UN Women held its first on 14-15 August 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand.

According to UN women regional director Roberta Clarke, “the meeting has established a framework of cooperation through which we hope to achieve on-going and structured dialogue between civil society and UN Women at a regional level. (Civil society) advice and recommendations are currently assisting UN Women’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific shape its strategic approach for the coming years.”

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Members of the advisory group

The advisory group identified priority areas to strengthen and initiate, namely:

  • Climate change and ecological degradation
  • EVAW and its link to SRH
  • Access to Justice (harmful cultural practices that hinder access to justice for women; access to resources)
  • Macro-economic policies (investment, trade, fiscal policy – taxation-, land/resource allocations; extractive industries; accountability measures; measuring GDP etc)
  • Addressing culture and GE (challenges and enabling factors)
  • Migration
  • Decent work and labour exploitation; informal economy
  • Informal sector – markets –model for extension to other countries
  • LGBT rights, sexuality

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The advisory group with UN women staff

Furthermore, they gave inputs on developing sustainable development goals after 2015 in the areas of :

  • Economic and ecological justice
  • Advancing women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights and safety

For more information, contact apwld@apwld.org and write on your subject line “AP-CSAG”.

Further information can be had from the UN Women website at http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/