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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development

Pacific Island Women Caucus

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)
#SDGAction39982
Description
Description
The Pacific Islands Women's Caucus is a network of women parliamentarians, women's rights organisations and women's rights activists aiming to increase the voice and influence of Pacific Women in democratic processes and decision making to advance women's rights and development justice in the Pacific island and territories. It aims to ensure that women's voices, rights, participation and representation are integrated in all Pacific regional processes, decisions, instruments, policies and structures. The Caucus has two wings: a) a parliamentary caucus; and b) a civil society caucus. The idea was borne out of the recognition that there is a need to mobilize women parliamentarians, women's human rights groups and activists from across the Pacific islands collectively. And that a sustainable and equitable community requires the empowerment and participation of all members of it, including women. Through its capacity-building, exchanges and networking activities, the caucus will be able to empower a movement that promotes women's democratic participation and leadership. Women having a key role in developing, implementing and monitoring development policies at local, national, regional and international level ensures that the needs and voices of women from the Pacific island for a sustainable development is heard.
Implementation of the Project/Activity

The initial discussions around the Caucus has identified 4 broad strategies it will undertake: 1) Building the capacity of women in the Pacific Islands2) Increasing resource opportunities for women3) Influencing laws, policies and practices to advance women's rights and development justice in the Pacific Islands4) Building political, structural change, alliances and movements in the Pacific Islands of women leaders, parliamentarians, organisations and activists.

Capacity

Members of the Caucuses have started to identify capacity building needs which include policy development, understanding and influencing global and regional processes and agreements, leadership, media and campaigning skills. Capacity building may be conducted by the members and supporting institutions but also by other bodies supportive of the Caucuses.

Governed

The Caucus will model Pacific women's leadership that is united, collaborative, democratic, accountable and transformative in advancing women’s rights and development justice nationally, regionally and internationally. The programme and content of the Caucus will be determined by its own members with institutional support from APWLD. It will comprise of two linked caucuses - a parliamentary caucus and a civil society caucus. The Parliamentary Women's Caucus will comprise of currently sitting women members of national parliaments and equivalent national legislative bodies from the Pacific islands and territories. The Civil Society Women's Caucus will comprise of (and not limited to) former member of parliaments, women's rights groups, organisations and activists from the Pacific islands and territories. While the two Caucuses will have different composition, the Caucuses will work, facilitate, coordinate, collaborate, exchange and support each other for the purpose of engaging with various human rights and development processes and structures in the Pacific and beyond. The Caucus will also facilitate networking and engagement with women from outside the Pacific Islands and territories and other existing partnerships in the region. It will promote women's voices in key debates in the Pacific, not only around topics designated as women's issues, but more broadly to promote human rights and development justice for all. It will also play a key role in developing, implementing and monitoring policies impacting on women at local, national and regional levels.The two Caucuses however, will not be rigid in its structure and will maintain an open format for the period 2014. It will welcome the expression of interests, involvement and participation of more women parliamentarians, women's rights organisations and women's rights activists. An interim coordination process will continue until 2015 when a new mechanism, structure, activities and resources will be institutionalised to ensure long-term support for the Caucus as well as facilitating the participation of other Pacific islands not yet part of the Caucus.

Partners
Women parliamentarian, women's organisations and activists of the following countries: Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Island, Cook Island, Papua New Guinea, West Papua, Marshall Island, Timor-Leste.

Goal 5

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Goal 5

5.1

End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere

5.1.1

Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non‑discrimination on the basis of sex

5.2

Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation
5.2.1

Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age

5.2.2

Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence

5.3

Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation
5.3.1

Proportion of women aged 20-24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18

5.3.2

Proportion of girls and women aged 15-49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, by age

5.4

Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate

5.4.1

Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location

5.5

Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life

5.5.1

Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments

5.5.2

Proportion of women in managerial positions

5.6

Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences

5.6.1

Proportion of women aged 15-49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care

5.6.2

Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education

5.a

Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws

5.a.1

(a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure

5.a.2

Proportion of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control

5.b

Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women
5.b.1

Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex

5.c

Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels

5.c.1

Proportion of countries with systems to track and make public allocations for gender equality and women’s empowerment

A consolidated network of women parliamentarians, women’s civil societies and activists
A platform for sharing and exchange of information and good practices on women’s democratic decision making and development justice
Position statements, dialogues and interventions made by women parliamentarians, women civil societies and activists of Pacific island women vision of development
Staff / Technical expertise
APWLD will temporarily coordinate the Caucus until its mechanism, structure, activities and dedicated resources is institutionalised.
Financing (in USD)
APWLD will temporarily coordinate the Caucus until its mechanism, structure, activities and dedicated resources is institutionalized.
No progress reports have been submitted. Please sign in and click here to submit one.
Pacific Island Women Caucus
False
Action Network
Small Island Developing States
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Timeline
01 January 1970 (date of completion)
Entity
APWLD
SDGs
5
Region
  1. Asia and Pacific
Countries
N/A
Contact Information

Diyana Yahaya, Programme Officer - Women in Power Programme, APWLD

diyana@apwld.org