9th Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting 5th-6th June 2010

Dear All,

I went on behalf of WNC to the Ninth Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting in Barbados this week and had a very busy but rewarding time. There were over 100 organisations there and they are given a platform to discuss issues of concern for women on Gender Issues in the Economic Crisis Recovery and Beyond: Women as Agents of Transformation. The discussions focussed on hot topics such as the effects of the financial crisis on women, examining the far-reaching consequences this has had for children, families and communities by increasing their vulnerability to disaster risks. Thank you to all those who gave us your views. I fed those in as far as possible.

I met many great women, many from the Caribbean but also from Malaysia, Malta, Canada and also representatives on climate change and disaster management. I spoke on ‘Partnerships and Networks for Achieving Gender Equality’ and had some very nice feedback about the WNC model and the work we do.

I was lucky enough to be asked to be part of the drafting Committee which worked on the final statement. There was much to be cut down as there was so much to say! The outcomes of two days of dialogue were whittled down into a final Statement that has now been presented to Ministers.

The Statement suggests that Member States achieve this goal through supporting capacity building and providing space for public advocacy among women as well as providing gender training for Parliamentarians and their advisors. It supported the full implementation of CEDAW and other documents like the Beijing Platform for Action as well as the UN Gender Architecture and recommended formal mechanisms for engagement with women including women from diverse groups.

Women felt strongly that there is still much to be done for women around the Commonwealth and sharing good practice and coming together to give voice to their needs and experiences was felt by all to be a hugely worthwhile event.

A very successful and interesting time!

Sue

Susan Green

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