United Nations Women Committee Introductory Study Guide AGENDA Inclusion of Women in achievement of SDGs and MDGs 1 P a g e
SUGGESTED RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Following is a suggested pattern for researching (if required): Researching and understanding the United Nations and the UN Women - its mandate, including understanding work done on the agenda. Research on the allotted country - understanding its polity, economy, culture, history etc. Comprehending the Foreign Policy of the allotted country. It includes understanding the ideology and principles adopted by the country on the agenda. It further includes studying past actions taken by the country on the agenda and other related issues specifically analyzing their causes and consequences. Reading the study guide thoroughly and building upon it instead of completely relying on it. Researching further upon the agenda using the footnotes and links given in the guide and from other sources such as academic papers, institutional reports, national reports, news articles, blogs etc. Characterizing the agenda into sub-topics and preparing speeches and statements on them. It is the same as preparing topics for the moderated caucuses and their content. Preparing a list of possible solutions and actions the UN Women can adopt on the issue as per your portfolio s policies. Assemble proof/evidence for any important piece of information/allegation you are going to use in committee. (Reuters, State operated News agency, UN, UN Authorized Reports). Keeping your research updated using various news sources until the day of the conference. 2 P a g e
INTRODUCTION TO THE AGENDA What are the MDGs? In September 2000, 189 countries signed the United Nations Millennium Declaration, committing themselves to eradicating extreme poverty in all its forms by 2015. To help track progress toward these commitments, a set of time-bound and quantified goals and targets, called the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), were developed for combating poverty in its many dimensions - including providing primary education, avoiding child and maternal mortality, reducing income poverty, hunger, disease, environmental degradation and gender discrimination. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) include 8 goals, 21 targets and 60 indicators for measuring progress between 1990 and 2015, when the goals are expected to be met. The basic outline of the 8 goals of the Millennium Development Goals: Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women (**Assistance provided by UN Women) Goal 4: Reduce child mortality Goal 5: Improve maternal health Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development 3 P a g e
What are the SDGs? The MDG s successor the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been adopted by world leaders at a summit in New York in late September 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also called the Global Goals are common, universal goals for member states of the United Nations to transform the world into a fairer, more prosperous and peaceful society until 2030. They include a commitment to end poverty, achieve gender equality, improve health and education, make cities more sustainable, combat climate change, protect forests, etc. SDGs have 17 goals with 169 targets and 230 indicators as of March 11, 2016. It s 17 goals are outlined below: SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. (**Assistance provided by UN Women) SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all SDG 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation 4 P a g e
SDG 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss SDG 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels SDG 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Transition from the MDGs to SDGs The United Nations has hailed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as the most successful anti-poverty movement in history. It s true that remarkable progress has been accomplished. In the words of UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, The MDGs helped to lift more than one billion people out of extreme poverty, to make inroads against hunger, to enable more girls to attend school than ever before and to protect our planet. Yet, around 1.5 billion people in conflict affected countries and on the extreme margins of society were unreached by the goals and unable to benefit from the tide that may have uplifted their neighbours, a fact which has also been mentioned by Ban Ki-moon. To quote his words: for all the remarkable gains, I am keenly aware that inequalities persist and that progress has been uneven. 5 P a g e
On 25 September, 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as the agreed framework for international development. It is the successor to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However, unlike the MDGs, the 2030 Agenda presents a much wider scope by deliberately and more fully incorporating economic and environmental sustainability, as well as the aspiration of many countries for peaceful and inclusive societies. The Agenda also applies to all countries rather than just the developing countries. In this regard, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is more ambitious, thus envisaging the eradication of poverty, the systematic tackling of climate change and building of peaceful, resilient, equitable and inclusive societies. This Agenda, unlike the MDGs, has a stand-alone Goal (Goal 5) on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. In addition, there are gender equality targets in other Goals, and a more consistent call for sex disaggregation of data across many indicators. Women are affected by each of the 17 proposed SDGs, and women and girls can and will be key to achieving each of these goals. Analysis of the Targets of the MDGs for Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Target: The MDGs, under its Goal 3, had a target to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015. They also included increasing the share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector and the proportion of seats held by women in national parliament. 6 P a g e
Analysis Gender parity in schooling worldwide is closest to being achieved at the primary level. However, only 2 out of 130 countries have achieved that target at all levels of education. Globally, 40 out of 100 wage-earning jobs in the non-agricultural sector are held by women. But women still enter the labour market on an unequal basis to men, even after accounting for educational background and skills. As of October 2013, women were 21.8 % of parliamentarians in single or lower houses and 19.4 % of Senate or upper houses, up from 12 % and 10.1 % in January 1997, respectively. At the pace witnessed during the last 15 years, it will take nearly 40 years to reach the parity zone in parliaments. According to the Secretary-General's pre-csw report "Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls", while Goal 3 reflects important dimensions of gender inequality, the narrow focus of Goal 3 fails to address critical issues such as violence against women, inequalities in the division of unpaid care work, women s limited access to assets, violations of women s and girls sexual and reproductive health and rights, and their unequal participation in private and public decision-making beyond national parliaments. For countries where data are available, women spend on average roughly twice as much or more time than men on unpaid domestic and care work. The report stresses that unless all dimensions of gender inequality are addressed, the overall Millennium Development Goal of gender equality and women s empowerment cannot be achieved. 7 P a g e
Analysis of the Targets of the SDGs for Women Empowerment and Gender Equality The Sustainable Development Goals seek to change the course of the 21st century, by addressing key challenges such as poverty, inequality, and violence against women and girls. Women s empowerment is a pre-condition for this. Therefore, achieving gender equality and women s empowerment is a standalone goal Goal 5 of the SDGs. It is also part of all the other goals, with many targets specifically recognizing women s equality and empowerment as both the objective, and as part of the solution. Targets The targets here are more wide spread and vast: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere. 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. Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation. 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. Ensure women s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life. 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 8 P a g e
Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences. 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. Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women. 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. Analysis Deep legal and legislative changes are needed to ensure women s rights and leadership around the world. However - Although 47 % of world business leaders say that they are in favour of gender quotas on corporate boards, women still remain underrepresented in leadership and management level positions in the public and private sectors. Less than one-third of senior- and middlemanagement positions are held by women. While 39 % of countries worldwide have used some form of quota system to increase women s representation in politics, parity is far from reality as of 2017, only 23.4 % of all national parliamentarians are women. In the labour market, women worldwide make 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. At the same time, they carry out three times as much unpaid household and care work as men from cooking and cleaning, to fetching water and firewood, or taking care of children and the elderly. 9 P a g e
No country in the world is untouched by the pandemic of intimate partner violence 1 in 5 women and girls aged 15 to 49 across 87 countries reported experiencing physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner; 49 countries have no laws specifically protecting women from domestic violence. Harmful practices, such as child marriage and female genital mutilation, continue to rob women and girls of equal opportunities. The numbers are staggering at least 200 million women and girls have undergone FGM; and over 750 million women and girls alive today were married before their 18th birthday. Achieving gender equality and sustainable development by 2030 will require stepping up efforts at all fronts. UN Women works to empower women and girls through all of its programmes and advocacy. Involving Women in SDGs and MDGs Women and girls make up more than half the world s population and they are on the frontlines often more deeply impacted than men and boys by poverty, climate change, food insecurity, lack of healthcare, and global economic crises. Their contributions and leadership are pivotal to finding a solution. With the new global 2030 roadmap and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), women and girls can and will be key to achieving each of these goals. An increasing number of women should be included in the SDGs and MDGs, as the women and girls who are in oppressed conditions will be able to connect to these women more, as compared to men. Women can better examine other women s economic empowerment in the changing world of work, at a time when the international community has made an unprecedented commitment to gender equality and women s empowerment, in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. There are 10 P a g e
vital interlinkages between women s economic empowerment and their rights to decent work as well as a full and productive employment. More women should be involved in women s empowerment and gender equality work, as they will be able to better relate to the obstacles women face in exercising their rights, and can suggest how these may be rectified, can better analyse the opportunities and challenges for women s economic empowerment posed by the increasing informality and mobility of labour and the technological and digital developments that are transforming the world of work, can outline policies and actions to address gender gaps in the world and enable the realization of women s rights and economic empowerment, calling for greater accountability to ensure that no one is left behind. UN Women s Efforts UN Women works with partners to promote the education of girls and women and overcome barriers to schooling for girls. Advancing women s political participation and leadership and economic empowerment are two of the central goals of UN Women. This ranges from initiatives to get more women on the ballot as well as getting more women to the ballot. Boosting proportional representation to increasing the number of women in politics, to more transparent political party selection, training of female candidates and getting more women to cast their votes, are part of the efforts. In countries around the world, women in politics are strengthening the credibility of democracies through their participation, reinvigorating political accountability, and contributing to improved efficiency in policymaking through bringing their diverse perspectives. In India for instance, in areas with female-led local councils the number of drinking water projects was 62 % higher than in those with male-led councils, while in Norway, evidence shows a direct relationship between the number of women in municipal councils and childcare coverage they enacted. UN Women works to enact and implement equal economic rights for all. Legislation on equal pay for equal work, better access to employment opportunities, equality in hiring and promotions, leave and unemployment benefits, freedom from sexual harassment in the workplace, and other critical 11 P a g e
rights are increasingly being legislated. But serous lag in implementation of the laws continues to constrain women s equality and empowerment. Assessing work done by MDGs and SDGs in: Africa Having made encouraging progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), African countries have the opportunity to use the newly launched Sustainable Development Goals to tackle remaining challenges and achieve a development breakthrough, according to the 2015 Africa MDG report. Leadership, innovation and targeted investments in a number of social sectors have led to transformative interventions and in many cases revolutionized people s lives. It has introduced women s quotas in parliament, leading the way internationally on gender equality, and increased gender parity in primary schools. Niger s School for Husbands has been successful in transforming men into allies in promoting women s reproductive health, family planning and behavioral change towards gender equality. Much more work lies ahead to ensure that living standards improve for all African women and men. While economic growth has been relatively strong, it has not been rapid or inclusive enough to create jobs. Similarly, many countries have managed to achieve access to primary schooling however considerable issues of quality and equity need to be addressed. Africa has seen an acceleration in economic growth, established ambitious social safety nets and designed policies for boosting education and tackling HIV and other diseases. Although overall poverty rates are still hovering around 48%, according to the most recent estimates, most countries have made progress on at least one goal. Arab The Arab region has made impressive progress towards some MDGs and SDGs. Around 85 percent of children of primary school age went to school in 1999, and that rate rose to 92 % in 2011.However, achievements are uneven. 12 P a g e
The region lags behind on some important targets, particularly those related to combating hunger. Despite women s strong participation in political demonstrations in some countries, there have been no successful efforts to systematically ensure a greater legislative representation of women. Political, social and economic transitions since 2010 have had significant impacts, including halting or reversing MDG gains in some countries of the region. Least Developed Countries (LDCs) remain behind on important targets, particularly those related to nutrition, food security, access to water and sanitation, and child and maternal mortality. Asia and Pacific Asia and the Pacific has led the world in the drive to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 per day projected to fall from 53% in 1990 to 12% by the end of the year. To maintain the momentum for the post-2015 agenda, the report notes, the region will need to address three key areas of implementation: extending the benefits of technology to all, mobilizing the necessary financial resources, and building statistical systems that can monitor the progress of the poorest groups to ensure that no one is left behind. The report shows that between 1990 and 2012, the proportion of the region s population living on less than $1.25 per day fell from 53 % to 14 %, and by 2015 it is projected to fall to 12 %. In addition to the dramatic drop in poverty level, more than two-thirds of countries are expected to halve the proportion of the population without access to safe drinking water by 2015. Nearly all primary-aged children now complete school, and students at all levels of education benefit from gender parity. Even for some of the targets that have not been achieved, there have been impressive advances. For instance, the rates of under-five and infant mortality fell short of the required two-thirds reduction, but passed the 50 % mark. Often the most rapid progress was registered in countries that started furthest behind. 13 P a g e
In some instances, where goals have been met, there is still much progress to be made, and several goals continue to lag behind. In 2012, 569 million people were still living on less than $1.25 per day, 21 million children were not enrolled in primary school, and more than one-fifth of under-five children - 75 million - were underweight. In addition, 1.2 billion people in rural areas, and 480 million in urban areas, still lacked access to basic sanitation. Europe Significant progress was being made in almost every area prior to the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, but the severe downturn during the crisis and sluggish recovery since 2009 has resulted in slower improvement. The crisis increased unemployment and poverty in much of the region and has significantly weakened government finances so that less is available for improving the educational and health infrastructure and in providing income maintenance for low income families. The deteriorating sovereign debt situation in the advanced economies has resulted in a scaling back of official development assistance which is desperately needed in much of the developing world to close the financing gap for achieving the targets. The report highlights that poverty, hunger and lack of access to education and health care are not endemic to the general population as in much of the developing world, but are increasingly confined to marginalized groups including ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples and migrants, persons with disabilities, the long-term unemployed, and in a few cases, women and girls more generally. Thus government policy should concentrate on creating more equitable societies with better designed policies for reaching these disadvantaged groups. There are some targets, especially in the environmental area, however, where the lack of progress is more widespread and there is a need for changes in policy and economy-wide activities; some of these goals remain unfulfilled even in the region s advanced economies. Latin America and the Caribbean Latin America and the Caribbean have made significant progress towards meeting the targets included in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 14 P a g e
Six years prior to the global crisis (2002-2008), Latin America and the Caribbean had relatively high growth rates, with several countries improving income distribution, raising per capita social public expenditures and applying macroeconomic policies that avoided a harsher impact of the crisis. However, although some countries have attained several of the targets and others are en route to doing so, several countries will have difficulties in achieving full compliance if they continue at the same rate of progress. They have emphasized on the reduction of gender inequalities, ethnic inequalities, socio-economic inequalities and territorial inequalities, have analyzed the post-crisis scenario in Latin America and the Caribbean and have analysed the innovation and the technology gap. They have also looked into productive employment and decent work, environmental sustainability, etc. As for gender equality, the gaps with regard to men have diminished over the past 15 years, but the rate of progress has been slow. The report states that the three necessary pillars for attaining gender equality are economic independence, physical autonomy and participation in decision-making. With regard to the target of achieving full and productive employment and decent work for all, the indicators have evolved relatively well, although the low productivity growth and structural heterogeneity in the region have impeded real wages and income distribution from improving sustainably. 15 P a g e
Essential Reading http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/mdg-momentum#mdg2 http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg- 5-gender-equality http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/news-andevents/stories/2015/09/asia-pacific-member-states-commit-for-genderequality Women and Sustainable Development Goals - Viet Nam towards 2030 Authors/editor(s): United Nations Viet Nam 2322UN Women Analysis on Women and SDGs.pdf http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-developmentgoals/ http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ 16 P a g e