Published: 18 April 2024
The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) Singapore conducted a Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Training Workshop on 6 to 7 February 2024 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore. The training workshop was part of the preparation of MSF Singapore to the CEDAW Constructive Dialogue or Revalida scheduled in May 2024. Dr. Tamadeer Al-Rammah, former Kingdom of Saudi Arabia CEDAW Committee Member, served as the resource person.
About 25 participants composed of ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) Focal Points participated in the event. The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), as the Philippines Focal Point to the ACW, requested representation from different government oversight agencies in-charge of CEDAW matters to attend the training workshop. The Philippine delegation was composed of Ms. Anita C. Baleda from the PCW, Undersecretary Goddes Hope Libiran of the Department of Budget and Management , Ms. Christine Joy Mamuyac of the National Economic and Development Authority, and Assistant Commissioner Fortunata M. Rubico of the Commission on Audit. In addition to the Singaporean participants, the Convention was attended by other participants from Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, and Timor Leste.
Ms. Anita Baleda of PCW (back row, 5th from right); Assistant Commissioner Fortunata M. Rubico of COA (3rd from left, front row); and Ms. Christine Joy Mamuyac from NEDA (4th from left, front row) attended the CEDAW Training Workshop hosted by MSF Singapore held on 6 to 7 February 2024 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore.
Before discussing the CEDAW provisions in detail, Dr. Tamadeer presented guidelines and pointers on how State Parties should conduct themselves during their respective Constructive Dialogues. She also discussed the progress of CEDAW implementation by the ASEAN Member States. Meanwhile, the PCW shared experiences during the CEDAW Philippines Constructive Dialogues which happened after submission of the country’s reports every four years after ratification. The Philippine delegation provided inputs to Dr. Tamadeer’s CEDAW discussion and presentation.
Overall, the training workshop was a learning experience and realization that there are much more to be done to fully implement the CEDAW provisions in terms of appropriate legislations, national strategies, implementation and monitoring, and statistics and reporting while the country has already achieved a lot in terms of complying with State obligations compared to other counties participating in the training workshop. #