Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting.

RECALLING that gender equality is one of the fundamental principles of the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) Harare Declaration of 1991;

FORTY-THREE Commonwealth countries attended this historic meeting in Denarau, Nadi, Fiji Islands, on 31 May to 2 June 2004, that approved the new Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015 (PoA);

BEING THE FIRST ever Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting to be held in the Pacific region, the Pacific Commonwealth members in particular, welcomed the holding of this meeting in their region, and called for the Commonwealth to strengthen its activities in addressing the special needs and vulnerabilities of Small Island Developing States;

IN A LANDMARK DECISION, the Ministers agreed on civil society participation in this and future Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting meetings;

NOTING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF 53 member countries;

• Forty-five countries have developed national action plans on gender;

• Forty-nine have ratified CEDAW although only 14 have signed the Optional Protocol;

• Eleven have instituted constitutional or legislative reforms that address gender concerns such as land, property, citizenship, employment, family and spousal rights;

• Three countries have exceeded the 30 per cent target of women’s representation in parliament;

REFLECTING UPON these achievements, Ministers agreed on the need to accelerate implementation of domestic plans and accession to international instruments and address emerging challenges related to gender, democracy, peace, conflict, human security, human rights and the law, globalisation, poverty eradication, economic empowerment and the HIV/AIDS pandemic;

RECOGNISING THE NEED for a long-term perspective, Ministers adopted the PoA to advance their commitment to gender equality and equity. The PoA will guide Commonwealth action for the 2005-2015 decade with a mid-term review in 2010 and update as necessary;

Partnerships were stressed at all levels: between and within Commonwealth governments, civil society, parliamentarians, magistrates, judges, lawyers, the private sector and multi and bilateral agencies. Partnerships with men and boys were felt to be critical, as are changing attitudes and behaviours, particularly around conflict, gender-based violence, education, health and HIV/AIDS;

HAVING IDENTIFIED four critical areas of focus, Ministers called upon governments and the Commonwealth Secretariat to take the necessary action for the effective implementation of the Plan of Action;

OF PARTICULAR CONCERN is the need for adequate financial, human and technical resources to implement the PoA. The Commonwealth Secretariat is encouraged to continue and strengthen its engagement with governments, CSOs, parliamentarians, Commonwealth Associations, international financial institutions and donor partners, to ensure that where possible priority is given to allocating resources to support the implementation of the PoA at the national level;

HEADS OF GOVERNMENT ARE CALLED UPON TO ALLOCATE THE REQUIRED RESOURCES FOR THE FULL AND EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMMONWEALTH PLAN OF ACTION FOR GENDER EQUALITY 2005-2015