6-15 January 2005
"From Global to Local” Training and Orientation on CEDAW. 32nd CEDAW Session. New York, USA.

Participants at this From Global to Local programme comprised representatives of women NGOs from countries reporting at this session: Turkey, Samoa, Croatia, Paraguay and Algeria. This is a regular programme of IWRAW Asia Pacific and seeks to facilitate involvement of women in the CEDAW reporting process. Rea, Bee Yee and Janine represented IWRAW Asia Pacific. Rea, together with Alda Facio (ILANUD), Debra Liebowitz (Drew University), Lee Waldorf (UNIFEM New York), Ayesha Imam (UNFPA), and Christine Brautigam (DAW) were the resource persons.

10-21 January 2005
Second Open-Ended Working Group on the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR (OP-ICESCR). Geneva, Switzerland.

IWRAW Asia Pacific participated in the lobbying for an OP-ICESCR as a member of the Steering Committee of the NGO Coalition for the OP-ICESCR. Among the activities undertaken by the Coalition included updating the lobbying kit; having extensive meetings with international experts and government delegates; conducting an orientation session for NGOs; producing a briefing document for NGOs on alternate days; and organising a lunchtime seminar on the assessment of ESCR claims before national courts and its application to an OP-ICESCR individual communications process. IWRAW Asia Pacific’s team for this process comprised Marlene Libardoni (AGENDE, Brasil), Sabin Shrestha (FWLD, Nepal), Caroline Lambert (Australia) and Maria Herminia Graterol.

24-28 January 2005
Fifth Session of the Ad-Hoc Committee on a comprehensive and Integral International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. New York, USA.

A proposed UN convention on disability rights is currently being formulated following extensive lobbying for the last several years. At this meeting, IWRAW Asia Pacific provided assistance to the International Disability Caucus, a coalition of NGOs working towards the progressive drafting of the Disabilities Convention, especially on the issue of women with disabilities. Rea represented the organisation.

28 February- 10 March 2005
Commission on the Status of Women. 49th Session. New York , USA .

At this event, IWRAW Asia Pacific convened a workshop on the OP-CEDAW as part of our Global Campaign to promote its ratification and use. Specifically, the workshop sought to raise awareness on this treaty, and its procedures for claiming women’s human rights. It also aimed to discuss gains made, lessons learnt and possible advocacy strategies using the OP-CEDAW. In particular, it focused on the CEDAW Committee’s first ever inquiry into the case of Ciudad Juarez where countless women have gone missing and/or been murdered with impunity.

The workshop was very well attended with over 60 participants from NGOs around the world. A lively discussion ensued on the practical aspects of using the OP-CEDAW inquiry and communications procedures, and around the Ciudad Juarez case as well. Speaking were Marlene Libardoni of AGENDE and member of IWRAW Asia Pacific’s Advisory Group to the OP-CEDAW Campaign, and Regina Tavares da Silva, CEDAW Committee member who was part of the Working Group on the Optional Protocol. Janine who represented us moderated the event and also shared about other international complaints mechanisms like that available through the Organization of American States.

3 March-3 April 2005
Gender, Sexuality and Law Reform in the MENA and SEA. Organised by Women for Women’s Human Rights – New Ways. Istanbul, Turkey.

This meeting brought together NGO representatives and academicians actively working on law or policy reform in the Middle East, North Africa, South East Asia and South Asia, particularly on issues related to sexuality and gender, to share experiences, best practices, strategies, problems and obstacles regarding law and policy reform. There was also a session where the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Yakin Ertuk, spoke about her mandate, and how this related to sexuality and women’s rights. beng hui represented IWRAW Asia Pacific and gave a paper on the rape legal reform campaign in Malaysia.

14 March- 22 April 2005
Commission on Human Rights. 61st Session. Geneva , Switzerland .

IWRAW Asia Pacific followed the Commission on Human Rights agenda items on economic, social and cultural rights, and on violence against women, and made oral interventions in both these areas. We also co-organised two workshops – one on the proposed Optional Protocol to the ICESCR, and another on the right to housing. Much work was done as well in collaboration with other NGOs to support the mandates of the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, the Special Rapporteur on Heath; and the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women. Rea and Janine participated on behalf of IWRAW Asia Pacific.

30 April-2 May 2005
Training on the Rights-Based Approach. Organised by All Women’s Action Society and Women’s Development Collective. Petaling Jaya , Malaysia . 

IWRAW Asia Pacific was invited to run a three-day training on the rights-based approach for the staff and members of two Malaysian NGOs, All Women’s Action Society and Women’s Development Collective. Both groups have an interest in furthering their understanding the CEDAW Convention, and applying its rights-based framework to their programmes. Around 35 participants attended. Rea, Janine and beng hui were IWRAW Asia Pacific’s trainers.

20-24 June 2005
Fourth Inter-Committee Meeting and Seventeenth Annual Meeting of Treaty Bodies Chairpersons. Geneva , Switzerland . 

The main agenda item of both these meetings was the reform of the reporting process of the UN treaty body system. This seeks to simplify the reporting process for States parties by creating a common core document, common to all treaty body reports, as well as having a treaty specific document. Revised draft guidelines for the reporting process were introduced and discussed at this meeting and they suggested, most notably, that reporting by States parties on equality and non-discrimination be included in the common core document. IWRAW Asia Pacific made an intervention on the proposed guidelines and their impact on the CEDAW Committee and women’s rights in general. No final determinations were made on the adoption or rejection of the current draft guidelines. Rather it was decided that members of the various Committees would form a working group which would meet later in the year to draft another set of guidelines that would take into account the concerns and inputs that were raised at this meeting.

16-19 August 2005
NGO Training of Trainers. Organised by UNIFEM South East Asia in collaboration with IWRAW Asia Pacific. Dili,Timor Leste.

The goal of this training was to equip NGOs in Timor Leste with skills to write a CEDAW Shadow Report. At the same time, the training also sought to create a local pool of trainers who would have the capacity to (i) Raise awareness among government officials, NGOs and women, on the significance and use of the CEDAW Convention in advancing women’s human rights; and (ii) Become trainers or resource persons to promote and facilitate the implementation of CEDAW in Timor Leste. Participants comprised 23 women and 3 men involved in capacity building and advocacy work in the country. Rea Chiongson and Sarah Ariolla conducted the training on behalf of IWRAW Asia Pacific.

16-20 August 2005
Training of Trainers on CEDAW and its Optional Protocol (OP-CEDAW). Organised by Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD). Supported by IWRAW Asia Pacific. Kathmandu, Nepal.

As part of IWRAW Asia Pacific’s ongoing efforts to build capacity of local level groups to understand the CEDAW Convention, at the same time creating a pool of trainers and advocates in this regard, the organisation supported another Training of Trainers on CEDAW and its Optional Protocol in Nepal. Apart from developing conceptual clarity on the treaty, participants evaluated the implementation status of the CEDAW Convention in their country, and strategised ways to get the government to ratify the OP-CEDAW. The 21 participants comprised NGO activists from Kathmandu and the regions of Moroang, Dolkha, Nawal Parasi, Dang and Dadelhura, as well as several representatives of political parties. The resource persons for this training were Sapana Pradhan Malla and Sabin Shrestha from FWLD, Mr. Jogendra Ghimire (former member, Human Rights Commission), Mr. Silu Singh (member, Human Rights Commission), the Honourable Kalyan Shrestha (Chief Justice, Appellate Court) and the Honourable Laxman Aryal (ex-justice, Supreme Court).

27-30 August 2005
Global Consultation on the Ratification and Use of the OP-CEDAW. Organised by IWRAW Asia Pacific. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This consultation brought together more than 100 participants and experts from over 50 countries seeking to enhance the ratification and utilisation of the Optional Protocol to CEDAW (OP-CEDAW). Its specific aims were to provide information and knowledge on CEDAW and its Optional Protocol; identify strategies for ratification; identify strategies for access to justice; and create opportunities for planning regional processes to facilitate ratification and use of the protocol. There were fruitful discussions in this regard, in addition to the sharing of best practices, and the identification of obstacles and potential solutions and ways forward. Several OP-CEDAW regional initiatives were also born or given new impetus during this time – namely for Africa, the Americas, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, the Pacific, South Asia and South East Asia.

At the consultation too, IWRAW Asia Pacific launched its latest publication, the OP-CEDAW Resource Guide, a useful tool for activists and governments alike on the OP-CEDAW, including basic information on the instrument, arguments for ratification, and tips for most effective use. A more comprehensive account of the consultation can be found at < http://www.whrnet.org/docs/interview-moussa-07-11.html > featuring an interview between WHRnet and IWRAW Asia Pacific.Click here for a report of the consultation.

5-9 September 2005
High Level Experts Seminar on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and NGO Advocacy Coordination and Development Workshop for the Campaign for an Optional Protocol to the ICESCR (OP-ICESCR). Organised by the Government of France and the International Commission of Jurists. Nantes , France .

This seminar sought to enable concerned European states to develop a better understanding of the OP-ICESCR, towards building a common regional stand for the next meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group on the OP-ICESCR in January 2006. It brought together around 70 participants comprising European government representatives, selected NGOs, and experts from around the world to discuss the “option” of an OP-ICESCR. In particular, participants had the opportunity to deepen their knowledge on some of the concepts debated within the Open Ended Working Group on the OP-ICESCR at its previous meeting in January 2005. They also discussed what an OP-ICESCR would look like in terms of, for example, admissibility requirements and substantive rights protected, and sought to come to a common understanding on currently debated issues like “justiciability” and “international cooperation”. Janine Moussa attended on behalf of IWRAW Asia Pacific, while Shanthi Dairiam, our founding Director, went in her capacity as CEDAW Committee member.

3-6 October 2005
Training of Trainers on CEDAW. Organised by the Center for the Education, Protection and Empowerment of Women (CEPEW) in collaboration with IWRAW Asia Pacific. Supported by UNIFEM CEDAW South East Asia Project. Hanoi, Vietnam.

The objectives of this training were to raise awareness of participants on the significance and use of the CEDAW Convention in advancing women’s human rights; build their capacity to use the CEDAW framework in advocacy, services and development projects; and develop a pool of resource persons to promote and facilitate the implementation of the Convention at the national level. Participants were advocates from national and international NGOs working on women’s concerns and rights in Vietnam. IWRAW Asia Pacific gave technical support for the training, i.e. assisted in the drafting of the programme, the collation and provision of background materials, and provided resource persons from its training pool – Tulika Srivastava from AALI (India) and Rea Chiongson (Philippines).

7-11 October 2005
Workshop on “Women and International Human Rights Law”. Organised by Partners in Law and Development. Supported by IWRAW Asia Pacific. India.

The main goal of this workshop was to train legal practitioners and activists on using the CEDAW Convention in domestic litigation, as well as using the Convention complementarily with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The 23 participants were taken through sessions on human rights law and the UN mechanisms, the women’s human rights framework including the principles of CEDAW, and gender-based crimes in special contexts. There was also a moot court exercise at the end for them contextualise human rights standards and apply these to concrete situations. The facilitators were Madhu Mehra (PLD), Saumya Uma (ICC-India) and Deepika Udagama (representing IWRAW Asia Pacific).

17-21 October 2005
Training of Trainers on CEDAW. Organised by Women’s Legal Bureau in collaboration with IWRAW Asia Pacific. Supported by UNIFEM CEDAW South East Asia Project. Manila, Philippines.

Titled “Using CEDAW in the Philippines: Claiming our Place, Claiming our Rights”, this national training for women’s NGOs and human rights advocates was held to enhance knowledge and skills of participants on the CEDAW framework, its mechanisms, as well as procedures towards an effective use of the Convention to promote equality and rights for women. The training was divided into four parts: International Human Rights Law (history, dynamics, nature, concepts and principles); Understanding CEDAW (bringing the Convention to life); Use of CEDAW Processes and Other Mechanisms; and Applying CEDAW to the Philippine Context. IWRAW Asia Pacific gave technical support for this training, i.e. assisted in the drafting of the programme, collation and provision of background materials, and provided a resource person from its training pool (Rea Chiongson) as the key trainer. Two CEDAW Committee members, Rosario Manalo and Shanthi Dairiam, were also present at this training.

3-4 November 2005
CEDAW Shadow Report Training for Cambodian NGOs. Organised and supported by UNIFEM South East Asia Project. Phnom Penh , Cambodia

In light of the government of Cambodia being reviewed by the CEDAW Committee in its January 2006 session, IWRAW Asia Pacific’s Sarah Arriola conducted an initial training for Cambodian NGOs on shadow report writing. The training also introduced the participants to various aspects of CEDAW – its concepts and principles, the Committee and its review process, as well as advocacy and monitoring the government’s implementation of the Convention. In all there were 44 participants comprising women members of NGOs in the country.

17-20 November 2005
The 3rd Asia Pacific Conference on Sexual and Reproductive Health. Organised by International Planned Parenthood Federation East and South East Asia and Oceania Region. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

At this conference which ran from 17-20 November, Shanthi Dairiam, Janine Moussa and Sarah Arriola conducted a workshop session entitled, “Realising Reproductive Rights: A hands-on workshop on the rights-based approach”. The 40 participants were taken through a series of exercises to help them understand the different components of a rights-based approach, and how this framework could be applied in the context of their work on women’s right to health. The participants were a mix of representatives from NGOs, academia, and funding agencies.

27-30 November 2005
The 10th AWID International Forum On Women’s Rights and Development. Organised by The Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID). Bangkok, Thailand.

IWRAW Asia Pacific ran two sessions at the 10th AWID Forum, one, a skills-building activity entitled “Realising Rights! A Hands-on Workshop on the Rights-based Approach” and the other, an interactive presentation entitled “Law and Policy Reform: Mechanism for Change of Black Hole?”. Each session attracted roughly 30 participants from various backgrounds and parts of the world. Resource persons for these sessions included our organisational partners Manisha Gupte (MASUM, India), Tulika Srivastava (AALI, India), Sabin Shrestha (FWLD, Nepal), as well as members of IWRAW Asia Pacific’s resource pool Shanthi Dairiam, Savitri Goonesekere and Maria Herminia Graterol. Anuradha Rao and Janine Moussa represented the organisation at this event.

1-3 December 2005
CEDAW Training for Government. Organised by UNIFEM Indonesia and the Ministry for Women’s Empowerment in collaboration with IWRAW Asia Pacific. Supported by UNIFEM South East Asia Project. Jakarta , Indonesia .

This nationwide training sought to: (a) build knowledge and raise awareness of staff from selected Indonesian ministries on CEDAW; (b) develop their capacity to use the CEDAW framework in programmes and national policies to implement the Convention; and to monitor, evaluate and report on this; and (c) promote greater recognition of the Indonesian state’s obligations under CEDAW.

IWRAW Asia Pacific provided technical support for the training, i.e. assisted in the drafting of the programme, the collation of background materials and provided two resource persons from its training pool, Tulika Srivatava (AALI, India ) and Rea Chiongson ( Philippines ). The training was also attended by a former CEDAW Committee member from Indonesia , Syamsiah Achmad. Many of the participants were current gender focal points in their respective ministries and departments.

4-7 December 2005
CEDAW Training for NGOs. Organised UNIFEM Indonesia and Indonesian Women’s Association for Justice (LBH-APIK) in collaboration with IWRAW Asia Pacific. Supported by UNIFEM South East Asia Project. Jakarta , Indonesia.

Immediately following the training for government officials, a similar programme on CEDAW was organised by LBH-APIK and UNIFEM for Indonesian NGOs. This comprised the following sessions: (a) Women’s Realities: Understanding concepts of equality and non-discrimination; (b) Challenges to Women’s Activism; (c) Rights as a Tool for Change; (d) The CEDAW Convention; (e) UN Procedures for Monitoring the Implementation of the Convention and (f) Next Steps: CEDAW and women’s rights advocacy. The training also served as an opportunity to identify potential candidates for future CEDAW training of trainers activities. As with the government training, IWRAW Asia Pacific provided the same technical assistance for this meeting.

7-10 December 2005
CEDAW Training of Trainers for Activists. Organised by National Alliance of Women (NAWO). Supported by IWRAW Asia Pacific.

Forty representatives of NGOs from the medical, education and legal fields, as well as the Social Welfare Board, agricultural department and State Commission for Women in Arunachal Pradesh attended this training which sought to raise their awareness on the advantages of basing the struggle for women’s rights on feminist principles and international human rights norms, with specific reference to the CEDAW Convention. The activity was also aimed at adding to the local pool of trainers on CEDAW. Ruth Manorama and Geetha Devi from NAWO served as resource persons.

The last day of the training coincided with Human Rights Day and to mark this occasion, NAWO and the State Commission for Women organised a public meeting on the CEDAW Convention and its role in promoting women’s human rights. The audience for this meeting included various other women’s groups and human rights organisations from the urban and rural areas, and one of the issues they raised was about traditional customary laws and the denial of rights to women due to the rampant practice of polygamous marriages and the difficulties experienced in securing divorces.

12-15 December 2005
Regional Thematic Meeting on Violence Against Women. Organised by IWRAW Asia Pacific. Hosted by Naripokkho. Dhaka , Bangladesh .

This was the fourth in a series of regional consultations on common themes addressed by IWRAW Asia Pacific’s partners under the organisation’s Facilitating Project. Its objectives included building a composite picture of VAW work in the region; critically reflect on these; and plot new levels of advocacy using the rights-based approach which represents a shift from current advocacy on this issue. Participants discussed how international and emerging trends such as the ‘disappearing rights’ discourse, the role of men in anti-VAW initiatives, and the emergence of sexuality rights impinged on VAW; as well as learnt relevant concepts like due diligence and universal jurisdiction. The participants were a mix of international and Bangladeshi NGO activists.

17-18 December 2005
Workshop on Public Interest Litigation. Organised by Ain-o-Salish Kendra. Supported by IWRAW Asia Pacific. Dhaka , Bangladesh.

As a follow-up to a CEDAW Training of Lawyers that was conducted in 2004 in Dhaka , Bangladesh , Ain-o-Salish Kendra organised this workshop for practising lawyers with the aim of assessing and reviewing strategies on public interest litigation, taking into account the application of CEDAW. The outcome of the workshop focused on the protection of fundamental rights of citizens in Bangladesh with further follow-up actions proposed for the next 6 months:

• Challenging the government’s amendment to the Telecommunications Act to allow tapping of phones and e-mails in the name of ‘national security’;
• Pushing forward PIL on the release of prisoners under trial (some of whom are languishing in jail for 5 to 12 years) without being produced in court even for a single day; and