Training on CEDAW GR 30, December 15th-16th Jakarta, Indonesia

By Danielle Goldberg

December 14, 2014, Jakarta, Indonesia – GNWP will organize its first regional training on the use of  the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) General Recommendation 30 (GR 30) on Women in Conflict Prevention, Conflict and Post-conflict Situations as a complementary accountability mechanism to the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, 1820 and the supporting resolutions on Women, Peace and Security.

The training draws upon findings from a meeting on GR 30 organized by GNWP and Cordaid in New York on October 27, 2014, whereupon women’s groups and civil society organizations (CSOs) from conflict-affected countries world wide voiced the need for awareness raising and training on how to effectively use GR 30 to improve national implementation of the Women, Peace and Security resolutions.

In partnership with the Asia-Pacific Women’s Alliance on Peace and Security (APWAPS) and the Asian Muslim Action Network (AMAN)-Indonesia, GNWP convenes approximately 25 women’s groups and other CSOs from throughout Asia, with particular priority on countries reporting to CEDAW in the coming years.  The training, to take place December 15-16, 2014, will be led by Ms. Pramila Patten, a CEDAW Expert from Mauritius who also served as the Chair of the CEDAW Working Group on GR 30; and now head of the Task Force on GR 30.
GR 30, adopted in October 2013 is another landmark achievement in normative standards on women and peace and security. GR 30 provides authoritative guidance to State parties to CEDAW on concrete measures to ensure that women’s human rights are protected before, during and after conflict.

Equally important, CEDAW GR 30 serves as a strong complementary reporting and accountability mechanism to the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, 1820 and the supporting Women, Peace and Security resolutions, as Member States that ratified the Convention are compelled to report about their implementation. Furthermore, women’s groups and other civil society organizations are encouraged to integrate their analysis of the implementation of GR 30 in their shadow reports.

The training aims to raise awareness and knowledge of CEDAW GR 30 as an accountability mechanism that will obligate Member States to report on the status of the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and the supporting WPS resolutions.  It further seeks to enhance the capacity of civil society to utilize CEDAW GR 30 as an instrument and demand governments to fully and effectively implement the supporting Women, Peace and Securityresolutions.

This training in Jakarta will be the first of an ongoing initiative by GNWP to offer training on GR 30 to women’s groups and CSOs in other regions around the world. Cordaid and UN Women provided financial support to make the training possible.