The Expert Group Meeting was called upon to perform the following tasks:
- evaluate progress in the regional implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA);
- identify the gaps and obstacles in the implementation of the BPFA;
- propose future action and initiatives including modalities and mechanisms;
- provide guidance on the key issues for consideration of the Asia and Pacific High Level Intergovernmental Meeting to review the regional implementation of the BPFA;
- provide guidance with regard to addressing the implications of a changing global environment and emerging challenges; and
- provide guidelines for the output of the High Level Meeting which would assist governments in accelerating implementation of the BPFA and constitute the regional input to preparations for the global review of the BPFA..
Participants' Profile. There were 24 participants at the meeting with the representation broken down as follows:
- National Machineries: 9 delegates representing the governments of Thailand (2 reps) , Japan (3 reps), Vietnam, China, Uzbekistan, and Fiji
- Quasi-government organisations: (2) Working Group on Gender and Science and Technology of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences ; Korean Women's Development Institute
- Expert/Academe: (2) Miriam College, Philippines; Center for Women's Research Colombo, Sri Lanka
- UN bodies: (6) UNIFEM, UNICEF, ILO (2 reps), FAO, WHO
- International Organisations: (3) World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Organisation for Migration (2 reps)
- NGOs: (2) Isis International-Manila; Sociological and Ecological Analysis Centre, Uzbekistan
The meeting started with country reports on current and emerging challenges facing the Asian and Pacific region for the in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA). The meeting noted that the governments' implementation efforts generally focused on the following areas: domestic violence; trafficking and rape; women and the law particularly review and amendment of laws; women and the economy with emphasis on micro credit and other schemes to improve access to and control over economic resources; gender mainstreaming and gender sensitivity; women's health including HIV/AIDS prevention; education and training of women and girls; women and the environment; women and politics; women and poverty; and gender equality and women's empowerment.
The participants also noted that considerable progress has been made in implementing the BPFA and the factors that have contributed to this are:
- the adoption of national plans of actions incorporating the 12 critical areas of concern identified in the BPFA;
- increased dialogue and cooperation between government, NGOs, advisory groups, professional and business associations, labour unions, and other civil society actors
- the establishment of national commissions on human rights and the adoption of specific measures for the full implementation of CEDAW and the Convention on the Rights of a Child;
- Strengthening of national institutional mechanisms
- Increased number of programmes and allocation of resources at national and local levels; and
- Increased NGO and academic activities in the areas of studies and research, technical assistance and advocates.
However, despite the significant progress there are also barriers working against the full and effective implementation of the BPFA. The identified barriers are:
- persisting gender stereotyped attitudes amongst policy and decision makers in practically all sectors and all stages of the development process: policy formulation, planning and programming as well monitoring and evaluation;
- relative absence of proper monitoring mechanisms and methodology;
- lack of gender expertise in all fields and consequently insufficient and ineffective use of such expertise by government, legislators, financial institutions, business, industries education and research institutions, labour unions, political parties, etc.;
- lack of gender-sensitive statistics and indicators;
- absence of adequate gender-disaggregated data;
- lack of understanding and therefore lack of recognition and commitment on the part of the legislative, executive and judicial bodies to seriously promote the transformation of de jure equality to de facto equality between women and men; and
- prolonged economic crisis which affects women and men differently and despite this, gender sensitive and responsive policies and programmes are still almost totally absent
The meeting also identified future challenges that are both fundamental and cross-cutting in nature. These are:
- Development of gender expertise and promotion of its use in all sectors and at all stages of the development process - e.g., in policy formulation, priority setting, strategies, planning, programming, monitoring and evaluation;
- Mainstreaming of gender perspective and gender analysis in policy and decision making and other stages of the development processes;
- Eliminating barriers to equality such as: a) socio-cultural values which do not support or facilitate equality; b) legal framework which generally reflects prevailing traditional socio-cultural values; and c) institutional or organisational culture which are generally based on socio-cultural tradition and existing legal framework;
- Development of social, economic and political systems which guarantee equality and eliminate inequality in particular, discrimination and violence against women;
- Continuous monitoring and periodic evaluation of progress achieved, effective strategic measures taken and obstacles encountered by using gender sensitive indicators in the implementation of BPFA;
- Comprehensive and intensive studies and research on: a) the root causes of the persistent barriers to equality in practice or de facto equality ; b) supportive values and attitudes; and c) mechanisms to enforce existing laws and regulations including all international human rights instruments;
- Continuous enhancement of innovative measures to optimise the synergy of both women and men's contribution to their society;
The meeting also observed that the progress in the regional implementation of the BPFA was uneven and governments tended to emphasize certain areas of concern or strategic objectives while ignoring or de-emphasizing others. National-level actions related to improved access and control of resources constituted the major share of post-Beijing initiatives in the area of economic empowerment (compared to action in gender-sensitive macro-economic policy formulation or gender-based methodologies). This type of intervention appeared to be more appealing to national governments because of their concreteness and the fact that resources could actually be seen as reaching women. The meeting recommended that concerted efforts should be made to fully implement the Beijing.
It was also noted in the meeting that in assessing the 12 critical areas of concern in the BPFA , it is imperative to look at the regional and global economic crisis and then link it with social and political crisis that are hampering the region's progress towards the full implementation of the BPFA. Participants at the meeting stressed that the crisis is a serious threat to the economic and social gains so far achieved by the women in the region. The crisis appears to have resulted in falling real wages; deepening poverty and increasing women's work; increase in child labour and introduction of teen-age girls into the sex trade; migrant workers returning without jobs; serious decline in income in the informal sector; cutback in social services; and revival of traditional definition of women and their duties.
Participants at the meeting expressed concern over the fact that fewer women are participating in various professional areas specially at the decision-making levels. They identified the following as some of the factors that hinder progress towards women's participation in power and decision-making:
- women themselves entering into traditional careers; and
- gender discrimination at both de jure and de facto levels as well as family obligations.
On the other hand, the meeting observed that women have continued to make a significant contribution to the overall development of the Asian and Pacific region. There is a growing awareness that women in domestic and plantation agriculture, in the burgeoning garment industries and in overseas domestic employment were helping to hold up the region's economy.
However, in many countries, their working conditions or opportunities for advancement have failed to improve significantly. While macroeconomic policies stemming from market liberalisation and structural adjustment have opened new employment avenues for women in export oriented industries and in entrepreneurship activities, the collapse of local industries indicate that macroeconomic policies including the withdrawal of the State have resulted in social exclusion of large numbers of women from the benefits of 'development.'
The participants also acknowledged the crucial role that NGOs play in facilitating the progress of the implementation of the BPFA. However, they also underscored the fact that many of these NGOs continue to operate outside mainstream programmes and their activities are hampered by lack of adequate resources. It was recommended at the meeting that urgent initiatives be taken to strengthen the capacity of NGOs and emphasis be placed on improving partnership between NGOs and governments.
Recommendations:
In order to implement the BPFA fully and effectively, the meeting came up with the following recommendations to governments in the region:
- development and application of gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation systems appropriately linked to accountability and governance;
- implementation of skills development programmes focusing on technical skills, management, and industrial technology in order to upgrade women's skills and enable them to find jobs or start entrepreneurial work especially in the light of the economic crisis;
- reassessment of the usefulness of the governments' macroecomic policies; and
- improvement of national information systems especially national women's information systems to better influence gender-sensitive policy formation and planning process and to keep pace with the advancement in information technology. It was also recommended that such systems should be easily accessible to women to increase their access and participation in and contribution to economic and social opportunities.
High-level meeting:
The meeting identified the following agenda for the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting slated for 26-29 October 1999 in Bangkok, Thailand:
- Discussion of the progress made in the regional implementation of the 12 critical areas of concern as outlined in the BPFA. This would highlight the best practices, progress achieved, constraints faced and future courses of action in each of the critical areas; and
- Substantive discussions on:
- Economic empowerment of women
- Political empowerment of women
- Rights-based approach to empowerment of women
- Strategies for empowerment of women
Under economic empowerment, issues such as the impact of globalisation on women, the Asian economic crisis and its impact on women in poverty, women's economic participation, migration patterns and the situation of rural women will be analysed. With regards to political empowerment, the sub-topics will include women's participation in politics, governance, decision-making processes and socio-cultural and institutional barriers.
Under the rights-based approach, issues relating to equality, development and peace will be reviewed. As for the strategies, emphasis will be given on creating an enabling environment, monitoring and evaluation of the BPFA and their linkages with accountability and governance, future courses of action as well as building partnerships.
The High-level meeting will be conducted using the UN Conference on Environment and Development (RIO Conference) model. There will be official plenaries where governments will make their presentation - each government representative will be given seven minutes to present their reports on the implementation of the BPFA - and Committee of the Whole where more in-depth discussions focusing on the sub-themes will take place. Accredited NGOs will be allowed to participate in both official plenaries and the Committee of the Whole. It was suggested however that NGOs carefully identify their representatives based on current formations and networks such as the Asian Caucus to optimise their participation.
The following guidelines were identified in relation to the conduct of the Committee of the Whole:
- Panelists be invited to lead the discussions on the sub-themes
- Moderators be carefully selected to ensure the substantive quality of the sessions with due consideration on sub-regional balance
- Sufficient time be allocated for discussion
The expected output of the High-level Meeting are the following:
- Reaffirmation and recommitment of the region to implement the BPFA
- Holistic and analytical reports by the governments covering progress made, obstacles and key future actions including a section on the linkage between the implementation of the Jakarta Plan of Action and the BPFA
NGO participation:
With respect to NGO participation at the October meeting, the UN ESCAP representative stressed that the CSW decision will be followed - i.e., NGOs in consultative status with the UN ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) and NGOs that were accredited to the Fourth World Conference on Women. NGOs who do not fall under these categories may request qualified NGOs to register them under their organisations.
The meeting acknowledged the initiatives of NGOs in the region in contributing to the Beijing review (Women 2000) process. The information provided by Isis International-Manila's on this matter was officially adopted in the report. Being the WOMEN 2000 information and communication center for NGOs in the region, Isis was requested by the meeting to provide assistance in generating publicity and disseminating information for the High Level Meeting. As well, the AWORC website was officially recognised and it was suggested in the meeting that this tool be utilised not only by NGOs but also by governments.
The Isis representative appealed to the meeting to support NGO initiatives in relation to Women 2000. One concrete form of support that she underlined is the provision of funds to NGOs to enable them to carry out WOMEN 2000 activities at the national, sub-regional, regional and global levels.
In addition, the Isis representative to this meeting also raised the possibility of coming up an with alternative NGO report and raised a question on the weight that governments and ESCAP will give to it. While acknowledging this possibility, the rest of the participants at the meeting were however, non-committal.
Additional background reports:
It was also suggested in the meeting that additional background reports be prepared for the High-level Meeting. The relevant studies suggested and the organisations requested to prepare them are:
- Women and Migration (International Organisation for Migration)
- Women and science and technology in the information age (ESCAP APCTT)
- Women's unpaid work (UNDP)
- Women and media (Isis International-Manila)
- The girl child (UNICEF)
- Women and health (WHO)
Several participants including Isis International-Manila called attention to the continuous practice of stereotyping of women and men in media and the role that media play in the implementation and review of the BPFA. In this light, there was a lot of support for the idea that Isis come up with a background paper on Women and media.
Other ideas on publicity prior and during the actual High-level meeting:
- Press kit to provide general information on the meeting to be produced by ESCAP
- Summary sheet providing background information - e.g. on the Jakarta Plan of Action
- Panel-board exhibit of governments NGOs, and UN/International agencies on achievements in implementing the BPFA, photos of and quotes from women who have made significant achievements
- Video presentations by both governments, NGOs, UN/International agencies
- AWORC website exhibit
- Panel discussions on the critical areas of concern and related issues during lunch time
- Press conference
- Invitiation of internationally-recognised personalities to address the plenary - e.g. Professor Amartya Sen
- Other social events in coordination with the Thai government
It was recommended at the meeting that for the actual High Level Meeting, ESCAP should look into the possibility of providing:
- Meeting rooms for NGOs
- Computer facilities with Internet connection (especially for AWORC)
- Facilities for the media
As for the general recommendations to ESCAP with regards to the Women 2000 processes, the following points were raised:
- ensure that a report on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action be included in the annual sessions of ESCAP;
- mainstream gender into the work programme of all its substantive decisions, a good example of which is the gender statistics programme in the Statistics Division; and
- provide the women in Development Section with additional resources especially staffing support, in light of the extensive preparations that have to be undertaken for the High-level Meeting.
