Focus on Gender and Human Rights

More than 25 gender and human rights experts from Commonwealth member countries will be attending an Expert Group meeting to identify key priorities and issues that could be taken up by the Commonwealth Secretariat over the next five to 10 years.

 The meeting takes place from 17 to 19 February 2004 at the Secretariat's headquarters in London and will include experts representing government (including the judiciary), civil society partners and practitioners, academics and the United Nations/multilateral system.

 Some of the key gender and human rights issues that will be discussed at the meeting are  the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women; gender-based violence; culture, the law and gender; trafficking in women and children; indigenous peoples' rights; the girl child; and land and property rights. 

The cross-cutting themes in many of these issues will be highlighted during the workshop, for example HIV/AIDS and poverty.  

The meeting is convened in preparation for the next gender/women's affairs ministerial meeting to be held in May/June 2004 in Fiji Islands, which will adopt a new 10-year Commonwealth plan of action on gender and development for 2005-2015.