STATEMENT OF FEMINIST AND WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS ON THE VERY ALARMING TRENDS IN THE NEGOTIATIONS OF OUTCOME DOCUMENT OF THE 57TH SESSION OF THE UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

STATEMENT OF FEMINIST AND WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS ON THE VERY ALARMING TRENDS IN THE NEGOTIATIONS OF OUTCOME DOCUMENT OF THE 57TH SESSION OF THE UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

We, the undersigned organisations and individuals across the globe, are again alarmed and disappointed that the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is wavering in its commitment to advance women’s human rights as demonstrated in the constant negotiation of the language in the outcome document continues.

On the occasion of celebrating the International Women’s Day we call on the states to reaffirm its commitment to agreed upon standards in promoting women’s human rights as articulated in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action as well as other international humanitarian and human rights law.

 We say NO to any re-opening of negotiations on the already established international agreements on women’s human rights and call on all governments to demonstrate their commitments to promote, protect and fulfill human rights and fundamental freedoms of women.

It is alarming that states are continuing to negotiate established standards that they themselves have agreed to as we are witnessing in the last few days of negotiation. Considering the lack of an outcome document last year we hope that this is not the pattern when it comes to advancing women’s human rights agenda. Women’s human rights are not to be negotiated away.

 Similar to last year, we strongly hold the position that given the progressive development in the international era on standard setting there should no longer be any contention on any issues related to the definition and intersectionality of women and girls experiencing violence against women, including in relations to sexual and reproductive health and rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, harmful practices perpetuated in the context of negative culture and traditions, among others. We remind states that the CSW is the principal global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women with the sole aim of promoting women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields. Its mandate is to ensure the full implementation of existing international agreements on women’s human rights and gender equality.

We strongly demand all governments and the international community to reject any attempt to invoke traditional values or morals to infringe upon human rights guaranteed by international law, nor to limit their scope. Customs, tradition or religious considerations must not be tolerated to justify discrimination and violence against women and girls whether committed by State authorities or by non-state actors. Given the current global activism around violence against women it is imperative that member states take the lead is agreeing on a progressive outcome document that reaffirms its commitments to universal human rights standards.

This is an important moment as we are planning the post 2015 process. The outcome document has to advance women’s human rights and not lower the bar for women’s human rights. Future international negotiations must move forward implementation of policies and programmes that secure the human rights of girls and women.

We call upon the member states of the UN and the various UN human rights and development

entities to recognise and support the important role of women’s groups and organisations

working at the forefront of challenging traditional values and practices that are intolerant to

fundamental human rights norms, standards and principles.

Drafted by:

Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL)

International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW Asia Pacific)

Endorsed by:

Amnesty International

ANIS - Institute of Bioethics, Human Rights and Gender – Brazil

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)

Asia Safe Abortion Partnership

Fiji Women's Rights Movement

Namibia Women's Health Network

Rutgers WPF, Netherland

Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)

Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)

PRESS RELEASE from the Women’s Front of Norway

The 20nd of June the Pro Senter, a national competence centre on prostitution, released a report on violence against women in prostitution.

The following is the press release from the Women’s Front of Norway about the report. The press release was sent to Norwegian media. But due to many requests from abroad, we have now translated the press release.

PRESS RELEASE

The Pro Senter’s report on the law against buying of sex has reached the front-page of the tabloids in Norway and abroad. The tabloid Dagbladet, Oslo, says that violence against women in prostitution has increased after the law against the buying of sex was passed. The city councillor in Oslo has stated to the press that she wants the law the law to be abolished, due to this report.

The Women’s Front reacts strongly against the city councillor who wants to make it legal for men to buy sex. The city councillor should know that men’s violence against women in prostitution is an integral part of the misogyny they perpetrate by buying women.

Men’s violence against women in prostitution has always been widespread regardless if prostitution has been criminalized or legalized. We have had the law against buying of sex for three years. Criminalizing of buyers is one of several means, and the law in it self is no magic wand. Men’s violence against women in prostitution cannot be abolished by magic; we demand more action, among other things increased action from the police.

The city councillor cannot trust the report from the Pro Senter. The Pro Senter has admitted that the statistical foundation of the report is very questionable. The leader of the Pro Senter, Bjørg Norli, has admitted that the statistical material in the report do not give any foundation for claiming that violence has increased; on the contrary it is possible that the opposite is correct; violence may have decreased. The Swedish law against buying of sex was evaluated after ten years 1999 – 2010, this evaluation does not show any increase in violence against women in prostitution.

The report, with its faulty statement on increased violence against women in prostitution and the conclusion of the city councillor to abolish the law, have already reached international media. The Women’s Front has received questions from several organisations working on the issue of having a similar law passed in their respective countries. In France the work has reached the stage where a proposal for a law is made and the political parties agree. When the French media now writes about the report and the city councillor’s comments they give a completely wrong picture of the actual situation in Norway after the law was passed. The fact that the Pro Senter has been criticised for it’s report on violence on women in prostitution and has admitted the faulty conclusion has not reached the media abroad in a similar way.

To remind us all; the law against the buying of sex makes men responsible for creating and increasing a demand whereby more women will be prostituted. To change this is not done in three years.

Agnete Strøm Torill Nustad

The Women’s Front

agnetest@online.no tornusta@online.no

URGENT APPEAL - For Ms. Mansoureh Behkish of Mourning Mothers of Iran - Summoned to Prison

URGENT APPEAL - For Ms. Mansoureh Behkish of Mourning Mothers of Iran - Summoned to Prison

January 18, 2013 - The Observatory has been informed by the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI) about the summoning of Ms. Mansoureh Behkish, a supporter of the “Mothers of Park Laleh” (the “Mourning Mothers” of Iran)[1], also known for fighting against the death penalty, to serve a prison sentence.

According to the information received, Ms. Mansoureh Behkish has been summoned by the Shahid Moqaddas Sentences Implementation Bureau to report herself to Evin prison in Tehran by January 29, 2013, at the latest where she will serve her sentence to six months in prison for “spreading propaganda against the system” (See background information attached).

The Observatory is deeply concerned about the summoning of Ms. Behkish, as it is arbitrary and clearly aims at sanctioning her legitimate human rights activities. The Observatory therefore calls upon the Iranian authorities to refrain from detaining Ms. Behkish as well as to immediately and unconditionally release all human rights defenders presently detained in Iran, and more generally to put an end to all forms of harassment against them.

URGENT APPEAL ://www.fidh.org/Imminent-arbitrary-detention-of-Ms-12771

The African Network of Women Shelters Call to Action

The African Network of Women Shelters (ANWS)

Kigali Call to Action

We, the members of the African Network of Women Shelters (ANWS) Steering Committee and partners 

from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya,  Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zimbabwe;

Recognizing the outcomes of 1stand 2ndConferences of the Global Network of Women Shelters (GNWS) 

held in Edmonton-Canada in September 2008 and Washington DC–USA in February 2012;

Observing that violence against women (VAW) remains one of the major challenges in Africa and 

globally; 

We welcome  the 57thSession of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and States’ 

consideration to address the challenge under the theme  “Elimination and Prevention of All Forms of 

Violence Against Women and Girls”;We also affirm the Statement of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Africa at the forthcoming 57thSession of the Commission on the Status of Women;

We note the following:

Violence against women is a major obstacle to women attaining equality, development and peace, and 

prevents women from enjoying their human rights and fundamental freedoms and a life of dignity free 

from oppression. Many women want to escape the violence and find refuge and safety because their 

homes or communities are unsafe. But the vast majority cannot find refuge and safety. They may seek 

safety and peace by going to safe spaces, such as shelters, refuges, women’s centers, or transition 

homes, to seek peace and safety. In these spaces, women and their children who have had violence 

perpetrated upon them could find refuge, compassion, resources, and assistance. 

Women’s centers and safe spaces, where they exist in Africa, provide life saving services to  women 

fleeing violence, often working in dangerous places with minimal support, resources and protection. 

Cultural barriers often inhibit these centers from operating openly and this means that victims often 

face a lifetime of discrimination, stigmatization, poverty, and increased risk of further victimization.

As set out in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action in 1993, Member States asserted that 

“gender-based violence and all forms of sexual harassment and exploitation…are incompatible with the

dignity and worth of the human person, and must be eliminated.”  Since then, States have reaffirmed 

their commitment to ending violence against women through the adoption of the Declaration on the 

Elimination of Violence against Women (CEDAW). Others include the Beijing Platform for Action, the 

agreed conclusions of the 42ndand 51st sessions of the CSW, and UN Security Council resolutions 1325, 

1820, 1888, 1889, and 1960, and UN Security Council Resolutions 1261, 1379 and 1612 on children in armed conflict.

In Africa, States have committed to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on 

the Rights of Women in Africa, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the Great 

Lakes Region Protocol on the Suppression and Prevention of Sexual Violence Against Women and 

Children.

Despite these commitments, violence against women and children persists as a widespread and 

pervasive human rights violation.  States have clear and concrete obligations under their constitutions 

and international commitments they have signed and ratified to prevent such violence, prosecute and 

punish perpetrators, and provide redress and relief to victims and survivors of violence. In addition 

states that have not ratified also have a moral obligation to sign and ratify all treaties and protocols 

geared towards ending violence against women and girls.

We emphasize the lack and/or inadequate provision of women’s centers and safe spaces in States across 

Africa. The African Network of Women Shelters therefore calls on African governments to:

 enact and implement policies and legislation to establish and support shelters and safe spaces 

for women and girls in Africa;

 strengthen political will and invest and allocate funds for survivors of violence to guarantee 

service provision and access safe spaces and refuges. We note the importance of women driven 

shelters and safe spaces in women survivors’ confidence building, and thus the need for their 

support with appropriate infrastructure to offer holistic interventions with prevention on GBV 

and women empowerment programs.

 We call on governments to maintain accountability and transparency in State reconstruction by 

including women's needs and priorities, women's human rights including access to justice, and 

representation and participation in peace processes.

 We call on governments and civil society to provide confidential and secure domestic and sexual 

violence interventions and provision of specialist services that meet the needs of a diversity of 

women, including the disabled, elderly and refugees, who are currently underserved by existing 

services. 

 We call on governments, civil society and aid agencies to: 

o strengthen policies and decrees and their facilitation as related to VAW and genderbased violence,

o ensure the policies are fundamental in initiating and sustaining women’s centres and safe spaces, 

o are holistic, integrated and include community level awareness raising programmes done in a rights-based, gender and culturally sensitive manner, and

o integrate gender-based violence in school curricula as a means of primary prevention.

 We encourage Governments to put in place mechanisms to coordinate and harmonize service 

provision by various Government departments and civil society organizations in health, education, economic development and other social services. This should include monitoring and 

evaluation

 We urge governments, civil society and aid agencies to focus on strengthening and supporting 

women-to-women shelter exchange learning, documentation, collection and  management of 

data which is essential for providing improved holistic responses.

Done in Kigali on this 5th day of December 2012.

RIZANA NAFEEK AT RISK OF EXECUTION IN SAUDI ARABIA

SRI LANKAN AT RISK OF EXECUTION IN SAUDI ARABIA
After exhausting all of her appeals, Rizana Nafeek is at imminent risk of execution in Saudi Arabia for a crime she allegedly committed while under the age of 18.
Aged only 17 years at the time, Sri Lankan domestic worker Rizana Nafeek was arrested in May 2005 on charges of murdering an infant in her care. On 16 June 2007, she was sentenced to death by a court in Dawadmi, a town west of the capital Riyadh. The sentence was subsequently upheld by the Court of Cassation and sent for ratification by the Supreme Judicial Council. However, it was sent back to the lower court for further clarification.
The case went back and forth until on or around 25 October 2010, when the Supreme Court in Riyadh upheld the death sentence. The case was then sent to the King for ratification of the death sentence. Recent media reports indicate that the family of the infant who died have refused to pardon her and her execution is now imminent. Rizana Nafeek had no access to lawyers either during her pre-trial interrogation or at her first trial. She initially “confessed” to the murder during interrogation, but has since retracted this account. Rizana Nafeek says she was forced to make the “confession” under duress following a physical assault. The man who translated her statement was not an officially recognized translator and it appears that he may not have been able to adequately translate between Tamil and Arabic. He has since left Saudi Arabia.
The passport Rizana Nafeek used to enter Saudi Arabia in May 2005 gives her date of birth as February 1982, buther birth certificate states she was born six years later, making her 17-years-old at the time of the infant’s death. According to Amnesty International’s information, she was not allowed to present her birth certificate or other evidence of her age to the court, which relied instead on her passport and so considered her to be 23 years old atthe time of the offence.

Please write immediately in Arabic, English or your own language:

ν Urging the King of Saudi Arabia to prevent the execution of Rizana Nafeek, who is believed to have been under18 at the time of the crime for which she has been convicted;
ν Calling on the King to commute her death sentence, particularly given Saudi Arabia’s obligations as a state
party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and taking into account the uncertainty over Rizana Nafeek’sage;
ν Reminding the authorities that they should act in accordance with international law, particularly Article 37 of theConvention of the Rights of the Child, and end the use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 18 FEBRUARY 2013 TO:
King and Prime Minister
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques
Office of His Majesty the King
Royal Court, Riyadh
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: (via Ministry of the Interior)
+966 1 403 3125 (please keep trying)
Salutation: Your Majesty

Minister of the Interior
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed
bin Naif bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Ministry of the Interior, P.O. Box 2933,
Airport Road, Riyadh 11134
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: +966 1 403 3125 (please keep
trying)
Salutation: Your Royal Highness

And copies to:
Governor of Riyadh Province
His Royal Highness Prince Sattam bin
Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Riyadh, Riyadh Province
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: +966 141 10470

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Saudi Arabia is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which expressly prohibits the execution of juvenile offenders – those convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18. However, Saudi Arabia does execute juvenile offenders in breach of their obligations under the CRC.
In Saudi Arabia there have been disturbing patterns of discrimination against vulnerable individuals. Many of those executed over the past years were foreign nationals, mostly migrant workers from poor and developing countries. In 2012 Amnesty International has recorded the execution of at least 79 people of which 27 were foreign nationals. In 2011 at least 82 executions took place, including 28 foreign nationals, more than triple the figure of 27 for 2010 including 5 foreign nationals. In 2009, at least 69 people are known to have been executed, including 19 foreign nationals, in 2008 at least 102, including almost 40 foreign nationals, and in 2007 at least 158, including 76 foreign nationals.
Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences. Court proceedings fall far short of international standards for fair trial. Defendants are rarely allowed formal representation by a lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them. They may be convicted solely on the basis of “confessions” obtained under duress and/or deception.
Saudi Arabia is a state party to the Convention against Torture, which prohibits the use of evidence extracted under torture or other ill-treatment. Article 15 states: "Each State Party shall ensure that any statement which is established to have been made as a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as vidence that the statement was made."
In a report published in 2008 on the use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, Amnesty International highlighted the extensive use of the death penalty as well as the disproportionately high number of executions of foreign nationals from developing
countries. For further information please see Affront to Justice: Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia (Index: MDE
23/027/2008), 14
October 2008: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/mde23/027/2008
The Supreme Court began to function in February 2009 as the final court of appeal. This is part of a new court system introduced by the 2007 Law of the Judiciary. The Court of Cassation, which used to handle appeals, has since been replaced by courts of appeal. The Supreme Judicial Council continues to exist and has been allocated responsibilities such as the supervision of the organization of the Judiciary, including the appointment, promotion and disciplining of judges. For more information regarding the judicial reforms, please see Saudi Arabia: Affront to Justice: Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia (Index:
MDE 23/027/2008), 14 October 2008 (see above).





Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the fourth update of UA 175/07. Further information:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE23/026/2007, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE23/006/2008 and
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE23/012/2010/en

URGENT ACTION : Nasrin Sotoudeh lawyer ends hunger strike but still detained

URGENT ACTION

lawyer ends hunger strike but still detained

Following an intervention by parliamentarians, Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh ended her 49-day long hunger strike on 4 December 2012 after the travel ban on her 13-year old daughter was lifted by Iran’s judiciary. Her health is frail due to her prolonged hunger strike and she needs specialized medical care. Amnesty International is calling for her immediate and unconditional release.

Prisoner of conscience Nasrin Sotoudeh, ended her 49-day hunger strike after judicial authorities agreed to meet her demand to lift a travel ban imposed on her 13-year-old daughter. Reza Khandan, Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband, and a number of women’s rights activists met with parliamentarians regarding her case. Emerging parliamentary concern, expressed following this meeting, appears to have prompted judicial officials to lift the restriction. A member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has also stated that a number of parliamentarians plan to visit Evin Prison.

On 2 December, Reza Khandan reported that Nasrin Sotoudeh’s health had deteriorated and that she was suffering from loss of vision, dizziness, unsteadiness and low blood pressure. It is unclear whether she has access to a diet appropriate to someone coming off a prolonged hunger strike.

Please write immediately in Persian, Arabic, English or your own language:

Urging Iranian parliamentarians to take action to secure the release of Nasrin Sotoudeh, reminding them that imprisonment for peacefully exercising the right to freedom of expression or work as a lawyer is contrary to Iranian and international law, and calls into question respect for the rule of law in Iran;

Urging them to obtain assurances from prison officials that Nasrin Sotoudeh is being given full access to the specialized medical treatment required for those who have not had food for prolonged periods, including access to independent doctors of her choice.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 17 JANUARY 2013 TO:

Speaker of Parliament

Ali Larijani

Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami

Baharestan Square

Tehran

Islamic Republic of Iran

Email: a.larijani@parliran.ir

Fax: +98 21 3355 6408

Salutation: Your Excellency

Leader of the Islamic Republic

Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei

The Office of the Supreme Leader

Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Email: info_leader@leader.ir

Salutation: Your Excellency

Twitter: #Iran leader @khamenei_ir

And copies to:

Head of the Judiciary

Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani

[care of] Public relations Office

Number 4, 2 Azizi Street

Vali Asr Ave, above Pasteur Street intersection

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Email: info@dadiran.ir (Subject line: FAO Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani) or info_leader@leader.ir Salutation: Your Excellency 

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the sixth update of UA 197/10. Further information:

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/067/2012/en

URGENT ACTION

lawyer ends hunger strike but still detained

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The judicial order to lift the travel ban on Nasrin Sotoudeh’s daughter followed months of campaigning at both national and international levels. At the same time that Iranian MPs raised concerns with judicial officials in Iran, on 4 December, Navi Pillay, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed her concern about Nasrin Sotoudeh, urging the Government of Iran to promptly release her along with all other activists who have been arrested and imprisoned for their peaceful human rights activism in Iran. Amnesty International urges Iranian parliamentarians to continue to fulfil their responsibilities to uphold the human rights of their constituents whether through amending national legislation and policies or at an individual level.

Nasrin Sotoudeh started a hunger strike on the morning of 17 October 2012 in protest at the authorities’ denial of her repeated requests to have face-to-face visits with her 13-year-old daughter and five-year-old son. She was transferred to Evin Prison’s clinic on 26 November and was told that she must have checkups there every day as her blood pressure was very low. According to her husband, Reza Khandan, she drank only salt-water and sugar-water since the start of her hunger strike. Nasrin Sotoudeh was transferred to solitary confinement in Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison, under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence, on 4 November, in what appeared to be a punitive measure. On 15 November, Reza Khandan reported that when he tried to visit her in Section 209, the authorities told him she was not there, though they had previously told him that she had been transferred there from the General Ward. Nasrin Sotoudeh’s whereabouts were unknown until she was transferred back to the General Ward on 21 November.

Nasrin Sotoudeh was restricted to family visits in a "cabin" (behind a glass screen) after the prison authorities discovered she had been writing a defence for her upcoming court hearing on a piece of tissue paper. She has not been allowed to make phone calls for the past year. On 12 November Nasrin Sotoudeh was allowed to have a face-to-face visit with her children. The meeting lasted only a few minutes and was in the presence of the prison guards. Reza Khandan was not allowed to meet her. Nasrin Sotoudeh told her family that she would continue her hunger strike until the authorities lift the travel ban imposed on her 13-year-old daughter. In July 2012, Reza Khandan and their daughter received an order informing them that they were banned from travelling; this appears to have resulted from a case that had been opened against them.

On 9 January 2011, Nasrin Sotoudeh was sentenced to 11 years in prison by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court for “spreading propaganda against the system” and “acting against national security”, including membership of the Centre for Human Rights Defenders (CHRD)..Nasrin Sotoudeh's sentence was later reduced to six years on appeal. She has denied all charges against her, including membership of the CHRD. She was also banned from practising law and travelling for 20 years, reduced to 10 years on appeal. Since her arrest on 4 September 2010, Nasrin Sotoudeh has been detained in Evin Prison, including a lengthy period in solitary confinement. Her health has been weakened by three previous hunger strikes in protest against her arrest and detention conditions. The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers provide that lawyers must be allowed to carry out their work “without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.” In addition, it affirms the right of lawyers to freedom of expression, also provided for in Article 19 of the ICCPR, which includes “the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights”.

Nasrin Sotoudeh was awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought on 26 October 2012, along with fellow Iranian Ja’far Panahi – a world-renowned film director – who is himself facing a six-year prison sentence and is banned from film-making, for his peaceful criticism of the Iranian authorities.

Names: Nasrin Sotoudeh (f), Reza Khandan (m)

Gender m/f: both �

Further information on UA: 197/10 Index: MDE 13/073/2012 Issue Date: 7 December 2012

MY VOICE COUNTS!

MY VOICE COUNTS! - 2012 Human Rights Day



Dear Friends,

Greetings from IWRAW Asia Pacific!

It is the 10th of December once again and we would like to wish you all a Happy Human Rights Day!

The theme this year - My Voice Counts –reminds us about the guarantees in the UDHR on freedom of speech, thought, belief and the right to participate in public life and impact policy and decision making. It acknowledges and respects each individual’s voice and helps us to remember that it is about the person no matter our differences and that there are those of us whose voices are silenced or ignored because we lack the political power to make ourselves heard.

Yet it implies so much more in terms of vision: it speaks towards a world of inclusion, diversity, respect for difference of opinion, free and open social debates, right to collective action and the recognition of the legitimate role of CSOs and NGOs in public policy and social change towards equality, non-discrimination, justice and peace, the right to take part in politics and hold office.

In the past year, we have seen numerous attempts to silence women’s voices, including the heartbreaking but ultimately inspiring story of Malala, a young girl nearly killed for expressing her right and the rights of young girls to education. For women, marginalisation and exclusion from representation and decision-making, spells danger and risk to their individual freedoms and collective rights. Examples have shown that exclusion of gender perspectives and obstacles to women’s participation in public and civic roles negatively impact democratic principles, good governance and rule of law. Women’s demands for equality in the family and in the workplace, and struggles to end domestic violence and sexual harassment at the workplace, recognition of the separate reality of women, need to be heard and acted upon by governments, society and private actors.

To pursue gender equality, it is important to ground and socialise the culture of international human rights norms, including an appreciation for the principles of substantive equality and non-discrimination established by the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The ability to articulate these will strengthen their demands for equality, justice and recognition as a cohesive, political constituency; grounded ideologically in principles of democracy, peace, respect for rights and being knowledgeable in the practice of citizen governance.

We can celebrate the fact that CEDAW nears universal ratification with 187 ratifications, and further ratifications of its optional protocol (OPCEDAW). The CEDAW state dialogue process and the OPCEDAW mechanism is a way for women’s voices to be heard by their states and supported by the global standards practices of the member states of CEDAW articulated by the recommendations of the CEDAW Committee and challenges states to prioritise and act in compliance with international law to address violations to women’s human rights.

64 years ago, this day would have been celebrated very differently. But today, we are lucky to have successes that we can commemorate. It is a good time for all of us to reflect on the good and the bad and continuously challenge ourselves to think of creative and innovative rights-based approaches to achieve our human rights goals to have a better future together.

In the coming year IWRAW Asia Pacific will undertake efforts to strengthen women’s voices in public policy and decision making through specific projects including one to strengthen the voices of young feminists in Asia Pacific, supported by the UN Women Gender Equality Fund.

There is still a lot of work to be done so let’s continue as a global women’s movement, seeking to make governments, families, business more accountable in ensuring promotion, protection and realisation of human rights
On this day, IWRAW Asia Pacific congratulates and thanks courageous men and women who have fought and are still fighting for the right to express our thoughts and feelings about the world and who fight for the rights and freedoms inherent in our shared humanity. We raise our voices in support of this struggle – We are WOMEN and Our VOICES COUNT!



Warm wishes,

The IWRAW Asia Pacific team

10 December 2012