UN Women

At Geneva II Talks in January, It Is Not Enough to ‘Add Women and Stir’

• December 26, 2013

The campaign to ensure women’s equal participation at the peace talks on Syria in January has become more urgent, as certain parties recognize that women are vital in rebuilding and reconciling Syrian society. Yet only a few weeks before the talks are scheduled to start, no commitment has been made as to whether women …

Middle East, Secretary-General, Women

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WORLDVIEWS

Columbia University Adds New Gender Focus to Its International Affairs School

Yasmine Ergas

• December 17, 2013

Gender is at the center of international agendas, not at their periphery. Today, plans in Sochi for the forthcoming Olympics — the emblem of international cooperation — are riven by disputes over Russia’s policies toward lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender persons. Peacemakers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo must address the needs of more than 2.5 million …

WORLDVIEWS

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Syrian Women’s Groups Push for Equal Role at Geneva II Talks

Dulcie Leimbach

• December 5, 2013

Recognizing that women in the Middle East and North Africa must play an active role in their countries’ political processes, especially amid the regional backdrop of upheavals and conflicts, the Netherlands government is providing money for a new program, Women on the Frontline, to help women-run initiatives organize themselves better to assert their rights …

Middle East, Women

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In Cambodia, Silent Reactions to Sexual Violence May Be the Norm

Clothilde Le Coz

• December 4, 2013

PHNOM PENH — Kunthear Laut, a 33-year-old Cambodian woman, is a child of marital rape and a victim of two rapes as well as three attempts and at least five years of incest from her uncle. “A woman has to obey a man; otherwise he uses violence,” she said in an interview with PassBlue …

Asia, Gender Violence, Women

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WORLDVIEWS

War Crimes Against Women and Girls Must Be Prosecuted

Navi Pillay

• November 4, 2013

There is now overwhelming evidence that conflicts exacerbate pre-existing gender discrimination and put women and girls at heightened risk of sexual, physical and psychological violence. One appalling example of this evidence is the report recently to the Human Rights Council by the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which highlights the threat and …

Gender Violence, WORLDVIEWS

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Signs of Transformation From the ‘Pink Ghetto of Gender’

Dulcie Leimbach

• October 31, 2013

One question about women’s rights that may never go away is how to ensure that women are represented fairly in large organizations, like the United Nations. For now, work on “gender mainstreaming” may suffice by concentrating on small steps as opposed to devising wholesale solutions. As one expert has described the process, it is …

Gender Violence, International Justice, Peace and Security, Women

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The Failure of Mainstream Media to Cover the UN: Who’s to Blame?

Barbara Crossette

• October 3, 2013

As media coverage of the United Nations dwindles and becomes more hyperfocused on geopolitics, the public learns less and less about the UN itself and how it operates. Who is to blame for the decreasing, narrow coverage — the press, a disinterested public or the UN itself? Barbara Crossette spoke on the subject at …

US-UN Relations

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For Many Latin American Women, Abuse Never Lets Up

Barbara Crossette

• August 19, 2013

Latin American and Caribbean nations have pulled ahead of most other developing regions on numerous measures of economic growth and human progress in recent years. The region has one of the world’s lowest poverty levels; hunger has been reduced to under 5 percent of the regional population; primary school enrollment rivals that of rich …

Health and Population, Human Rights, Latin America, Women

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It’s Down to Latin America v. Africa to Lead UN Women

Dulcie Leimbach

• June 29, 2013

After several months of public speculation at the United Nations, two candidates are now in tight contention for the executive director post of UN Women, the main agency tasked with promoting the treatment and rights of women worldwide since it began operating in January 2011. Rebeca Grynspan, 57, is one contender. Since 2010, she …

Africa, Secretary-General, Women

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SPECIAL REPORT

Nations Reject Gender Violence, but the Suffering Endures

Barbara Crossette

• March 27, 2013

The 57th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women ended in mid-March more with a sigh of relief than with jubilation. The commission, comprising 45 national delegations, managed to reach a final agreement (which it could not do last year) without losing ground on women’s rights that had been gained, …

Gender Violence, Special Report, Women

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Life for Women and Girls in Afghanistan Grows Deadlier

Lorraine Boissoneault

• March 20, 2013

With the deadline for the departure of American and NATO troops from Afghanistan just a year away, civilian casualties in the country remain alarmingly high, says a new report from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama). Although the report said the number of casualties had decreased for the first time in six …

Asia, Peace and Security, Security Council, Women

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GOINGS-ON

Michelle Bachelet, UN Women Chief, Resigns

PassBlue

• March 16, 2013

Michelle Bachelet, the head of the United Nations agency promoting the rights of women and gender equality, has told Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that she is stepping down after two years in the job. Bachelet, a former Chilean president, is likely to run for president of her country again in elections this fall. She made the announcement …

GOINGS-ON, Women

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The Recipe for a Better World? Ending Violence Against Women and Girls

Dulcie Leimbach

• March 7, 2013

Thousands of women worldwide flock to the Commission on the Status of Women’s conference at the United Nations every March, and this year is no exception, for good reason: the theme is eliminating and preventing all violence against women and girls. Violence is a phenomenon that all females can relate to day after day, …

Development, Gender Violence, Human Rights, Women

GOINGS-ON

India’s UN Ambassador Is Retiring

Dulcie Leimbach

• February 12, 2013

Hardeep Singh Puri, 60, the Indian ambassador to the United Nations, has announced his retirement, which will take effect at the end of February. Ashoke Mukherji, The Times of India reported, is likely to be Puri’s replacement at the UN. Puri has been ambassador to the UN since 2009. He led the country through …

Asia, GOINGS-ON, Security Council

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Women, Storm Sentinels of the South Pacific

Barbara Crossette

• December 24, 2012

When hugely damaging natural disasters strike in developing nations, many deaths occur because warnings and lifesaving advice do not reach people in the path of violent storms, floods or other threats. Decades of calls for better communications and disaster preparedness could not prevent 130,000 people from dying in Bangladesh in a 1991 cyclone, nearly …