Global
Australia: Aboriginal & African Women Leaders Meet to Share Culture & Social Issues
![The First Lady of Nigeria, Dr Patience Goodluck Jonathan "yarns" with indigenous women at Murdoch University. [Manning Joanne]](/files/images/635100-nigeria.thumbnail.jpg "The First Lady of Nigeria, Dr Patience Goodluck Jonathan \"yarns\" with indigenous women at Murdoch University. [Manning Joanne]")
Aboriginal and African leaders have come together for a historic meeting at Murdoch University. The meeting, which occurred yesterday morning, was the first time the two cultures had met on an official level.
The First Lady of Nigeria, Dame Dr Patience Goodluck Jonathon, graced the Murdoch University campus flanked by some of the key women in her entourage in a meeting with local indigenous women, including respected Aboriginal elder Irene Stainton, to discuss issues of social justice and social equity.
UN: General Assembly Holds Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
On October 10, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Rashida Manjoo, presented her to the Third Committee at the 66th session of the
. Ms. Manjoo opened by giving a summary of her report on the continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress. The meeting was then opened for comments and questions from delegations. Overall, the dynamic of the discussions during the interactive dialogue was friendly, with most delegations welcoming the Special Rapporteur’s work and report.
A Guide To Human Rights Standards & Mechanisms Relevant To Fundamentalisms
UN declarations and treaties of relevance to the protection and promotion of human rights in contexts of rising fundamentalisms.
Human Rights Declarations are non-legally binding human rights standards. Their force and legitimacy lies primarily in the fact that in adopting such declarations, member states of the UN (or other relevant human rights systems) have made a strong moral commitment to use them as blueprints for building more just societies. Therefore, while declarations are, strictly speaking, non-enforceable most governments do not wish to be censured by the international community for ignoring or actively impeding the provisions of human rights declarations.
"What Afghans Want"
Over a year ago on July 20, 2010 world leaders met to discuss the future of Afghanistan at the Kabul Conference. Oxfam International asked ordinary Afghans what they want to come out of the talks. In spite of intense lobbying, women were largely excluded from the conference. “…only two women beside government ministers took part in the Kabul Conference.
Afghanistan: Women Face Rising Danger If Excluded From Peace Talks
(WNN) KABUL: On the tenth anniversary of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, a new October 3, 2011 Oxfam report on progress for Afghan women shows steady advances for Afghan women since October 2001. But recent data shows women’s personal safety, opportunity and human rights inside the nation are beginning to erode back to conditions that existed previously.
With May 2011 being the deadliest month for Afghan civilian casualties since 2007, opinions inside and outside the country on the war in Afghanistan have been mixed. Many women in the region worry they will be left behind as international peace talks accelerate toward the proposed U.S. military campaign ‘end’ date in 2014.
Secularism vs Communalism: Learning from the Ban on Full Face Covering Veil in France
Three days after the enforcement of the French law that prohibits full face covering, and after the first women law breakers have been fined, international media focus on ’protesting Muslims’, while the voices of the vast majority of presumed Muslims in France are ignored.
One has to raise issue with the absence of proper coverage by English language international media regarding the public stands taken by French citizens of migrant Muslim descent.
Statement of the Gender Dynamic Coalition at the UN Internet Governance Forum 2011
The 6th UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was held in Nairobi between 27-30 September 2011, and was attended by a representative of the VNC Campaign / WLUML. In addition to panels and workshops, the IGF brings together a number of Dynamic Coalitions working on specific themes, one of which is on gender. This year, the VNC represenative joined the Dynamic Coalition on Gender and contributed to the statement issued on the last day of the Forum. The statement below criticizes the continued gender imbalance in the participation and the substance of the discussions at the IGF, and supports the call issued by the Association of Progressive Communications, and others, to make human rights the theme of the IGF in 2012 and emphasise a rights-based approach instead of protectionist solutions.
Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women Report to UN General Assembly 2011
Summary: This is the first written report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo, to the General Assembly, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 65/187. The report provides an overview of the mandate’s work and main findings and the challenges it continues to encounter, and presents specific recommendations to address violence against women through a holistic framework based on States’ obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of women and girls.
Child Marriage: Laws Against Must Be Enforced
Millions of girls across the world end up as child brides, despite the practice being outlawed in many countries. But some girls are defying their families' attempts to marry them off.
Some 10 million girls a year are married off before the age of 18 across the world, according to a Unicef report released this year.
Just last month South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, at the launch of the Girls Not Brides global initiative described child marriage as a "practice that robs millions of girls of their childhood, their rights and their dignity".
Mapping Violence Against Women: A Tool To Map The Prevalence Of Violence Against Women And The Interventions Addressing It
This mapping-tool supports NGO's and service providing organisations to get an overall picture of Violence Against Women (VAW) in their country / region. What is the prevelance of the various forms of VAW? What measures are being taken by governments, service providing organisations and NGOs to address VAW? Who is working on which topic, and what are the blind spots? The tool helps to collect, to structure and to evaluate relevant information.