Brussels Office
eNEWSLETTER July 2011
Contents What’s New at UN Women Women’s Empowerment in the Workplace
What’s New at UN Women Adoption of the First Strategic Plan 2011-2003
Preparing for Busan
New York — 20 - 23 June At the annual session of the Executive Board of UN Women, Member States have endorsed the first Strategic Plan 2011-2003. The Board affirmed the foundations of UN Women’s mandate and the important role of UN Women in leading, coordinating and promoting accountability of the UN system in its work on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Women’s Political Participation
Read Introductory Statement by Michelle Bachelet
Ending Violence against Women
More »
HIV/AIDS In Brief Say NO – UNiTE News
UN Women Launches its First Report “Progress of the World’s Women: In Pursuit of Justice” New York — 6 June Justice is still out of reach for millions of women, UN Women says. The flagship report recognizes progress, but calls on governments to take urgent action to end the injustices that keep women poorer and less powerful than men in every country in the world. More »
Women’s Empowerment in the Workplace UN Women and ILO Join Forces to Promote Women’s Empowerment in the Workplace Geneva — 13 June UN Women signed a wide-ranging Memorandum of Understanding with the International Labour Organization (ILO) on key issues including promoting gender equality, eliminating sex discrimination, protecting domestic workers, promoting social protection floors and combating gender-based violence at work. More » Read Michelle Bachelet’s speech ―Equality at Work : The Continuing Challenge‖ See Postcast Michelle Bachelet’s speech before Committee on Domestic Workers Read Michelle Bachelet’s statement on the Adoption of the ILO Convention
Recent UN Women Publications
UN Women Annual Report [new!]
Progress of the World’s Women (2011) [new!]
Exploring the Dynamics and Vulnerabilities of HIV Transmission Amongst Sex Workers in the Palestinian Context [new!]
Cross-Sectoral National Gender Strategy for the occupied Palestinian territory) [new!]
Ending Violence Against Women Nepal: Building Mutual Understanding Between Men and Women for Lives Free of Violence 1 June Equal Access — with the support of a three-year grant from the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women — launched the radio programme Samajhdari in Nepal to increase awareness, connect people to appropriate services and encourage community action to end violence against women. ―My husband raped me almost every day,‖ describes a woman from Nepal’s Makwanpur district, one the country’s regions most affected by HIV and AIDS. ―He had the misconception that it was his right to have sex with his wife whenever he wanted to.‖ More »
UN Launches Initiative to Make Cities Safer for Women and Children 22 June UNICEF, UN-HABITAT and UN Women launch "Safe and Friendly Cities for All," a five-year programme that aims at making women and children feel safer in their local neighbourhoods, while improving their quality of life. More » Read Michelle Bachelet’s speech ―Safe and Friendly Cities for All‖ Read more about the safe cities approach at the virtual knowledge center
Good Practices and Remaining Gaps in the Prevention of Violence against Women Geneva — 10 June Speech delivered by UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet on Human Rights Council Annual Day, at a panel discussion on ―Good Practices and Remaining Gaps in the Prevention of Violence against Women,‖ More »
Gender Equality and Aid Effectiveness- Preparing for Busan
Call for Communication: Allegations of Human Rights Violations Affecting the Status of Women. More »
International Consultation on Development Cooperation, Women’s rights and Gender Equality Brussels — 9 – 10 June Women´s Groups at BetterAid Coordinating Group (BACG) — WIDE Network, the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID), the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) and Coordinadora dela Mujer (Bolivia) — have hosted a preparatory meeting for Busan in Brussels with support from UN Women within the framework of the EC-UN Partnership. More » Read WIDE’s report ―EU Donors under Women's Watch‖
Women’s Political Participation
Learn more about UN Women focus areas Violence against women
10 June Speech delivered by UN Women Executive Director Mrs Michelle Bachelet ―Women’s Political Participation in the Middle East” More »
Paving the Path for Women in Egypt’s Democratic Transition. Cairo — 3 June During a visit to Egypt in June, UN Women Executive Director Ms. Michelle Bachelet stressed the critical role transitional governments play in paving the path to gender equality and social justice. ―Now is the time to make sure that all voices are heard and that the interests and voices of women and girls have equal priority with those of men and boys‖. More »
Peace and Security Leadership and participation Economic Empowerment National Planning and Budgeting
Reform to reality: Empowerment of Women in the Middle East. Geneva —
Egypt: Women’s Charter Calls for a Democratic Transition. Cairo — 22 June During an event led by 500 non-governmental organizations in Cairo this month, a Charter was released listing the social and political demands of Egyptian women towards building a democratic Egypt. Endorsed by approximately half a million Egyptian men and women to date through a signature campaign, the Charter calls for women’s political and social representation, access to justice [...]. More »
Millennium Development Goals
“Women and Democratic Transitions in Arab Countries”. Tunis — 15 -18 June The Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates organised an international conference on Women and Democratic Transitions in Arab Countries, in partnership with UN Women and with support from the European Union. The conference provided a platform for consultations on best strategies for advancing women’s rights in democratic processes. It highlighted the opportunities for democratic change in the region but also underlined major challenges. It called for ensuring the respect of equality principles – including by constitutionalising the prohibition of discrimination and referring to the supremacy of international conventions and treaties on Human rights. It also called the Arab States to show commitment in undertaking necessary measures – including positive measures – to ensure an effective equality between women and men as well as protecting women from all forms of violence against them and criminalising violence against women.
HIV/AIDS High Level Meeting on AIDS : UN Women Co-sponsored Events New York — 7 June As world leaders gathered at UN Headquarters in New York to chart the future course of the global AIDS response, UN Women has been advocating for a robust response for those infected and affected by HIV — particularly women and girls. The organization was calling for concerted action on the unfulfilled commitments made to women and girls to alleviate the suffering that comes from stigma, violence, and the burden of caring for the sick. More » Read Michelle Bachelet’s speech ―HIV Priorities for Positive Change: In Women’s Words‖
UN Security Council Adopts Resolution on Peacekeepers Responses to HIV/AIDS in Conflict and Post-Conflict Situations New York — 7 June The United Nations Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing the importance of UN peacekeeping operations in responding to HIV/AIDS in conflict and postconflict situations. More »
In brief
22 June International Widows’ Day, Conference at Headquarters and Opening Remarks by Michelle Bachelet. More »
31 May Michelle Bachelet Expresses Her Gratitude to the Spanish People for Their Commitment to Equality. More »
12 July 2011 Open Days for Peace, UN Women, in partnership with the UN DPA, the UN DPKO and UNDP, is commencing a number of ―Open Days‖ on women and peace and security worldwide from June through September 2011. More »
Beyond UN Women WomenWatch Background and updates on global gender equality commitments More>> Say NO – UNiTE to End Violence against Women An online social mobilization platform to end violence against women More>> The International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics Resources, forums and expert advice for women in politics More >> UNiTE To End Violence Against Women United UN Secretary General's campaign to end violence against women More >> Virtual Knowledge Centre to End VAW More >> A one-stop source on designing evidencebased programming.
Say NO – UNiTE Platform News UN Competition: Vote for an Ad on Ending Violence Against Women The UN Regional Informational Centre (UNRIC), in partnership with UN Women and UN information offices around Europe have launched an Europe-wide advertisement competition, part of the UN SecretaryGeneral’s campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women, inviting Europeans, professionals and non-professionals, to create an ad which states: ―No to Violence against Women.‖ Deadline 31 July 2001. More information >>
Video of the week Say NO - UNiTE's video of the week is "Safe and Friendly Cities for All", featuring a joint five-year programme launched by UNICEF, UNHABITAT and UN Women in June that aims to make women and children feel safer in their local neighbourhoods. The new programme will address the challenges by supporting a variety of initiatives in the participating cities. By working with local authorities and organizations on the ground, women and young people will be able to identify those areas in their neighbourhood where they feel most at risk, and find solutions together. Watch Video>> Want to see other videos? Say NO compiles each week’s highlighted video through a special playlist on YouTube. Visit the Say NO Video of the Week Playlist >>
Online Quiz on Ending Violence Against Women : Take it !
Desktop Calendars Every month, Say NO - UNiTE releases a desktop wallpaper that incorporates the calendar for the month in three languages: English, French and Spanish. Download >>
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