18 September, 2006

IWRAW-AP

International Women's Rights Action Watch - Asia Pacific

• HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

Second session of the Human Rights Council (18 September – 6 October 2006)

IWRAW Asia Pacific will be attending the 2^nd session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), and will be making representations on the reports of the Special Rapporteur on Housing and Health, and on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which has been introduced at the HRC and is currently being defined on content and process. We also intend to network with NGOs for concerted action on the larger UN reform.

In addition to the above issues, IWRAW Asia Pacific has also been monitoring the developments of the Treaty Body Reform, specifically on the reform of treaty body composition (e.g. proposed unified standing treaty body) and the reform of the treaty body reporting guidelines (e.g. common core document and treaty specific document).

For our statements at the 1st session of the HRC on:-

- Unified Standing Treaty Body and Treaty Reporting System, see http://www.iwraw-ap.org/news/hrc23606.htm

- Universal Periodic Review (UPR), see http://www.iwraw-ap.org/news/hrc280606.htm

Other statements

- on Culture and Religion, see http://www.iwraw-ap.org/news/hrc26606.htm

- Joint statement on Human Rights Defenders, see http://www.iwraw-ap.org/news/hrc26june06.htm

- Joint statement by the NGO Coalition for an OP-ICESCR, see http://www.iwraw-ap.org/news/hrc27606.htm

For our activities at the 1^st session of the HRC, see: http://www.iwraw-ap.org/aboutus/list_activities_2006.htm#11 and http://www.iwraw-ap.org/news.htm.

For more information on the HRC, see : http://www.iwraw-ap.org/aboutus/hrc.htm

Pledges by Member States

Many of the Member States that stood for election to the new Human Rights Council in May 2006 presented voluntary pledges and commitments in support of their candidacies regarding their work in protecting and promoting of human rights.

These pledges can be useful lobbying documents for NGOs, and NGOs can work with their governments to ensure the fulfilment of their pledges and commitments and use the pledges to hold their governments accountable for their human rights obligations. The pledges can be found at http://www.un.org/ga/60/elect/hrc/.

•  REPORT BY THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON ADEQUATE HOUSING AS A COMPONENT OF THE RIGHT TO AN ADEQUATE STANDARD OF LIVING, AND ON THE RIGHT TO NON-DISCRIMINATION (MILOON KOTHARI)

The Special Rapporteur has issued a final report on women and adequate housing. This report encompasses the main findings on the status and implementation of women’s right to adequate housing as from 2002 until today, and presents an analysis of several identified obstacles to the effective realization of housing rights for women, including homelessness among women, such as violence against women, discriminatory cultural and social norms and family or personal laws, multiple discrimination, privatization and unaffordability of housing for women, and the impacts of natural disasters, forced evictions and HIV/AIDS on women. 

The findings and recommendations here would be useful for NGOs to examine and include in their shadow reports to the CEDAW Committee, as well as other treaty bodies.

To find out if your country is scheduled to report to the CEDAW Committee, visit the website of the UN Division for the Advancement of Women at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/.

For guidelines on writing a shadow / alternative report, visit IWRAW Asia Pacific’s website at: http://www.iwraw-ap.org/using_cedaw/sreport_guidelines.htm.