WUNRN
Via IWRAW AP - International Women's
Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific
UN OHCHR Website on National Human
Rights Institutions:
_______________________________________________________________________
Asia Pacific Forum - APF - http://www.asiapacificforum.net/ -
The APF is a
regional, member-based organisation made up of national human rights
institutions from across the Asia Pacific.
NATIONAL
HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS TO LOBBY
FOR
A VOICE ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS AT UN CSW
NHRIs from all corners of the globe will join together to advocate for independent speaking rights at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) when the global policy-making body meets in March.
The major campaign, initiated by the APF and backed by the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions, aims to ensure that ‘A status’ NHRIs are able to directly contribute their independent expertise to the CSW and better advance the rights of women and girls.
Unlike the UN Human Rights Council, NHRIs cannot participate in their own right at the CSW and can only attend as part of their country’s government delegation, if they are invited.
The 54th session of the CSW, to be held in New York from 1-12 March, will focus on a global 15 year review of implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) and its contribution to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals.
To prepare for the coming session, the ICC Chairperson, Jennifer Lynch QC, and Pip Dargan, APF Secretariat Deputy Director, held discussions with high-level UN offcials and several key Permanent Missions to the United Nations in December.
They met with representatives from a broad cross-section of States, including Armenia (CSW Chair), Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Spain and Rwanda, all of which have ‘A status’ NHRIs.
In addition, meetings were held with a range of relevant UN agencies, including the OHCHR, the Secretariat of the Third Committee of the General Assembly and the Division for the Advancement of Women, as well as the Coordinator for the development of the proposed new UN Gender Body.
“The discussions with State representatives and UN officials were all very positive and constructive,” said Ms Dargan.
“We highlighted the ICC’s practical ‘step by step’ approach to obtain greater independent participation of NHRIs at CSW, which was well received.”
In addition to building support for the participation of NHRIs, the meetings also provided an opportunity to learn more about the procedural rules of the CSW and the different ways that NHRIs could seek to engage with the body.
The ICC delegation was informed that at least seven discussion panels will be held during CSW 54, one of which would consider ‘the evolving status and role of national mechanisms for gender equality’.
Five NHRIs from the Asia Pacific, along with the APF Secretariat, attended the 2009 CSW session to begin making the case for the independent participation of NHRIs, securing strong support in the process.
“However, to build on that progress, it is important that our advocacy in this coming session is more international in its scope and involves NHRIs from all four of the ICC’s regions: Europe, Africa, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific,” said Ms Dargan.
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