ASEAN discusses regional cooperation in gender equality

The meeting was jointly organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the ASEAN Secretariat as part of the third ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Women (AMMW) and related meetings underway in Hanoi from October 18 – 25. It gathered ten heads of the ACW and 20 representatives of ASEAN member states for women’s and children’s rights alongside officials from ASEAN Secretariat.

It is held annually within the framework of the ACW’s and ACWC’s meetings to exchange and promote regional cooperation in women’s issues, gender equality and empowerment of women and girls. It also aims to foster collaboration in the implementation of joint projects in the two committees’ work plans and develop networks and partnership for the joint projects.

At the event, the two sides discussed cooperation in implementing the Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Women (RPA-EVAW), the ASEAN Declaration on the Gender-Responsive Implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Joint Statement on Promoting Women, Peace and Security in ASEAN.

The meeting also updated the status of joint projects and activities between the two sides, including the establishment of a ACW and ACWC Join Ad-hoc Working Group on Gender Mainstreaming which will develop a comprehensive strategy to mainstream gender perspectives across all the three ASEAN Community pillars; elimination of gender-stereotyping and sexist language in documents and curricula at schools; gender issues in climate change; and gender responsive planning and budgeting.

The sixth meeting will take place in Brunei next year. 

The ACW is a sectoral body established in 1976 to implement, coordinate and monitor the implementation of ASEAN’s regional priorities related to women’s issues at various levels of political, economic and social life. It is comprised of senior officials who are responsible for the coordination and monitoring of the implementation of ASEAN’s key regional priorities and cooperation in women’s issues and concerns.

The ACWC was launched on April 7, 2010 in Hanoi on the occasion of 16th ASEAN Summit. ACWC’s mandates and functions include the development of policies, programmes, and innovative strategies to promote and protect the rights of women and children to complement the building of the ASEAN Community. 

It has organised different regional workshops, seminars, training sessions and consultative meetings that provided platforms for government officials, civil society organisations, professionals and other stakeholders to exchange views, share experience and build commitments and a common understanding on various gender issues.