Outcome document of the Annual meeting of the Central Asia Women Leaders’ Caucus published as the United Nations document

The Outcome Document of the Annual meeting of the Central Asia Women Leaders’ Caucus, which was held in Ashgabat on December 10, 2022, was published in the six official languages of the UN (А/77/698) as an official document of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly under agenda items 18 "Sustainable Development", 26 "Improvement of the Status of Women" and 61 "Zone of Peace, Trust and Cooperation in Central Asia".

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General Assembly Distr.: General 15 January 2023

Original: English

Seventy-seventh   session

Agenda items 18, 26 and 61 Sustainable development Advancement of women

Zone of peace, trust and cooperation of Central Asia

 

Letter dated 5 January 2023 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

 

I have the honour to transmit herewith the outcome document of the annual meeting of the Central Asia Women Leaders’ Caucus, which was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on 10 December 2022 (see annex).

I would be very grateful if you could kindly have the present letter and its annex circulated as a document of the General Assembly under agenda items 18, 26 and 61.

 

(Signed) Ata Eyeberdiyev

Chargé d’affaires a.i.

 

23-00703 (E) 190123 250123

 

Annex to the letter dated 5 January 2023 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

[Original: Russian]

 

Outcome document of the annual meeting of the Central Asia Women Leaders’ Caucus

 

We, the representatives of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, with the support of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy (UNRCCA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), have established the first- ever Central Asian Women’s Caucus, an informal coalition committed to strengthening the role of all women in promoting sustainable development and maintaining peace and security in the region.

We reaffirm our commitment to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to the Decade of Action to deliver the global goals and to the other normative frameworks developed under the auspices of the United Nations, and are prepared to promote their implementation in the region and to seek ways to harness the potential of women throughout Central Asia.

We note the centuries of good-neighbourliness and cooperation among the countries and peoples of Central Asia.

We welcome the steps taken in recent years by the leaders of the States of Central Asia to strengthen regional and international cooperation in order to ensure peace, stability and sustainable development in the Central Asian region.

We thank the Heads of State of Central Asia for supporting and facilitati ng the work of the Caucus, action which enhances regional and inter-regional cooperation regarding various issues on the gender-equality agenda.

This is proof that our nations are steadfastly adhering to the principles of the founding documents of the United Nations, demonstrating to the whole world a responsible approach to creating the most favourable conditions for women in order to effectively ensure the sustainable development of the countries of the region.

We would emphasize that in 2022 the Caucus has established itself as a permanent informal structure with its own legal framework and institutions.

Efforts have been under way to expand cooperation with international organizations and countries around the world; the founding documents of the Caucu s have been adopted; and institutional entities such as the International Community of Needlewomen of Central Asia have been established.

As a result of the active and productive effort of the participating countries in 2022, the role of the Caucus in establishing and strengthening trust-based cooperation has grown, and the interest of international organizations, civil society organizations and States around the world in the work of the Caucus has increased. The Caucus has established itself as a serious promoter of gender equality by providing an effective platform for women from all over the world and from all walks of life, and for women entrepreneurs, women’s organizations, non-governmental organizations, professionals, international experts and representatives of global organizations.

The Caucus has become an effective platform for the exchange of views and experiences and of international best practice in empowering women and girls and increasing their level of participation in the political, socio-economic, cultural and humanitarian life of society.

 

We note with great satisfaction that the following events held during the period in which Turkmenistan was chairing the Caucus have made a significant contribution to the development of regional and interregional cooperation on gender equality, sustainable development and peace and security in Central Asia:

– The regional preparatory conference for the 66th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women focusing on achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change in Central Asia (15 February 2022, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan);

– Meeting of the Central Asia Women Leaders’ Caucus (12 April 2022, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan);

– Regional virtual meeting entitled “Climate Change with a Focus on Gender and Water Management in Central Asia” (28 April 2022, Dushanbe, Tajikistan);

– Dialogue of Women of the States of Central Asia and of Russia (13 May 2022, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan);

– International Festival of Embroidery (21–25 May 2022, Bukhara, Uzbekistan);

– Women and Water Forum (6 June 2022, Dushanbe, Tajikistan);

– Forum entitled “The Role of Women Parliamentarians in Advancing the Global Agenda for Women, Peace and Security and the Sustainable Development Goals in Central Asia” (22–23 June 2022, Istanbul, Turkey);

– Shanghai Cooperation Organization Women’s Forum (16 August 2022, Tashkent, Uzbekistan);

– Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) 14th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament (7 September 2022, Tashkent, Uzbekistan);

– Participation by the Caucus in the session of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (10–11 November 2022, New York, United States);

– Inaugural meeting of the International Community of Needlewomen of Central Asia (23 November 2022, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan);

– Expanded Dialogue in Central Asia on the subject of combating violence: women and girls in the at-risk group, eliminating causes and providing assistance, strengthening access to justice (25 November 2022, Astana, Kazakhstan);

– Meeting of the discussion club for women entrepreneurs from Central Asian countries (30 November 2022, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan);

– Cooperation exchange in the framework of the discussion club for women entrepreneurs from Central Asian countries (30 November 2022, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan);

– Meeting of representatives of Central Asian countries working on the WAGE programme (Women’s Entrepreneurship Development and Gender-Based Violence Reduction Coalition) (30 November 2022, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan);

– Regional conference of women from Central Asian countries (1 December 2022, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan);

– Regional seminar for girls from Central Asian countries (1 December 2022, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan);

– Round table on programmes and actions to reduce the vulnerability of women and children to natural disasters connected with climate change (6 December 2022, Astana, Kazakhstan);

 

 

– Regional forum with civil   society organizations regarding the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) in connection with strengthening the role of women in ensuring peace and security in Central Asia (9 December 2022, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan);

– 2022 final meeting of the Central Asia Women Leaders’ Caucus(10 December 2022, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan).

The fruitful activities of the Caucus in 2022 were evidence of our friendly States’ desire to continue devoting particular attention to the promotion of a gender policy that meets the spirit of the times, and to the development of productive interaction in this sphere.

The successes of our joint activities and the recognition and support for regional cooperation within the Caucus by our Heads of State and international partners, and by women themselves, inspire us to expand the possibilities of the Caucus.

We have jointly identified the following priority areas for further cooperation:

– Promoting peace, stability and security (objectives derived from Security Council resolution 1325 (2000)) in Central Asia;

– Increasing the level of women’s involvement in political and socio-economic transformation;

– Increasing women’s representation in government and the corporate sector, and their participation in decision-making processes;

– Stimulating the role of women in post-pandemic economic recovery;

– Increasing the participation of women and girls in the development and implementation of policies to protect the environment and address pressing environmental issues;

– Improving the system of lifelong professional education and retraining to ensure decent employment for women, including women with disabilities;

– Improving the quality of life of women and girls, including those in rural areas;

– Supporting young women parliamentarians, politicians, academics and volunteer activists;

– Ensuring decent employment and social protection for pandemic-affected and vulnerable women;

– Improving the economic empowerment of women, and in particular expanding their access to financial services and increasing their financial, legal and business literacy;

– Helping women to fulfil their potential in the digitization of the economy, science, advanced information technology and knowledge-intensive innovation sectors;

– Supporting women’s entrepreneurship and business ties between women entrepreneurs from Central Asian countries by promoting business forums, joint projects and exhibitions of goods (handicrafts) from businesswomen of the region;

– Preventing and overcoming gender-based violence in all environments;

– Improving the healthcare system for women and girls.

 

Ashgabat          10 December 2022