Ashoka University hosts UN’s first regional consultation on Gender, Business and Human Rights- 20th -21st February 2018
New Delhi: Ashoka University’s Genpact Centre for Women’s Leadership will host the multi-stakeholder UN Asia Consultation: The Gender Lens to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It is being organized by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (UNWG) and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Asia-Pacific and UN Women. The consultation will take place on 20-21 February 2018 at Ashoka University’s campus in Sonepat, India.
The consultation will bring together 150+ delegates from across 34 countries including business leaders, senior leadership from the United Nations, women’s rights advocates, civil society leaders, and students, teachers and staff at Ashoka University.
The stakeholders recognize that though there are references to gender in the UN General Principle (UNGP), however, it does not address issues relating to discrimination and barriers that women face in the business and human rights spectrum. The UNGP also does not fully discuss the effective remedies for women in these situations. States and businesses need to consciously adopt a gender lens in implementing the UNGPs. Therefore, the consultation will raise issues related to inclusion and meaningful participation of women in boards & beyond, women’s land rights, state’s role in protecting women’s rights, sexual harassment and violence, integrating gender perspective in human rights due diligence and impact assessment, challenges faced by women human right defenders, role of National Human Rights Institutions and civil society in empowering women, women’s experiences of accessing remedies, and Integrating a gender perspective in National Action Plans in Asia.
The recommendations made at the consultation will be incorporated into a Guidance on applying a gender lens to the process, policies and operations of Business and the States. It will be developed by the UN Working Group. The Guidance will be presented to the 193 Member States of the United Nations at the Human Rights Council, Geneva. The first consultation was hosted in Geneva on Nov 30, 2017.
Ashoka University has been dedicated to promoting women’s rights and gender equality, as is evident by the high number of women studying at Ashoka, the number of women in senior leadership positions and the gender ratio within the faculty. This Consultation will act as a testament to Ashoka University and GWCL’s commitment to women’s empowerment.
For registrations to log on to http://gcwl-ashoka.org/un-asia-consultations-gcwl/
For further information about the Working Group’s gender project, please visit [email protected].
For specific inquires to the Asia consultation write to [email protected]