A ‘Soi’ Map, Not a Roadmap

A ‘SOI’ MAP, NOT A ROADMAP
Asia-Pacific Governments Need to Increase Ambition in Their Regional Plan to Implement the Sustainable Development Agenda

Bangkok, Thailand; 11 April 2016 – Asia-Pacific governments were meant to agree on an ambitious road map for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the region. Instead, according to civil society representatives, the 36 governments who attended the Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) held in Bangkok, Thailand on 3-5 April managed to merely agree on a ‘Soi’ Map. Sois are small side roads in Thailand, which more than often are hard to navigate and can lead to dead ends and roadblocks.

“We are very disappointed that the substantive part of the APFSD’s work, which is embodied in the Road Map, has been watered down, and will need further discussions and possible negotiations,” said Ranja Sengupta of the Third World Network and Co-Chair of the Asia-Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (AP-RCEM). She added that while it was far from complete or perfect, the draft roadmap as it was initially presented “offered significant ideas in pursuing meaningful regional cooperation and evaluation, which would have been of great value to all countries, especially the developing and least developed countries, and countries and populations with special needs, as they set out to implement the 2030 Agenda. The failure to include more substantive language into the outcome document represents a missed opportunity for our governments and our people across the region, and much of the headway made in recent years is being backpedalled.”

Civil society representatives who attended the forum also noted their disappointment that the document lacks clear timeframes or details on processes that can produce a more meaningful regional blueprint for action on SDGs.

Nevertheless, civil society representatives are glad that governments have agreed on the APFSD as an annual forum and that it remains a multi-stakeholder, inclusive space for engagement, respecting the commitments made by the UN General Assembly at the Sustainable Development Summit in September last year. CSOs laud Sri Lanka, Australia and Indonesia who negotiated hard to keep the APFSD this way.

“Moving forward, as the Road Map is finalized and decided in the coming months, civil society calls on governments to ensure this is an inclusive and transparent process and secure the involvement of the CSOs from across the region as an important step to attain broader ownership of the development agenda,” said Marjorie Pamintuan of the Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN) and Co-Chair of AP-RCEM. Methods employed by the Open Working Group to reach consensus on the SDGs can set a valuable precedent. Civil society also called to ensure that the forum report, particularly the Chair’s Summary, include the summary of demands made by civil society in their statements.

“Asia Pacific civil society commits to continue engaging substantively and constructively in the APFSD, as well as in the development, implementation and monitoring of the Regional Roadmap as part of our contributions in making the 2030 Agenda relevant to the lives of peoples in Asia-Pacific. We, the CSOs in Asia and Pacific, have raised the bar high for civil society engagement and have been following the process and building movements for Development Justice. We will make sure the voices of grassroots and people’s movements are present in the discussions,” said Wardarina of the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) and Co-Chair of AP-RCEM.

Resolution 67/290 on the format and organisational aspects of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development clearly states the role of UN regional commissions to contribute to the work of the forum, including through annual regional meetings, with involvement of other relevant regional entities, major groups and other relevant stakeholders. The resolution also iterates on the participation of the major groups and other relevant stakeholders.

About the Asia Pacific Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (AP-RCEM)
AP-RCEM is a civil society platform aimed to enable stronger cross-constituency coordination and ensure that voices of all sub-regions of Asia Pacific are heard in intergovernmental processes in regional and global level. The platform is initiated, owned and driven by the CSOs, and has been set up under the auspices of UN-ESCAP and seeks to engage with UN agencies and Member States on the Post-2015 as well as other development related issues/processes. See more at: http://www.asiapacificrcem.org

Press Contacts:
Co-chairs of AP-RCEM

Marjorie Pamintuan
Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN)
mpamintuan@aprnet.org

Ranja Sengupta
Third World Network (TWN)
ranja.sengupta1@gmail.com

Wardarina
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)
rina@apwld.org

Vietnam

  • Centre for Creative Initiatives in Health and Population (CCIHP)

Indonesia

  • Aliansi Satu Visi (ASV);
  • CEDAW Working Group;
  • Hollaback! Jakarta;
  • Institut Kapal Perempuan;
  • Kalyanamitra;
  • Komnas Perempuan;
  • Remaja Independen Papua/Independent Youth
    Forum Papua (FRIP/IYFP);
  • Perkumpulan Keluarga Berencana Indonesia (PKBI);
  • Perkumpulan Lintas Feminis Jakarta;
  • Perkumpulan Pamflet Generasi;
  • RUTGERS Indonesia;
  • Sanggar SWARA;
  • Women on Web;
  • Yayasan Kesehatan Perempuan (YKP); 
  • YIFOS Indonesia

Maldives

  • Hope for Women
  • Society for Health Education (SHE)
A 'Soi' Map, Not a Roadmap

A ‘SOI’ MAP, NOT A ROADMAP
Asia-Pacific Governments Need to Increase Ambition in Their Regional Plan to Implement the Sustainable Development Agenda

Bangkok, Thailand; 11 April 2016 – Asia-Pacific governments were meant to agree on an ambitious road map for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the region. Instead, according to civil society representatives, the 36 governments who attended the Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) held in Bangkok, Thailand on 3-5 April managed to merely agree on a ‘Soi’ Map. Sois are small side roads in Thailand, which more than often are hard to navigate and can lead to dead ends and roadblocks.

“We are very disappointed that the substantive part of the APFSD’s work, which is embodied in the Road Map, has been watered down, and will need further discussions and possible negotiations,” said Ranja Sengupta of the Third World Network and Co-Chair of the Asia-Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (AP-RCEM). She added that while it was far from complete or perfect, the draft roadmap as it was initially presented “offered significant ideas in pursuing meaningful regional cooperation and evaluation, which would have been of great value to all countries, especially the developing and least developed countries, and countries and populations with special needs, as they set out to implement the 2030 Agenda. The failure to include more substantive language into the outcome document represents a missed opportunity for our governments and our people across the region, and much of the headway made in recent years is being backpedalled.”

Civil society representatives who attended the forum also noted their disappointment that the document lacks clear timeframes or details on processes that can produce a more meaningful regional blueprint for action on SDGs.

Nevertheless, civil society representatives are glad that governments have agreed on the APFSD as an annual forum and that it remains a multi-stakeholder, inclusive space for engagement, respecting the commitments made by the UN General Assembly at the Sustainable Development Summit in September last year. CSOs laud Sri Lanka, Australia and Indonesia who negotiated hard to keep the APFSD this way.

“Moving forward, as the Road Map is finalized and decided in the coming months, civil society calls on governments to ensure this is an inclusive and transparent process and secure the involvement of the CSOs from across the region as an important step to attain broader ownership of the development agenda,” said Marjorie Pamintuan of the Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN) and Co-Chair of AP-RCEM. Methods employed by the Open Working Group to reach consensus on the SDGs can set a valuable precedent. Civil society also called to ensure that the forum report, particularly the Chair’s Summary, include the summary of demands made by civil society in their statements.

“Asia Pacific civil society commits to continue engaging substantively and constructively in the APFSD, as well as in the development, implementation and monitoring of the Regional Roadmap as part of our contributions in making the 2030 Agenda relevant to the lives of peoples in Asia-Pacific. We, the CSOs in Asia and Pacific, have raised the bar high for civil society engagement and have been following the process and building movements for Development Justice. We will make sure the voices of grassroots and people’s movements are present in the discussions,” said Wardarina of the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) and Co-Chair of AP-RCEM.

Resolution 67/290 on the format and organisational aspects of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development clearly states the role of UN regional commissions to contribute to the work of the forum, including through annual regional meetings, with involvement of other relevant regional entities, major groups and other relevant stakeholders. The resolution also iterates on the participation of the major groups and other relevant stakeholders.

About the Asia Pacific Regional Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (AP-RCEM)
AP-RCEM is a civil society platform aimed to enable stronger cross-constituency coordination and ensure that voices of all sub-regions of Asia Pacific are heard in intergovernmental processes in regional and global level. The platform is initiated, owned and driven by the CSOs, and has been set up under the auspices of UN-ESCAP and seeks to engage with UN agencies and Member States on the Post-2015 as well as other development related issues/processes. See more at: http://www.asiapacificrcem.org

Press Contacts:
Co-chairs of AP-RCEM

Marjorie Pamintuan
Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN)
mpamintuan@aprnet.org

Ranja Sengupta
Third World Network (TWN)
ranja.sengupta1@gmail.com

Wardarina
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)
rina@apwld.org

Morocco

  • Association Marocaine de Planification Familiale (AMPF),
  • Morocco Family Planning Association

India

  • CommonHealth;
  • Love Matters India;
  • Pravah;
  • Rural Women’s Social Education Centre (RUWSEC);
  • SAHAYOG;
  • Sahaj;
  • Sahiyo;
  • SAMA – Resource Group for Women and Health;
  • WeSpeakOut;
  • The YP Foundation (TYPF)

Lao PDR

  • Lao Women’s Union;
  • The Faculty of Postgraduate Studies at the University of Health
    Sciences (UHS)

Sri Lanka

  • Bakamoono;
  • Women and Media Collective (WMC),
  • Youth Advocacy Network – Sri Lanka (YANSL)

Malaysia

  • Federation of Reproductive Health Associations of Malaysia (FRHAM);
  • Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG);
  • Justice for Sisters (JFS);
  • Reproductive Health Association of
    Kelantan (ReHAK);
  • Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia (RRAAM);
  • Sisters in Islam (SIS)

Maldives

  • Hope for Women;
  • Society for Health Education (SHE)

Myanmar

  • Colourful Girls Organization;
  • Green Lotus Myanmar

Nepal

  • Beyond Beijing Committee (BBC);
  • Blind Youth Association of Nepal;
  • Blue Diamond Society (BDS);
  • Nepalese Youth for Climate Action (NYCA);
  • Visible Impact;
  • Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC);
  • YPEER Nepal;
  • YUWA

Pakistan

  • Aahung, Centre for Social Policy Development (CSPD);
  • Forum for Dignity Initiative (FDI);
  • Gravity Development Organization; Green Circle Organization;
  • Indus Resources Center (IRC);
  • Idara-e-Taleem-O-Aaghai (ITA);
  • Rehnuma – Family Planning Association Pakistan;
  • Shelter
    Participatory Organisation;
  • Shirkat Gah;
  • The Enlight Lab

Philippines

  • Democratic Socalist Women of the Philippines (DSWP);
  • Galang;
  • Healthcare Without Harm;
  • Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities;
  • Likhaan Centre for Women’s Health;
  • Nisa UI Haqq Fi Bangsamoro;
  • PATH Foundation Inc. (PFPI);
  • Women’s Global Network for
    Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)

Singapore

  • End Female Genital Cutting Singapore
  • Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)

Mongolia

  • MONFEMNET National Network