United Nations
UN: High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay - "Religion, Beliefs, and Women's Rights"
“The courage and determination of women in the Middle East and North Africa should be a source of inspiration for all of us, women and men striving to achieve full respect for human rights in general, and the rights of girls and women in particular,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said on 5 April in Atlanta, the United States.
“Wearing jeans, headscarves or the full hijab, with secular or religious views, they were at the forefront of the demonstrations. They claimed public space and public attention. They demanded change. They knew that they were likely to suffer most from a perpetuation of the status quo,” she said.
Land, Proptery and Housing Rights in the Muslim World
During its work in a range of Muslim countries from Afghanistan to Indonesia, UN-HABITAT has been increasingly aware of the importance of Islamic land tenure conceptions and land rights. Over 20 percent of the world’s population is Muslim but there has been little research on the complex and distinctive forms of land tenure and land rights. The Land Tenure and Property Administration Section of UN-HABITAT therefore commissioned a year long in depth study of the Islamic and other dimensions of land and property rights in the Muslim world which is reproduced in Sait S and Lim H (2006) Land Law and Islam: Property and Human Rights in the Muslim World (London: Zed Press/UN-HABITAT).
UN: Bachelet Addresses Challenges, Provides Recommendations for Pathway to Democracy in Egypt
Cairo — During a high-level UN delegation led by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Egypt 19-21 March, UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet engaged with women activists, youth leaders and civil society at interactive roundtables to discuss the challenges ahead in light of the country’s recent political uprising as well as the practical and strategic role women must play to set the path for democracy and gender equality in Egypt.
The Demise of “Defamation of Religions”? Human Rights Council Should Support Resolution On Religious Discrimination
ARTICLE 19 and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) urge Member States of the UN Human Rights Council to support the draft resolution on combating intolerance, discrimination, violence and incitement to violence based on religious grounds, which has been proposed by Pakistan on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Conference instead of one on “defamation of religions”.
A Blueprint for UN Women
A Blueprint for UN Women outlines the views of 100 civil society organisations – working in 75 countries on women's human rights, gender equality and social justice – on the role UN Women should play.
UN Human Rights Council: A Stunning Development Against Violence
Unprecedented Support for Statement on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
(March 22, 2011) In a stunning development for the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, today, Colombia delivered a Joint Statement during General Debate (Agenda Item 8 – Follow-up and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action) that called on States to end violence, criminal sanctions and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and urged the Human Rights Council to address these important human rights issues. The statement was delivered on behalf of a broad grouping of 85 States from all regions of the world.
International Women's Day Statement - Statement by UN High Commissioner Human Rights
GENEVA (8 March 2011) – On this day, I salute the women of the Middle East and North Africa, along with women all over the world who are taking great risks to stand up and fight for dignity, justice and human rights for themselves and for their compatriots. In Egypt and Tunisia, women were on Twitter, on Facebook, and on the streets. Women from all walks of life were marching alongside men, pushing boundaries and breaking gender stereotypes, just as eager for change, for human rights and for democracy.
The World's Women: Trends and Statistics 2010
The World’s Women 2010 is intended to contribute to the stocktaking being done to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the Beijing Conference. It addresses critical aspects of life: population, families, health, education, work, power and decision-making, violence against women, environment and poverty.
DAWN Statement at the Launch of UN Women (CSW 55, NY, February 2011)
Women’s movements and women’s rights advocates have reason to cheer and celebrate the launching of the UN Women. In the entire history of the United Nations, it is the only entity that was primarily created in response to the worldwide clamor and mobilization of women’s movements!