Region:Asia Pacific
Current UN Women Plan Period Afghanisthan:2018-2022
World Bank Income Classification:Low Income
The World Bank classifies economies for analytical purposes into four income groups: low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high income. For this purpose it uses gross national income (GNI) per capita data in U.S. dollars, converted from local currency using the World Bank Atlas method, which is applied to smooth exchange rate fluctuations.
Least Developed Country:Yes
Since 1971, the United Nations has recognized LDCs as a category of States that are deemed highly disadvantaged in their development process, for structural, historical and also geographical reasons. Three criteria are used: per capita income, human assets, and economic vulnerability.
Gender Inequality Index:0.575
GII is a composite metric of gender inequality using three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market. A low GII value indicates low inequality between women and men, and vice-versa.
Gender Development Index:0.723
GDI measures gender inequalities in achievement in three basic dimensions of human development: health, education, and command over economic resources.
Population:209,497,025
Source of population data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects: The 2022 Revision
Male:19,976,265 (9.5%)
Female:189,520,760 (90.5%)
outcome XM-DAC-41146-APA_D_1.1
Women and girls in all their diversity, effectively contribute to, and benefit equally from the full operationalization of global normative frameworks, policies, laws and financial instruments and inclusive governance systems and institutions, at all levels (across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus).
In 2023, the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) attained significant progress in ensuring women and girls' effective contribution to and equal benefit from global normative frameworks, policies, laws, financial instruments and inclusive governance systems and institutions. The office achieved specific and measurable results across various thematic areas through targeted initiatives, leading to transformative impact and tangible changes. Key achievements include: ROAP made significant contribution in advancing normative work related to gender equality and women’s empowerment by strengthening collective and coordinated action of key actors by engaging 36 member states, Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and United Nations regional colleagues at the CSW 67 regional consultation on the “Priority Theme Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls”. The regional consultation provided an interactive space for governments, CSOs, and other relevant Asian and Pacific stakeholders to collaborate and accelerate progress on key frameworks, such as the Beijing Declaration, Platform for Action, and SDGs. As a result of regional consultation on CSW67, the region has developed a set of recommendations on areas for accelerated action in line with the priority theme. These recommendations were shared as regional priorities to UN Women Headquarters to be shared with the CSW secretariat to adopt in the CSW agreed conclusion. Prior to this, ROAP’s strategic engagement of 90 CSO representatives in a similar regional discussion led to a statement on the regional priorities in line with the CSW67 priority theme, which contributed to shaping regional priorities for CSW67 and influenced the draft agreed conclusion. Multistakeholder dialogues created new space for awareness raising, resulting in stronger commitments to ensure that women and girls will benefit from implementation of normative frameworks. Organizing 18 dialogues, including the WEPs Forum and Care Economy Forum, ROAP engaged diverse traditional and non-traditional stakeholders such as the private sector, governments, and civil society, to create spaces for awareness raising and commitment for gender-responsive policies. The Care Economy Forum, in collaboration with AVPN and Kiddocare, attracted over 200 participants from 15 countries, sparking effective investments and establishing an Asia-Pacific care stakeholder community. UN Women's support enabled 12 care enterprises to expand networks, triggering a ripple effect to the national level, evidenced by the Group of 20 (G20) in India launching a Care Entrepreneurship Accelerator and the 'Empower Care Initiative.' Additionally, ROAP's initiatives since 2020 garnered 2,400 WEPs signatories and 100 companies reporting on weps.org in the Asia-Pacific. This culminated in the Asia-Pacific WEPs Forum in 2023 bringing together 165 leaders to make commitments for safe workplaces, gender equality, learning application, bias examination, and supporting women in leadership roles, showcasing UN Women's influential role and niche in advancing gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in the region. ROAP influenced migration regional mechanisms, increasing awareness of gender considerations in labour migration policies. In advancing safe labour migration for women migrant workers, migration regional mechanisms, particularly the Colombo Process and its Thematic Area Working Groups (TAWG), demonstrated increased awareness in reviewing labour migration-related policies and procedures from a gender lens through UN Women’s influence and technical expertise. As a result, gender is integrated as a regular agenda of the TAWG meetings, and the Member States presented progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment in their national updates in the meetings. In addition, Colombo Process Member States have also shown changing attitudes towards the engagement of non-state actors, particularly civil society organisations (CSOs) and trade unions in TAWG meetings as a result of collective advocacy and facilitation of the participation of CSOs and trade unions in the meetings by UN Women in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) under a joint UN programme in line with the Global Compact for Migration’s Whole of Society approach. With UN Women’s technical assistance and brokering, civil society organisations, especially women’s rights organisations, were able to actively take part in the targeted intergovernmental discussions. ROAP played a pivotal role in shaping climate related policies to address key regional challenges affecting women and girls. Key achievements include influencing the 'Review of Climate Ambition in Asia and the Pacific' report, stressing the importance of gender mainstreaming in Nationally Determined Contributions for inclusive climate action. ROAP also made gender integrated in the SDG13 Brief, enhancing the effectiveness of climate policies. Active participation in global and regional forums, such as the Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development and the UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum, showcased ROAP's engagement in addressing regional challenges. During the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, ROAP supported Gender Day events, which helped sensitize delegations and participants on gender-responsive climate action strategies. "Safe and Fair", a Joint Programme with ILO and UNODC, has played critical role in bridging the gap between voices of rights holders, namely women migrant workers, and duty bearers, namely, policy-makers, governments and law enforcers. As a result, cumulatively and regionally the adoption of 62 laws advancing gender equality and ending VAW happened in 8 countries, 7 national and 1 regional action plans concerning VAW and trafficking were adopted, as well as the 14th standard operating procedures.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-APA_D_1.2
State and non-state actors and communities collaborate with women and girls in all their diversity, in promoting zero tolerance of harmful gender (and other) stereotypes, discriminatory social norms and all forms of VAWG.
The Ending Violence against Women (EVAW) at the Regional Office of Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) will not report on this outcome as social norm change aimed here take/took place at the country level and is related to country level data from prevalence studies. Please refer to annual reports of countries that EVAW unit supported.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-APA_D_1.3
Women and girls in all their diversity, benefit equally from opportunities, goods, services and resources, in full enjoyment of their social and economic rights and freedoms
In 2023, UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) took foundational steps and achieved in creating new spaces to raise awareness on different issue areas such as the care economy, safe and decent labour migration and on implementation of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Principles (WEPs). Engaging diverse stakeholders such as private sector, governments, investors, women’s civil society organizations, trade unions and recruitment agencies through 18 multistakeholder dialogues, UN Women provided an entry point for many non-traditional stakeholders to come together and have a seat at the table for creating more gender responsive policies and practices. For instance, through the 2023 WEPs Forum, UN Women raised awareness of pathways and thematic focus areas for the private sector to address gender equality and women’s empowerment, including through multi-stakeholder initiatives. Many of the participating companies were WEPs signatories and have benefitted from the UN Women engagement with these companies over the years on implementing the WEPs, which has in turn contributed to their progress that was showcased at the Forum. 92 per cent of the survey respondents (N=34) said the Forum inspired them to take further action. Similarly, through the Care Economy Forum, 58.6 per cent of survey respondents who participated in the forum (N= 17) stated that the forum inspired them to take further action. Inclusive Care Economy Forum Held from 22-23 June 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, the Asia Pacific Care Economy Forum organized by UN Women, Asia Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), a top social investor network in the region, and Kiddocare, an on-demand babysitting platform providing solutions in the care economy, the forum brought together over 200 participants from 15 countries to explore pathways for effective investment in care economy to advance women's economic empowerment, and fostered collaboration and networking among different stakeholders. It sensitized investors to the benefits of gender-lens investing in the care economy and helped raise awareness about this vital sector. As a result of these efforts, participants in the Forum agreed to establish an Asia-Pacific care stakeholder community, to support the Global Alliance for Care movement. By supporting different care enterprises’ participation in this dialogue UN Women provided 12 care enterprises with the opportunity to expand and grow their networks while learning about building an inclusive care economy also created a ripple effect from the regional to country level. The Group of 20 (G20) in India launched a regional and G20 chapter of a Care Entrepreneurship Accelerator and the G20 Delhi Declaration articulated for the first time the importance of investments in care as a means to advance women’s economic participation. This was a result of UN Women’s support the Care Work at the G20 India resulting in the Launch ‘Empower Care Initiative’ aiming to implement a national India. To date awareness raising and resource mobilization has started amongst key embassies, the United Nations partners in India and beyond. Women’s Empowerment Principles Forum With over 2,400 signatories to the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and over 100 companies reporting on weps.org in Asia Pacific, UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific has since 2020 supported businesses in the region to implement the Women’s Empowerment Principles as well as has documented good practices to inspire other private sector actors to take action for gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. On 7-8 November 2023 in Manila, Philippines, UN Women organized the first ever in-person convening of WEPs Signatories and stakeholders in Asia-Pacific at the Asia-Pacific WEPs Forum. The Forum brought together more than 165 leaders and experts from SMEs, corporates, regulators, policymakers, and other key business ecosystem players from across the region. 89 per cent reported having a policy on prevention of sexual harassment in their organization 80 per cent reported having a non-discrimination policy in place 50 per cent reported having mandatory trainings on gender bias within their organization However, when it comes to more innovative areas, such as companies offering support for childcare through facilities or subsidies, gender-responsive procurement or forging industry wide alliances for impact that go beyond traditional corporate social responsibility measures but also look at building issue-coalitions for transformative action, companies are still at a more nascent stage and require more support and handholding. While a promising proportion of responding companies reported that they report on public platforms (46 per cent), only 34 per cent of participating companies have prioritized setting gender targets and publicly reporting on them in the next three years. At the end of the Forum, participants also made individual commitments to, for example: Advocate for safe and inclusive workplaces Advocate for gender equality in the community Apply what they have learned to their organization Examine their own biases Support more women in leadership roles In the area of migration, UN Women contributed to elevating the quality of service delivery by equipping 18,057 service providers, public servants and community leaders with enhanced skills and knowledge to provide survivor-centred services for survivors of VAW. Over 130,000 members? of community-based networks and women-led services are taking proactive measures to prevent VAW and?trafficking while extending support to survivors (see attachments for examples). Tailored pre-departure information sessions, held by women’s networks and CSOs, have equipped 326,794 women migrants with the necessary knowledge about safe labour migration practices and VAW services available, enabling them to make well-informed decisions and avail themselves of support if needed. In Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam, 14 referral mechanisms and 14 joint task forces were established, with a standardized operating procedure for cross-sector referrals for women migrant workers who have experienced violence.?These results were informed by national dialogues, regional exchanges, specialized expertise and regional technical resources of UN Women, such as the ‘ ASEAN Regional Guidelines on the Development of National Standard Operating Procedures for a Coordinated Response Mechanism to VAW’ ; and ‘ A Guidance Note to Develop a Migration-Sensitive National Action Plan on VAW’ . Collaborating with UNICEF, an online database for women and girls-focused organisations in humanitarian response was made accessible to UN Women country offices and UN agencies and partners, contributing to emergency preparedness.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-APA_D_1.4
Women and girls in all their diversity, and representatives of the women’s rights movement, exercise their leadership, voice and agency, without fear of retaliation, in development and crises-affected contexts.
In 2023, Asia Pacific region made good progress towards empowering women and girls, along with women's rights movement representatives, to exercise their leadership, voice, and agency without fear of retaliation in both development and crisis-affected contexts. The progress spans critical thematic areas, including: Migration: Significant progress was achieved by empowering regional and national Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Viet Nam. These CSOs were equipped with technical knowledge on migration policies and advocacy skills, enabling their active participation in five ongoing inter-governmental mechanism/thematic meetings. UN Women provided crucial technical and financial support for this engagement. In collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), CSOs, including women's rights organisations, played a pivotal role in the thematic area working groups of the Colombo Process. Their participation in Technical Advisory Working Group (TAWG) meetings allowed them to contribute significantly to discussions and developing work plans, and share expertise with government representatives from the mentioned countries. Positive shifts were observed in the attitudes of Colombo Process Member States (CPMS) towards the participation of CSOs, including women's rights organisations. The CPMS demonstrated willingness to incorporate suggestions from CSOs into the work plans of TAWGs during 2023. For the ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour (AFML), where CSOs are formally recognised for their role, UN Women ensured their active involvement throughout the planning and organisation of the 16th AFML held in 2023, which enhanced the multi-stakeholder process and inclusiveness in line with the Global Compact for Migration’s Whole of Society approach. Humanitarian and climate change: Active participation of youth leaders who had innovative and unique ideas in and contribution to COP28 as well as the Climate Change and GBV Learning Exchange, both facilitated by ROAP, helped broaden the scope of discussion on climate change, gender-based violence, and youth participation in global environmental dialogues thereafter. Social media campaigns during the 16 days of activism and the dissemination of information on GBV and climate change interlinkages amplified reach and impact, fostering a deeper understanding of these critical issues among a wider audience. Center of Excellence: The Center of Excellence (COE) and ROAP were crucial in empowering youth leaders in the Asia-Pacific region through the "30 for 2030 Network”, which consisted of a diverse group of 48 young leaders across the region to amplify their voices in ending violence against women and girls (VAWG) and other issues. ROAP’s support led to establishing the network (before 2023), fostering solidarity and joint advocacy for various human rights issues. They became empowered to be able to actively and meaningfully participate in and contribute to decision-making fora, including the 8th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum, UN Women Regional COVID-19 Recovery Dialogue, COP28, International Women’s Day, CSW67, 16 Days to End Violence Against Women and Girls regional and global consultations, among others. The success story from COP28 highlights the impact and contributions of youth champions in making significant waves at the conference, their active engagement, and advocacy on critical global issues. In one instance, they gathered for cross-country learning on addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TF GBV). This network, established by ROAP, brought together young decision-makers, innovators, feminists, entrepreneurs, educators, activists, and more to influence social change and policymaking. During the event, youth leaders had the opportunity to reflect on and prepare for the release of the second edition of the Youth Guide to End Online Gender-Based Violence Toolkit, a valuable resource addressing online GBV. The Advocacy team enhanced the network's capabilities, organising over 46 meetings in 2023. These included workshops, mentorship sessions, and discussions covering key issues such as violence against women, climate change, humanitarian efforts, and peace and security, focusing on developing leadership skills. The team secured essential funding and resources for over 45 young leaders from the 30 for 2030 network, ensuring their active participation in critical fora at national and global levels. This inclusive advocacy approach emphasised the importance of supporting marginalised groups. Ending violence against women UN Women's efforts to end violence against women (EVAW) focused on providing technical, capacity-building, and financial support to women’s rights organisations and CSO networks, including 47 CSO participants from 15 countries across Asia and the Pacific region, with SVRI Forum (Sexual Violence Research Initiative), one of the critical global platforms on prevention of GBV. Engagement with global platforms like the SVRI Forum facilitated collaboration between CSOs and global initiatives. Women, Peace, and Cybersecurity Digital safety and cyber resilience of women human rights defenders (WHRDs) and women’s rights organisations in Southeast Asia got strengthened and they became able to exercise its leadership, voice, and agency without fear of retaliation, which allowed women to sustain their civic engagement efforts in a safe and sustained manner Under the "Women, Peace and Cybersecurity project," the digital rights movement is supported and equipped with the knowledge and capacity to exercise leadership and voice. ROAP developed research on the cybersecurity posture for WHRDs and women’s rights organisations in Southeast Asia and e-learning material for WHRDs and gender equality advocates. A total of 10 trainings was conducted in Thailand, Viet Nam and the Philippines to support the digital safety and cyber-resilience of WHRDs/ women’s rights organizations, and benefited a total of 521 persons (436 women, 57 men; 28 non-categorised). Six Women’s CSOs’ cybersecurity posture improved particularly in cybersecurity audits, by ROAP providing tailored support. They raised awareness on digital harms and strengthened resilience against cyberattacks, which are systematically used to attack, silence and discredit women, including WHRDs.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-APA_D_1.5
Both state and non-state actors contribute to the production, analyses and leveraging of gender statistics and sex-disaggregated data to inform decision-making, budgeting, monitoring and reporting on normative commitments to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment
During 2023, UN Women contributed to significant progress under the outcome. Countries in the region heightened their commitment to producing and using gender statistics, recoginsing their value in informing strategies, plans, and policies that advance the situation of women and girls in their country. In October 2023, the Pacific Roadmap on Gender Statistics was endorsed by unanimity by the Heads of Planning and Statistics (HOPS). Comprising the most senior officials responsible for the production and use of statistics at national levels, the HOPS endorsement further strengthens the commitment of Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) to the production and use of gender statistics. The roadmap aims to promote the production of quality, relevant, and timely gender data, its dissemination, and its effective use to advance gender equality. It was developed in 2020 by data users and producers across PICTs, coordinated by the Pacific Community (SPC) and UN Women. As co-chairs of the Pacific Gender Statistics Coordination Group, UN Women and SPC coordinate its implementation across countries, respond to emerging requests, and align support from development partners. The group has been instrumental in responding to country requests for support in a timely manner, including through coordination and fund pooling among development partners. In the ASEAN sub-region, the South-South and Triangular Cooperation Group on Gender Statistics for tracking progress towards the SDGs and beyond was established in 2023. Through knowledge sharing and joint establishment of priorities, this new cooperation mechanism will accelerate progress towards the production and use of gender data for a gender-responsive implementation of ASEAN Community Vision 2025, and the monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals and other frameworks such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Established through collaboration between UN Women and the ASEAN Secretariat, its co-chairs, and representatives from National Statistics Offices and policymakers from ASEAN Member States. Countries in Asia and the Pacific have been pioneers on the production and use of data on gender and the environment. Through continued collaboration between UN Women and UN ESCAP, a revised regional set of indicators for gender and the environment exists. Upon their request and with financial and technical support from UN Women, Tonga and Samoa became the second and third countries globally to implement nationally representative surveys on Gender and the Environment. The methodology , developed by UN Women and partners, collects data on the different effects of disasters, climate change biodiversity loss and pollution on women and men, and on the roles they play on environmental conservation and degradation. Thus, the data enables gender-responsive climate policy. During COP 28, held in Dubai in November 2023, representatives from the Kingdom of Tonga shared the results from its recently-published Gender-Environment Survey . Evidence from the survey informed discussions during the Global Conference on Gender and Environment data , co-organised by the COP Presidency, UN Women, and others. The conference underscored the vital roles of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and civil society organizations in improving the production and use of gender-environment statistics. The need for inclusion and collaboration was emphasized in the subsequent Global Call for Action . UN Women has received various requests to support gender-environment surveys in other countries. Cambodia and Kiribati are expected to be rolled out in 2024. Lastly, several institutions in the region contributed to strengthening the capacity of data users and producers on gender statistics in their countries. In 2023, at least 8 universities, national statistics offices and training institutes have used the Gender Statistics Training Curriculum developed by the Subgroup on Gender Statistics Training, co-chaired by UN Women and the United Nations Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP), to build the capacity of journalists, government officials, and university students. The Hong Kong Baptist University and the National University of Mongolia have rolled out gender courses based on the curriculum. As a result, over 100 students gained knowledge on gender statistics production and use, including their importance for policy making and monitoring, and how to best communicate and interpret them. In 2023, UN Women disseminated data shedding light on the situation of women and girls in the region. For example, decision makers had access to evidence on the gendered effects of climate change , the effects of climate change on poverty and food security , a climate scenario online tool , a crisis update on women in Afghanistan, and evidence on violence against women during disasters and crises. UN Women will continue to strengthen the capacity of data users and producers to generate more and better gender data, and promote their use for policy making, advocacy, monitoring and accountability purposes in 2024.Showing 1 - 5 of 6
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References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).
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