ISLAMABAD: Gender equality has not yet been achieved in Asia, the Pacific and globally, and all women have yet to be empowered, a new United Nations report said on Monday.

“To date there have been no significant initiatives to ensure any degree of gender-responsive budgeting. The common assumption or expression of concern is that there is little political will to do so and that there is a lack of capacity to plan and monitor and report on budgeting per se without the addition of gender-related planning and budgeting,” according to the Asia-Pacific Report on Beijing+20 Review, published on Monday.

The report released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap), says there is variability between countries in the region to the extent to which they invest in each means of implementation of the ‘Platform for Action’ adopted by the Beijing Conference on Women. The implementation of the Platform for Action is reviewed every five years.

The report identified ‘gaps’ in gender equality policies and legislation. National women’s machineries are mandated to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women but do not necessarily have adequate resources to fulfil their mandates.

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The report says that with varying gender equality awareness and capacity, along with the recognised need to strengthen communication and collaboration, the existence of formal mechanisms for cooperation and partnership between government entities do not equate to efficient and effective delivery of initiatives.

In terms of budgeting and funding, there is potential for strengthening existing gender-responsive budgeting measures and for increasing the adoption of gender-responsive budgeting across Asia and the Pacific, the report maintained.

The report points that lack of political will and accountability, limited awareness of and appreciation for gender equality, low status, insufficient resources, scant data and poor coordination between government entities were some of the challenges, cited by the Escap member countries.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2015