women’s rights

Major UN Elections, Covid-19 Help, Saudis Off the Hook

June 19, 2020

Starting in June, a summary of the most important news on the United Nations’ work in New York City and worldwide will be highlighted weekly. The news will be drawn from the UN spokesperson’s media briefings, our original reporting and other sources. We welcome your feedback on the new series, called This Week @UN. …

This Week @UN

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THIS WEEK @UN

UN Staffers’ Right to Protest, More Struggles in Mali, US to Sanction ICC Employees

June 12, 2020

by Allison Lecce

Starting in June, a summary of the most important news on the United Nations’ work in New York City and worldwide will be highlighted weekly. The news will be drawn from the UN spokesperson’s media briefings, our original reporting and other sources. We look forward to your feedback on this new series, called This …

This Week @UN

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Is the US Ready for a Feminist Foreign Policy? Absolutely, Advocates Say

May 26, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

The world of diplomacy has toyed with the concept of feminist foreign policies for years, raising some support and not a few snickers from dissenters. A new campaign led by women with strong professional qualifications and global experience in more than 50 organizations plans to change that mind-set in the United States. On May …

Security Council, US Foreign Relations, Women

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COVID-19

Picturing a Post-Pandemic World Where Latin American Women Are Safe

May 14, 2020

by Maurizio Guerrero

Long before Covid-19, Latin American women suffered from a pandemic of violence. Now, amid lockdowns, domestic abuse is rising. As the region battles both the virus and domestic abuse, women’s advocates see a glimmer of hope in innovative protective measures set up by governments and women’s groups that could endure well into the future. …

Covid-19, Gender-Based Violence

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Master of Science in Humanitarian Studies at Fordham University

COVID-19

In the Pandemic, Millions of People Could Lose Their Homes

May 8, 2020

by Juliana Nnoko-Mewanu

For households around the world, soon it will be the time of the month to start thinking about next month’s rent, mortgage or housing loan payments. Billions of people have been directly or indirectly affected by Covid-19. This unprecedented public health and economic crisis could easily turn into a devastating housing crisis. Economies are …

Covid-19

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COVID-19

Where the Pandemic, the Environment and Gender Equality Meet: In Inger Andersen’s Home Office

April 22, 2020

by Nate Bernard

Inger Andersen is closing in on her first year as executive director of the United Nations Environment Program just as the Covid-19 crisis upends her agency’s work while also underscoring its critical need. “Never before have the mandate, mission and objectives of UNEP been more in focus,” she said in a recent interview, adding, …

Climate and Environment, Covid-19

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COVID-19

Across the Globe, Domestic Violence Rises as the Coronavirus Rages

April 6, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

For many women worldwide, the fear and suffering caused by the catastrophic viral pandemic is made even more unbearable and frightening by gender violence, as orders to “stay at home” heighten domestic tensions. Reports are accumulating from virtually every global region, according to independent advocacy groups and United Nations agencies. “Over the past weeks …

Covid-19, Gender-Based Violence, Health and Population

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COVID-19

The Pandemic Forces UN Women to Shelve the Feminist Forums Until 2021

April 3, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

UN Women is postponing two long-planned international meetings designed to give civil society groups a leading role in advancing gender rights 25 years after a landmark 1995 Beijing conference on women. The two sessions of the Global Equality Forum that had been planned for Mexico City in May and Paris in July will be postponed …

Covid-19, Gender-Based Violence, Health and Population, Human Rights

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COVID-19

Gender Imbalances: Missing Girls and Vanishing Men

March 31, 2020

by Joseph Chamie

Normally, the numbers of males and females in a human population are about the same across all such populations. However, pregnancy interventions by couples and unhealthy lifestyles among young men have produced gender imbalances, giving rise to “missing girls” in some populations and “disappearing men” in others. The coronavirus pandemic will have lasting impacts …

Covid-19, Gender-Based Violence, Health and Population

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COVID-19

UN Women’s Forum in Mexico City Is Under Review

March 29, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

Another highlight of the year marking the 25th anniversary of a breakthrough international conference in Beijing on women’s rights has fallen victim to the global march of the new coronavirus, Covid-19. The event is the first of two global meetings of the Generation Equality Forum, which is meant to give civil society organizations a …

Covid-19, Health and Population, Latin America

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Afghan Women on the US-Taliban Peace Deal: We Refuse to Shut Up

March 25, 2020

by Samea Shanori and Fiona Shukri

Afghan women’s inclusion in the current peace negotiations with the Taliban and the United States has become an international cause célèbre. But calls for participation of Afghan women without methodical, sustained and substantive engagement in a peace settlement has the potential to harm them, not help them. The international community should ensure that Afghan women …

Gender-Based Violence, Women

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Beijing+25 Moves to the Next Stage: Vast Uncertainty

March 16, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

This year was intended to be a celebratory time for women: the 25th anniversary of the momentous Beijing conference on women’s rights and how to advance them. It isn’t working out that way, however, as a global health crisis and disagreements among advocates for women rewrite the script. The 2020 session of the Commission …

Human Trafficking, Women

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Peace Begins at Home: Gloria Steinem’s Recipe for a Nonviolent World

March 6, 2020

by Sonah Lee

Nearly 700 people, many of them young adults and students, flocked to the United Nations recently to attend an all-day gathering on “War No More.” Who were they eager to see and hear? The global feminist icon Gloria Steinem and Leymah Gbowee, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who led her fellow countrywomen to help …

Gender-Based Violence, Women

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TOPIC: WOMEN

UN Chief Condemns Male Privilege as Many Nations Defy Such Bashing

March 4, 2020

by Barbara Crossette

With International Women’s Day, March 8, on the horizon, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres blasted the intractable power of patriarchy, the cause of overwhelming gender injustice and an abuse of historical proportions, in his view. “Just as slavery and colonialism were a stain on previous centuries, women’s inequality should shame us all in the …

Gender-Based Violence, Secretary-General, Women

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TOPIC: WOMEN

Battle Lines Are Drawn on Women’s Rights Before #CSW64 Even Begins

February 27, 2020

by Dulcie Leimbach

From the start, the diplomats leading the negotiations on the new political declaration for the United Nations’ women’s rights conference in March wanted to keep it short and sweet. That meant five pages maximum, one diplomat told PassBlue before the discussions began, inevitably frustrating diplomats who had hoped to produce a generous endorsement of …

Gender-Based Violence, US-UN Relations, Women

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women’s rights

Major UN Elections, Covid-19 Help, Saudis Off the Hook

UN Staffers’ Right to Protest, More Struggles in Mali, US to Sanction ICC Employees

Is the US Ready for a Feminist Foreign Policy? Absolutely, Advocates Say

Picturing a Post-Pandemic World Where Latin American Women Are Safe

In the Pandemic, Millions of People Could Lose Their Homes

Where the Pandemic, the Environment and Gender Equality Meet: In Inger Andersen’s Home Office

Across the Globe, Domestic Violence Rises as the Coronavirus Rages

The Pandemic Forces UN Women to Shelve the Feminist Forums Until 2021

Gender Imbalances: Missing Girls and Vanishing Men

UN Women’s Forum in Mexico City Is Under Review

Afghan Women on the US-Taliban Peace Deal: We Refuse to Shut Up

Beijing+25 Moves to the Next Stage: Vast Uncertainty

Peace Begins at Home: Gloria Steinem’s Recipe for a Nonviolent World

UN Chief Condemns Male Privilege as Many Nations Defy Such Bashing

Battle Lines Are Drawn on Women’s Rights Before #CSW64 Even Begins

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