Girls Advocacy Program: Global Lobby (Governance bodies)

Problem description/background: Violence against girls and young women and the denial of their economic rights stand in the way of achieving meaningful gender equality. Serious violations of these human rights are affecting millions of girls and young women. The post-2015 agenda envisions amongst others “a world in which every woman and child enjoys full gender equality and all barriers to their empowerment in our societies have been removed”. Therefore the 2030 Agenda (SDGs) provides a good framework to hold member States accountable on achieving real change for girls and women. Also the existing Human Rights Mechanisms at the UN offer that possibility. Within this international context the emergence of a coalition of conservative forces around traditional definitions of family might undermine the enhancement of children and women’s rights. It questions the individual rights and diversities within families and thus poses a real threat to a progressive agenda for children and women. Furthermore, the shrinking space for civil society in many countries can also impact the international level for national critical voices are silenced and not allowed to speak out at home and abroad. Moreover, the voices of marginalized girls and young women themselves are not often heard. Therefore, young people in GAA countries will be supported through an empowering process to engage in meaningful and effective advocacy on priority issues in their contexts.