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Issue #7, July 2009

The gender issue

| CONTENTS |

EXTRAS

OPINION

ARTICLES

Editorial & Letters

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Gender mainstreaming: What does it mean and should we continue doing it?

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Gender-based violence and armed conflicts

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Put on that happy face: Looking under the surface in Thailand at gender-based violence

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First lady, secondary role

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Gender balance in the UN

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Finding a voice: Ganga Neupan, Bhutanese refugee

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Are human rights universal?

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Sexuality in Politics

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An overview of the MDGs relating to women

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Women in the Middle East

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Interview: Joanne Sandler, from UNIFEM

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Meet other UN interns

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Reviews

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CoolPlanet corner

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In focus: UN-INSTRAW

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The Secretary-General Gift Shop

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| EDITORIAL |

Editorial

Internal Voices is now online!

I

n making this 7th edition on gender I have come to realise that many people either question the legitimacy of gender analysis or feel that it is not an issue deserving of attention.

We all know on a personal level between our friends and family that there are gender differences. The majority of us also agree that there’s a need for equality. But when it comes to putting the achievement of gender equality into action, the movement lacks practical widespread support.

And the issues that face women in particular are desperate for attention. Gender-based violence is an issue that is now, thankfully, getting more attention. However, more discrete gender issues such as pay equality at work, glass ceilings and support for mothers are also key issues to address. Only by addressing these can we achieve gender James Morris, intern at UNRIC equality and see the benefits that it for the Director in Brussels positive will bring.

As interns, we need to remember that there are gender issues present in all of our work. We are the next generation of the work force and decision makers and we must engage in gender analysis and promote it in our workplaces---what we need is a groundswell. There are teams of experts to help us when we need advice, and as Joanne Sandler from UNIFEM has told us, there’s a huge demand but not enough supply. While this ‘demand’ is a surprising statement to hear for those of us on the lookout for jobs, spreading the message and encouraging gender perspectives will only help the amount of gender-based jobs, and more importantly funding, to become available.

http://internal-voices.blogspot.com

Got something to say?

Say it to us! We welcome your comments on issues or topics from this issue, or feel free to tell us what you think of Internal Voices. internalvoices@unric.org

But gender issues don’t end with the working day. In our homes and in all our relationships the move away, for example, from household gender roles and gender stereotypes are all areas where we should also take action.

I hope that this issue will demonstrate to all who take the time to read it that gender is part of everything we do and that it is a real issue. We are all passively involved but we need everyone’s support to take real and effective action. ■

Editor JAMES MORRIS Deputy Editor IAN DEAN Website Editor SØREN FRIIS Layout Team JAMES MORRIS, LAURA NEUVONEN, SØREN FRIIS, IGNACIO PUENTE Contributors SIMONA DONINI, VIIVI ERKKILÄ, ANDREW MILROY, POLLYANA DE MORAES BORGES, MARIA ERDAL ASKIM, JOS

Disclaimer: This publication is created by interns from UN agencies. The views and opinions presented in this publication are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations.

RAYMENANTS, IAN DEAN, JOÃO REDONDO, ALEXANDRA BASHA, HELENE FAURE, SØREN FRIIS, LANA OH, IGNACIO PUENTE, ASTRID BOTHMANN

Cover image KARIN BEATE NØSTERUD/NORDEN.ORG Atomium images SØREN FRIIS 6th edition atomium images KATARIINA JUVONEN

Special thanks to CLARA DE LA HOZ DEL REAL, LAURE MEURISSE, ǺSA DAHLVIK, UNRIC STAFF, KAMALA ERNEST, UNIFEM BRUSSELS, GREGORY CORNWELL

IMAGES are predominantly UN Photos available from un.org/photos or public domain images from wikipedia. We have noted all sources and photographers where information is available.

Alternative sources are noted on the image.

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I.V. is a 100% UN interns' magazine giving all UN interns the opportunity to network, express opinions and share knowledge, points of view and experiences. Everything from articles to layout and editing is done by UN interns.

If you want to get involved, the intern team at UNRIC in Brussels would love to hear from you! internalvoices@unric.org http://internal-voices.blogspot.com

| LETTERS |

Letters—from the financial crisis edition, #6 , April 2009

Did you know that…

deceleration in remittance growth.** The decline is likely to become more marked in 2009, putting more pressure on workers abroad. To sustain their ability to stay in destination countries and send money back home, migrant workers endure increasingly difficult living and working conditions. With many women migrant workers employed in insecure and sometimes unregulated domestic and parttime work, they face multiple threats.

Osnat Lubrani Director, UNIFEM Brussels Office Dear Internal Voices, I welcomed the specific focus of your April issue on the impact of the global economic crisis on women (Simona Donini). UNIFEM sees four aspects of the crisis that are demand particular attention from a gender perspective: the impact on employment, both formal and informal; its impact on health, including gender-based violence and HIV and AIDS; its impact on poverty and migration; and its impact on unpaid household and care-giving work in families and communities. In this regard, I wanted to comment in relation to another article in the same newsletter - on the impact of the crisis on migrants (Lana Oh), that the impact on women migrant workers is troubling. Women make up some 70-80 per cent of all migration flows from Asia and Sub Saharan Africa. The steady growth of migrant workers over the last decade contributed to a steady growth in remittances, which reached $305 billion in 2008 (three times the volume of aid), according to the World Bank.* At the end of 2008, however, with the exception of South Asia, all of the developing regions experienced a sharp

*Dilip Ratha, Remittance flows to developing countries estimated to exceed $300 billion in 2008,” 18 February, 2009. **World Bank, Migration and Development Brief 8, 2009

Dear Internal Voices, Congratulations on the new look of your magazine! It is amazing.

Your work, original material, creative design and thoughtful articles is very very impressive.

Internal Voices is getting better and better with every issue.

I am also delighted to see that interns for other UN family offices are contributing, There is beginning to be a real network of UN interns.

I do hope your Voice will reach interns all over the world within the UN family.

Afsané Bassir-Pour Director, UNRIC in Brussels Send your comments on the gender issue of Internal Voices to us at internalvoices@unric.org

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Violence affects between 10% and 60% of women and girls? Ending violence against women is a missing MDG target.

Perpetrators are charged in less than 1 in 10 estimated cases of sexual and gender based violence?

Women are outnumbered 2 to 1 in political parties worldwide. 1 in 5 parliamentarians is a women… and it will take 4 decades for women in developing regions to approach the parity zone (of between 40% to 60%) in parliaments.

The earliest international resolution concerning gender equality was passed in 1921 and referred to women’s labour rights. Yet, women are still paid 17% less than men for similar works?

Worldwide, at best, there is 1 women for every 9 men in senior management positions in firms?

But Progress is within reach…

9 out 10 girls in the world are enrolled in primary education Half of the 22 countries that have reached 30% of women in parliament come from developing regions.

Gender-focused aid has nearly tripled (in absolute terms) from US$2.5 Billion in 2002 to US$7.2 billion in 2006

| THEORY |

Gender mainstreaming

UN Photo/Milton Grant

What does it mean and should we continue doing it?

Viivi Erkkilä, intern at UNRIC Nordic desk in Brussels

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ender mainstreaming is an approach the United Nations is committed to incorporate into all its policies and programmes in order to promote gender equality at all levels of the society. It is also one of crosscutting themes of the Millennium Development Goals. Gender mainstreaming is so widely discussed that one could argue it has become the global strategy of the millennium.

But what does the term mean and has

the approach led to any changes? Are gender questions actually considered in all actions at all levels of society?

Or has gender mainstreaming as a global strategy made gender questions such a broad issue that it has become a mantra with no relation to reality?

Gender mainstreaming is broadly defined as a global strategy aimed at achieving gender equality by ensuring that gender perspectives are brought to the centre of all activities from policy development, research, legislation and resource allocation to the planning, implementation and monitoring of programmes and projects. It is a strategy for making both women’s and men’s concerns and experiences an integral part of all dimensions of policies and programmes, so that women and men benefit equally from them.

Mainstreaming is, therefore, not a goal, but a process for achieving gender equality in society. The approach originates from the objective to bring gender into the mainstream of

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development activities.

The gender mainstreaming approach developed in the 1980s as a counter reaction to the Women in Development (WID) approach, which tried in the 1970s to empower women

...a global strategy aimed at achieving gender equality by ensuring that gender perspectives are brought to the centre of all activities to become the driving force of development. The idea was to move the focus more onto men and gender instead of the power imbalances between men and women. The WID approach operated on the assumption that women were a marginalised group, which was in most situations more disadvantaged and had special interests concerning development work. Male interests continued to be viewed as the norm. The gender mainstreaming approach aims at

| THEORY |

argue that rather than transforming forms of development, gender mainstreaming has transformed the term ‘gender.’ In fact, it has in many ways de-politicised the concept of gender and made it no-one’s issue.

Gender is no longer a specific women’s issue or even a question of equal rights, it is merely an add-on term in development policy documents. Critics have also argued that the ideals of equality, development and peace, summed up by international women’s movements in the UN International Women’s Year Conference in 1975, have been distorted by integrating a gender ...it tries to incorporate a component into pre-existing mandates and procedures of development more balanced view on how organizations. different development Furthermore, gender policies affect women and mainstreaming has often been seen more as a goal rather than as a men. process. Taking gender implications into account in all policies and promotion of gender equality in the programmes is also a wide and Beijing Platform for Action: The diverse challenge for development ECOSOC Agreed Conclusions actors, who far too often lack the time (1997/2) established the important and resources to conduct in-depth and overall principles for gender systematic gender analysis. In mainstreaming two years after the addition, there has been lack of Beijing conference. The UN has also understanding among development developed clear intergovernmental actors on what gender mainstreaming mandates for gender mainstreaming actually means, and gender questions for all the major areas of its work, have been often classified as a special including, for example, disarmament, women’s issue rather than a question poverty reduction and health. of equal rights. It is also important to Furthermore, in 2000, the Security acknowledge other social and cultural Council adopted Resolution 1325, factors that affect people’s identities which calls for the integration of and the relationships between men women into all conflict resolution and women. All women and men are processes and post-conflict not equal in relation to each other. reconstruction.

Despite the significant popularity Social class, for example, can play a far greater role than gender in defining of gender mainstreaming, the the different positions people have in approach has received a fair amount society. of criticism. A major part of the critics putting more emphasis on research and acknowledges that men and women respond differently to development actions. Mainstreaming is, thus, not about adding a ‘women’s component’ or even a ‘gender equality component’ to existing policy, but it tries to incorporate a more balanced view on how different development policies affect women and men.

Officially the term gender mainstreaming was first established at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. It is defined in the UN framework as a major global strategy for the

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Was the integration of gender mainstreaming into all aspects of development a mistake? The most critical researchers argue that the misunderstandings and lack of time have actually resulted in forgetting gender implications of development policies and especially the needs of women. However, more moderate researchers consider that gender mainstreaming is the only possible strategy to keep women’s issues and gender equality on the agenda, and to slowly integrate them into all policies and programmes as the approach aims to do. The main disadvantage of gender mainstreaming has probably been that the strategy was expected to deliver major results in a very short period of time. When this did not happen, many were disappointed.

Gender mainstreaming seems to have experienced some form of inflation in its popularity and the concept has been used too loosely without understanding what the strategy is about. As critics of the approach argue, gender has become everyone’s issue, but at the same time no-one’s issue.

Nevertheless, gender mainstreaming is a useful strategy, which can be used to transform the unequal structures that still prevail in the world. It should not be disregarded just because results were not achieved quickly enough. And like all development strategies, more resources, informed personnel, planning and evaluation of programmes are needed to ensure long-term success; it is unrealistic to expect changes over night.

Transformation of the imbalances of power should start from a gender analysis of inequalities between

| THEORY |

women and men, with its links to race and class, to create a more context-specific understanding of inequalities. If development organisations carry out gender analysis in this way, new priorities should emerge naturally. Realising and understanding gender implications is the key to achieving gender equality between not only men and women, but also between women and men of different social statuses. Limitations in a strategy should not stop us from working for a better world for all of us, “without distinctions to race, sex, language or religion.” ■

Aung San Suu Kyi

Fourth World Conference on Women: Platform for Action. DAW (1995) Gender Mainstreaming: Strategy for Promoting Gender Equality. OSAGI fact sheet (2001).

Gender Mainstreaming: An Overview. New York: OSAGI (2002).

Neimanis, Astrida. Gender Mainstreaming In Practice: A Handbook. UNDP RBEC (2001).

Parpart, Jane. “Lessons from the Field: rethinking empowerment, gender and development from a post- (post?)development perspective,” pp. 41-56 in K. Saunders, ed., Feminist Postdevelopment Thought: rethinking modernity, post-colonialism and representation.

London: Zed Books (2002).

Aung San Suu Kyi’s UN identity card issued in 1972 has recently appeared in a fundraising event in London for “Prospect Burma” which provides financial help for Burmese students to study abroad. Indeed the Nobel peace prize winner and opposition leader after graduating from Oxford University in Philosophy Politics and Economics (1969) worked for the United Nations in New York for 3 years primarily on budgets. Ms Suu Kyi has been under detention for much of the past 19 years and she is currently on trial accused of breaking the terms of her detention.

UN Photo/MB

Hilkka Pietilä, The Unfinished Story of Women and the United Nations, (2007).

Porter, Fenella and Sweetman, Caroline (ed.). Mainstreaming Gender in Development: A Critical Review. Oxfam Publishing (2005).

ECOSOC Agreed Conclusions 1997/2 (1997).

guardian.co.uk

References

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| G.B.V. |

UN Photo/Christopher Herwig

Gender-based violence and armed conflicts

UNMIL Launches "16 days of Activism" Campaign. Women participate in the "16 days of Activism" campaign, launched by the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to strengthen the rights of women and stop gender based violence. Location: Monrovia, Liberia

Simona Donini, intern at UNRIC, Italy, San Marino, Malta and the Holy See desk, in Brussels

I

n the past few decades, much research has shown that women are increasingly being targeted during armed conflicts or political violence, and systematic acts of violence against women are often supported by governments and committed by military forces. Indeed, violence against women is never accidental; it is rather a weapon of war, a tool used to achieve military objectives such as ethnic cleansing, spreading terror, breaking the resistance of a community or rewarding soldiers. Does violence during armed conflict have a gender specific nature rooted in a global

culture of discrimination that denies women equal status with men? What improvements have been made to safeguard and protect women during armed conflicts?

Feminist researchers on ethnic nationalism have focused on the role of gender in the constitution of ethnic-national ideologies. YuvalDavis (1989, 1997) pointed out that in the context of violent ethnic conflicts women represent a “symbolic site of nationalism,” they are regarded, in relation to their role as biological reproducer, as the guardian of cultural values, while men as protectors of women.

Women are linked with men’s honour and their ‘purity’ assumes a great importance. For instance, during the Partition of India, raped women’s bodies were inscribed with nationalistic slogans and their violation was interpreted as the violation of the nation to which they belonged. Their bodies became a battlefield to determine political power. Men would also kill them, in so called ‘honour killings’, to prevent them from becoming a permanent symbol of humiliation (Butalia,1998).

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Enloe (1989) illustrated that while decision making and economic power belongs primarily to men, politics are played out on women’s bodies in various ways. Women have been made into ideological battlegrounds on which to assert a territorial claim, therefore there is great cultural significance to raping enemy women and gender violence has become a very specific strategy of ethnic cleansing or warfare.

Rape by soldiers of defeated women has occurred during wartime for centuries. Seifert has argued that rape can be explained in three different ways: first, per the ‘booty principle,’ women as rewards after the victory; second, as a way to humiliate the enemy and to show that men have been unable to protect their women; and third, as a way to increase solidarity and male bonding (in Moser and Clarks 2001).

Rape is also a way to capture economic resources and is related to the embedded patriarchal construction of women as property.

In Yugoslavia it was used to terrorise the population and humiliate the community (Turshen 2001: 59), but

| G.B.V. |

In February 2008, the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched his campaign, “UNite to End Violence against Women,” a multi-year effort aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls in all parts of the world. The SG says that “We must unite. Violence against women cannot be tolerated, in any form, in any context, in any circumstance, by any political leader or by any government. The time to change is now. Only by standing together and speaking out can we make a difference.”

UN Photo/Yao Da Wei

women had to carry the shame because they embodied the failure of men to protect. In Bosnia it was used to impregnate Muslim women thus preventing them from reproducing in their own community. In Rwanda it was used to terrorise communities and discourage resistance and as well as being part of the ‘war booty’ women were kidnapped for labour as cooks or cleaners as well as sex slaves. Rape in Darfur is being used by the government of Sudan and private security firms to displace and evict people from land that is rich in oil. In this context rape is a systematic way to remove an obstacle to a resource and disperse entire villages in a society that already makes women vulnerable and unable to assert any rights (Macklin, 2001).

A number of different authors have shown that gender-based violence takes place not only before, during, and after conflict, but also in the absence of war. Cockburn (2004) conceptualised gender violence as a continuum, not limited only to armed conflicts but existing in everyday domestic life. Indeed, that women are most likely to be assaulted by known men, particularly by sexual partners, has been one of the most undeniable discoveries of feminist research on sexual violence in the domestic space.

Cockburn argues that sites of gendered violence - the battlefield and the household - are intertwined. Giles and Hyndman (2004) also argue that gender-based violence in war does not exist isolated in time or location, but is part of a process in which it can be linked to gender relations in the

Helvi Sipilä

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| G.B.V. |

resolution also notes the necessity of including women in post-conflict negotiations and conflict resolution in order to create durable peace, security and reconciliation.

While this resolution has its limits and while it alone does not constitute effective action to end sexual violence, it is an important step forward. There should be no impunity for individuals who have engaged in targeted violence against women, including rape used as a weapon of war. The International Criminal Court and other international and domestic tribunals should continue to target perpetrators of gender-based violence and women should be more engaged in the process of peace negotiations and post-conflict reconstruction. Female participation is certainly the best way to ensure accountability for past abuses and building gender sensitive security forces. ■

References N. Yuval-Davis, “Gender and the Nationalist Imagination, War and Peace,” in W. Giles and J Hyndman Sites of Violence: Gender and Conflict Zones, London: University of California Press, 2004.

C. Enloe, Bananas Beaches, and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics. Berkley: University Press of California, 1989.

C. Moser and F. C. Clarks, Victim, Perpetrators or Actors?

Gender, Armed Conflict and Political Violence. London: Zed Books, 2001.

M.Turshen, “The Polit ical Economy of Rape: An Analysis of Systematic Rape and Sexual Abuse of Women during Armed Conflict in Africa” in Victors, Perpetrators or Actors: Gender, Armed Conflict and Political Violence edited by C. Moser and F. Clarke, 55-68. London: Zed Books, 2001 C. Cockburn, “The Continuum of Violence: A Greater Perspective on War and Peace,” in W. Giles and J. Hyndman, Sites of Violence: Gender and Conflict Zones.

London: University of California Press, 2004.

W. Giles and J Hyndman,“ Introduction: Gender and Conflict in a Global Context” in Sites of Violence: Gender and Conflict Zones. London: University of California Press, 2004.

L. Kelly, “Wars Against Women: Sex Violence Sex Politics and Militarized State” in S. Jacobs, R. Jacobson and J. Marchbank State of Conflict: Gender Violence and Resistance. London: Zed Books, 2000.

Butalia, Urvashi, ed. The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India. New Delhi: Penguin, 1998.

UN Photo/Yao Da Wei

household. Kelly (2000: 46), considering sexual violence as one of the most successful forms of patriarchal control aimed at constraining women’s lives, argues that sexual violence, as the State’s planned tactic during war and political oppression, is linked in many ways to sexual violence in other contexts. Indeed, feminist analysis of gender violence in war refuses to identify it as dissimilar from GBV in other contexts such as the domestic one.

History has demonstrated that gender-based violence during armed conflicts has been seldom punished, often hidden. Threats against those who reveal abuses, the existence of special national legislation which prevents prosecution of crimes committed during war, and laws assuring amnesty to wartime perpetrators as part of peace-making ‘deals' have all contributed to the impunity of sexual crimes committed during war. Nevertheless with the recent rise of women’s rights movements, more refined legal instruments and institutions committed to reinforcing human rights have recognised and condemned sexual violence perpetrated in periods of armed conflict, whether with the aim of destabilizing the population, carrying out ethnic cleansing or supplying soldiers with a sexual service. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against Women adopted by the UN General Assembly 1993, for instance, restated the important responsibility of governments to protect women; the ICC adopted the Rome Statute which has included acts such as rape, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization committed systematically against civilians in war as crimes against humanity. UN Security Council resolution 1325, passed in October 2000 aimed to ensure gender equality in political leadership, support women as they return to their homes, ensure safety for women in refugee camps, and, insisting on accountability for sexual violence, brought the promise of a systematic approach to address women’s issues in armed conflict. Furthermore, UN Security Council Resolution 1820 passed on June 2008 has recognised that sexual violence is deployed for military and political ends, and has called for a coherent response to the problem. Important parts of the resolution include the recognition that women and girls are particularly targeted during war, and sexual violence is used as a weapon to generate fear and humiliation. The

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| THAILAND G.B.V. |

Put on that happy face

UN Photo/Shehzad Noorani

Looking under the surface in Thailand at gender-based violence

Andrew P Milroy, volunteer at UNDP in Bangkok

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here are many reasons to smile in Thailand. On most visitors’ minds the warm climate, pristine beaches, and delicious food provide more than enough reasons to keep a smile on your face for the duration of a stay.

Indeed, Thailand is the land of smiles.

Even many Thais, who may not share

the enormous appeal of warm temperatures and the vast number of beaches as those coming from colder climates do, seem to be happy.

This land of smiles, however, is in many ways an artificially constructed façade. I strongly believe that if you were to poll those who have spent significant time in Thailand, they would tell you that while Thais are generally happy, they are not more so than other cultures.

In fact, there is a great deal not to smile about in Thailand. Here I am referring to the prolific and systemic gender-based violence (GBV) by men, both local and foreign, towards women, which in many cases is ignored by the police or in some instances controlled by them.

Before highlighting the situation in Thailand I would like to

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preface this article with the fact that violence against women is a historical problem in all cultures and societies.

This is an unfortunate and deeply troubling truth. Thankfully progress is being made by the diligent and continuing efforts of many organisations such as UNIFEM. Violence against women, as officially defined in 1993 by the UN General Assembly, is: “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women.” Reference to “gender-based” is made as this violence is rooted in gender inequality and is often tolerated and condoned by laws and institutions with the effect of enforcing the violence rather than preventing it. I will not be making the claim that the current socio-political

| THAILAND G.B.V. |

UN Photo

provide proof of non-consent, while climate in Thailand is enforcing it, I will and, frequently, debt-bondage: additionally one means of escaping stop just shy of that, but rather what I modern slavery. punishment for the man is to marry his Those abused suffer am hoping to do is simply open the extraordinarily. Health consequences victim. This can be said to be nothing eyes of readers to this issue as it other than a life sentence for the victim including physical injury, STDs (HIV exists in Thailand. included), pregnancy and subsequent further jeopardising her health and Taking the necessary step prolonging the violence. and exposing gender-based violence Considering the apparent lack in Thailand, the most appropriate of legal protection for women under place to begin is with hill tribe Thai law the reaction by those women in Thailand and being victimised is often to recent migrants from “The world has never yet seen a truly remain harmfully silent. When Burma. The reason for great and virtuous nation because in the one reads from Thailandthis is that both social degradation of woman the very fountains based Burmese women’s groups have increased of life are poisoned at their source.� organisations that sexual levels of gender-based subjugation and exploitation violence within their of women occurs by the Thai rural communities. This Lucretia Coffin Mott (1793-1880) military, police, and can be said to be immigration officials at attributed to the fact that checkpoints, border crossings, their lack of legal status, detention centres, and brothels, it is frequent discrimination and no surprise that many cases do not exploitation, lack of personal security, get reported. Victims know, not just and inability to access health care, complications with abortion due feel, that there is no sufficient legal amongst other services, results in protection. They are essentially bullied to lack of proper medical care, and elevated risk. They lack basic mental health impacts, are the norms. into submission from the fear of further fundamental human rights and this abuse.

In 1997 a clause which lack translates into exploitation and As it is apparent that genderguaranteed equal rights for women violence. Furthermore, because they including the right to be free of forced based violence is not adequately are not afforded legal rights, the being addressed from within Thailand, government is often slow to react if at labour was introduced into Thai law. bilateral donors and multilateral Steps are being taken to combat this all. blemish but haphazardly at best. Only institutions play an important role.

Imagine there was a job Through funding research, a few years ago in 2004, while laws posting which stated that you will encouraging science-based existed regarding sexual violence, suffer from harsh and endangering evaluations of gender-based there were no laws in the Thai abuse, including but not limited to programmes and disseminating results legislature specifically addressing beatings, sexual assault, and unsafe sex practices by traffickers, your boss, domestic violence. As a large portion across countries, and through effective preventative investments, progress of gender-based violence occurs clients, and police. I need not say no domestically, this is a deep flaw in the can and is being made - slowly. one with a real choice would ever Mobilization at all levels is legal system. Even more shocking, willingly take this job. And no one needed as awareness is only useful to marital rape is not a crime, and really does. Often these women are a point. Once people have been made enforcement of the rape law is lax. If forced into this job through various aware, that knowledge must be acted raped it is the woman that must methods including threats of arrest

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| THAILAND G.B.V. |

upon. A long-term commitment is needed that enforces change based on the recognition that GBV is a violation of human rights.

Looking under the surface in Thailand is disconcerting but it needs to be done, as it should be done in all countries. How much of this problem, for instance, is propagated from the demand of Thais as opposed to foreigners? It would not continue if it was not profitable. â–

The number of sex workers operating in Thailand is uncertain, due to the clandestine nature of the work. Studies have put the figure at anywhere between 200,000 and 2.8 million women, men and children involved in the Thai sex trade.* It has been calculated that the sex trade is worth 4.3 billion US dollars per year, or 3% of the Thai economy.** Many Thai prostitutes are believed to have their roots in the impoverished northern parts of the country. Although prostitution remains illegal in Thailand, legalisation and regulation was considered as recently as 2003. * http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/ read.php?newsid=91309 ** http://www.theage.com.au/ articles/2003/11/26/1069825832486.html? oneclick=true

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| LADIES |

In a world, where women’s role in politics is still underestimated, some first ladies perform or have already performed activities that go beyond assistencialism. Without realising or even as part of a political project, it’s undeniable that first ladies have a lot to say about the governments of their spouses.

Pollyana de Moraes Borges, intern at UNIC Rio de Janeiro

M

any years before Michelle Obama was being called “the first lady the world’s been waiting for” by Vogue Magazine, a certain President was trying to look smooth in a funeral speech. In 1849, the United States President at the time, Zachary Taylor, was reciting compliments to the former President, James Madison, who had just passed away, when he gently referred to his wife, Dolley Madison, as a first lady.

Since then, the term has become the

most common way to refer to the wife of a head of state, but a male version of the term has never been so accepted. After all, we are not used to seeing first gentlemen very often.

This male term, actually, doesn’t even exist. This is probably because, according to the Brazilian researcher, Luiza Rogério, there were just 13 women occupying a president or a head of state position in the world during 2008, and this statistic was never much higher. For political scientists, this small number represents one of the biggest consequences of the lateness of women’s permission to vote, that came, for many countries, only after 1918, when the First World War finally ended. If they couldn’t vote, they couldn’t be elected.

Latin America was one of the last continents to allow women the vote, but an Argentinean first lady performed a decisive role in this process. Eva Perón, also known as Evita, pushed the Congress to approve a law to permit women to

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vote and to be elected. For this reason, Juan Domingo Perón’s party was able to elect, in 1951, 29 women to the Parliament. Played by Madonna in the movies, Evita became popular in Argentina and in the entire American continent for her work to protect women and disadvantaged people, who gave her the title of “Mother of the poor.” Some critics see in Evita as the portrait of cheap assistencialism politics, and she has remained a divisive figure in Argentinean politics, being adored by some and hated by others, but always provoking a reaction.

If South America sees in Evita the first model of a first lady, the United States considers Eleanor Roosevelt it’s number one first lady.

The wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who ruled US from 1933 to 1945, not only dedicated her life to help women and workers in general to improve their lives and well being, but also performed an important role as a defender of human rights. After her husband’s death, Eleanor kept working for the disadvantaged and in

wikipedia.org/Gilbert Stuart

UN Photo

wikipedia.org/Boghosian

wikipedia.org

First Lady, secondary role

| LADIES |

1947, upon an invitation by the United Nations, became the President of the Human Rights Declaration Committee, responsible for creating one of the most important documents on human rights, recognised the world over.

Despite her not being an example of beauty and charm, attributes that generally are associated with a first lady, the press loved her, especially women journalists, because according to reports of the time, she only consented to interviews if the reporter was a woman.

But journalists aren’t always so favourable. When it comes to first ladies or other women related to politics, they all too often revert to traditional notions of what a first lady should be by writing pieces that do not consider women by who they are or what they do, instead commenting on how they dress and which kind of make up they’re using.

When Michelle Obama came to the White House, it seemed all articles had at least one comment about her clothes, hair and make up. It seems like everybody likes to

see a first lady that works out and has an athletic attitude.

In some senses this portrait relates to the image of Barack Obama’s administration as youthful and energetic, but in others it is constrained by traditional notions of gender roles in politics – the woman as a glamorous, but submissive, foil to her husband. It seems that people feel more comfortable resorting to these outdated gender stereotypes, because gender equality has no history in the political world.

This all serves to illustrate that, unfortunately, in many ways we are stuck in the 18th century, when Jean Jacques Rousseau used to say: “Ask women about their preferences when it comes to physical things or other things that can be judged in a sensitive way. To men, ask about things that depend on moral judgment and understanding.” ■

UN Photo/Evan Schneider

UN Photo/Evan Schneider

UN Photo/Evan Schneider

UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman hands over the signature book of the Say NO to Violence against Women campaign to UN SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon at the high-level event, United Voices Say NO to Violence against Women, 25 November 2008.

“Mr. Secretary-General, it is my great honour to entrust to you the signatures — and more than just signatures — the hopes and expectations of the millions of people who signed the Say NO campaign,” said Ms. Kidman.

Charlize Theron, Messenger of Peace

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| U.N. |

in the United Nations

Gender balance

Maria Erdal Askim, intern at UNRIC Nordic desk in Brussels

G

ender balance is an issue which has been given an increased amount of attention in businesses, governments and organisations all over the world. However it has been difficult to change the male or female

the United Nations committed to the goal of having a 50/50 gender balance in the UN system by the year 2000 domination in many professions. The UN system is no exception. In 1995 the Platform for Action, which was adopted in the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, the United Nations committed to the goal of having a 50/50 gender balance in the UN system by the year 2000. However, in 2000, this goal still remained unachieved. Has the UN managed to make any progress in * The Beijing Platform for Action * Numbers taken from the Office of the Focal Point for Women in the United Nations

reaching this goal during the past nine years?

The latest numbers available are from December 2007, which show that the representation of women at all levels within the UN system was then 42 per cent. Sorted by country, 74 out of 196 nationalities had a representation of women of 50 per cent or more. These numbers show that at the lower levels the UN is on target to achieve gender balance. However, concerning the director level and beyond, only 27 percent are women. On top of this list are US nationals with 114 women in director positions or higher, while 45 countries do not have any women at all represented at the top levels. The higher up you go in the UN system, the fewer women you will find.

The UN is committed to working for the empowerment of women, by influencing world leaders, governments, businesses and organisations. The Secretary-General has launched several campaigns with various UN agencies to improve women’s rights. For example, on International Day of Peace in 2009 Ban Ki-moon highlighted the need for more women peacekeepers and earlier in his term he appointed several women to important high level positions. The SG is certainly showing that he is taking the goal of 50/50 gender balance seriously.

The UN has committed to take the lead in reaching gender balance in the world. The organisation aims to show its member states that gender balance is a realistic objective, which all countries, both developed and

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developing, can achieve. The General Assembly is also encouraging the member states to contribute to the 50/50 gender balance target by submitting more female candidates for appointments throughout the UN system. It is especially important to get more women in the high-level positions.

Furthermore, although many western countries have a high number of female UN representatives, the numbers are far from satisfactory concerning employment of women from developing countries. This is an area where greater effort and commitment is needed.

The UN has made great efforts to move towards gender balance and to improve the status of women working within the UN system. However, despite the progress in several areas, the UN still has a long way to go before it can say it is gender balanced. ■

The late Ms. Helvi Sipilä from Finland is a great example of what women in power can achieve. Ms. Sipilä was the first woman to be appointed Assistant Secretary-General at the UN in 1972. She was the head of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs until 1980 and was involved in founding the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM). She has served as an inspiration for aspiring women leaders and was throughout her career a strong advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of women.

| REFUGEES |

Finding a voice A report on Ganga Neupane, Bhutanese refugee living in the US

Bhutan News Service

“M

y family was compelled to leave Bhutan, it was not voluntary. My Father was arrested and released in poor health. [The] army used to come home and ask for grown up daughters. It is a known fact that spending refugee life for too long is very miserable. Slowly, our ramshackle huts of bamboo having thatch roof and plastic are turning into our permanent homes. There are no means to come into normal state as we have a disturbed mind, indefinite exile life and no future to our aims and desires. When I was a schooling girl in Bhutan I used to tell my teachers that I would become a lawyer in future. Who must be held responsible to make me unable to fulfil my aim?” (Ganga Neupane, SAARC meeting, Kathmandu 23 March 2007) Ganga Neupane is one of the southern Bhutanese women of Nepali origin who was forced to flee Bhutan and live in a refugee camp for 17 years. I first met Ganga in Kathmandu during a South Asian Associate for Regional Corporation (SAARC) meeting where she gave a presentation on Bhutanese refugee women. Her passionate commitment, continuous activism, energy and her struggle to survive in a world that abuses, overlooks and discriminates against women struck a deep chord with me. I am privileged that she has

Ganga Neupane (right) with her husband Khagendra (left) and UNHCR good-will ambassador Angelina Jolie (middle).

Simona Donini, intern at UNRIC, Italy, San Marino, Malta and the Holy See desk, in Brussels shared her story with me, which then became the topic of my dissertation, and is now the basis for this article.

My research discussed gender-based violence (GBV) experienced by female Bhutanese refugees and emphasised that a continuum of violence (Cockborn, 2004) has persisted in Bhutanese women’s lives from one phase to the

17

next: in peace time, during the ethnic conflict and in displacement. It highlighted that violence against Bhutanese women was not only a manifestation of the political violence or ethnic conflict, but was present in domestic life before and was enforced in refugees camps, bred by frustration, boredom, unemployment and so on.

The situation was perpetrated not only by the Bhutanese community but also by the Nepalese society in the form of discrimination. Instead of focusing on gender-based violence in the camps I am going to show how displacement can be, at times, a means by which women find a voice.

After her arrival in the camps Ganga thought she would not have the chance to study. Luckily she was able to go to school and with great difficulties her mother managed, by selling her jewellery, to send her to do higher education studies. After graduating she became an assistant

| REFUGEES |

teacher in Beldang II camp school. As well as Ganga many Bhutanese women, thanks to the help of Oxfam, have learnt to read and write and then become activists strongly committed to raising women’s awareness. Ganga and her colleague founded the only independent women’s organisation in the camps “Voice for Change,” which advocates for women’s rights. Voice for Change has given women the opportunity to meet together, to express themselves and defend themselves against violence. It has helped to raise women’s voices and has created a platform for discussion, for sharing experiences, and finding solutions. They also both conduct a radio program named Saranarthi Sarokar (Refugee Concern) broadcasted in Jhapa and Morang camps aimed at highlighting issues, informing women, and helping them understand the problems they face.

Their advocacy activities have been sustained by local NGOs such as TEW Nepal, by The Global Fund for Women and INGOs. It can be argued that external influences by international aid workers have clearly created the terrain for changes through programs, which include training, information support services for local women and public education events.

Ganga’s creation of a positive environment for women has, however, been constrained by some political organisations such as the Bhutan People’s Party, which has continuously tried to limit their initiatives by imposing restrictions at the implementation stage of activities in the camps and by menacing and terrorising members. In particular, during public talks in the presence of BBC reporters or UNHCR personnel, people often have threatened women for talking. Women were also denied participation in the indefinite sit-in protest in front of the UN building coordinated by the Bhutanese Refugee Repatriation Representative committee which was seeking the UN’s help to resolve refugee problems.

On this occasion in 2006, an influential Bhutanese leader threatened their personal security and also attempted to violate women’s right of expression and participation. Though political organisations silenced women’s voices, with the help of NGOs she continued to implement her communication campaign trying to make women understand that they are not less valuable than men and that violence against women is intolerable.

It is a great achievement that she has helped to even break a bit of the

culture of silence. However, changing attitudes is difficult. While programs and policies can support these changes, only people can modify their own attitudes, and it is a very long process.

... she continued to implement her communication campaign trying to make women understand that they are not less valuable than men and that violence against women is intolerable. It is a great achievement that she has helped to even break a bit of the culture of silence.

An instance of potential positive change among Bhutanese refugees occurred in early 2008, when several countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, Norway and New Zealand, began to accept tens of thousands of Bhutanese refugees.

Since the bilateral talks between Nepal and Bhutan have ended with no

Discrimination and GBV in Refugees Camps

child, recognizing the father as the unique source of nationality.

Although Nepal has not signed the 1951 UN Convention concerning the status of refugees, since 1990 it has assisted more than 100,000 refugees who have left Bhutan to seek asylum forced to flee at the beginning of the 1990’s as a result of the ethnic cleansing campaign implemented by the monarchical government of Bhutan.

While refugee camps should be considered safe havens from gender based violence perpetrated during conflicts, often, unfortunately, they become again “sites of violence” Giles, 1999: 90-94) and Bhutanese refugees camps are not an exception.

It has been demonstrated that gender-based violence is widespread in displaced communities and takes many forms including domestic violence, trafficking, enforced prostitution and sexual violence. (Bushra and Fish 2004: 8) (Numerous cases of women severely beaten by their husband have been reported by HRW report (2003:36).

Since their arrivals in the camps, Bhutanese refugee women have been under the protection and the legal system of the Nepalese Government. Women in Nepal face not only social and cultural bias but they are also discriminated by laws, which strongly protect the patriarchal domination of men. The existing law, for instance, deprives women of the right to property; discrimination against women in the law also includes the impossibility for a mother to transfer the citizenship to her

Unfortunately perpetrators of violence against displaced women include not only partners and military, but also humanitarian aid workers. Sadly, sexual exploitation among girl refugees was brought to international attention after a study on Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone carried out by UNHCR and Save The Children in 2002. Indeed Bhutanese refugees camps have also been victims of sexual exploitation, including rape and sexual harassment committed by Nepalese government officers, paid by UNHCR and refugees, most of them teachers, working for NGO’s implementing partners. According to a Human Rights Watch report (2003: 36) in 2002, eighteen cases of sexual abuse have been addressed.

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| REFUGEES |

solution to the refugee crises, as Ganga has said, “to guarantee the normal and secured lives of women, only third country resettlement would help” (SAARC meeting, March 2007). In March 2008, resettlement started for 828 refugees and Ganga was one of them. Each refugee has been sponsored by NGOs that have provided housing, food, clothes, English classes and help in searching for jobs. GBV cases have been given the priority for resettlement.

Ganga was nervous when she first landed in the United States of America on March 26 with her husband and 5-year-old daughter. She currently lives in Phoenix (Arizona) and works as a Refugee Case Manager at the Lutheran Social Service (LSS) in the Southwest of Arizona. Besides picking up the newcomers from the airport, she assists them with their immediate requirements, which may include regular home visits, department of security interviews, schooling for children and appointments with doctors for medical assistance.

Migration scholars have shown that the concept of the male role as breadwinner sometimes becomes inadequate after immigration. Migrant women often become the provider for their families because they adapt better and are more willing to accept any kind of job in order to help the family (Matsouka and Sorenson 1999).

Gender relations within the families are challenged and empowerment and opportunities accompany difficulty and losses. While resettlement is, for many, not the ideal solution -- many women would prefer to see empowerment within their own country -- it could present more opportunities for women and further steps toward empowerment. Because the resettlement phase is in its infancy, we will have to wait a few more years to properly assess how resettlement affects these Bhutanese women’s live. ■

References C. Cockburn, “The Continuum of Violence: A Greater Perspective on War and Peace,” in W. Giles and J. Hyndman, Sites of Violence: Gender and Conflict Zones. London: University of California Press, 2004.

J. El Bushra and K.Fish,“Refugees and IDP” in Inclusive Security, Sustainable Peace: a Tool Kit for Advocacy and Action London, 2004 pp1-17 W. Giles, “ Gendered Violence in War: Reflections on Tran-nationalist and Comparative Frameworks in Militarized Conflicts Zones,” in D. Indra, Engendering Forced Migration Knowledge and Practice. Oxford: Berghahn, 1999.

Matsuoka and J. Sorenson, “Eritrean Canadian in Refugee Households As Sites of Gender Renegotiation,” in D. Indra, Engendering Forced Migration Knowledge and Practice. Oxford: Berghahn, 1999 For information on Bhutanese Refugees crises see for instance: M. Hutt, Unbecoming Citizen: Culture Nationhood and the Flight of Refugees from Bhutan.

New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Human Right Watch, “Trapped by Inequality: Bhutanese Refugee Women in Nepal,” Sep 2003. www.hrw.org/ reports2003/nepal/0903

This is UNIFEM’s biennial report, launched earlier this year and available from their website: www.unifem.org

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| HUMAN RIGHTS |

Are human rights universal?

T

he latest report published by Human Rights Watch states that the initiative for holding discussions on human rights issues is no longer the sole prerogative of western capitals such as Washington or Brussels. Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht responds in the Belgian newspaper ‘De Standaard’ that the most activist states are the so-called ‘spoilers’: under the disguise of principles such as sovereignty, noninterventionism and southern solidarity they attack the core of human rights. He believes the contradiction can be framed in a broader discussion between ‘sovereigns’ and ‘multilateralism.’

The former don’t tolerate any interference in their internal affairs and regard sovereignty as the most important feature of relations between states. The latter promote a vision on international relations that calls for more interference, supervision and if necessary action on the part of the international community.

Furthermore, the Minister argues that the most fundamental and most vulnerable element of human rights is at stake: their universality.

The assumption that human rights are universal is indeed more and more contested. Non-western countries in particular often have a different perspective on human rights.

One can distinguish three important dissident voices: Asia, Africa and Islam. The Asian and African points of view with regard to the universality of human rights have quite a lot in common. While the western world focuses first and foremost on civil and political rights, Asia and Africa emphasize economic development.

Since today’s world is still characterised by major economic imbalances it may not come as a surprise that a lot of developing countries prioritize development as an issue. Another point of divergence is the role communal rights play in Asian and African cultures instead of

Jos Raymenants, intern at UNRIC Benelux desk in Brussels

the individualist tendency in the western world. Individual rights are generally regarded as inferior to the interests of the whole community.

The Islamic view on human rights is quite heterogeneous and also differs in some important respects from the western approach.

A conservative strand rejects the western notion of human rights mainly because of the non-religious basis of it. Conservatives argue that religious works such as the Koran, the Sunni and the Shari’-a offer sufficient protection. Religious conservatives have created their own human rights texts on the basis of those Islamic sources. It is obvious that these instruments may not contradict the religious sources and are not legally enforceable. Muslim scientists on the other hand believe that current human rights standards are not fundamentally in contradiction with the laws of the Shari’-a. In this regard they argue that the laws of the Shari’a should be understood in accordance with a 21st century historical perspective. Although the conservative perspective is still dominant in most Muslim societies, the internal debate on the place of human rights in Islam has not yet been decided.

The former illustrates that cultures and societies understand human rights in diverging ways. They do not only give different meanings to the concept of human rights but they also emphasize different issues. But

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does this mean that human rights are not universal? I don’t think so. I would argue that each individual does possess some inalienable rights irrespective of their ethnic, social and cultural background. Nevertheless, I do recognize that the universality of human rights is in essence a concept of the Western world. That’s why I believe that human rights should be applied with more flexibility, depending on the specific cultural context and taking into account local rules, customs and traditions.

Additional human rights instruments could play a role in this regard by complementing and fine-tuning more traditional instruments. A good example is the African Charter that reflects the African perspective on human rights issues. This approach could balance the western ethnocentric view on human rights.

This doesn’t mean that the flexibility approach has no limits.

Some human rights standards are so fundamental to the lives of human beings that they do not allow for any flexibility. Furthermore, governments should not use the flexibility approach as a pretext to justify human rights violations on their territories. Neither should they hide behind principles of international law - such as national sovereignty and non-interference – to counter criticism of the international community with regard to their human rights record. Instead, governments should always be held accountable for their actions.

Finally, I believe a more flexible approach is also in line with the spirit of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights which has been in existence for more than 60 years: to create a framework of rights that each human being can support and which offers sufficient protection to everyone who needs it.

In my view this approach could be the way that leads towards a more general acceptance of the universality of human rights throughout the entire world. ■

| POLITICS |

Sexuality in Politics

wikipedia.org

Name: Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir Country: Iceland Date of birth: 4 October 1942 Party: Social Democratic Alliance Current office: Prime Minister of Iceland (since 2009) Key political moment: After a failed bid for the Social Democratic leadership in 1994, Jóhanna is reported to have raised her fist and declared “my time will come!”

Fifteen years later, her prediction has been proved correct.

The future: Although popular in Iceland, Jóhanna has taken office at a difficult time for the country and its politics. She faces the task of rebuilding the national economy and restoring public faith in politicians, following the collapse of the Icelandic banks.

J

óhanna Sigurðardóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland since February 2009, is not only Iceland’s first female head of government. Nor is she just another member of the small, but growing, club of female political leaders. She is also the first openly gay head of government in the modern era.

Are we right to claim this as a first? After all, two thousand years ago, Roman historian Suetonius questioned the character of Emperor Claudius, on account of the bizarre fact that his love-life was dominated exclusively by women. This was, however, not so much a reflection of liberal attitudes towards homosexuality in antiquity, but rather a reflection of the fact that the rules were different.

Indeed, it would be very wrong to assume that same-sex relationships were accepted as a simple alternative to heterosexual relationships in Ancient Rome and Greece.

Things look very different today – at least in some parts of the world – where homosexual relationships are given legal status and accepted by society at large.

Indeed, experience has shown that electorates across Europe are able to

exists in everyday life. The recent campaign against Proposition 8, an amendment to the constitution in California which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, focused on presenting true life stories of loving couples and families, samesex partners dispelling negative Ian Dean, stereotypes of homosexuality, by emphasising their normality. The intern at ILO in Brussels message was clear: homosexuality is nothing to be scared of, and gay people are just like you. Those that have taken the plunge and are living in celebrate, tolerate or, at the very least, long-term relationships, civil unions or marriages act not just as role models, ignore a politician’s sexuality during but as positive images of the “gay election campaigns. Klaus Wowereit community” and a reminder that gay and Bertrand Delanoë, mayors of politicians can be just as dreary as Berlin and Paris respectively, both fought and won election campaigns as straight ones.

However, it is unfair to openly gay men, and both are often assume that gay politicians should be touted as future national leaders. measured simply on the basis of their This begs the question: just role in advancing gay rights – indeed, how important is a person’s sexuality no-one would make the equivalent in a life of politics? The case of assumption that politicians from ethnic disgraced UK member of Parliament minority communities should be Mark Oaten illustrates well the point viewed only in terms of their that we can never truly know an individual’s personal leanings, and nor contribution to racial equality, or that would we want to. But out and proud female politicians are there to follow a feminist agenda. Like all politicians, it politicians do have a role to play in is the job of gay politicians to act in the tackling the discrimination that still

21

| POLITICS |

oe /Thomas/Delan

wikipedia.org

Name Klaus Wowereit Country: Germany Date of birth: 1 October 1953 Party SPD (Social Democratic Party) Current office: Mayor of Ber lin (since 2001) Key political moment: Com ing out during the convention of the SPD, Wowere it uttered the now-famous words "Ich bin sch wul, und das ist auch gut so." (I’m gay, and that ’s a good thing.”

Following his announcement, there was a moment of silence , then spontaneous shouts and cheers of support.

The future: Wowereit has bee n mentioned as a future contend er for the Chancellorship of German y. However, at the forthcoming general elections in September, Frank-W alter Steinmeir will be the can didate for the SPD, with the governing CSU enjoying a lead in the poll s. wikipedia.org/Eceda

interests of their country, and to stand up for the issues they believe – whether they concern gay rights or not. Indeed, like straight politicians, gay politicians can do great good or they can attract a great deal of controversy entirely unrelated to their sexual proclivities.

Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn’s views on Islam and immigration illustrated that not all gay politicians fit the traditional liberal democratic role that one might expect.

In short, we should move on beyond notions of gender and sexuality in both the political, and the social spheres. In many democracies progress is being made in this very regard: people remember Mrs Thatcher not simply for being the first female Prime Minister in the United Kingdom, but for being either the devil or a saint.

Similarly, in Iceland, Jóhanna is judged not as a woman, nor as a lesbian, but for her record of decades serving her country. This is not to say that either her sexuality or her gender have not had an impact on her development as a politician, but that these impacts are no greater than the myriad of experiences that any individual can bring to political office. ■

Delanoë Name: Bertrand ce Country: Fran May 1950 Date of birth: 30 rty Pa Party: Socialist e 2001) yor of Paris (sinc Ma e: fic ved an Current of rvi su ent: Delanoë Key political mom in 2002 when he was stabbed empt it Blanche, a assassination att crowds on the Nu the d th wi g lin ing while m -be assassin state in Paris. His would , rty Pa t lis cia So night of festivities d politicians, the te ha s he t wa tha he d re attack we atening, an were not life-thre his reasons for the ds un wo ’s oë lan De and homosexuals. s. candidate for the ital after two week sp ho ve lea to le ted as a possible ab es gg su ver, he en be s oë ha s Sarkozy. Howe The future: Delan ing against Nichola ey nn br ru Au s, e on tin cti ar ele M as 2012 presidential n his own party, ra allenges from withi reportedly keen fo is l ya Ro e lèn is likely to face ch go Sé d an ts, lis cia e so currently leads th ry. her 2008 adversa rematch against

wikipedia.org

The UN declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity is a French-initiated and EU-backed statement presented to the General Assembly on 18 December 2008. The countries in green are the 67 of the United Nations' 192 member countries that have signed the declaration. 57 countries have signed an opposing statement to the declaration, marked in red.

22

An overview of the MDGs relating to women João Vítor Redondo, intern at UNRIC Portuguese desk in Brussels

E

nsuring fundamental rights provides a strong basis for improving the status and empowering women. Right from its inception, the United Nations has clearly shown its determination to promote and protect the equal rights of women. Particular impetus was given by the adoption the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in 1967 and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1979. A more recent development is found in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which reflect the continued commitment of the UN to the advancement of women.

MDG number one – to end poverty and hunger – implicitly recognises the increasing feminisation of poverty and emphasises the importance of providing women with job opportunities and fair wages. The second MDG – universal primary education – reflects the concern, among other things, to ensure that women will be able to complete the full course of primary schooling.

The third goal – gender

equality – is crucial since by ensuring that girls and women will have access to primary, secondary and tertiary education on an equal footing with boys and men, it enables them to have access to well-paid work, to have control of their own lives and to participate in the political and social spheres. The fourth goal – child health – is extremely relevant because educated mothers are more likely to properly protect their children’s health.

The maternal health goal (MDG number five) is a particularly important goal due to the unacceptably high number of women who are still at risk of death due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth, especially in the developing countries. Also, the number of pregnant adolescents is worryingly high, which shows the need to provide young girls with sexual and reproductive health information and services. Finally, the sixth goal – combat HIV/AIDS – is particularly relevant because women represent a increasing number of people who live with HIV, as a result of their low status and consequent vulnerability, for example. Therefore, it is vital that women have access to information as well as to preventative health care and treatment.

Access to education and information are essential to empower women. Vocational training is also instrumental in building women’s capacity to allow them to have a job or start a business, for example. The establishment of women’s associations also plays a role in women’s empowerment by enabling them to better defend their rights and gain experience in several areas such as participation in the social and

23

Women’s empowerment is a major global challenge that is far from being met. political life of their societies.

Women’s empowerment is a major global challenge that is far from being met. It is important that society not forget that gender bias is still a reality in many places. In this regard, governments and organizations should redouble their efforts to overcome this problem, the media should continue to reveal and decry discriminatory practices around the world. We must ensure the fundamental rights exist so that women can continue to empower themselves and control their futures without limitation. ■

| MIDDLE EAST |

Women in the Middle East tradition. Throughout Arab history women have not enjoyed equal rights as citizens and have been discriminated against across every institution of society: law, economy, education, criminal justice system, etc. Despite guarantees of equal rights written in the Constitution or Alexandra Basha, national legislation, enforcement of guarantees by state authorities intern at UNRIC, UK & Ireland these does not always occur. Some of the desk in Brussels limitations are based on religious beliefs, but for the most part are an you imagine your spouse cultural and originate from tradition and not religious practice. having legal authority over you, or not being allowed to The status of women is have an active voice in the affected by recent national, regional, political process of your country? This and global events (e.g. the “war on type of discrimination against women terror” and foreign occupation in is still apparent in societies across the Palestine). These are the strongest Middle East today (e.g. Kuwait, UAE, inhibitors to progress because basic Saudi Arabia). Change to the status of rights continue to be violated. With women is long overdue and urgent continued militarization in the Middle action needs to take place towards East and the rise in conservatism, gender equality. reform will be put on hold for women.

C

Politicization of Islam is another major contributor to the setback of women’s rights. In the conservative countries in the Middle East that implement Shari’a

UN Photo/Armineh Johannes

Discrimination in laws and social customs will not improve by tomorrow; no quick solution exists.

Gender-based obstacles stem from

Armenia: The Elderly and War. A 106-year-old Armenian woman sits in front of her home guarding it with a rifle, in the village of Degh, near the border of Azerbaijan. Location: Degh, Armenia Date: 01 January 1990

24

law, women are greatly affected by the combination of religion and state.

Due to the perseverance of women’s rights groups, improvements have been made, but there is still much to be done. For example, the women’s movement in Turkey has successfully brought reform to the Civil Code in 2001, which now recognizes the equality of women, and men in all matters related to marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance and property.

More recently, following the MousaviRahnavard presidential race in Iran, women’s rights, were for the first time

With continued militarization in the Middle East and the rise in conservatism, reform will be put on hold for women. since the revolution, frequently discussed on national Iranian television, newspapers and online.

With women comprising 65 percent of universities in Iran, it will become increasingly difficult to marginalize them. Women are becoming more vocal and involved over time, which gives the movement hope for change.

Change is difficult though in regions where women have been treated for centuries in the same way; deep-rooted traditions are always hard to break. It will take time, and balancing with long-term traditions will need to be reached especially with the religious leaders and thinkers in these countries. Lack of information about women’s rights, leadership and global achievements inhibit any progress on women’s issues; therefore, women need access to information and need to be educated on matters that directly affect them. Women’s rights campaigners must not give up; the fight on local and global levels must continue and they must continue to push for women’s equal participation in social, economic and political life. ■

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

| INTERVIEW |

James Morris and Simona Donini on their interview with a UN official passionate about women’s rights and in the executive team of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

J

oanne is a New Yorker whose travel abroad at age 19 plunged her into the world of feminism.

Joanne told us that “I began to see that there was something universal in the way women could not access their rights.” Joanne was in Spain to learn Spanish but happened upon a local grass roots feminist movement, and since that liminal moment Joanne has been completely immersed in the fight for women’s rights.

develop information and communication to support women’s organisations all over the world. The first UN world conference on women in 1976 invigorated a global women’s rights movement. New independent women’s NGOs emerged all over the world: in Latin America, Africa, Asia and elsewhere.

In her nine years there Joanne’s focus was on fundraising, training and marketing. After nine years of dedication to working with She eventually returned to the women’s groups outside of the US, Joanne explained to us that she felt a US and studied international need to get back in touch with local administration but with a clear focus groups and therefore became a that she wanted to work on women’s consultant for the next 10 years rights generally. In the late 1970s working with a 50-50 split between there were a small number of work with women’s organisations independent US based women’s organisations that worked on women’s based in the US and those in other countries. rights, and after studying Joanne interned at one of them, the Now Joanne’s work is International Women’s Tribune Centre, overseeing and guiding programming which at the time and still is across the in UNIFEM regions worldwide. She road from the UN in New York. Joanne guided the development of UNIFEM’s ended up spending nine years at the four-year strategic plan through Tribune working on their mandate to

25

consultation with the various stakeholders, and now guides the process of tracking, assessing, reporting and reflecting on UNIFEM’s performance on the ground.

There are more than 100 staff at UNIFEM in New York, and UNIFEM has 15 subregional offices with another 40 country programme offices.

Joanne explained that UNIFEM was born in 1976 as a response to the calls for such a body from women’s groups, but originally had a 10-year lifespan that aligned with the UN international decade on women’s rights (19761985). “It then transformed into an autonomous fund, working closely with UNDP and using UNDP’s operations and administrative systems,” the idea being to use already existing mechanisms. However, as understanding and demand grew exponentially, Joanne told us “a vibrant debate on strengthening the architecture of gender equality has emerged,” which is one factor that is contributing to UNIFEM’s growth.

| PROFILES |

How do you coordinate with other agencies on gender issues? Do you perhaps advocate that other agencies have gender specialists?

UNIFEM of course advocates strongly for much more expertise. The “Delivering as One pilot initiative” is illustrative of this as UNIFEM reached out to the pilot countries to see what expertise and technical support they could provide and supported them as much as possible. UNIFEM felt that it was important to get involved in the pilots to support efforts to ensure that gender gets the attention it needs.

When representatives of the pilot countries met in Vietnam in 2008, they agreed that the strong demand for gender equality support was unmistakably there but that the number of gender specialists was insufficiently low.

Progress of the World’s Women, discusses this but in response to the question of whether women make a difference Joanne clearly told us that “the imbalance cannot be justified.”

“More research is necessary: once women reach a critical mass then more women’s rights issues get put on the agenda.” Joanne gave the exampled of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf the President of Liberia who has spoken out clearly that her priority is to eliminate sexual violence.

“violence against women can destroy countries.”

What advice would you give to young people who want to make a first step into the gender field?

“Of course there are many organisations and teams within departments where interns can get involved, including in policy and strategy development to strengthen the gender architecture. But it’s important also that interns keep a gender perspective in whatever fields they At the UNIFEM 08/09 report launch work in, and integrate gender equality you said “Violence against women is in whatever they’re doing. All the teams the hidden pandemic. … It is hidden are there for support and information so in the estimated US$9.5 billion that as interns move forward they should criminal networks earn from human connect up with those drivers of gender trafficking, with the majority of those equality. Take training opportunities trafficked women and children.” So offered by women’s organisations, big far can you see results after UNIFEM and small, all across the world. Use the launch of the campaign Say no to web, interactive blogs etc for Violence against Women? exchanging information.”

In the last few years Angela Merkel The campaign has lead to important (Germany) Portia Simpson-Miller “There is a huge demand for results in the political arena. “When this expertise, broadly and specifically, for (Jamaica) Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf issue arose in the 1990s the debate (Liberia) Michelle Bachelet (Chile) example, on the gender dimensions of and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was focused mostly on whether this economics, climate change, food (Argentina) were all elected as either was a public or private issue, not security and sexual violence. There’s a opening up until the world conference the prime minister of president of huge demand and not enough supply. on human rights.” UNIFEM is hopeful their countries. Given these We need both women and men to be that through the Secretary-General’s increases are there political and involved.” ■ cultural effects of women's growing campaign more men’s groups will be Joanne Sandler is the Deputy Executive Director standing up for the elimination of all presence in politics? Do Women for Programmes at UNIFEM in New York. violence against women. The UN Trust Make a Difference?

The recently released UNIFEM report, fund has grown, which is indicative of the political will and the realisations that

WomenWatch is the central gateway to information and resources on the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women throughout the United Nations system, including the United Nations Secretariat, regional commissions, funds, programmes, specialized agencies and academic and research institutions. It is a joint United Nations project created in March 1997 to provide Internet space for global gender equality issues and to support implementation of the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/

In December 2006, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a comprehensive resolution calling for an intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and requesting the SecretaryGeneral to establish a coordinated database on the extent, nature and consequences of all forms of violence against women, and on the impact and effectiveness of policies and programmes for, including best practices in, combating such violence.

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| PROFILES |

Meet other

interns From Columbia but lives in Paris. She has a Bachelor degree in sociology and politics and a Masters in humanitarian affairs.

Clara is very interested in humanitarian aid and development, mainly in Latin America.

Now Clara is doing an internship at WFP in Brussels during her second Masters degree study in agricultural sustainable development, international economics and food security. With a degree like that it’s no surprise that her long-term career goal is to work at the WFP or other UN agencies related to humanitarian aid: either in Latin America or Europe. It’s not the first internship either, previously Clara was at OCHA Bogota.

Main internship tasks: Dealing with fundraising office in Brussels. Her internship is one big project. It’s made up of three components: one on food prices crisis situation, another on the general response from the EC to food security, and the third to analyse strategic papers from EC and WFP.

l Real, Clara De La Hoz De Brussels intern at the WFP in

Clara feels that her internship at WFP Brussels allows her to develop her organisational skills and the ability to work in a team, as well as to learn more about the functioning of the United Nations and working in a multicultural and multidisciplinary context.

Originally from Blois, two hours from Paris.

Studied Spanish and English at Bachelor level and she’s now finishing her Masters in Humanitarian Management and Cultural Development in Aix-enProvence.

Now her main task at UNEP is working on a guidebook for NGOs called Youth Xchange in the sustainable consumption team – a small but vibrant team of two. She does translation work (the guidebook’s translated into 18 languages), develops partnerships with NGOs and does internet research to find these NGOs. Her workplace in Paris is near the St Lazare train station, 30 minutes walk from her place. She says there are quite a few interns and about 100 people working for UNEP in total. There’s a good atmosphere and the interns and staff get along well together, having lunch in the cafeteria and sometimes socialising outside of work.

Future plans include working in Latin America on consumption issues and sustainable in an international NGO (her dream). She’s open to any country, but at the moments she’s thinking Chile where she already did an internship.

Laure Meuriss e, intern at UNE P in Paris

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| REVIEWS |

Interns rip into reviewing whom they lose on the night of his bachelor’s party, will inevitably leave you smiling. Zach Galifianakis, who plays the slightly crazy Alan Garner, offers a particularly memorable performance: his answer to “you’re the man!” is “you are too.” Over the Book: Bohumil Hrabal: "Dancing top and without a doubt worth seeing.

Lessons for the Advanced in Age" (Publisher: Harcourt; 1st edition, 4/5 (Helene Faure) 1995, in English) The experimental structure might not Film: Machan, directed by Uberto be for everyone, but the novel is extremely hilarious and captivating in Pasolini, with Gihan de Chickera and its oddness. 4/5 (Viivi Erkkilä) Dharmapriya Dias.

Machan is a funny movie with a sincere and heartwarming message.

Book: Saul Williams, "Said the Shotgun to the Head" (Publisher: It depicts the life of two Sri Lankan Music: Little Boots - Hands MTV; 1 edition, 2003) Much-hyped electro-pop talent Little men and their families who are living Boots' debut album Hands is a clever An intense and breathtaking collection in the poorest areas of the country of poems from the man many believe and are suffering from poverty and mix of mainstream pop and indie invented slam poetry. 4/5 (Viivi electro. References to such 80s the lack of employment. But instead influences as the Human League and Erkkilä) of choosing the criminal path like Donna Summer are obvious on tracks many of their fellow citizens, they like Symmetry, a duet with Phil pursue their hope for a better future in Book: Kiran Desai, "The Inheritance of Loss" (Publisher: Oakley, and the ridiculously catchy a creative way. 4/5 (Astrid Bothmann) Hamish Hamilton Ltd, 2006) Stuck On Repeat. Anyone who has seen her live performances (many of An insightful and thought provoking Film: He’s just not into you, by Ken portrayal of the pain of exile and the them available on youtube) cannot Kwapis, with Ben Affleck, Jennifer ambiguities of postcolonial deny the girl has talent, and Little Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett characters. 4/5 (Viivi Erkkilä) Boots has delivered an album that Johansson, Justin Long, Jennifer lives up to this reviewer's high Connelly, Ginnifer Goodwin, Kevin expectations. 4/5 (Ian Dean) Film: The Brothers Bloom, by Rian Connolly, and Bradley Cooper.

This American romantic comedy Johnson, with Rachel Weisz and depicts the emotional misadventures Adrien Brody.

Music: The Teenagers – Reality This movie portrays deliciously of nine individuals in their twenties Check (released 2008) dysfunctional characters who try to This a group of three Parisian and thirties. In an amusing way, the twentysomethings who have used the make sense out of life by breaking it movie tries to shed more light onto cheap method of adopting misogyny, down into dreamlike scenarios. The the complicated relationships con men, two orphan brothers, come between men and women. The stereotypes and naughty words to catch attention. Their sound is electro up with elaborate schemes to trump spectator learns why men don’t indie with pop-appeal, however while and deceive their victims; but answer calls, refuse to get married or everything becomes more some say that their lyrics are selfdon’t want to sleep with their wives. aware and comical, what really lies at complicated when their new prey But is the answer really as simply as: the core of this group is a cold heart. becomes their accomplice. This He’s just not into you? 4/5 (Astrid Their music is puerile, not ironic, and delirious movie can be confusing at Bothmann) times but the actors are excellent. should have remained the joke Erratic – in a good way. 4/5 (Helene amongst friends as it was originally Faure) intended. 0/5 (James Morris) Let your VOICE be heard! Relish Film: Terminator Salvation If you heard Christian Bale's infamous four-letter rant on the set of new movie Terminator Salvation, in which an unfortunate technician is subjected to his wrath, then you have already heard the best that this film has produced. Sadly, the onslaught did not make the final cut, and the movie itself meanders, without much plot, character development or action.

Schwarzenegger's robotic cameo is nostalgic, but ultimately cannot save this rather directionless piece of cinema. 2/5 (Ian Dean)

Book: Kurt Vonnegut, "A Man Without a Country" (Publisher: Seven Stories Press, 2005) Brilliant. Inspirational. Humane. 5/5 (Viivi Erkkilä)

Concert: Jarvis Cocker in Brussels Indie legend Jarvis Cocker wouldn't have needed to bribe the audience with pizza, his spectacular performance and charisma wowed the diverse crowd in Brussels 6.6.2009. 5/5

Film: The Hangover, directed by Todd Phillips, with Bradley Cooper and Heather Graham.

Don’t judge this movie before you have seen it: it is witty, altogether funny – and subtle. The story of three groomsmen in search of the groom,

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delight on a recent romp or send a K.O. blow to a story of woe.

Have you seen, read or heard something lately that you want other interns to know about? New or old, bad or good, write a short review and send it in.

| CAMPAIGN |

We help you to stay as cool as possible

Innovating for the Earth!

The website www.coolplanet2009.org presents a list of ‘Cool Innovations,’ which are novel inventions that for instance help save water or energy, or perhaps reduce waste. Each of these represents a small step towards helping the planet. Perhaps some of these might inspire you to think of some way of innovating for the Earth yourself?

The Mud Clock all your mom has been saying Don't believe what your e. us ho the in ce for mud life: There is always a pla uires req t tha ck clo ly eco-friend “Timeless Garden” is an l ica dirt and water. A chem no batteries, just a little wer po the s ate cre tal and me reaction between mud ttery ba more power waste or needed for this clock; no the dirt in ts en powering compon disposal! Stick the clock seeds e som ss ck is functional. To and voilá – the mud clo nyge ox , CO²-absorbing in the dirt to grow some producing plants!

Plastic C hips Inste ad

of Water

British com p washing m any Xeros has inve nted a achine it c laims will with only wash a fu a single c ll load up of wate technolog r. Th y is at the Univ the result of resea e rch carried e plastic ch rsity of Leeds. The ou ips to rem m achine us t ove dirt an e clothes, a s d sta nd of water fo claims to use as litt ins from le as one r each wa cup sh than 2 pe r cent of th ing cycle, which is less e water of machine. ac Th commercia e machine is set to onventional be lized for th eU Read more at www.xe K market this year. rosltd.com .

SealtheDeal is a UN global campaign for a fair, balanced and effective climate agreement at the Copenhagen climate conference from 7-18 December 2009

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| CAMPAIGN |

Bulb 2.0 beyond ving bulb which goes far Bulb 2.0 is an energy-sa design, of ce pie rn de being a mo traditional light bulbs by often -saving bulbs which are outshining ordinary energy in Not that there's anything perceived as unattractive. ess en ional CFLs, but the cut particular wrong with tradit lix Fe edge. Designed by of the Bulb 2.0 gives it the d fluorescent bulb designe ct pa Stark, Bulb 2.0 is a com t ligh nt sce de an a traditional inc with the faux-filament of ous fam st mo his an era where bulb – a nod to Edison in olete. obs g min invention is beco The Bicycle C ar Lying down to exercise and he lping the enviro actually possib nm le – all while ge tting to where yo ent is be. Velomobile u need to s are fully enclos ed bicycles that use instead of a car, and with you can out any environm petrol price wor ental or ries. Riders cycl e using standa to power the ve rd pedals lomobile and, de pending on the they can achiev rider, e speeds of up to pod keeps the rider dry and va 50 km/h. The enclosed rious models al extra space for low for belongings. Rea d more at www where you can .leiba.de, also listen to th e “Velomobile song.”

Pen From Bottle to ctable, ers Pilot: A retra ade from uc od pr npe r fo A first hich is m rollerball pen w e refillable gel ink gned to look lik si de d bottles an tic ed as pt pl ul sc ed cl is cy rrel re ky translucent ba t B2P Recycled one too! Its chun ilo “P e Th e. ttl ater bo ble with black, like a mineral w la ai av is e” in -F ra xt E l al rb Gel Rolle -free ink. blue or red acid

enjoy!

Søren Friis, intern at UNRIC Nordic desk in Brussels www.coolplanet2009.org

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| MIGRATION |

UN-INSTRAW

UN-INSTRAW

Gender and migration virtual community places women in the forefront within the migration-development nexus

financially independent or not, women were classified as dependents migrating for family reunification purposes.

Lana Oh, intern at UNDP in Brussels, EC-UN Joint Migration for Development Initiative

T

here are approximately 200 million migrants in the world today of which nearly half are women. Overtime, the percentage of female migrants has been rising,* from 46.7% in 1960 to 49.6% in 2005.** What has changed more dramatically than the numbers are the reasons why females migrate.

Women have increasingly been migrating as independent actors rather than as dependents. This phenomenon is often referred to as the “feminization of migration.” In 1960, for example, whether * The global picture does, however, hide some dramatic differences at the country level. For example, in the Philippines, female migrant labour is the country’s largest export. ** Maurice Schiff (ed). 'The International Migration of Women,’ November 2007

Women still migrate for various reasons, including family reunification and marriage. However, today more women are migrating for economic opportunities. For some women, migration leads to career enhancement. For others, it can lead to de-skilling as they accept lower skilled jobs for higher pay.

Consequently, women are becoming the principal wage earners for their families and are increasingly involved in the sending, along with, the receipt and management of remittances.

Women’s work and income contributes to their own well-being and sense of independence as well as of their families and to the development of both sending and receiving countries. Thus, they play an important role in determining the impact of migration on development.

However, migration research and policy do not always take gender into account.

A recent initiative of the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UNINSTRAW) aims to put gender at the forefront of the dialogue on migration and development. Last April, UN-

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INSTRAW launched their new Gender and Migration Virtual Community. The virtual community aims to bring together academic experts, practitioners and other stakeholders from all over the world to discuss the issues of migration, remittances and development from a gender perspective.

Laura Olsen of the Gender, Migration, Remittances and Development team at UN-INSTRAW describes the community as “a space for those who share an interest in gender and migration to debate and reflect on issues in the field, share information and learn from each other. The Community acts both as a network for dialogue between civil society groups, international organizations, governments, and researchers and as an information hub, by creating a space for its members to share publications, resources, contacts, and information about upcoming training and funding opportunities.”

"The Virtual community on Migration and Gender pioneered by UN-INSTRAW is an excellent opportunity for academics and activists alike to exchange information and engage in global debate on migration dynamics and gender," stated Bridget Wooding, Associate Researcher at Facultad

| MIGRATION |

Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) in the Dominican Republic, and one of the participants in the Virtual Community.

Applying a gender lens to migration patterns can contribute to identifying ways to enhance the positive aspects of migration on development and to mitigate the negative effects of the feminization of migration (e.g. exploitive work and trafficking), as well as to promote greater gender equality in both sending and receiving countries. The dialogue, exchange of information, and resources provided by the Gender and Migration Virtual Community will significantly highlight the critical role women’s contribution to development plays and serve as a platform to give migration issues from a gender perspective more recognition. ■

To learn more about gender, and migration and development, please see the following: UN-INSTRAW’s Gender and Migration Virtual Community website. http://www.un-instraw.org/grvc/ The EC-UN Joint Migration for Development Initiative. www.migration4development.org UNDP’s Human Development Report Research Paper 2009/4.

“Migration and gender empowerment: Recent trends and emerging issues”. Downloadable at http://origin-hdr.undp.org/ en/reports/global/hdr2009/papers/ United Nations Development Program site on Migration and Development. http://www.undp.org/poverty/migration.htm

A Man in the Kitchen!

Nacho-Herb Potato-Fish Bake

Baked Fish with Potatoes

Ingredients

Ingredients

1.75 cans cream of celery soup

4 lb filet of fish

1/2 cup water

1 green pepper, chopped

1 pound perch fillet

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cups cooked, diced potatoes

3 bay leaves

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 tin tomatoes, pureed

1 tbsp. dried parsley

2 large onions, chopped

1/2 tsp. dried basil

4 celery stalks, chopped

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

Instructions

A pinch of sugar

1. Combine soup and water. Pour half in and simmer. Lay perch fillet on top. Place potatoes on fillet. Pour remaining soup mix over top.

6 potatoes, sliced

2. Combine cheese and herbs. Sprinkle over the other ingredients keeping a low simmer.

3. Cover with foil and place in the oven at 180 Celsius for 1-2 hours, being careful not to overcook fish.

[Ignacio assures me that this takes such a long time —Ed.]

Ignacio Puente, intern at UNRIC, Spanish desk, in Brussels

Olive oil Instructions Saute the onions, pepper, celery, garlic, and parsley in olive oil.

Add tinned tomatoes and bay leaves. Cook for approximately 1 hour, add sugar. Oil a roasting pan, season the fish with salt and pepper. Place fish in pan with potatoes. Pour sauce over potatoes and fish. Bake for approximately 1 hour. Basting every 15 minutes.

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| GIFTS |

The Secretary-General Gift Shop

The staff at the Secretary-General gift shop have been working hard to bring you the best gifts to memorialize each Secretary-General. You’ll never forget any Secretary-General or what they achieved with these carefully crafted and designed gifts that speak volumes about the careers.

And maybe they’ll even tell you something you didn’t already know...

Buy your Ban Ki-moon DIY t-shirt kit and follow the current Secretary-General’s progress. Get pictures of officials with Ban, Ban in the field etc and use the special paper in this pack to print them out. Use the special organic cotton fair trade t-shirt to iron on in any design you like! But! Make sure you follow the 258-page instruction manual (also included). Only 6,500 South Korean Won!

#00012

Limited edition!

This pencil and sharpener set is a limited edition with a Nobel Peace Prize seal and individual number. The pencils are made from ethically sourced African Mahogany. You’ll stay as sharp as Mr Annan’s reforms of the United Nations! Only 25 Ghana Cedis!

This book of 25 postcards is to commemorate Perez de Cuellar. Each intricately decorated postcard represents the countries where Mr de Cuellar was decorated himself. Only 45 Peru Nuevos Soles!

You’re bound to love this framed ribbon set representing U Thant’s multitude of honorary degrees and awards received from all over the world. Create a family heirloom for generations to come, and maybe even visitors from outer space? Only 97 Myanmar Kyats!

Get the BBG DVD box set which includes his Ali G interview and all your other favourite BBG moments. For 5 years only, fixed price of 84 Egypt Pounds! Not for sale in the US.

Just like the images at the UN Dag Hammarskjöld building in New York, you can decorate everything from your mantelpiece to your front door with these doves representing peace. Some say the doves contain mystic powers to help map out your inner journey. Only 100 Swedish Kronor!

This magical snow dome shows Trygve Lie in the months after the end of World War II in peaceful surroundings but with the heavy burden of ensuring world peace on his shoulders as the first Secretary-General. Only 120 Norwegian Kroner!

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Remembering Kurt Waldheim’s part in outer space peace, this rocket ship is the perfect gift for any young aspiring SecretaryGeneral. It includes spoken greetings from Earth-people in fifty-five languages, just like he and Jimmy Carter sent into outer space on the Voyager Golden Record! Only 10 Euros!

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