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UNDP: Beijing + 15 Highlights of the Day - 2nd March 2010

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UNDP: Beijing + 15 Highlights of the Day - 2nd March 2010

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The Commission on the Status of Women was in full swing on Tuesday, with countries continuing to report on progress since Beijing and UNDP participating in side events on HIV/AIDS, the Beijing Platform for Action’s links to achieving the MDGs, and considerations of gender in the mitigation of and response to climate change.
Countries Report on Progress and Express Support for Gender EntityDuring the morning Plenary session, more than 14 countries reported on progress toward gender equality since Beijing. The most common interventions discussed were in the areas of violence against women, including related laws; the creation of ministries of gender equality; legal reforms related to marriage, housing and land ownership; education; and HIV/AIDS. While African countries emphasized poverty reduction, several European countries spoke about work/life balance, such as promoting paternity leave. The most notable progress on women’s empowerment and gender equality was reported by Sweden and Norway, whose reports were particularly well received.Nearly all the countries expressed full support for the UN’s new gender entity and two countries underscored the importance of having the new entity be fully operational by the MDG Summit in September.In Africa, a “Decade of Women”During the General Assembly’s commemorative meeting to mark the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, a representative from the African Union said the AU is going to focus on women in the coming decade and has declared 2010 to 2020 to be the “decade of women.”Beijing Platform + CEDAW + MDGs = Progress on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment About 80 people attended a breakfast dialogue, Take Action Now: The Pathway from Beijing to 2015, at which it was underscored that the Beijing Platform for Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination and the MDGS are mutually reinforcing. High-level representatives of the governments of Egypt and Denmark and representatives of Cambodia, Burkina Faso and Zambia spoke about specific actions taken in their countries to achieve MDG 3.Denmark, a champion for MDG3, emphasized the need to focus on a wide range of financial resources (e.g. ODA, domestic resource mobilization and remittances) to achieve the MDGs by 2015. Egypt reported building capacity on gender-responsive planning and budgeting, and Cambodia recounted progress in integrating gender equality in national policy and planning frameworks. There was particular interest in UNDP Burkina Faso’s presentation on how multifunctional platforms have supplied energy to reduce the time required for labour intensive tasks and enabled women to shift to income-generating activities. Recommendations for action included establishing powerful mechanisms for supporting work on gender equality at the national level; providing incentives for promoting gender equality, such as through the gender seal for private companies in Latin America; and engaging a wide range of stakeholders, including government, UN agencies, NGOs, academia and the private sector, to achieve the MDGs. The role of men champions was also highlighted, as well as the importance of having women leaders in strategic positions such as ministries of finance, planning and labour. Putting gender into HIV/AIDS response and HIV/AIDS into gender plansSinger/activist Annie Lennox, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark and UN Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro were among the panelists who helped launch an Agenda for Accelerated Country Action for Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV (2010-2014). Panelists and participants welcomed the plan, which was developed to address gender inequalities and human rights violations that continue to put women and girls at risk of HIV infection. Panelists urged all sectors of society to work together to help countries implement the plan, which was described as a “long overdue” gender-centric approach to HIV/AIDS.“No more pilots, it’s time for action,” said Clark, agreeing with several ministers who urged immediate implementation of the plan in all countries. “Governments, international, multilateral and civil society organizations need to integrate gender issues into the HIV programmes - and to integrate HIV issues into gender programmes,” Clark said. “These are fundamental matters that cannot be dealt with separately."Annie Lenox recounted how she became an activist on HIV awareness after an invitation from former South African President Nelson Mandela to engage artists. “He said that the HIV pandemic is a genocide. And it is. Music, film, writing...all of these are creative ways to help transform HIV into something from the past."UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe, moderating the panel, was one of several people on the panel and in the audience who noted the critical importance of addressing violence against women, both in preventing and responding to HIV/AIDS.Gender Equality Key to Climate Change ResponseThe importance of considering gender implications in the response to climate change was the focus of the panel discussion, Gender Equality and Climate Change: Opportunities and Challenges for the MDGs, which drew a crowd of over 140 people. Winnie Byanyima, Director of the UNDP Gender Team, emphasized the growing opportunity of a new climate deal for financing adaptation and development, but cautioned that little attention has been given so far to addressing how climate change financial resources can reach the poorest women and men equitably. A representative from the Finnish Council for Gender Equality said that Finland will continue to support the participation of women in the global climate change negotiations in recognition of the important voice they bring to the table, as environmental stewards in many regions of the world where they are responsible for the majority of food production and in meeting household energy needs.Panelists agreed that sustained investments are needed in building the capacities of negotiators to understand the linkages between gender and climate change. Melanne Verveer, the US Ambassador at Large for Global Women's Issues, said that the United States recognizes that women, are critical to addressing climate change and that the U.S. will work to ensure that women's potential "is tapped to address this critical challenge." The representative from the Mexican government emphasized the importance of reaching a new climate agreement at the next COP meeting to be held in Cancun, Mexico in November 2010. There was general agreement among the panelists that the debate could be further strengthened if women's organizations were more focused on climate change as a development issue and, at the same time, if more environmental groups were to focus on the role of women's rights and gender issues.High-level Plenary – Statements March 1-2Click here for provisional list of speakers.Regional groups:Argentina on behalf of the MERCOSUR and Associated States.Chile on behalf of the Rio Group ( English | Spanish )Equatorial Guinea on behalf of the African UnionSamoa on behalf of the Pacific Islands ForumYemen on behalf of the Group of 77 and China Member States:AfghanistanAustriaAzerbaijanCameroonCanadaChinaBahamasBarbadosBrazil Belgium ( English | French )Cape VerdeCzech RepublicEstonia FijiGambiaGermanyGreeceIcelandIndonesiaItaly Jordan Kenya LithuaniaLuxembourg Mauritania Mexico ( English | Spanish )Montenegro Morocco NamibiaNepalNew ZealandNicaraguaParaguay Peru Philippines PortugalQatar Republic of KoreaRussian FederationSamoa Senegal South Africa SwedenTurkeyUgandaUnited KingdomUnited Republic of TanzaniaViet NamZambiaZimbabweOther intergovernmental organizations:European Commission Background Documentation:Global 15-year review process in the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women OverviewNational level review of implementation QuestionnaireMember States responsesRegional 15-year review processes Regional reportsRegional meetings

The Commission on the Status of Women was in full swing on Tuesday, with countries continuing to report on progress since Beijing and UNDP participating in side events on HIV/AIDS, the Beijing Platform for Action’s links to achieving the MDGs, and considerations of gender in the mitigation of and response to climate change.
Countries Report on Progress and Express Support for Gender EntityDuring the morning Plenary session, more than 14 countries reported on progress toward gender equality since Beijing. The most common interventions discussed were in the areas of violence against women, including related laws; the creation of ministries of gender equality; legal reforms related to marriage, housing and land ownership; education; and HIV/AIDS. While African countries emphasized poverty reduction, several European countries spoke about work/life balance, such as promoting paternity leave. The most notable progress on women’s empowerment and gender equality was reported by Sweden and Norway, whose reports were particularly well received.Nearly all the countries expressed full support for the UN’s new gender entity and two countries underscored the importance of having the new entity be fully operational by the MDG Summit in September.In Africa, a “Decade of Women”During the General Assembly’s commemorative meeting to mark the 15th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, a representative from the African Union said the AU is going to focus on women in the coming decade and has declared 2010 to 2020 to be the “decade of women.”Beijing Platform + CEDAW + MDGs = Progress on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment About 80 people attended a breakfast dialogue, Take Action Now: The Pathway from Beijing to 2015, at which it was underscored that the Beijing Platform for Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination and the MDGS are mutually reinforcing. High-level representatives of the governments of Egypt and Denmark and representatives of Cambodia, Burkina Faso and Zambia spoke about specific actions taken in their countries to achieve MDG 3.Denmark, a champion for MDG3, emphasized the need to focus on a wide range of financial resources (e.g. ODA, domestic resource mobilization and remittances) to achieve the MDGs by 2015. Egypt reported building capacity on gender-responsive planning and budgeting, and Cambodia recounted progress in integrating gender equality in national policy and planning frameworks. There was particular interest in UNDP Burkina Faso’s presentation on how multifunctional platforms have supplied energy to reduce the time required for labour intensive tasks and enabled women to shift to income-generating activities. Recommendations for action included establishing powerful mechanisms for supporting work on gender equality at the national level; providing incentives for promoting gender equality, such as through the gender seal for private companies in Latin America; and engaging a wide range of stakeholders, including government, UN agencies, NGOs, academia and the private sector, to achieve the MDGs. The role of men champions was also highlighted, as well as the importance of having women leaders in strategic positions such as ministries of finance, planning and labour. Putting gender into HIV/AIDS response and HIV/AIDS into gender plansSinger/activist Annie Lennox, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark and UN Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro were among the panelists who helped launch an Agenda for Accelerated Country Action for Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV (2010-2014). Panelists and participants welcomed the plan, which was developed to address gender inequalities and human rights violations that continue to put women and girls at risk of HIV infection. Panelists urged all sectors of society to work together to help countries implement the plan, which was described as a “long overdue” gender-centric approach to HIV/AIDS.“No more pilots, it’s time for action,” said Clark, agreeing with several ministers who urged immediate implementation of the plan in all countries. “Governments, international, multilateral and civil society organizations need to integrate gender issues into the HIV programmes - and to integrate HIV issues into gender programmes,” Clark said. “These are fundamental matters that cannot be dealt with separately."Annie Lenox recounted how she became an activist on HIV awareness after an invitation from former South African President Nelson Mandela to engage artists. “He said that the HIV pandemic is a genocide. And it is. Music, film, writing...all of these are creative ways to help transform HIV into something from the past."UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe, moderating the panel, was one of several people on the panel and in the audience who noted the critical importance of addressing violence against women, both in preventing and responding to HIV/AIDS.Gender Equality Key to Climate Change ResponseThe importance of considering gender implications in the response to climate change was the focus of the panel discussion, Gender Equality and Climate Change: Opportunities and Challenges for the MDGs, which drew a crowd of over 140 people. Winnie Byanyima, Director of the UNDP Gender Team, emphasized the growing opportunity of a new climate deal for financing adaptation and development, but cautioned that little attention has been given so far to addressing how climate change financial resources can reach the poorest women and men equitably. A representative from the Finnish Council for Gender Equality said that Finland will continue to support the participation of women in the global climate change negotiations in recognition of the important voice they bring to the table, as environmental stewards in many regions of the world where they are responsible for the majority of food production and in meeting household energy needs.Panelists agreed that sustained investments are needed in building the capacities of negotiators to understand the linkages between gender and climate change. Melanne Verveer, the US Ambassador at Large for Global Women's Issues, said that the United States recognizes that women, are critical to addressing climate change and that the U.S. will work to ensure that women's potential "is tapped to address this critical challenge." The representative from the Mexican government emphasized the importance of reaching a new climate agreement at the next COP meeting to be held in Cancun, Mexico in November 2010. There was general agreement among the panelists that the debate could be further strengthened if women's organizations were more focused on climate change as a development issue and, at the same time, if more environmental groups were to focus on the role of women's rights and gender issues.High-level Plenary – Statements March 1-2Click here for provisional list of speakers.Regional groups:Argentina on behalf of the MERCOSUR and Associated States.Chile on behalf of the Rio Group ( English | Spanish )Equatorial Guinea on behalf of the African UnionSamoa on behalf of the Pacific Islands ForumYemen on behalf of the Group of 77 and China Member States:AfghanistanAustriaAzerbaijanCameroonCanadaChinaBahamasBarbadosBrazil Belgium ( English | French )Cape VerdeCzech RepublicEstonia FijiGambiaGermanyGreeceIcelandIndonesiaItaly Jordan Kenya LithuaniaLuxembourg Mauritania Mexico ( English | Spanish )Montenegro Morocco NamibiaNepalNew ZealandNicaraguaParaguay Peru Philippines PortugalQatar Republic of KoreaRussian FederationSamoa Senegal South Africa SwedenTurkeyUgandaUnited KingdomUnited Republic of TanzaniaViet NamZambiaZimbabweOther intergovernmental organizations:European Commission Background Documentation:Global 15-year review process in the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women OverviewNational level review of implementation QuestionnaireMember States responsesRegional 15-year review processes Regional reportsRegional meetings