A/HRC/42/26
43.
Illustrative practices shared included the “Solar Mamas” project, whereby women in
the Pacific had been given the opportunity to study solar engineering, resulting in women
and communities being in charge of their own development. The role of Pacific women in
ocean governance, in particular in marine protected areas and community-based marine
resource management systems, addressed both food security issues and ocean health issues.
In southern Bangladesh, women had helped their communities to purify saline water.
Dominica had prioritized violence prevention in disaster response and early recovery,
including strengthened referral systems, capacity-building of community leaders and
disaster committees and continued awareness-raising efforts.
44.
In India, meaningful representation of women in forest governance was targeted
through compulsory representation in joint forest management committees, ecodevelopment committees and Panchayati Raj institutions. Women’s expertise in forest
management and conservation was leveraged as a measure to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions through the Forest Carbon Partnership facility project in Guyana. In Botswana,
adaptation and distribution of drought-resistant seeds supported smart and sustainable
agriculture. The course run by the University of the West Indies entitled “Introduction to
climate change and gender mainstreaming” provided an introduction to the impacts of
climate change on small island developing States, in addition to its gendered impacts.
45.
Speakers raised a number of specific questions for the panellists. These included: (a)
What would be the first steps in promoting the full participation of women and girls in
public life and how could the participation of young people representing diverse
perspectives in decision-making processes related to climate change at all levels be
increased? (b) How could the international community ensure that women were able to get
access to funds, such as the Green Climate Fund and other resources, to enhance their
leadership and meaningful participation in climate action? (c) What were the priority
recommendations to strengthen cooperation between regions to promote and protect the
rights of women and girls within the climate change framework? (d) How could States
encourage and support the inclusion of women’s grassroots organizations in climate action?
and (e) What proactive measures could small island developing States introduce to
strengthen women’s resilience and protect their rights in a disaster context?
C.
Responses and concluding remarks
46.
After the interactive discussion, the President of the Human Rights Council gave
panellists the opportunity to make concluding remarks.
47.
Ms. Robinson first responded to the question about practical steps to promote the
full participation of women and girls in public life in the context of climate change. She
noted that either individual small island developing States or the Climate Vulnerability
Forum could draw up funding proposals to focus on capacity-building and training for
women and girls. She also noted the need for more opportunities and courses, such as the
climate change and gender mainstreaming course offered by the University of the West
Indies.
48.
Ms. Robinson stressed that in order to accentuate the voices of young people in
practical ways, concerted efforts were needed to ensure that the coalitions preparing for the
Climate Action Summit taking place in New York in September 2019 were
intergenerational and gender-responsive in their approach to climate action. Genderresponsive climate action had to be a horizontal issue throughout the various coalitions. In
order to be reflected at the Climate Summit, this would also have to be done at the
preparatory meeting for the Climate Action Summit to be held in Abu Dhabi from 30 June
to 1 July 2019.
49.
In concluding, Ms. Robinson responded to the question concerning
recommendations for regions to cooperate better, particularly in relation to financing. She
referred to goal 5 of the G20 Charter for Engagement which related to the financing and
development of gender-responsive and scalable social, economic and technological climate
solutions. It called for systemic change towards sustainable and inclusive production and
consumption models, especially in the financial and energy sectors, to channel resources
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