmes Director (interim)
Indrajit Coomaraswamy. The ComSec and its sister org the Commonwealth
Foundation are working towards the mid-term review this June of the
Commonwealth Gender Plan of Action (GPoA). Amongst a long list of
agenda items, they are proposing to revive a Commonwealth working
group on Peace and Security (CWGPS). The working group concept was
mooted in 2007 in Uganda and officials are keen to see some effective
steps taken to ensure it takes hold. An issues paper presented during
the ComSec two-day consultation with national delegates (termed NWMs,
or National Women's Machineries) stepped out membership for the new
group -- inlcuding two international 1325 experts and regional
representation covering the Commonwealth members. Pacific places on
the CWGPS will number 2: which could involve one seat for Aust/NZ and
one for the developing nations. More info will be shared with the
Commonwealth Information Group: write to lisa.lahari@gmail.com to
join- ENDS:
2010 a 'decisive' year for progress on gender equality: UNIFEM
2010 will be a decisive year for the promotion and implementation of
gender equality and women's rights worldwide. It could also be a year
of increased action to implement Pacific Island Governments
commitments to gender equality. This year, participants from the
Pacific Island Countries are Hon. Dr Jiko Luveni, Minister for Social
Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation, Fiji; Hon. Willy Telavi, from
the Ministry of Home Affairs, Tuvalu; and Hon. Minister Naomi Fiame
Mata'afa, Minister for Women, Community and Social Development, Samoa
as well as a Pacific WAVE Media Network team and representatives from
Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Secretariat of the Pacific
Community, FemLINKPACIFIK, Pacific GEAR and the DAWN Delegation and
other civil society leaders from the region. They will stand to
emphasise that it is not too late for Pacific governments to make 2010
a year of implementing national commitments to gender equality and a
turning point towards improving women's situation. (UNIFEM)
For detailed reports and more stories/photos, see www.pacificgap.blogspot.com
The domain will soon transition to www.pacificgap.info
For specific requests on story angles, contact us at pacificgap@gmail.com
Unless otherwise stated at the end of each story, all copy can be
shared and distributed. Source for acknowledgement: WAVEmedia.
Online source: www.pacificgap.blogspot.com
The coverage by WAVEmedia of the Beijing+15-CSW2010 was made possible
with the support of UNESCO Pacific, UNIFEM Pacific, the Commonwealth
Women's Network, and Cook Islands News.
--
Lisa Williams-Lahari
cell: (64) 0210642704
"More and more, if you're not in the digital conversation about your
community, you're not in a conversation that matters"
-- Alberto Ibargüen, President, The Knight Foundation.
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