Research and Policy Series | | Published in 2013 |
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2012/07 - Climate Change and Pacific Island Countries (2013)
This paper presents the effects of increased temperatures and sea-level rise, together with other climate-linked changes to the Pacific Islands. It examines past responses to climate changes and barriers in driving adaptation to climate change at the community level. It also presents a set of fundamental challenges to livelihoods in the Pacific Islands region posed by future climate change and recommendattions to reduce the impacts of such changes.
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2012/12 - Climate Change Fuelling Resource-Based Conflicts in the Asia-Pacific (2013)
This paper aims to present a background to resource-based conflicts and how they may be influenced by climate change in the Asia Pacific region. In so doing, this paper first examines the relationship between security, natural resources, and climate change. Second, this paper looks specifically at this issue in the Asia-Pacific region, presenting case studies from South and West Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific. The paper also presents an appraisal of existing address of this issue and explores options for future action that may underpin peace and security in a climate change context at local and international levels.
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2012/18 - Nuclear Energy in Combating Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific (2013)
This background paper explores the possible role of nuclear energy in climate change mitigation and in resolving supply security and environmental issues. It concludes with a summary of the main points and recommendations for the way forward.
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| | Published in 2012 |
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/04 - Gender and socio-cultural factors in Afghanistan: Barriers and opportunities in promoting equality (2012)
Category: Overall
Author: Michaela A. Prokop
This report explores the interconnections between social and cultural practices and other factors, which aggravate and perpetuate the vulnerability of girls and women. It shows that gender-based disadvantages continue to be shaped by a confluence of socio-cultural factors, customary practices, religious forces, the impact of a protracted conflict and experience of displacement and exile, the erosion of livelihoods and poverty and the predominance of an illegal economy.
The report concludes with an analysis of recent efforts by the Government and the international community to promote women's rights and participation and provides some general suggestions for policy makers.
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2012/06 - Climate Change and Vulnerability of People in Cities of Asia (2012)
Author: Helen Scott
UNDP engaged the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and researchers in Australia, India and Indonesia to provide a technical paper on Climate Change and Vulnerability of People in Cities of Asia. A literature review was undertaken to investigate and analyse the importance of cities and urbanisation in the context of addressing climate change and promoting human development for people in Asia.
This paper explores the sources of greenhouse emissions in Asian cities and the particular vulnerabilities of Asian cities to the impacts of climate change. Through a review of policies and field-based studies undertaken in two Asian megacities, Jakarta (Indonesia) and Mumbai (India), local community vulnerabilities are explored and innovative adaptive measures identified.
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| Asia-Pacific Human Development Report: One Planet to Share - Sustaining Human Progress in a Changing Climate (2012)
The report analyses the climate change impacts from the perspectives of mountain dwellers, delta communities, islanders, indigenous and tribal peoples and the urban poor.
The report states that simultaneous action on both daptation and mitigation is required for building resilient societies in Asia and the Pacific. The report calls for alternative sustainable development paths that fulfill the urgent human development needs of today while preserving a habitable planet.
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/08 - Rural livelihoods and gender (2012)
Category: Economic power
Author: Sohela Nazneen
This paper is primarily a literature review, which focuses on: a) the gendered aspects, dimensions and gender impact of rural livelihoods in the Asia-Pacific region; and b) how these aspects and dimensions are (or not) changing; and c) the impacts of these changes. It has the following objectives. First, it highlights the existing and emerging trends in the area of gender and rural livelihoods in the Asia-Pacific region. Second, it analyzes how the existing literature links different concepts such as gender equality, sustainable livelihood and human development. Third, it identifies the good practices and policies that work for promoting gender equality in rural livelihoods and proposes some policy recommendations.
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/03 - Reversing gender inequities in health and economy: Options for the future (2012)
Category: Overall
Author: Ranjani K. Murthy
This paper seeks to bridge these gaps in the literature by examining the links, if any, between gender, health inequities and economic inequities in the Asia-Pacific region, documenting good practices in promoting gender equity in these two spheres through addressing the links, and suggesting policy measures to promote gender equity in health and economic status in the future. The focus of this paper is not just on gender, women’s health and women’s economic status, but also that of men and of gender/sexual minorities. The broader purpose of this paper is to contribute to the drafting of United Nations Development Programs (UNDP) Asia-Pacific Human Development Report (HDR) 2009 which focuses on Gender.
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/09 - Gender and migration (2012)
Category: Economic power
Author: Bernadette P. Resurreccion
This paper examines in detail migration processes and feminization of migration in the Asia-Pacific region within the human development framework. It explores particular problems faced by female migrants such as policies hindering remittances, their social status vis-à-vis other migrants, lack of opportunities of collective bargaining and social protection. The paper finds that the effects of migration are context-specific and can be both positive and negative depending on factors such as norms and ideologies related to gender, identities, socio-economic and labour
conditions, and institutional and legal policies. The author opines that support programmes in destination countries have yet to respond fully to the vulnerabilities and needs of female migrants even though it is widely recognized that migrants integrate best when they have access to social networks. The paper concludes with policy pointers and recommendations addressing migrant women’s vulnerabilities and challenges faced by them, both in source and destination countries.
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/10 - Women’s command over assets: Addressing gender inequalities (2012)
Category: Economic power
Authors: Preet Rustagi & Rajini Menon
This paper explores the gender dimensions of asset ownership. It examines the multitude of inheritance systems and legal provisions existing in the Asia-Pacific region with special reference to the challenges faced by women. The
efforts taken throughout the region to ensure equitable rights for women over land, property and resources have also been studied. The paper concludes with policy
recommendations for ensuring gender equitable rights over assets. The authors underscore the need for building up empirical information and statistical data on individual ownership of assets to enable evidence-based advocacy for requisite policy changes.
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/12 - Claiming spaces for political participation: Crossing the gender divide (2012)
Category: Political voice
Author: Amaryllis Tiglao-Torres
This paper attempts to provide a gender framework for understanding the right of women and gender minorities to political participation. The author describes observed patterns of political participation in Asia and the Pacific vis-à-vis different types of prevalent governments, electoral and legal systems, and examines if the situation in this region supports general observations. Gains and setbacks in political participation are further analyzed through a gender lens. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for addressing unequal participation of women and gender
minorities in political processes.
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| | Published in 2011 |
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/01 - Cross-national indices with gender-differentiated data: What do they measure? How valid are they? (2011)
Category: Overall
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/02 - Gender mainstreaming: A road well-travelled, but miles to go for equality (2011)
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/05 - Gender, culture and the Pacific (2011)
Category: Overall
Author: Yvonne Underhill-Sem
This paper provides a deeper understanding of how culture in the Pacific impacts gender equality and human development. The analysis addresses two views that are widely held in the Pacific: 1) that gender is biologically determined, and 2) that culture is a sacred template should not be meddled with. Both these notions have attracted sound scholarly consideration in the Pacific, which has shown that rather than either being fixed, gender is socially constructed and culture is constituted by contemporary milieu as much as it is by its traditional and historical genealogy.
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/06 - Gender-Sensitive Fiscal Policies: Experience of ex-post and ex-ante Gender Budgets in Asia-Pacific (2011)
Category: Economic power
Author: Lekha Chakraborty
The paper takes the gender budgeting literature forward by identifying the elements of equal power and equal voice intrinsic in the gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) attempts across Asian and Pacific countries rather than confining to the budget analysis through a gender lens in isolation from overall fiscal policy and the gender development framework. The study recognises four critical elements with GRB. First, mandatory earmarking of a certain percentage of budgetary allocation for women could only be no more than a second principle of gender budgeting. Second, homogeneous ‘one-size-fits-all’ gender budgeting policies set at the national level (top-down approach to GRB) cannot ensure gender equity in a heterogeneous nation. Third, increasing presence of women in governance (feminization of governance) can alter public expenditure decisions in the direction of the revealed preferences (‘voice’) of women. Fourth, the advent of fiscal decentralization provides a logical entry point to manifest spatial mapping of gender needs; which is a step ahead of homogeneous ‘one-size-fits-all’ budget policies set at national levels. The paper analyses these elements broadly in the context of the Asia and Pacific region.
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2010/07 - Women’s employment in Asia-Pacific
2010/09 - Gender and migration
2010/10 - Women’s command over assets: Addressing gender inequalities
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/07 - Women’s employment in Asia-Pacific (2011)
Category: Economic power
Author: Arup Mitra
This study examines in detail various aspects of labour market inequality in the Asia-Pacific region. Economic development gauged in terms of per capita income and human development index does not necessarily mean that the gender gap disappears with increased development. In fact, an inverted U-shaped relationship tends to exist between development and gender gap. This study makes an attempt to examine the inequality in the labour market and poses the question as to what are the prospects for more equality in the labour markets contributing to economic and political equality, and wider equality in other spheres of life, at the household and at the macro level? Finally it argues that there is a need to pursue conscious efforts for promoting gender equality and for providing protection to women workers who are vulnerably placed in the labour market.
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/11 - Women in armed conflicts: Inclusion and exclusion (2011)
Category: Political voice
Authors: Anuradha K. Rajivan and Ruwanthi Senarathne
The participation of women and girls in armed conflict is far more common than recognized. Women have been embracing revolts, independence struggles, and war in many countries. They are in demand for “support” roles like intelligence, logistics, food, nursing, as well as for combat, bombings and suicide missions. Their reasons for joining are many—forced recruitment, fleeing oppression or abuse at home, a desire to feel valued. They receive military-type instruction-- training on ethics and attitude, strategy, guerilla tactics and use of weapons. Traditional gender roles are blurred, there being little hesitation in using women’s services in conflict as per the demands of leadership.
Though women are fundamental to the functioning of the war apparatus and accept the same danger and insecurity as men, they face specific vulnerabilities, including sexual exploitation. Post-conflict, some “disappear” due to stigma for having stepped outside social norms. Others want participation in peacetime political processes. However, there is a policy gap in fully recognizing gender during disarmament, demobilization and reintegration. Skills acquired during conflict can be transferred to good use in peacetime, recognizing former roles. Successful reintegration of women, no less than men, into civil lives requires a better understanding of gender to enable everyone to lead fulfilled lives and reduce alienation, contributing to lasting peace and human development.
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2010/12 - Claiming spaces for political participation: Crossing the gender divide
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/13 - Unequal power and voice: Discrimination against people who challenge normative sexualities in Asia-Pacific (2011)
Category: Legal rights
Author: Sunila Abeysekera
In recent years, we observe the expansion of the concept of gender to include the range of identities that do not conform to the traditional notions of masculinity and femininity. The original formulation of masculinity and femininity as being socially constructed had taken into consideration the fact that there need not be a direct co-relation between the biological body of any human being and her or his expressions of sex/gender identity. Although the articulation and manifestation of these identities vary greatly according to cultures and contexts, there is a common thread that runs through history that provides examples and evidence of discrimination and violence against groups of people, including women, who are perceived to express their sexual and gender identities in ways which are seen as transgressing dominant social and cultural norms. These norms, which constitute heteronormativity, are in turn rooted in traditions and customs that are based on ideas and ideologies of male superiority and male control of political and economic power, and are often discriminatory of women and other marginalized communities. It is this dominant discourse that is being challenged today by those who espouse an inclusive vision of rights and development that treat all human beings as equals.
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2010/14 - Gender equity in justice systems of the Pacific Island Countries and Territories
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/14 - Gender equity in justice systems of the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (2011)
Category: Legal rights
Author: P Imrana Jalal
An orchestration of multiple forces determines the overall status of women within the justice system of the Pacific Island countries and territories. The law, whether formal or customary, is neither neutral nor gender blind: nor is it legislated or interpreted in a vacuum without reference to the political, economic, religious, social and cultural contexts. The law, both de jure and de facto, written and unwritten, by act or omission (failure to act) and by interpretation, significantly affects the capacity of women to harness the full potential of the benefits of development. This paper examines the significant gaps between the law de jure and women’s experiences of the law on the ground, de facto reality. Changing law should not be an end in itself – formal legislative equality by itself is meaningless. Law can enhance human development if it is used positively to expand opportunities for women’s greater participation in economic activities, in the political sphere and to alter the outcome of women’s overall participation in development.
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2010/13 - Unequal power and voice: Discrimination against people who challenge normative sexualities in Asia-Pacific
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| APHDR Technical Background Paper 2010/15 - Gender equity in justice systems of South Asia (2011)
Category: Legal rights
Author: Geeta Ramaseshan
This paper examines the parameters of the legal framework in the countries of South Asia and Iran from a gender perspective. It identifies the fault lines in the de jure position of the justice systems as well as the gaps between the de jure and the de facto positions. The study also indicates that domestic violence and sexual harassment are
areas where legislative impact is incomplete, even though the problem is endemic.
Access to justice that includes effective legal services along with socio economic services is virtually absent in the region. With privatization, the state seems to be withdrawing from crucial areas such as education, health and employment and there are no mechanisms to address violations by non-state actors as a constitutional right. Various efforts by government and non-government bodies indicate positive developments that are moving towards progressive realization using the women’s conventions as a benchmark.
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2010/13 - Unequal power and voice: Discrimination against people who challenge normative sexualities in Asia-Pacific
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| Enforcing Rights and Correcting Wrongs: Overcoming Gender Barriers in Legal Systems (2011)
This paper uncovers barriers to equality in legal systems that restrict human rights along gender lines – patent and latent; and proposes possible ways to redress legal discrimination for accelerating human development. It explores three strategic avenues for simultaneous action. One, fixing institutions – laws, legal practices and modes of access; two, changing attitudes of those who create, uphold, and use laws; and three, establishing ongoing assessments to reveal inequalities and monitor progress. The focus of evidence is from countries of Asia-Pacific. However, given widespread gender-linked gaps in justice systems, and similarities of legal challenges posed, the paper is expected to be relevant also for other similarly placed countries.
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| Advocacy and Outreach Series | | Published in 2011 |
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| E-Discussion: Climate Change and Human Development (2011)
The Asia-Pacific Human Development Network (AP-HDNet) discussion on climate change and human development started on 4 February 2010 and ended on 30 July 2010. It aimed to explore how climate change would affect human development, with a focus on how to improve the quality of human life in the changing climate. The discussion was arranged into eight sub-themes.
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| Benchmarking National Legislation for Gender Equality (2011)
The aim of this publication is to reveal de jure challenges and legal gaps that undermine women’s fundamental freedoms and rights. Based on case studies from Asia, it reviews the legal systems of Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam to assess the extent of their legislative compliance with the articles of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). It uses a total of 113 indicators to assess legislative compliance with the sixteen substantive articles of CEDAW that encompass diverse aspects of public and private spheres affecting women’s legal rights —constitutional, criminal, civil, political, economic, social and family laws.
Even without going into the de facto situation on the ground, the study demonstrates how women continue to face significant discrimination within the legal systems they face. This is despite legal reform—legislative change and the use of progressive judicial precedents. More specifically, legal challenges are three-fold: absence of laws; the existence of discriminatory laws; and conflicts between constitutional guarantees of equality vis-à-vis unequal customary laws and practices. It is to these three-fold challenges that one must turn for positive change in laws.
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| | Published in 2010 |
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| Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2009: Power, Voice and Rights - A Turning Point for Gender Equality for Asia and the Pacific (2010)
This UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Human Development Report focuses on the critical question of advancing gender equality, as seen through the prism of women’s unequal power, voice, and rights. Despite the region’s many economic gains, the Report chronicles how in many instances women across the region
continue to be held back and disadvantaged. Even as many women have benefited from their countries’ improved education, health, and prosperity, they continue to face barriers to the same opportunities available to men.
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| Research and Policy Series | | Published in 2010 |
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| Asia Stakeholders Consultation Report: APHDR on Climate Change (2010)
This consultation aims to: identify East and South Asian perspectives and priorities on climate change and human development and how the experience can be best reflected in the Report; advance the ongoing discussions for the Report taking into account the suggested outline; and sharpen the indicative directions for the APHDR on Climate Change.
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