While many of the member states have taken progressive stance on migrant rights and their SRHR, conservative voices remain, and they still hold a major clout in the discussions. Much to the disappointment of progressive member states and rights-based CSOs, these disagreements ultimately resulted in the non-consensus on the outcome document, mirroring the result of last year's CPD – Commission on Population & Development
ARROW delivered an oral statement at the 51st Commission on Population and Development (CPD) on 12 April 2018, endorsed by 125 CSOs in the Asia Pacific region. Read the PDF version here. This is also part of a series of blogposts on our engagement at CPD 51; read the first part here, and the second part here.
Copyright: Miriam Mona Müller A feminist activist during the Climate March at COP23 in Bonn (Germany).
Mind the GAP – The Gender Action Plan as a Milestone for Climate Justice
2017’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) was a milestone for feminist policies: the first Gender Action Plan in COP’s history was adopted on 14th November in Bonn, Germany. Two months before the conference, the Chief Negotiator for the COP23 Presidency for the Government of Fiji, Nazhat Shameem Khan, had already emphasised the necessity of gender-responsive strategies to fight climate change (Khan, 2017). This statement was a clear signal to the Global North that politicians from the Global South are well aware of the need to consider gender in climate action policy.
Destigmatizing mental illness and opening paths to recovery for rural women, for all women.
Mental illness is directly linked to poverty as well as gender-related issues such as child marriage, low social status, lack of education and physical abuse
April 17, 2018 - By Kaitlin Drape
Mental illness is a major global issue which requires more attention, research, state-level funding and a holistic approach to treatment, as was discussed at CSW62. It is crucial to treat mental health as a basic human right, and build initiatives for making it available at the community level and accessible to everyone, according to members of two panels sponsored by the World Federation for Mental Health and the NGO Committee on Mental Health; held at CSW62.
At some point, everyone has been affected by mental or psychological issues. If a person becomes ill or has an accident, or experiences economic pressures, there are psychological manifestations. There are a range of issues one has to deal which fosters isolation, said Dr. Fiona Adshead, Deputy CEO and Director of Strategy and Partnerships for NCD Alliance (noncommunicable diseases). The ability to cope with stressors often requires professional help, yet only about 7% of government budgets in the United States are allotted to mental health initiatives. That number is far less in developing countries. And many women in developing countries, faced with poverty, child marriage, gender-based violence and poor maternal health care, are at high risk for mental illness, though psychological support is generally not available. In developing nations, between 76% and 99% of the population do not have access to such care. Even in countries which have a substantial number of mental health professionals, they tend to be centered in large cities, leaving rural populations more vulnerable.
Direct Link to Full 4-PAGE 2017 UNCTAD Publication:
http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/presspb2017d2_en.pdf
Direct Link to Full 54-Page 2018 Report on the Study for the European
Parliament FEMM Committee on Women’s Rights & Gender Equality:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2018/604940/IPOL_STU%282018%29604940_EN.pdf
