The FORUM-ASIA Secretariat joined its partner, Asia-Pacific Women, Law and Development (APWLD) in Chiagmai, Thailand to celebrate another year of women’s rights, the 99th International Women’s Day (IWD). This year’s theme is ” Equal Opportunities, Equal Rights, Progress for All”. Please read below APWLD’s statement on IWD and the ASEAN’s Commission on Women
and Children (ACWC).
The FORUM-ASIA Secretariat joined its partner, Asia-Pacific Women, Law and Development (APWLD) in Chiagmai, Thailand to celebrate another year of women’s rights, the 99th International Women’s Day (IWD). This year’s theme is ” Equal Opportunities, Equal Rights, Progress for All”. Please read below APWLD’s statement on IWD and the ASEAN’s Commission on Women and Children (ACWC):
On the 99th anniversary of International Women’s Day, APWLD urges the international community to become involved in what has the potential to be Southeast Asia’s most powerful tool for the protection and promotion of women’s human rights.
This April at the ASEAN Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) will be established.
With the establishment in October 2009 of the ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) these two bodies represent significant progress in what was previously purely a body for governing economic and political relationships.
The United Nations has declared this year’s International Women’s Day theme to be “Equal Opportunities, Equal Rights; Progress for All”.
APWLD is hopeful that with the real participation of civil society in consultations with ASEAN’s processes that ‘progress for all’ will be a result of the new commissions. Currently, national governments are in the process of selecting representatives for the ACWC.
Kindly read rest of the statement on IWD here: Women celebrate ASEAN’s progress on International Women’s Day .
APWLD has also released a statement on the ACWC titled: Celebrating ‘Progress for All’ on International Women’s Day 2010 .
