UN Women and the European Union (EU) have joined forces with civil-society and the government in Solomon Islands to drive sustainable and innovative action to achieve increased women’s political participation and strengthen inclusive access to justice.
This includes a practice session leading up to Solomon Islands’ planned constructive dialogue with the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
In 2002 Solomon Islands ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) joining more than 150 countries in demonstrating their commitment to achieving gender equality.
CEDAW is the result of governments across the world working together to develop a standard for achieving gender equality. It also allows governments to track how they’ve progressed in achieving gender equality and report on it to the world.
UN Women and the European Union are working in collaboration with the Solomon Islands Government and civil society partners to assist the government in assessing and reporting its progress through CEDAW Practice Sessions.
The first practice session will be held on 20 – 22 May 2014 at the Heritage Park Hotel. The second will be held in August/September 2014. These sessions will serve to prepare government officials for October constructive dialogue with the UN CEDAW Committee in Geneva.
Ethel Sigimanu, the Permanent Secretary to the Solomon Islands Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs, says the practice sessions are an opportunity for the government to demonstrate the progress it has made as well as the areas they need to strengthen. ‘We are grateful to UN Women and the European Union for giving us the opportunity to prepare in this way and reiterate Solomon Islands commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment.’