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• Commonwealth Gender Plan of Action Monitoring Group to Meet

Commonwealth Gender Plan of Action Monitoring Group to Meet

23 February 2006

Ms Ann Keeling, Director, Social Transformation Programmes Division - Commonwealth Secretariat

The Commonwealth Gender Plan of Action (PoA) Monitoring Group is meeting in New York on 25 February 2006 to discuss a monitoring and evaluation framework for the Commonwealth PoA for Gender Equality 2005-2015. This will contribute to the harmonisation of Commonwealth and international priorities, work plans and reporting. The meeting, organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat, will also look at the development of gender-sensitive indicators to monitor the implementation of the PoA. The PoA is focused on gender, democracy, peace and conflict; gender, human rights and law; gender, poverty eradication and economic empowerment; and gender and HIV/AIDS.

Ann Keeling, Director of the Secretariat's Social Transformation Programmes Division which is organising this event, said the discussion will also focus on existing frameworks established by the CEDAW Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; the Beijing Platform for Action to promote women's rights and gender equality; and the Millennium Development Goals, which include the empowerment of women.

"To support and guide our implementation of the PoA, the Commonwealth needs a coherent monitoring and evaluation framework that includes gender-sensitive indicators for measuring progress in achieving gender equality and women's empowerment in areas such as literacy levels, employment opportunities and participation in decision-making. We need to ensure that the roles of different partners involved in implementing the PoA complement each other. Finally, the reporting mechanism on the PoA should be harmonised with global reporting obligations to promote efficiency," stated Ms Keeling.

The outcomes of the meeting will be presented at a consultation in New York on 26 February on the 8th Commonwealth Women's Affairs Ministers Meeting to be held in Uganda in June 2007. The New York consultation, chaired by Uganda's Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Zoe Bakoko Bakoru, will take place on the eve of the 50th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. It will provide a forum for Commonwealth Ministers responsible for Women's Affairs, senior officials, international partners and civil society organisations to discuss and share experiences on 'Women in Decision-Making at All Levels'. Delegates will explore strategies to achieve the Commonwealth target of 30 per cent women's representation in decision-making in the political, public and private sectors by 2015.

At the 50th Session, which takes place from 27 February to 10 March, the Secretariat will use the opportunity to hold two expert panels: 'Gender Mainstreaming in Conflict Transformation: Building Sustainable Peace' on 28 February; and 'Women's Access to Global Markets: Gender, Trade Policy and Export Promotion' on 2 March. Both events will highlight Commonwealth experiences of advancing gender equality in these key areas.

"The Commonwealth aims to deepen its gender mainstreaming approach, particularly in addressing persistent and emerging challenges such as violence against women, women's political representation, women's participation in peace processes, trafficking in women and girls; and HIV/AIDS. Moreover, the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015 articulates the vision that advancing gender equality will contribute to wider Commonwealth and global goals of development, democracy and peace," said Ms Keeling.

 

CNIS - Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 273, 22 February 2006