Outcome KGZ_O_1

Enhanced coordination, coherence and accountability of the UN system for commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment

UNCT members have unanimously guaranteed an ample consideration of GEWE priorities within the UNSDCF process, which was intensively ongoing in 2021, resulted in: CCA Report containing key priority issues on GEWE integrated throughout all chapters of the report, clearly indicating importance of gender sensitive data analysis for substantiating key development issues. The gender analysis/integration was achieved through multiple iterations of the draft, including ECARO’s feedback. UN Women led consultations with gender advocates to seek ideas on the key highlights of different aspects from GEWE perspectives. PSG suggestions on strengthening GEWE issues were incorporated in the final draft. UNCT members have tested and applied innovative methodologies for UNSDCF prioritization process, which ultimately expanded visions towards recognition of human centric, human rights based thinking and the need to acknowledge the urgency of thinking differently and adapt to new complexities of development processes in TUNA context (turbulence, uncertainty, novelty, ambiguity) for accelerating progress towards implementation of SDGs commitments. There was an increased awareness that development cannot be effective without human centric approach – and in turn, it is impossible without consideration of rights of women and men as individuals. This understanding has been reached through application of scenario thinking methodology. The latter was pilot test with leadership of UN Women in the process of Gender Equality Strategy development and replicated then by UNCT in UNSDCF process.

Enhanced coordination, coherence and accountability of the UN system for commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment

In 2022 the UNCT have continued an intensive dynamics of application of innovative methods for ensuring UN coherence and accountability for acceleration of GEWE results within the ongoing UNSDCF process, , resulted in: A gender analysis has been integrated throughout all chapters of the Common Country Analysis (CCA) report, substantiated by sex-disaggregated data and evidence on the status of gender equality and women and girls’ rights in the country. The analysis contains information on specific issues related to gender equality and women’s rights which is integrated into the chapters on economic, political, social, environmental, and demographic context, and the chapters on peace and conflict analysis, commitments under international norms and standards. The chapters on multidimensional risk analysis and on strategic entry points of UN programing contain sub-chapters specifically devoted to gender equality and women’s rights considerations. The updated CCA report in 2022 reconfirmed the priorities defined in the 2021 report. All gender specific data and information remain valid. The CCA report reiterates the importance of “a strategic entry point, focusing on children, youth and women in the context of promoting the respect, protection and fulfillment of human rights [..] manifested across multiple sectors: jobs creation and skills training, gender equality in educational access and employment, improved and more accessible health services for girls and young women, expanded access to financial services, and availability of accessible avenues for meaningful and effective participation in public consensus-building and decision-making processes”. The text of the report was further strengthened by the following statement: “[W]hile special measures and [a] quota system is an important prerequisite for ensuring increased representation of women in elected bodies, more work is needed to address pervasive negative public perception regarding women in politics. Measures to create new positive norms and attitudes towards women’s leadership require attention towards empowering women and strengthening their ability to engage with their rights to enter politics and participate in decision-making, and also towards facilitating public discourse on how gains in women’s equal representation bring benefit towards the development of society as a whole”. The 2022 CCA report was updated with references to key recommendations made by the CEDAW committee on “measures to ensure the full and equal participation of women in political and public life, including in executive, judicial and legislative bodies at the national, regional and local levels, particularly in decision-making positions”; and by UN Human Rights Committee recommending Kyrgyzstan ”to establish a mechanism to monitor the implementation of temporary special measures and assess their impact on achieving substantive equality between women and men”. The updated CCA report 2022 reconfirmed the relevance of the four areas of priority concerns identified in the 2021 CCA report, including the need to work on addressing “exclusion and inequalities, defined to include multiple and intersecting discriminations, deprivations and injustices. These are key development challenges facing the country in its journey to achieving its national development priorities and realization of the 2030 Agenda”. In addition to information and evidence collected through desk review of studies and reports, the CCA analysis has been done including the use of 38 indicators, 19 of which are disaggregated by sex. UNCT members have continued application of innovative tools such as adaptive leadership and system thinking resulted in then finalization of the Theory of Change of the new UNSDCF 2023 – 2027, signed by the UN and the Kyrgyz Government in June 2022, includes the promotion of effective governance rooted in democracy, gender equality and human rights principles. All four UNSDCF outcomes in Kyrgyzstan contain elements of gender equality principles as a prerequisite for achievement of intended changes by targeting equitable access and applying gender transformative approaches. Gender dimensions of the outcomes have been further specified in the definitions of results in the respective outputs.