Making Women's and Girl's Needs, Well-Being and Rights Central to National Action Plans in the Asia-Pacific Region

Abstract

Commissioned by UN Women for the “Asia-Pacific Regional Symposium on National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security” (WPS NAPs) convened in Thailand in July 2016, this paper sets out the findings of a critical analysis of the nine existing Asia-Pacific plans. A WPS Gender Needs Analysis framework was developed to assess whether and how the plans meet the practical and strategic needs, well-being and rights of women and girls in the region. The analysis finds that while states address the practical and strategic needs of women and girls to varying degrees, the majority of actions focus on state institutions. An “Inclusivity Analysis” was also applied to the NAPs and identifies that only a small number of NAPs are tailoring actions to the needs of diverse demographics of women and girls. The paper provides evidence of the need for a re-orientation of NAPs towards the lives of women and girls in accordance with the women, peace and security resolutions that underpin the basis for the plans. The paper argues that WPS NAPS need to go beyond homogenous groups of “women and girls” to meet the diverse practical and strategic needs of different demographics of women and girls per their social context. The paper provides a set of recommendations and a menu of options for how WPS NAPs can achieve this going forward.

Keywords: Women Peace and Security, National Action Plans, Asia-Pacific, Practical and Strategic Needs, Gender Planning, Inclusivity