Bhutan

2010 Asia-Pacific Human Development Report Launch in Bhutan

The 2010 Asia-Pacific Human Development Report was launched on 8^th March 2010 by Her Majesty the Queen Mother, Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck during the International Women's Day commemoration in Gedu.

UNDP's latest Asia-Pacific Human Development Report (APHDR) 2010 entitled Power, Voice and Rights: A Turning Point for Gender Equality in Asia and the Pacific states that, despite progress on several other dimensions, the Asia and the Pacific region lags behind on gender parity on multiple counts; "Pervasive gender inequality remains a barrier to progress, justice and social stability, and deprives the region of a significant source of human potential"

Introducing the 2010 APHDR, Mr. Bakhodir Burkhanov, Resident Representative a.i, highlighted the key findings of the three target areas of the Report - promoting political decision making, building economic power, and advancing legal rights- to understand what holds women back and how policies and institutions can be transformed and mindsets changed to move towards gender equality.

While women in Bhutan enjoy a relatively high level of formal gender equality, Bhutanese women's participation in the political life of the country remains low. Also the male labor force participation remains significantly higher than that of women, especially in the urban areas.

The Report commends Bhutan's equal inheritance rights for men and women, and cites that at least 60% of rural Bhutanese women hold land registration titles. This is in positive contrast with more than half of the countries in the South and West Asia favoring men in land inheritance laws. The Report also notes Bhutan's unqualified accession to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Bakhodir Burkhanov acknowledged "Bhutan's strong commitment to achieve the gender equality goals in the various global compacts that it is party to, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the CEDAW".

*Statement by Mr. Bakhodir Burkhanov Resident Representative a.i