Category Archives: global

Opening statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women for the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

A report by UN Women

Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women, H.E. Mr. Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Secretary-General of the UN, President of ECOSOC, President of the General Assembly, Ministers and representatives from capitals, Women and civil society representatives,

At the outset, I would like to thank the Chair of CSW, his Excellency Ambassador Patriota, and his Bureau, for all their work in preparing this complex event.

I also want to thank the UN Women team across the world for their hard work and preparations, including the important regional pre-CSW consultations that allow us all to get together in this session and be as ready as we are.


In Cape Town, South Africa, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka meets girls involved in the Grassroots Soccer SKILLZ programme, a grantee of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. Photo: Karin Shermbrucker
Click on the image to enlarge

A special thanks to the representatives of Member States, civil society and youth who have travelled from all over the world to collaborate with us. And I thank Member States for their inclusion of civil society and youth in their delegations, helping to make this meeting truly universal in its deliberations.

There are 750 young people here who on Saturday and Sunday were engaged in an assembly and a festival of ideas. What an engagement that was! We also have 8,600 pre-registrations, which means that we potentially have the largest number ever of civil society representatives with us in this CSW61.

I would also like to acknowledge our Secretary-General, at his first Commission in his new capacity. Secretary-General, it is wonderful to have you with us here. I thank him for leading the agenda on gender equality from the front and for his insightful remarks and unwavering drive to tackle gender inequality from Day One of his tenure.

This Commission concerns itself with the status of women. It reviews the progress made by women and girls, and assesses the remaining challenges. It is a barometer of the progress we are making on achieving a world that is free of gender discrimination and inequality, a world that leaves no-one behind. It will help us measure achievement of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It also helps us to pursue action in priority areas and benefits from the Commission’s Agreed Conclusions.

The priority theme for CSW61, as set out in the Secretary-General’s report for the session, is “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Changing World of Work”. Inclusive economies and a positive world of work are powerful ways of breaking away from the cycles of poverty that besiege our nations.

Currently, in the gender equality agenda, we see progress in some areas, but we also see an erosion of gains. The much-needed positive developments are not happening fast enough. We also need to work together to make sure we reach a tipping point in the numbers of lives changed.

We need swift and decisive action that can be brought about by the world of work so that we do not leave women even further behind.

Excellencies, let us agree to constructive impatience.

(continued in right column)

Question for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

(continued from left column)

The Sustainable Development Goals give us a framework to work for far-reaching changes. In this session of the Commission we will be able to bring renewed focus to the needs of those who are currently being left behind and those who are currently furthest behind.

They include young women; some of whom were at the Youth CSW. They include refugees and migrants. They include women affected by gender-based violence, including workplace sexual harassment.

They include women who are denied sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights and services; and women facing discrimination on multiple and intersecting fronts over and above their gender: such as sexual orientation, disability, older age, race, or being part of an indigenous community.

They include women in the informal sector, and care givers, those who provide services in the home that are much needed to sustain society.

Almost all women do some form of work. If you are a woman you are a worker—period.

Virtually all economies rely on the unpaid care and domestic work that is largely provided by women and girls. Yet this form of work positions masses of women uniquely to be “left behind”.

Positive changes in the world of work must enable care work to be valued and to be shared by parents and within the family unit. This will bring about far-reaching positive changes for women, society and economies.

Investment into the care economy of 2 per cent of GDP in just seven countries could create over 21 million jobs. That would provide child care, elderly care and many other needed services.
The Secretary-General’s report gives greater attention to women who work at the base of the pyramid, as these are the ones who are at the highest risk of being left behind.

The Commission must also look at how to increase the participation of these women, as well as women’s participation in male-dominated sectors that have meaningful economic benefits.

The Commission can make fresh gains in how we bring the informal sector into a structured and meaningful economic relationship with benefits, respecting the rights of women in this sector.

The informal sector is dominated by the millions and millions of women who are the working poor. Women workers in the informal sector are all around us.

They are in the rapidly growing urban communities, as well as in rural areas. They are the under-the radar and under-valued cogs in the bigger wheels of the formal economy. They are the low-cost farm workers, flower sellers, street food vendors, care workers, and home-based producers of garments and car parts. Almost none of them have legal or social protection.

And they are missing out on the opportunities offered by the changing world of work, which has technology as one of its advantages…

[Editor’s note: We found it too difficult to abbreviate this speech into the usual length for a CPNN article without losing important statements; hence it is continued on the following page.]

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

Photos: A look at International Women’s Day marches around the world

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

A photo essay by Dayana Morales Gomez for the Public Broadcasting Service

On International Women’s Day, women around the world celebrated by marching in more than 50 countries, taking off from work to make clear what “A Day Without A Woman” would look like and wearing red in solidarity. In New York, a bronze statue of a girl was installed to stare down the iconic Wall Street Bull over gender inequality.

The day was first observed in 1908 in New York City, where women marched for suffrage and workplace improvements. After several years of continuous demonstrations across the U.S. and Europe, March 8 was officially designated as International Women’s Day. The date is significant because it was the day a women’s march in Pretograd, Russia led to the start of the Russian Revolution.

This year, the United Nations used the day to shine a light on the 2030 Agenda, an ambitious plan to ensure girls and boys have equal access to education, that discrimination and violence against women are halted, and that forced marriage and female genital mutilation end.

Below, see photos of International Women’s Day demonstrations from around the world [click on photos to enlarge].



A woman holds a placard during a rally on March 8, 2017 for gender equality and against violence towards women on International Women’s Day in Kiev, Ukraine. Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters.


Bangladeshi activists and garment workers attend a rally on March 8, outside National Press Club during International Women’s Day in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo by Zakir Chowdhury/Barcroft Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)


Thousands of demonstrators attend a rally for International Women’s Day on March 8 in Melbourne, Australia. Marchers were calling for de-colonisation of Australia, an end to racism, economic justice for all women and reproductive justice, as well as supporting the struggle for the liberation of all women around the world, inclusive of trans women and sex workers. Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images


Nigerian women gather on March 8 to protest violation and sexual abuse against women during the World International Women’s Day in Lagos, Nigeria. Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

(Article continued in the right column)

Question for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

(Article continued from the left column)


Costumed women shout slogans during a march on March 8 as part of International Women’s Day in Kiev. Photo by Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images


Georgian feminist supporters attend a rally on March 8 to mark the International Women’s Day in front of the Georgian parliament in central Tbilisi. Photo by Vano Shlamov/AFP/Getty Images


Palestinian women take part in a demonstration on March 8 to protest against sexual discrimination during the International Women’s Day in front of the unknown soldier’s monument in Gaza City, Gaza. Photo by Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images


A man and his dog walk past the sculpture of a woman covered in paper and ropes as part of a performance to protest the lack of visibility of women in public spaces, on March 8, International Women’s Day in Oviedo, Spain. The covered statue is “La Pensadora” (The female Thinker) by Spanish artist Jose Luis Fernandez. Photo by Eloy Alonso/Reuters.


A statue of a defiant girl stands facing the Charging Bull sculpture in the Financial District of New York on March 8. State Street Global Advisors, a nearly $2.5 trillion investor and unit within State Street Corp., installed the bronze statue in front of Wall Street’s iconic charging bull as part of its new campaign to pressure companies to add more women to their boards. Photo by Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

global, Uncategorized, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Amnesty: 8 women show us why International Women’s Day is the day to declare: We won’t wait for our rights!

…. HUMAN RIGHTS ….

An article by Shiromi Pinto for Amnesty International

People across the world are joining today’s Women’s Strike, demonstrating the consequences of A Day Without A Woman. Can we afford a day without women like these eight, whose refusal to wait is the key to reversing an increasingly regressive trend for women’s rights?


Photos of the 8 women described below in order upper left to lower right
(click on photo to enlarge)

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from January’s historic Women’s March, it’s that women are fed up of waiting. Today, that fervour hits the streets again in what looks set to be a historic women’s strike. Back at the beginning of 2017, more than 3 million people – of all genders – marched worldwide for women’s rights, and many intersecting rights besides. Those motivations remain true today – spurred by US President Donald Trump’s misogynistic remarks, discriminatory travel ban and directives that have far reaching and profoundly negative implications for migrants and other minorities. His policies also specifically put women’s health and lives at risk. But this is not unique to the USA, as demonstrated by the thousands of women worldwide who are striking today. They know that when it comes to the inequalities that still afflict so many women around the world, the statistics are undeniable.

The World Economic forum predicts it will take another 169 years for the gender pay gap to close. This is just one of many shocking figures showing how long we might have to wait before women and girls can achieve equality. Across the globe, some 225 million women are unable to choose whether or when to have children. Each year, about 47,000 women die, and another 5 million are disabled, as a result of unsafe abortions. An estimated 35% of women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence. More than 32 million girls around the world – compared with about 29 million boys – are not in primary school. And 700 million women alive today were married before they were 18 years old.

With so much left to be gained, women and girls around the world are saying enough is enough. Here are eight women who are battling on the frontline to claim their rights, refusing to wait in the face of injustice.

They won’t wait and neither will we.

How about you?

AFRICA

Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng – She won’t wait… while women are still denied abortions

A medical doctor in South Africa, Tlaleng is a force to be reckoned with. Not only is she a committed medical professional, but she also fearlessly advocates for sexual health as a radio presenter, spreading her message far and wide. “I won’t stop until ​the right of women to have an abortion is respected and provided for safely,” she says. “In South Africa, women die every year due to unsafe abortions, yet politicians think they can use women’s reproductive rights as a political ping pong ball.” Tlaleng is also challenging rape culture, and championing the drive to get health practitioners to treat patients with respect and without discrimination – a true human rights defender, like all the women featured here.

“The whole world thinks they have a right to tell women what to do with our vaginas and our uteruses. Women’s health seems to be a free-for-all for everyone to have an opinion on”.

AMERICAS

Connie Greyeyes – She won’t wait… for another sister to be stolen

Connie Greyeyes is an “accidental” activist. An Indigenous Cree woman living in the province of British Columbia in Western Canada, she realized that a shocking number of Indigenous women in her community had gone missing or had been murdered. She began organizing to support the families of these women and took the demand for a national inquiry to the Canadian capital in Ottawa. According to official figures, more than 1,000 Indigenous women have gone missing or been murdered in Canada in the last three decades. The efforts of Connie and many other Indigenous women across Canada have borne fruit, with the Canadian government finally announcing an inquiry in 2016.

“When we’re together, there’s so much strength. Being able to smile even after finding out that your loved one was murdered. How can you not be inspired by women who have been to hell and back over their children? You know, fighting, trying to find justice. How can you not be inspired and want to continue fighting?”

Karla Avelar – She won’t wait… while refugees are denied safety

Karla Avelar is a survivor. She’s made it through gang attacks, murder attempts and prison in El Salvador. Today, she heads Comcavis Trans, which supports Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people, all of whom face threats and violence in El Salvador. Their situation is so tenuous in the country that many flee as refugees. Through Comcavis, Karla provides information and other support to help them on what is often a treacherous journey that normally takes them to the USA or Mexico. But the US’s hardline stance on refugees and migrants entering the country has thrown these LGBTI refugees into even greater jeopardy – something Karla is now tackling with energetic defiance.

“The decisions Trump is making are affecting thousands of people, particularly LGBTI people who are victims of racism, discrimination and attacks. Instead of guaranteeing the human rights of migrant people, the government of the USA is stigmatizing and criminalizing them.”
(continued in right column)

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article or here for a French version)

Question for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

(continued from left column)

ASIA-PACIFIC

Su Changlan – She won’t wait … to reunite another child bride with her parents

Former school teacher Su Changlan’s story is not unique. One of her closest friends says that hers is the story of many women in China. She couldn’t stand by when she heard about girls trafficked as brides or parents whose children had gone missing. She did her best to help them and many others, her activism extending to land rights issues and support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. She did all this knowing that she might have to sacrifice her freedom in the process. Sadly, this is just what happened. She has been detained by the authorities since 2015.

“I hope that parents do not despair about searching for their missing children. We, civil society, should work together to help them reunite with their children. The government should also invest more in these efforts instead of hindering our work!”

Samira Hamidi – She won’t wait… while women are excluded from government

Since 2004, Samira Hamidi has been blazing a trail for women in Afghanistan. As Chairperson of the Afghan Women’s Network (AWN) she has actively tried to ensure that women’s voices and concerns are represented at the highest levels of government. At the same time, she is a staunch advocate in the international arena, reminding governments and potential aid donors that promoting and securing women’s rights in Afghanistan must be part of any conversation they may have with the country’s leaders. She faces a steep road, but she remains undaunted, championing other women human rights defenders, ensuring that their concerns are amplified.

“Women should be given an equal opportunity to make a better Afghanistan.”

EUROPE

Jeanette John Solstad Remø – She won’t wait… for the right to be recognized as a woman

Until recently, she was John Jeanette, her name signifying the dual identity she was forced to accept every day in Norway. Although this former submarine commander felt her future could only be female, Norwegian law did not allow her to change her legal gender without undergoing a compulsory “real sex conversion”. This would have involved having her reproductive organs removed, as well as a psychiatric diagnosis. She refused to put herself through any of this. As a result, her driving license, passport, medical prescriptions, even her library card, still referred to her as male. She campaigned hard against Norway’s abusive law and her actions, alongside those of her supporters – including Amnesty – scored a huge victory. In 2016, Norway finally adopted a new law on legal gender recognition, which allows transgender people to choose their gender. Today, in acknowledgement of this milestone, she has changed her name to Jeanette John.

“Everyone deserves the right to express their gender.”

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

Loujain al-Hathloul – She won’t wait… for the right to drive a car

Fearless and formidable, Loujain defied Saudi Arabia’s driving ban and faced the consequences. In November 2014, she was detained for 73 days for live-tweeting herself driving into Saudi Arabia from the United Arab Emirates. Released in February 2015, she went on to stand for election in November that year – the first time women were allowed to both vote and stand in elections in the state. However, despite finally being recognized as a candidate, her name was never added to the ballot. Today, she continues her fight to create a better future for her fellow Saudis – one where women enjoy their rights as full citizens of their nation.

“I will win. Not immediately, but definitely.”

Narges Mohammadi – She won’t wait… for another woman to be disfigured in an acid attack

A passionate advocate for women’s rights in Iran, Narges actively protested against acid attacks on women. This was just one of many efforts she has made to defend human rights, including calling for the abolition of the death penalty. She has paid dearly for her work and is now serving a total of 22 years’ imprisonment for daring to speak out. The “evidence” used against her at trial included her meeting with the European Union’s former High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on International Women’s Day 2014. “In a land where being a woman, being a mother and being a human rights defender is difficult on their own, being all three is an unforgivable crime,” she recently wrote from prison. In 2016, Narges went on hunger strike because she was refused telephone calls with her two young children, who now live in France with their father. Today her children can speak to her once a week, but face the prospect of living without their mother for many years to come.

“I am, in my own homeland, convicted and imprisoned for the crime of being a human rights defender, a feminist and an opponent of the death penalty. [But] not only have my imprisonment and my recent 16-year sentence not made me feel any regret, they have actually strengthened my convictions and commitment to defending human rights more than ever before.”

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

global, HUMAN RIGHTS

ICC: Meet the justice activists breaking the mold

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (abbreviated)

This International Women’s Day – 8 March 2017 – we join the UN in calling for gender balance in the work force. To provide just that inspiration we are celebrating the women leading the fight for global justice for the worst crimes. Be brave when you find gender perspectives are missing: countless of our civil society representatives from around the world have dared to break the mold – so can you. Read their stories and be inspired.


Photos of the 8 women described below in order upper left to lower right
(click on photo to enlarge)

Adriana Maria Benjumea Rúa, Director – Corporación Humanas Colombia

Adriana Maria Benjumea Rúa is a lawyer, researcher and feminist whose work with Humanas, including on the issue of gender and political influence, has led to the organization becoming a leading advocate of inclusive perspectives in the Colombian peace process.

Adriana is the director of Corporación Humanas Colombia. As a lawyer, researcher and feminist working on the issue of gender and political influence, Adriana’s work includes the important work of monitoring public policies around care for victims and ensuring that they are not implemented without a gender perspective.

Adriana’s extensive socio-legal research on gender justice and violence against women in armed conflicts as well as her strategic litigation work in cases of sexual violence in transitional justice frameworks have contributed to the leading role of Humanas among civil society engaging in the Colombia peace talks. . .

Nancy Lopez – Lawyer – Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos

Together with a team of committed men and women from the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights, as well as victims and their families, Nancy Lopez confronts issues of justice denied in Mexico, exploring possibilities for international justice before mechanisms like the ICC.

With the Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos, Nancy plays a critical role within Mexican civil society by bringing into focus the country’s need for the global fight against impunity – to ensure the non-repetition of international crimes like enforced displacement, enforced disappearance, torture, executions and sexual crimes in the country; but also to lay groundwork for solutions to many of Mexico’s social issues.

With the Comisión Mexicana coordinating Mexican civil society activities around the ICC, Nancy advocates for the Mexican government to honor its commitment to ensure that international justice is respected and enforced, and that the state abides by its obligations as an ICC member state. Such advocacy has included pushing Mexico to implement the Rome Statute, including its pivotal state cooperation provisions. . .

Rebecca Lozada – National Coordinator – Philippine National Coalition for the ICC

A year after Rebecca Lozada took the helm of the Philippines National Coalition for the ICC, the Philippines became the 117th ICC member state. Setting an example for the majority of states in Southeast Asia, with Rebecca’s coordination Philippines civil society has been mobilizing to ensure a framework is in place to deliver those who commit the most egregious international crimes to justice.

Under Rebecca’s leadership, the Philippines national Coalition for the ICC (PCICC) has been working to ensure individual perpetrators of the most heinous crimes – genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity – are brought to justice. In 2010, one year after Rebecca took up the position of National Coordinator of the PCICC, the Philippines government ratified the Rome Statute to become the 117th ICC member state. . .

(Article continued in the right column)

Question for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

(Article continued from the left column)

Brigitte Chelebian – Executive Director – Justice Without Frontiers

Brigitte Chelebian is an Attorney at Law and the Executive Director/Founder of the organization Justice Without Frontiers (JWF), which works towards the advancement of international criminal justice– the first organization of its kind in Lebanon. In a part of the world with little support for the Rome Statute system, JWF campaigns for the ratification and implementation of the Statute within national laws, including promotion of the rights of women who are victims of armed conflict and sexual violence.

As Founder of Justicie Without Frontiers, Brigitte has led pioneering work in Lebanon and the wider Middle East to promote the rights of atrocity victims, including women and children affected by sexual violence in conflict, build stronger national and regional institutions to protect against these crimes, and create access to legal support for victims. . . .

Tetiana Pechonchyk – Chairperson – Human Rights Information Center

Tetiana Pechonchyk is a leading advocate for international justice in her home country, Ukraine, where her and her organization’s first-of-its-kind work from 2014-2016 documenting crimes in both occupied and government-controlled territories continue to make the global fight against impunity a reality in Ukraine.

As Chairperson of the Human Rights Information Centre (HRIC), Tetiana conducts one-of-a-kind work to raise awareness and seek justice for victims throughout Ukraine’s conflict-affected areas. Despite political challenges to her organization’s work, Tetiana and HRIC continue to fight for justice both on occupied and government-controlled territories of Ukraine. . . .

Brigid Inder – Executive Director – Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice

. . .Brigid Inder, OBE, is the Executive Director of the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice (WIGJ). Among her many efforts with the Women’s Initiatives, Brigid’s influential advocacy with the International Criminal Court (ICC) since 2004 has been applauded for helping to establish the investigation and prosecution of sexual and gender-based crimes as a substantive priority within the work of the OTP.

As the Prosecutor’s Special Advisor on Gender from 2012-2016, Brigid co-wrote the Policy on Sexual and Gender-based Crimes with the Office of the Prosecutor, the first such policy developed by an international court or tribunal. Through WIGJ’s advocacy on the ICC’s substantive work, along with its focus on the integration of women within legal proceedings as well as the institutional development of the ICC with respect to gender and geographical diversity amongst elected officials and senior managers, Brigid supports the ICC in becoming an institution capable of delivering on its mandate and ensuring women and gender issues are included within the Court’s structures and its justice outcomes. . .

Mama Koité Doumbia – President – Malian National Coalition for the ICC and Board Member – Trust Fund for Victims

Mama Koité Doumbia has made an impressive career in promoting women’s rights and gender-justice related issues. She continues to fight tirelessly in multiple capacities to reinforce women’s access to justice and empowerment within her home country of Mali, across the African continent and in many supranational organizations.

Among her many roles and experiences, Mama Koité is well known nationally and internationally as a union leader, teacher and determined activist in finding ways to reinforce the capacities of women’s NGOs. She fights passionately against social injustice and violence. Mama Koité has worked with the Women’s Coordination of Mali, and she was President of the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) in Nairobi, Kenya, from 2003 to 2010. From 2005-2014 she also chaired the Gender and Related Issues Cluster and vice-chaired the Economic and Social Council of the African Union. Mama Koité also worked as a member of the Réseau Paix et Sécurité de l’Espace CEDEAO/Mali. She is a founding member of the Réseau Mondial Francophone Egalité Femmes Hommes.

Urantsooj Gombosuren – Chairperson – Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

As chairperson for FORUM-ASIA, Urantsooj works towards the strengthening of human rights and gender-equality in Asia.

Based in Bangkok, Thailand, FORUM-ASIA has worked alongside human rights defenders and other civil society organizations in Asia for over 25 years promoting and protecting human rights in the region. FORUM-ASIA works to enable a sustainable environment of peace, justice, and gender-equality based on collaboration, advocacy, and cooperation. They conduct their work throughout Asia and across the globe. . .

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

global, WOMEN'S EQUALITY

CSW at UN: Supporting People’s Actions to Empower Women at the Margins

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An announcement by the International Institute for Peace Education

Pasos Peace Museum and the International Institute on Peace Education invite you to join in a participatory, action-planning program to build solidarity with women’s movements to claim rights proclaimed by the world community in international human rights instruments, yet denied or ignored by national governments. Among the relevant rights instruments are: UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, all of which have the potential to empower citizens to advance their full participation in striving toward a just and peaceful world. Within the context of the potential of law and international standards the symposium will comprise action-planning discussions based on women’s experience with self-empowerment campaigns.


Click on the image to enlarge

Women’s international efforts toward the implementation of UNSCR 1325 through civil society initiatives at the local and regional levels in Africa and Asia will be introduced by Mavic Cabrera-Balleza of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders and Asha Hans of Sanristi, India. National campaigns to assert the civil and political rights of Native Americans and African Americans will be introduced by Betty Lyons of the American Indian Law Alliance and Farah Tanisof Black Women’s Blue Print.

As the conclusion of our action planning discussions law students will reflect on how their future professional endeavors might enhance gender justice, social equity and political equality using law and international standards as practical and strategic instruments of justice.

(continued in right column)

Question for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

(continued from left column)

Please consider reviewing these legal instruments and important background documents in preparation for your participation.

* UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security

* the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

* the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Book Party

You are also cordially invited to a celebration of the publication of Openings for Peace: UNSCR 1325, Women and Security in India, Edited by Asha Hans and Swarna Rajagopalan. A presentation of the book will be made by Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury and Asha Hans.

The book party will begin at approximately 4:15pm and conclude at 5:30pm.

RSVP Required: Please RSVP for the book party using the registration form below.

Register / RSVP
Registration for this year’s event is $20. Registration fee covers lunch and the post-event book celebration and reception.

A two-step registration is required.

1) Please complete the registration form for each individual who will attend.

2) After registering please submit your registration fee using the PayPal button below. (Your registration fee will be paid to Pasos Peace Museum)

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

UN Commission on the Status of Women – 2017

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

A press release from UN Women (abbreviated)

The sixty-first session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 13 to 24 March 2017. Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are invited to attend the session.


Click on the image to enlarge

Download the CSW61 Brochure for more information:
Arabic | English | French | Spanish

Themes

Priority theme: Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work

Review theme: Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls (agreed conclusions of the fifty-eighth session)

Emerging issue/Focus area:The empowerment of indigenous women

Preparations

Regional CSW61 Preparatory and Consultative Meetings

Multi-Stakeholder Forum On 30 January 2017, UN Women convened a forum to engage a range of stakeholders in the preparations for CSW61 at UN Headquarters in New York.

(continued in right column)

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article or here for a French version)

Question for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

(continued from left column)

Expert Group Meeting: In preparation for the sixty-first session of the Commission on the Status of Women, UN Women convened an Expert Group Meeting on the priority theme: “Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work.” The Expert Group Meeting was held with the technical contribution and support of the International Labour Organization (ILO) at ILO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, from 26 to 28 September 2016.

Organization of the session

The Commission’s two-week session includes the following activities: Organization of work

Agreed conclusions

The outcome of the Commission’s consideration of the priority theme takes the form of agreed conclusions, negotiated by all States: Draft agreed conclusions

Official Documents

Official documents for the session

NGO Participation

Modalities of NGO participation

Eligibility

Registration

Opportunities for NGOs to address the Commission

Side events

Information about side events and activities organized outside the formal programme of the session

More information regarding the 61st session (2017) of the Commission on the Status of Women to be uploaded as it becomes available.

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

Increase in arms transfers driven by demand in the Middle East and Asia, says SIPRI

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

Annual report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

The volume of international transfers of major weapons has grown continuously since 2004 and increased by 8.4 per cent between 2007–11 and 2012–16, according to new data on arms transfers published today by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Notably, transfers of major weapons in 2012–16 reached their highest volume for any five-year period since the end of the cold war.


(click on the image to enlarge)

The flow of arms increased to Asia and Oceania and the Middle East between 2007–11 and 2012–16, while there was a decrease in the flow to Europe, the Americas and Africa. The five biggest exporters—the United States, Russia, China, France and Germany—together accounted for 74 per cent of the total volume of arms exports.

Asia: major increases for some states

Arms imports by states in Asia and Oceania increased by 7.7 per cent between 2007–11 and 2012–16 and accounted for 43 per cent of global imports in 2012–16.

India was the world’s largest importer of major arms in 2012–16, accounting for 13 per cent of the global total. Between 2007–11 and 2012–16 it increased its arms imports by 43 per cent. In 2012–16 India’s imports were far greater than those of its regional rivals China and Pakistan.

Imports by countries in South East Asia increased 6.2 per cent from 2007–11 to 2012–16. Viet Nam made a particularly large jump from being the 29th largest importer in 2007–11 to the 10th largest in 2012–16, with arms imports increasing by 202 per cent.

‘With no regional arms control instruments in place, states in Asia continue to expand their arsenals’, said Siemon Wezeman, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Programme. ‘While China is increasingly able to substitute arms imports with indigenous products, India remains dependent on weapons technology from many willing suppliers, including Russia, the USA, European states, Israel and South Korea’.

Middle East: arms imports almost double

Between 2007–11 and 2012–16 arms imports by states in the Middle East rose by 86 per cent and accounted for 29 per cent of global imports in 2012–16.

Saudi Arabia was the world’s second largest arms importer in 2012-16, with an increase of 212 per cent compared with 2007–11. Arms imports by Qatar went up by 245 per cent. Although at lower rates, the majority of other states in the region also increased arms imports. ‘Over the past five years, most states in the Middle East have turned primarily to the USA and Europe in their accelerated pursuit of advanced military capabilities’, said Pieter Wezeman, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Programme. ‘Despite low oil prices, countries in the region continued to order more weapons in 2016, perceiving them as crucial tools for dealing with conflicts and regional tensions.’

(Article continued on the right column)

(Click here for a version of this article in French or here for a version in Spanish.)

Question for this article:

Does military spending lead to economic decline and collapse?

(Article continued from the left column)

Arms exporters: the USA accounts for one-third of total

With a one-third share of global arms exports, the USA was the top arms exporter in 2012– 16. Its arms exports increased by 21 per cent compared with 2007–11. Almost half of its arms exports went to the Middle East.

‘The USA supplies major arms to at least 100 countries around the world—significantly more than any other supplier state’, said Dr Aude Fleurant, Director of the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Programme. ‘Both advanced strike aircraft with cruise missiles and other precision-guided munitions and the latest generation air and missile defence systems account for a significant share of US arms exports.’

Russia accounted for a 23 per cent share of global exports in the period 2012–16. 70 per cent of its arms exports went to four countries: India, Viet Nam, China and Algeria.

China’s share of global arms exports rose from 3.8 to 6.2 per cent between 2007–11 and 2012–16. It is now firmly a top-tier supplier, like France and Germany which accounted for 6 per cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively. The ongoing lower rate of French arms export deliveries may end soon because of a series of major contracts signed in the past five years. Despite a spike in arms exports in 2016, German arms exports—counted over a five-year period—decreased by 36 per cent between 2007–11 and 2012–16.

Other notable developments

Algeria was the largest arms importer in Africa with 46 per cent of all imports to the region.

The largest importers in sub-Saharan Africa—Nigeria, Sudan and Ethiopia—are all in conflict zones.

Total arms imports by states in the Americas decreased by 18 per cent between 2007–11 and 2012–16. However, changes in import volumes varied considerably. Colombia’s arms imports decreased by 19 per cent, while Mexico’s arms imports grew by 184 per cent in 2012–16 compared with 2007–11.

Imports by states in Europe significantly decreased by 36 per cent between 2007–11 and 2012–16. Initial deliveries to Europe of advanced combat aircraft as part of major contracts started in 2012–16 and further deliveries will drive import volumes up in the coming years.

Imports by Azerbaijan were 20 times higher than those of Armenia in 2012–16.

For editors

The SIPRI Arms Transfers Database contains information on all international transfers of major weapons (including sales, gifts and production licences) to states, international organizations and armed non-state groups from 1950 to the most recent full calendar year, 2016. SIPRI data reflects the volume of deliveries of arms, not the financial value of the deals. As the volume of deliveries can fluctuate significantly year-onyear, SIPRI presents data for 5-year periods, giving a more stable measure of trends.

[Editor’s note: With regard to the financial value of arms transfers, SIPRi has published the following : “by adding together the data that states have made available on the financial value of their arms exports as well as estimates for those providing data on agreements or licences, it is possible to estimate that that the total value of the global arms trade in 2014 was at least $94.5 billion.* However, the actual figure is likely to be higher.”]

For information or interview requests contact Stephanie Blenckner (blenckner@sipri.org, +46 8 655 97 47) or Harri Thomas (harri.thomas@sipri.org, +46 70 972 39 50).

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

10th anniversary of the Oslo Process: The Historic start to the cluster bomb ban

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article by the Cluster Munition Coalition

23rd February marks the 10th anniversary of the Oslo Process. Ten years ago today the Oslo Process began when 46 states took an extraordinary step by making a historic declaration to outlaw cluster munitions at a conference hosted by the Norwegian government in Oslo in February 2007.


The Oslo Process culminated with the signing of the Convention on Cluster Munitions within less than two years. Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store with Soraj Ghulam Habib from Afghanistan. © Federico Visi

With persistent and concerted efforts by governments in close partnerships with the Cluster Munition Coalition, International Committee of the Red Cross and United Nations agencies, the Oslo Conference was followed by ten regional meetings hosted by different countries, including by some of the most affected such as Lao PDR and Lebanon, to mobilize international support for a total ban on cluster munitions. In less than two years, the ambitious goal of the Oslo Declaration was achieved, when 94 states signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions during the first week of December 2008 in Oslo.

We asked Ambassador Steffen Kongstad of Norway, who played a crucial role during the Oslo Process, what the launch of the process meant to him. Ambassador Kongstad, currently Norway’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the OSCE, said: “The launch of the Oslo Process and the successful conclusion of the Convention on Cluster Munitions that followed demonstrated what can be achieved when affected countries, other interested countries and competent civil society organisations work together based on facts and humanitarian concerns and principles. The CCM has saved countless lives and limbs and prevented unacceptable human suffering. That was exactly the purpose and objective of this process.”

(Article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

Can cluster bombs be abolished?

(Article continued from left column)

We asked Mr. Hrvoje Debač, Director at Office for Mine Action of the Republic of Croatia, what the Oslo Process and the Convention on Cluster Munitions mean to him.

Cluster munitions were known to be indiscriminate and for having caused disproportionate civilian casualties for decades before the start of the Oslo Process. The use of cluster munitions by the United States in Afghanistan in 2001-2002 and in Iraq in 2003 and the massive use of cluster munitions in Southern Lebanon by Israel and Hezbullah (a non-state armed group) in 2006, provided indisputable evidence of the indiscriminate nature of cluster munitions and caused global outrage. Cluster Munition Coalition campaigners, together a core group of states and other actors worked tirelessly to bring the devastation caused by cluster munitions to the attention of the international community and to urge the immediate ban of the weapons.

What the international community, and most importantly affected countries, have achieved through the Convention on Cluster Munitions is remarkable. To date, 119 nations have joined the convention. According to the Cluster Munition Monitor, 29 States Parties have destroyed nearly 1.4 million stockpiled cluster munitions containing 172.9 million submunitions. Seventeen States Parties and one non-signatory have ceased the production of cluster munitions. Last year, the United States suspended its transfers of cluster munitions to Saudi Arabia and one of the world´s largest arms producers, Textron, announced plans to stop producing cluster munitions. The Saudi-led coalition ended its use of UK-made cluster bombs in Yemen.

Listen to this short interview with Ms. Habbouba Aoun, head of the Landmines Resource Center for Lebanon, a member of the Cluster Munition Coalition in Beirut. Ms. Aoun actively participated in the Oslo Process and she continues to advocate for a cluster munition-free world.

We congratulate governments and other actors for their efforts to eradicate cluster bombs. We also demand that the international community remains fully committed until all countries join the convention, until no one else gets killed or maimed by cluster bombs, until the Saudi-led coalition, Syria, Russia and any other actor that uses cluster munitions stops doing so, until all victims receive sufficient assistance, until all states destroy their stockpiles of the weapon, and until the world is free from the plague of cluster munitions.

[Editor’s note: As of June 2018, Among the major powers, the United States, Russia and China have not yet signed the convention.]

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global

Coal and oil demand ‘could peak in 2020’

. .. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .. .

An article by Megan Darby in Climate Change News

Fossil fuel giants are vastly underestimating the disruptive power of solar panels and electric cars, which could see coal and oil demand peak by 2020. That is the conclusion of a report by the Carbon Tracker Initiative and Grantham Institute published on Thursday.


A 10MW solar plant at Masdar City, Abu Dhabi (Pic: Masdar)

Energy companies pursuing business as usual are in for a rude awakening, by this analysis, with many mines and oil fields likely to become surplus to requirements.

Based on dramatic cost reductions in recent years, the model foresees these two technologies taking a 10% chunk of market share from carbon majors in a decade. That may not sound like much, but was enough to devastate the US coal sector.

“If people are just waiting on policy to happen, they could get bitten by clean technology coming up behind them,” said James Leaton, an author of the report.

Solar panel costs have fallen 85% in the past seven years and car battery costs 73%. Despite these advances, the traditional energy companies continue to forecast linear growth at best.

BP predicts electric cars will make up 6% of the market by 2035. Carbon Tracker reckons a third is feasible.

Exxon Mobil expects all renewables to supply 11% of electricity in 2040. Carbon Tracker says solar alone could produce 23%.

It is not enough to meet the Paris Agreement upper limit on global warming of 2C, but bends the curve to 2.4-2.7C, compared to 3-4C under industry scenarios. Policies targeting other sectors would bring the international climate goal within reach.

Question for this article:
global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Latest Data Support Bullish Stance on Commercial Energy Storage

. .. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .. .

An article by Vic Shao for Green Charge

Recently, I spoke to Green Charge employees about the state of the commercial energy storage industry and my vision for our role in it. There was much room for optimism: As the cost of a kilowatt-hour of solar power has finally sunk below the average cost of a kilowatt-hour from coal, the ranks of the solar naysayers have diminished. In fact, this isn’t the first time the skeptics have been proven wrong. Since 2002, International Energy Agency (IEA) projections have repeatedly underestimated the pace of solar energy adoption.¹

So what does this mean for commercial energy storage? Though the data in Figure 1 is limited, Bloomberg has found that the adoption trajectory for lithium-ion battery storage bears a remarkable resemblance to that of solar PV.


(Click on image to enlarge)

This makes sense, since the two technologies are symbiotic: Energy storage enables solar PV users to make use of all the energy they generate and alleviates the intermittency associated with solar. Meanwhile, solar PV increases the potential savings of a battery-based storage system, because the battery can often charge from the solar panels rather than the costlier grid. So, as time passes, it gets easier to justify investing in battery-based energy storage, although, as noted in an earlier Green Charge post, it doesn’t pay to let time pass, especially when customers can take advantage of no upfront cost options such as our PEA™ as well as government incentives, which decline over time.

Beyond the solar boost, energy storage also benefits from the growing trend towards greater self-sufficiency in power generation and management. Stemming from financial and security considerations, the ambition to “own” one’s energy resources also dovetails with increasingly important corporate sustainability and social responsibility objectives.

Finally, the energy storage industry stands to gain significant leverage from the growth in electric vehicle (EV) adoption. In its latest research, Germany’s Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) found that the number of EVs worldwide doubled between 2015 and 2016 to 1.3 million cars. That’s 1.3 million drivers who will be looking for economical ways to charge their vehicles. A battery-based energy storage system, charged at the cheapest rate and integrated with the EV charging station, offers the least expensive option. When the energy storage system draws on self-generated renewable sources, it is also the most environmentally friendly.

As we charge into 2017, I see bright prospects for energy storage on the horizon.

¹See Metayer, M., Breyer, C., Fell, H., “The projections for the future and quality in the past of the World Energy Outlook for solar PV and other renewable energy technologies”, Energy Watch Group, 2015, p.8, for a compilation of IEA’s World Energy Outlook projections for solar PV-sourced electricity capacity from 2002 to 2014 compared with actual capacity growth during those years.

Question for this article:
global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT