Category Archives: Human Rights

World Survey on the Role of Women in Development 2014: Gender Equality and Sustainable Development

World Survey 2014

 

UN Women released on October 16th its new report, the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development 2014:  Gender Equality and Sustainable Development.  Read more

The event was also webcast.

There was another event which I attended.  The contributing authors of the report spoke –  Melissa Leach, Director of the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK, lead author; Isha Ray, Professor of Energy and Resources, University of California, Berkeley, contributing author; Hilal Elver, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food; and Zenebework Tadesse, independent researcher, Ethiopia.

The report is situated in the every day of reality of girls and women cooking and eating, breathing, urinating and defecating, studying and working in the night – these are all environmental acts.  Everyday activity affects the environment.  Care of the environment in the report is seen from the toilet not the stratosphere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

URGENT : Call for signatures! On line signature campaign to repeal the sedition act in Malaysia. TAKE ACTION NOW!

Signature Campaign … Sign Here

The signature campaign can be accessed at the link above.  Please go on line and fill in your name and e-mail address in support.  You will receive an email to confirm your address.  This is an important step in the process so don’t forget to check your e-mail and confirm.

Good Shepherd Mission Partners in Malaysia have asked the Good Shepherd International Justice Peace Office (GSIJP) to gather support for an on-line signature petition to repeal the sedition act in Malaysia.   The GSIJP office is fully informed of the situation and endorses the campaign.  Currently many human rights defenders are under threat in Malaysia among them Edmund Bon.  I quote from the Malaysian Bar press release of September 18th “ A lawyer, Edmund Bon, was reported in the news media on 12 September 2014 as being investigated under the Sedition Act 1948 in relation to his alleged comments on the Federal Constitution, by way of legal opinion, in a news report entitled “Bukan Islam tidak perlu patuh kepada titah Diraja atau fatwa, kata peguam”.”  He is not the only one – there are references to three other –  in the press release.  Full text here

On September 16th Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein) urged  Malaysian authorities to immediately stop investigations and prosecutions under a 1948 law that curbed free speech and freedom of expression in the South-east Asian nation. Click here to read more

The signature campaign can be accessed below.  Please go on line and fill in your name and e-mail address in support.  You will receive an email to confirm your address.  This is an important step in the process so don’t forget to check your e-mail and confirm.   EVERY SIGNATURE COUNTS – CLICK HERE

 

Link to Webcast on Child, Early and Forced Marriage

UN Webcast of panel discussion on child early and forced marriage.

FlaviaPansieri (1)Ms Flavia Pansieri, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights addressed the panel via video link.

Her address is especially relevant as Ms. Pansieri pulls together the numerous root causes of child, early and forced marriage emphasizing the need for comprehensive strategies towards its elimination. One of the main recommendation of Human Rights Council Resolution on ‘Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage: challenges, achievements, best practices and implementation gaps’ is the need for comprehensive approaches to eliminate it as  part of the broader development agenda  together with promoting  equality and eliminating  discrimination against all girls and women.   Integrating the elimination of child, early and forced marriage into the overall development approach is critical.  Target 5.3 of the Outcome Document of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals  submitted to the UN General  Assembly recently reads “Elimination of all harmful practices including child, early and forced marriage.”  It is important that this target is retained as there are a host of human rights violations interconnected.

Within child and forced marriage the informed consent of the girl or woman is absent.  This is a serious human rights violation.    Access to education, information, health, services, as well as productive resources and decision making are equally at risk in child and forced marriage.

There is a need for a common understanding of the meaning of the terms – child, early and forced – based on authorative guidance from human rights mechanism.

The human rights of the girl or woman who is ‘married off’ are violated and this in turn sets up and solidifies a cycle of discrimination and denial of human rights. These rights violations have high development costs. The elimination child, early and forced marriage will require overcoming many development challenges with regard to access to education and the eradication of poverty.

In child, early and forced marriage, the marriage is a way to provide economically for girls who  themselves have no autonomy,  have no access to resources or income especially in situations of extreme poverty.  The economic benefits of child, early and forced marriage are greater when the children are younger as the dowry is lower for younger brides.

Child and forced marriage are strongly associated with girls and women with little or no formal education, and  persists where there is poor quality education,  overcrowding, untrained teachers, and gender based violence.   These increase the likelihood of child and forced marriage. Finding effective ways to lift communities of out of poverty and keep girls in school must be a key development priority and strategy to end child, early and forced marriage.

But this is not enough.  The roots are in discrimination based on sex, and widespread stereotypes about the role girls and women have in the family and society.  Sustainable development is impossible as long as the talents and skills of 50% of the population are effectively squandered.

Child and forced marriage is one of the most glaring manifestations of how discrimination and stereotypes have hindered progress for girls and women.  If ‘married off’ the  girl has less opportunities for education, employment,   access to land and other productive resources and experiences challenges in achieving her rights  Sustainable development needs to urgently  address the  harmful stereotypes of girls and women’s role within marriage and in society.

Child and forced marriage is a matter of health and survival.    90% of adolescent pregnancy occurs within marriage with the risk of dying either during pregnancy or in childbirth.   These girls and women are not empowered to make decision about their sexual and reproduction health, cannot decide on the number and spacing of their children thus compromising their health and lives and are also exposed to sexually transmitted infections and HIV.   Age appropriate, culturally relevant sexual education is essential coupled with accurate knowledge about sexual and reproductive health.

Putting the human rights  of every girl and every woman at the center of sustainable development means that no girl drops out of school to get married,  that each girl is fully empowered to choose if and when and whom to marry and to choose  if and when to have children.  Girls are equal member of society with the right to study, to work and to lead, not an economic assets or vessel of reproduction.    Implementing a human rights based sustainable development agenda benefits not just the girls and women but everybody,  man women and child.

Check out ‘The Girl Child’ Good Shepherd Position Papers  and the L Platform from the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action The Girl Child

UN Women has dedicated the month of August to consideration about the girls and young women

UN Women launched a year-long campaign in the context of the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. The #Beijing20 campaign is running under the title: “Empowering Women – Empowering Humanity:  Picture It!” and features monthly mini-campaigns, each focusing on a subtheme of gender equality. They are now rolling out the third mini-campaign for August, focusing on girls and young women.                                                                                                                                                               The website is available in three languages by clicking on the required language    –  English     French     Spanish  You can access social media tools in the various languages by clicking here

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Check it out – there is a lot of good information which could be used to lead discussion on girls and girls rights.   Nnenna Agba speaks for Nigerian girls.  Education is the key that opens doors to progress.  As I post this photograph telling us of Nigerian girls desire for education I am immediately thinking of the girls who have been kidnapped.  It is day 110 and on Facebook we are united with Rifkatu and this is her dress – Follow on Facebook   Each day a dress is made for a specific girl so as not to forget and to be in solidarity with all 273 girls.  Nnenna is the lucky one.  See her story on the website.

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See how Malala spent her 17th birthday in Nigeria championing #BringBackOurGirls   Click here

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Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin Executive Director of the UN Population Fund and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka Executive Director of UN Women spoke out after 100 days.  Read the statement

And what about Palestinian girls and young women and what is happening in the Gaza.   While this infographic tells us of the benefits of education in reality a girls desire to be educated can be very threatening

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The L Platform of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for action is entitled the ‘Girl Child.’  How are the rights of the Girl Child being upheld in your country and project?  Click here to read the 9 strategic objectives enunciated 20 years ago

Strategic objective L.4.     Eliminate discrimination against girls in education, skills development and training.  Millennium Development Goal 2 – Achieve Primary Education                                                                                      Proposed Sustainable Development Goal 4 – Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all.

When will rhetoric end  and real political will for change begin?  What is the systemic cause for this  continued violence against girls?  Share your thoughts in the comment section.

 

Pope Francis meets with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon

 

Pope and Ban Ki MoonPope Francis met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and leading executive officers of the Agencies, Funds and Programmes of the United Nations on May 9th in Rome.  Here are some excerpts

Pope Francis thanked “all of you who are primarily responsible for the international system, for the great efforts being made to ensure world peace, respect for human dignity, the protection of persons, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, and harmonious economic and social development.”

“The results of the Millennium Development Goals, especially in terms of education and the decrease in extreme poverty, confirm the value of the work of coordination carried out by this Chief Executives Board. At the same time, it must be kept in mind that the world’s peoples deserve and expect even greater results.”

“Future Sustainable Development Goals must therefore be formulated and carried out with generosity and courage, so that they can have a real impact on the structural causes of poverty and hunger, attain more substantial results in protecting the environment, ensure dignified and productive labor for all, and provide appropriate protection for the family, which is an essential element in sustainable human and social development. Specifically, this involves challenging all forms of injustice and resisting the “economy of exclusion”, the “throwaway culture” and the “culture of death” which nowadays sadly risk becoming passively accepted.”  Text of full address is here

What do the girls you work with want for the future?

Read this post from the Guardian Click here and see what 20 girls around the world are campaigning for.

smallimg_d00ce560 (1)As a follow up to the 11 days of action before the International Day of the Girl (October 11) we are now having 11 months of Action.  December’s action, sponsored by the Working Group on Girls,  invites you to vote for girls in the online My World United Nations Global Survey for a Better World.   Click here to know more.

VOTE and add GIRLS IN THE PRIORITY BOX.   Invite all the girls you work with to your computer to cast their vote. wgg sticker_final jpg

International Human Rights Day 2013

Today, December 10, is International Human Rights Day. The 2013 theme declared by the United Nations (UN) is “20 years working for your rights.” This 20-year highlight marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action at the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna in 1993. The document heralded a new era in the promotion and protection of human rights and is considered one of the most significant documents of the past quarter century. 2013 also marks 20 years since the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was established.

Read about the Winners of the United Nations Human Rights Prize for 2013.  There are 5 people among them Malala Yousafzai (student activist), Pakistan and the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico (Mexico’s Constitutional Court)

biram_dah_ould_abeid.thumbnail  Hiljmnijeta Apuk  Radhika Balakrishnan  -Liisa-Kauppinen-July-2011Biram Dah Abeid, Hiljmnijeta Apuk,  Liisa Kauppinen, Khadija Ryadi and Malala      Malala Yousafzai 2

Congratulations to each one!

The experiential journey as a three month intern in Geneva

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It was a call from Sr. Susan Chia, Congregational link councilor, who had visited the Sri Lanka/ Pakistan province for a workshop on “Participative model of Leadership” which made me realize the need to get experience in relation to the Human Rights Based Approach and the instruments which were available at international level which could assist us to be more effective at the local level. From that day onwards all the arrangement were made for me to have an experiential learning process in Geneva and I arrived here on 10th January 2013.  Read more…

Congratulation Sr. Niluka Perera from the  Province of Sri Lanka/Pakistan on this achievement and congratulations to your mentors Hedwig and Clare!

Good Shepherd Written Statement for the 2013 ECOSOC High Level Segment 1 – 5 July at the Palais des Nations in Geneva

The High Level Segment will include sessions on the Annual Ministerial Review (AMR). The theme for the AMR segment this year will focus on “Science, technology and innovation, and the potential of culture, for promoting sustainable development and achieving the Millennium Development Goals”.

This is a unique opportunity for organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC – and for civil society at large – to be heard at ECOSOC deliberations, as well as to contribute to issues of critical concern to the global development agenda. It will also provide a platform to specifically address the topic of scientific and technological innovation, which is a crucial cross-cutting theme for the achievement of the MDGs.

Here is a copy of what we have submitted entitled ‘Social Protection Floors, Gender Equality and Development’

The Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, an NGO present in more than 70 countries addresses the Annual Ministerial Review (AMR)  on behalf of girls and women living in extreme poverty.    The theme of the AMR segment brings to mind the Agreed Conclusion of Commission on the Status of Women 55th session, (2008) paragraph 9, outlining how access of girls and women to participation in science and technology is imperative for achieving gender equality and is an economic necessity leading to the full participation of girls and women in social, economic and political development.  The same Commission noted and this continues to be the experience of our organization that dissemination of developments in science and technology has insufficiently responded to women’s needs.   The persistent feminization of poverty, gender based violence and lack of access to health, education, training and employment reinforced by legal, economic, social and cultural barriers renders void the desires of the Commission.

Much has been reflected on, written up and recommended for implementation but the political will toward adapting innovative ways is lacking and thwarted by the demands of an economic model that prioritizes profit over development.  Cultures carry meaning and unless challenged are the drivers of inequalities and violence – gender inequalities, poverty/wealth inequalities and gender based violence and their resultant consequences.   Cultural mindsets reinforcing gender inequality and profits ‘at all cost’ have perpetuated all sorts of human rights violations and exploitative actions against women and girls, sexually, economically, educationally and politically.

The AMR, achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the articulation of a post 2015 development agenda offer new possibilities.  We are on the brink of moving to a new paradigm coupling a human rights based approach with equality.  The Millennium Development Goals did not have a human rights framework nor a gender based violence prevention component.   The dominant economic model has failed to eradicate poverty and has only facilitated growing inequalities.  Poverty reduction, access to quality education, health, water and sanitation, equality between women and men, girls and boys  and the elimination of gender based violence must be addressed.  Science, technology and innovation have much to offer. We are aware of how mobile technology boost health care in Bangladesh and in our programs mobile technology is used to combat violence against women and girls.

One very promising approach which has growing support among member states and non-governmental organization alike is the implementation of nationally tailored social protection floors in accordance with Recommendation 202 of the International Labour Organization.  Our organization advocates for human rights-based social protection floors having a gender sensitive lens, and providing access to essential services and basic income financed from within national budgets.  Human rights are a non negotiable element and more than principles and metrics.  We urge member states to put science, technology and innovation at the service of girls’ and women’s dignity and empowerment through implementation of social protection floors towards sustainable development and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.