Planning and Research Unit
Mandate
The Planning and Research Unit serves as the Ministry's central technical arm for evidence-based planning, monitoring and evaluation in the fields of gender equality, child protection, family welfare and community development.The Unit gives practical effect to the Republic of Mauritius' obligations under international human-rights instruments—amongs which the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action—while advancing Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Core Responsibilities
| Area of work | Key activities |
| Policy, planning and advisory services | Formulates short-, medium- and long-term action plans; provides policy advice and technical back-up to all the units of the Ministry and as well as the parastatal bodies. |
| Monitoring & evaluation | Tracks and assesses the Ministry programmes, projects and schemes, which ensuring alignment with SDG targets and treaty obligations. |
| Research & statistics | Maintains baseline data on women, children and families; publishes the annual compendium Statistics in Mauritius – A Gender Approach. |
| Inter-institutional liaison | Coordinates with: - Government agencies,
- non-state actors,
- development partners and research
- bodies on gender,
- Child and family related issues.
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| Licensing & compliance | - Licenses Places of Safety and Residential Care Institutions
- registers Child Day-Care Centres pursuant to the Children's Act 2020 and Child Day-Care Centres Regulations 2022.
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International & Regional Framework
Mauritius is party to, inter alia:
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) Mauritius acceded to the CEDAW on 9th July 1984 | The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1979. It prohibits discrimination and disparaging treatment based on gender |
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Mauritius acceded to the CRC 26th July 1990 | The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC signed by 196 countries (as of 12 July 2022) outlines the fundamental rights of every child, regardless of their race, religion or abilities |
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action Adopted in September 1995 by 189 Governments including the Republic of Mauritius. | The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is the world's most comprehensive, visionary plan ever created to achieve the equal rights of ALL women and girls. Agreed by 189 governments in 1995, at the Fourth World Conference on Women, the Platform centres on 12 areas of action – referred to as “critical areas of concern". These cover jobs and the economy, political participation, peace, the environment, ending violence against women and more. |
Southern African Development Community (SADC) Gender and Development Declaration (1997) and its Addendum on Violence Against Women and Children | SADC's commitment to eliminating gender discrimination and mainstreaming gender issues in Southern Africa. Through the Declaration, Member States agree to establish policy and institutional frameworks for advancing gender equality, to set up advisory systems with government and non-governmental organisations to monitor gender issues, and to create a Gender Unit within the SADC Secretariat. |
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a primary focus on SDG 5 and gender-related targets across all Goals | The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. A primary focus of this Ministry on SDG 5 and gender-related targets across all Goals |
Treaty texts and national reports may be consulted at the OHCHR website.:
https://humanrights.govmu.org/Pages/Human%20Rights/TreatyConvention.aspx
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