36TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ASEAN INTER-PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
6 –12 SEPTEMBER 2015
___________________________________________________________________
RES.36GA/2015/WAIPA/02
RESOLUTION ON PROMOTING A CULTURE OF RESPECT AND THE RIGHTS
OF WOMEN AND GIRLS TOWARDS INCLUSIVENESS
The Thirty-Six General Assembly of AIPA:
Recognizing that globally, and particularly, in ASEAN Member States, there still exist the lack of respect for the rights of women and girls and the presence of all forms of discrimination against women and girls, whether in multiple or intersecting forms recurring in everyday life, regardless of race, religion, age, status and disabilities;
Recalling the importance of gender equality agenda as stated in the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the 1988 Declaration of the Advancement of Women in the ASEAN Region, the 1993 United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (DEVAW), the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the 2004 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the ASEAN region , the 2005 Work Plan to Operationalize the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women in ASEAN, the 2008 ASEAN Charter, the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration and the Phnom Penh Statement on the said Declaration (AHRD);
Reaffirming the AIPA Resolution No. 35GA/2014/WAIPA/01 on Strengthening Efforts in the Prevention of All Forms of Discrimination and Violence against Women and Children in ASEAN;
Recalling the 2014 ACWO Accord on Building the ASEAN Community adopted at the 16th General Assembly and Conference of the ASEAN Confederation of
Women’s Organizations (ACWO) on 24th August 2014 in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia;
Acknowledging the universal rights of men and women to have equal access to health, education, employment, secured accommodation and healthy environment without any threats and fears;
Heavily concerned that violence can be in multiple forms and that all communities are susceptible to different forms of violence against women and girls at different levels;
Noting the importance of synergistic engagement between the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), the ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (ACMW), and other sectoral bodies with one another as well as working in tandem to promote the rights of women and girls;
Hereby resolves to:
Recommend ASEAN Member States and AIPA Member Parliaments to ensure synergistic collaborations between AICHR, ACWC, the ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (ACMW), and other sectoral bodies with one another as well as in tandem to advocate gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in all sectors of society;
Encourage ASEAN Member States and AIPA Member Parliaments to ensure synergistic engagement and cooperation between AICHR, ACWC, the ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (ACMW), and other sectoral bodies with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) not just to champion the rights of women and girls but also to achieve gender equality and to eliminate discrimination against women and girls so as to maximize the benefits for women and girls in the ASEAN region;
Emphasize the active engagement of boys and men of ASEAN to support, contribute and participate in gender equality, women empowerment efforts and the elimination of gender-based violence;
Emphasize further that parents should have more knowledge and skills on women
and girls’ rights and that schools should integrate women and girls’ rights and gender perspective issues into their school syllabi;
Seek AIPA Member Parliaments to engage with multiple stakeholders particularly Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), governments and the private sector to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and girls;
Recommend AIPA Member Parliaments to strongly support the introduction of the Regional Plan of Action of Elimination on Violence against Women in line with CEDAW General Recommendation 19. Adopted on the day of September of Two Thousand and Fifteen at the 36thGeneral Assembly of AIPA, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.