The current issue highlights the differences in the status of women and men in eight areas – population and families, health, education, work, power and decision-making, violence against women, environment and poverty. Analyses are based mainly on statistics from international and national statistical sources. The World’s Women 2010 shows that progress towards gender equality has been made in some areas, such as school enrolment, health and economic participation. At the same time the report shows that much more needs to be done to close the gender gap in critical areas such as power and decision-making and violence against women. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/Worldswomen/WW2010pub.htm
Monthly Archives: October 2010
A Human Rights Appraoch to Combat Human Trafficking
Remarks by Ruchira Gupta, Founder President of Apne Aap Women Worldwide (www.apneaap.org), at seminar on “A Human Rights Approach to Combating Human Trafficking: Challenges and Opportunities. Implementing the Recommended Principals and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking,” organized by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland on 27th May 2010 http://apneaap.org/founder/speeches/human-rights-approach-combating-human-trafficking This is a powerful statement of reality. Her presentation raises issues regarding prostitution, etc that GS must consider and evaluate within our own policies and programs.
Trafficking in Human Beings
UNESCO Migration Studies Trafficking in Human Beings. Human Rights and tans-national criminal law, development in law and practices by Kristina Touzenis See the link to the full report. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001883/188397e.pdf
Sisters ask synod to promote women’s dignity in Middle East
Who is this sister? Sister Clauda Achaya Naddaf, a Good Shepherd Sister from Syria. “She asked the synod’s voting members — all bishops and priests — to include in the synod proposals a commitment to working in the region for the full implementation of international agreements on the rights of women.” Read about it at http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1004288.htm
Introductory Statement by Ms. Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director and UN Women
On Monday last October 11, 2010 the new Ececutive Director of UN Women Ms Michelle Bachelet addressed the 3rd Committee of the General Assembly. You can read the full text http://www.unwomen.org/category/speeches/ or hear it by video link http://www.unwomen.org/2010/10/video-general-assembly-third-committee-meeting-advancement-of-women/
October 16 – World Food Day – Unite Against Hunger
The theme of this year’s observance is United against hunger, chosen to recognize the efforts made in the fight against world hunger at national, regional and international levels. Uniting against hunger becomes real when state and civil society organizations and the private sector work in partnership at all levels to defeat hunger, extreme poverty and malnutrition.
The theme of this year’s observance is United against hunger, chosen to recognize the efforts made in the fight against world hunger at national, regional and international levels.
Uniting against hunger becomes real when state and civil society organizations and the private sector work in partnership at all levels to defeat hunger, extreme poverty and malnutrition.
In 2009, the critical threshold of one billion hungry people in the world was reached in part due to soaring food prices and the financial crisis, a “tragic achievement in these modern days”, according to FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf. On the eve of the hunger summit, Dr Diouf launched an online petition to reflect the moral outrage of the situation. The “1 billion hungry project” reaches out to people through online social media to invite them to sign the anti-hunger petition at www.1billionhungry.org.
On this World Food Day 2010, when there have never been so many hungry people in the world, let us reflect on the future. With willpower, courage and persistence – and many players working together and helping each other – more food can be produced, more sustainably, and get into the mouths of those who need it most.
FAO Director-General’s Message on the World Food Day/TeleFood 2010 theme: “United against Hunger”On 16 October 2010, World Food Day enters its 30th year. The theme of this year’s observance, “United against hunger”, seeks to recognize the efforts made in the fight against world hunger by all actors, at all levels; and urges us to be even more united to do more.
In 2009, the critical threshold of one billion hungry people in the world was reached in large part due to soaring food prices and the global economic crisis. The gravity of the silent hunger crisis is the result of decades of neglect of agriculture and under-investment in the sector. That is why on the eve of the “Hunger Summit” of heads of state and government held in Rome, in November 2009, FAO launched a petition to reflect the moral outrage of the situation.
This “1 billion hungry project” reaches out to persons to sign the anti-hunger petition and to work together to amplify the message that society has to take special care that no one goes hungry today. Over 1 million people have signed and the project is continuing.
FAO has united with the popular world of professional sport. Together with the European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) and other regional football leagues, a 2nd Match Day against Hunger will be organized in Europe from 22 to 24 October 2010 as part of the Professional Football against Hunger Solidarity campaign.
The theme “United against hunger” highlights the need to launch a new green revolution, while emphasizing that the task of increasing food production is a job for everyone as is the goal of ensuring access to food. Partnerships with governments, research institutes and universities, financial institutions and regional development banks, farmers’ organizations, pressure groups, the UN system, civil society and the private sector are needed to work together to achieve food security for all.
World food production will need to increase by 70 percent to feed a population of over nine billion people in 2050. With limited land, farmers will have to get greater yields out of the land already under cultivation.
Smallholder farmers and their families represent some 2.5 billion people, more than one-third of the global population, and it is their crucial contribution to increased food production that we want to highlight.
Collaboration among international organizations plays a key strategic role in directing global efforts to reach the international hunger reduction goals. It is only by working together that we can realize our common objective.
In the reformed Committee on World Food Security (CFS), the UN system, member nations, representatives of civil society, farmers’ organizations, the private sector, as well as international agricultural research institutions and international and regional financial institutions offer an inclusive international platform for policy convergence and the coordination of action and expertise in the fight against hunger in the world.
On this World Food Day 2010, when there are an estimated 925 million hungry people in the world, let us reflect on the future. Agriculture and food security are finally back to the international agenda. And, with political will, determination and persistence, more food can be sustainably produced and adequately distributed.
United we can defeat hunger. Thank you.
Jacques Diouf
Director-General
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Social Integration Survey – Extended to October 20, 2010
This survey is giving you an opportunity to express your opinions. If you do not know of the Resolution promoting Social Integration well you may be sure that others don’t either. So read the resolution http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/csd/2010/resolutions/social-integration.pdf and become aware of the changes that the Member States (your country included) agreed to make for a better society in 2010 – poverty eradication, people participation, gender equality, the elimination of discrimination, abuse and violence. Do you think it is worth working for these changes? If you say yes, what should we do? You have an opportunity to bring your voice on behalf of persons living in poverty, persons who are excluded, women and children who are discriminated against, experience violence on a daily basis, are forced to migrate, are trafficked, are oppressed by abject poverty – you have the opportunity now to speak to the UN. This is a moment in the process when you are taking action for structural and systemic change. The United Nations has done its work saying we should have poverty eradication, effective participation, social protection, gender equality and the elimination of discrimination, abuse and violence. So why is it not happening? Why is it not being implemented? What do you think should be done to bring about change? You can complete the survey at http://www.un-ngls.org/socialintegration/en/survey.php Your answer is limited to 1,000 words.
Preparation for two UN Commissions
Preparation for the Commision for Social Development to be held in New York February 2 – 11, 2011 and the Commission on the Status of Women February 22 to March 4, 2011 have already begun with the holding of expert group meeting in Addis Ababa and Paris respectively. The papers from these meeting can be accessed at the following sites. The Theme for the Commission for Social Development is ‘Poverty Eradication’ http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/social/meetings/egm10/index.html Read the paper presented by Catherine Ferguson on behalf of NGO’s. The theme for the Commission on the Status of Women is “Access and participation of women and girls to education, training, science and technology, including for the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work” Papers from the Expert Group Meeting held in Paris can be accessed here http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/gst_2010/index.html From July 7th – 20th there was an online discussion on the topic. You can read the comments and full report here http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw55/Online-discussion-report-CSW55-Eng.pdf Ann Manning from Australia responded to question No 4
News and announcements
To NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC: Deadlines for submission of written statements are the following:
- Individual organizations: 11 November 2010.
- Joint written statements: 18 November 2010.
- NGOs on the roster or joint statements that include NGOs on the roster: 4 November 2010.
Submission deadlines must be strictly observed in order to ensure timely processing and issuance of the statements as official United Nations documents for the Commission.
This is the recent announcemnt of dates for the submission of statements. What would you want to see in that statement? Why not send your ideas and thoughts to me within the next week – a few words, a sentence, an idea. All is welcome. You can do so by clicking on comment at the end of this article, inserting your own e-mail address and writing your comment. Thank You!
The Commission will also evaluate progress in the implementation of the agreed conclusions from its fifty-first session on “The elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child” following CSW 51. The Working Group on Girls of which I am member will be focusing on this especially. See what is planned at http://www.girlsrights.org/CSW_55.html Some of you have been involved in and contributed to the CSW 51 Toolkit in 2008 and 2009 and you have been invited to contribute for 2010. The specific theme for this year’s discussion is ‘Protection Migration and Trafficking of Girls’ See the link for more information in the purple box. Why not hold a discussion group and send us a short report. http://www.girlsrights.org/Tool_Kit.html
45 days to go until the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children 2010
Celebrate Universal Children’s Day November 20 – Prepare by visiting the website for ideas at http://www.dayofprayerandaction.org/ The google translation bar attached permits translation into French and Spanish together with a variety of other languages including Arabic, Czech, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Swahili, Thai and Vietnamese to mention some.
Landmark statement by Global Migration Group to protect human rights of irregular migrants
Protect Human Rights of Irregular Migrants
“It is historic that today, all members of the Global Migration Group, which include 12 UN agencies, the World Bank and International Organization for Migration speak out in one voice for the protection of the human rights of all migrants, particularly those who are caught in an irregular situation,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and Chair of the Global Migration Group (GMG) told the press on 30 September. “This is our response to the global trend to confine migration policies solely within the narrow context of security and border control. This is a reminder that, while States are entitled to regulate movement across their borders, they must do so in accordance with their obligations under international law, including international human rights law.”
“Our collective voice in reaffirming this principle has never been more needed. By adopting the joint statement, we seek to give voice to a group of people who are among the most voiceless and vulnerable,” Pillay said after the GMG adopted a landmark statement strongly calling for the protection of the human rights of irregular migrants across the globe.
The statement is on line at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=10396&LangID=E