Nelson Mandela International Day for Freedom, Justice, and Democracy

For more information on this exciting day on July 18, 2013 click here. 

WORLD REFUGEE DAY 2013 - JUNE 20   Women's Refugee Commission http://womensrefugeecommission.org/strong-girls-powerful-women   IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF A REFUGEE GIRL - STRONG GIRLS, POWERFUL WOMEN - STORIES + VIDEO

It’s hard to imagine what life is like for refugee girls. These young women face unbelievable challenges and the odds are stacked against them. But at the same time, if they’re given the right opportunities, they have great potential and the capacity to overcome their extremely difficult situations.

In a humanitarian crisis, whether it’s war, famine or natural disaster, lives are turned upside down. Families are uprooted, separated or destroyed. Access to education deteriorates. Safety and security dissolve. In the midst of this chaos, displaced adolescent girls are often the most overlooked, neglected and vulnerable.

"It is not enough to teach children how to read, write and count. Education has to cultivate mutual respect for others and the world in which we live, and help people forge more just, inclusive and peaceful societies."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
100-day countdown message to the International Day of Peace

For more information, click here.

What is World Environment Day?

World Environment day was established by the United Nations in 1972 to stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment and to encourage political attention and action. It is celebrated annually on June 5th each year. The United Nations has declared 2013 the International Year of Quinoa.

The theme of World Environment day is Think. Eat. Save.  Focusing on sustainable for production and consumption.  According the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted. This is equivalent to the same amount of food produced in the whole sub-Saharan Africa.  At the same time, one in every seven people go to bed hungry every night and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger. Given this enormous imbalance in lifestyles and the resultant devastating effects on the environment, this year’s theme – THINK. EAT SAVE – encourages us to become more aware of the environmental impact of the food choices we make and empowers us to make informed decisions.

Will You?

Flow: For Love of Water is a 2008 documentary film that concentrates on the big business of privatization of water infrastructure which prioritizes profits over the availability of clean water for people and the environment. Major businesses depicted in the film are Nestle, The Coca-Cola Company, Suez, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

FLOW launched a Right To Water campaign to add a 31st article to the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, Article31.org. FLOW was released theatrically by Oscilloscope Labs in September, 2008, and then invited to screen for the UN General Assembly on the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, where the first 50,000 signatories to Article31 were presented to the President of the General Assembly, Father Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann.

On July 28, 2010 a resolution was presented by Bolivia and co-sponsored by 35 countries, calling on the United Nations General Assembly to recognize the Right To Water. Despite opposition from the US, the UK and their allies, the resolution passed with the support of 122 countries, representing more than 5 billion of the world's population.

USUN PRESS RELEASE #025                                                                                      March 8, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Statement by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2013

Today, as we celebrate International Women’s Day, we applaud the progress and achievements of women all across the world.  From the announcement that combat positions would be open to the women bravely serving in the U.S. military to the record number female members of the U.S. Congress currently in power, the U.S. has made real progress towards leveling the playing field for American women and empowering them to live up to their full potential. 

But today is also a day to acknowledge the progress we as Americans and international community have yet to make.  One in three women worldwide will be beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in their lifetimes.  More than 30 million girls worldwide do not receive the benefit of any schooling, and more than 280,000 women die each year from childbirth complications that can be anticipated and treated.

Our societies are not truly free, if we do not uphold our fundamental ideals of fairness and equality.  We as a people are not free when women and girls still struggle for their survival and safety or find their reproductive rights blocked.  When women around the world still face discrimination and even death because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, our values are compromised.

Yesterday, President Obama signed the Violence Against Women Act, which launches new programs to help survivors of rape and assault, strengthens tools to hold offenders accountable, and offers increased protections for Native American women and the LGBT community.  The U.S. is working to improve girls’ access to education and to ensure that all women have access to reproductive health services as well as maternal, newborn and child health services.

March Prayer: Praise Women Leaders for International Women’s Day
by Diann L. Neu


Praise to you, women leaders of the seven continents, for your many works of justice.
 
Praise to you, women leaders of Asia, for confronting trafficking of women.
 
Praise to you, women leaders of Africa, for raising your voices to stop AIDS.
 
Praise to you, women leaders of Europe, for your peacekeeping.
 
Praise to you, women leaders of North America, for confronting economic inequities and racism.
 
Praise to you, women leaders of South America, for struggling against U.S. domination of your land.
 
Praise to you, women leaders in Antarctica, for your scientific research.
 
Praise to you, women leaders of Australia, for supporting indigenous cultures.

© Diann L. Neu, dneu@hers.com, cofounder and codirector of WATER, the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual

"There is one universal truth, applicable to all countries, cultures and communities: violence against women is never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable."

~Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Opening statement of Michelle Bachelet at CSW57

“TIME FOR ACTION: Prevent and end violence against women and girls”. Opening statement of Michelle Bachelet, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director, at the 57th session of UN Commission on the Status of Women, 4 March 2013, New York

UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet speaks at the opening of the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women on 4 March 2013 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Photo Credit: UN Women/Catianne Tijerina

[As delivered]

Madam Chair,
Mr. Deputy Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Representatives of civil society
Colleagues and friends,

I am delighted to be here with all of you at this 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. This is not just one more session. This is not just one more year. So much has happened since we last met. The world is watching as we come together to prevent and end violence against women and girls.

Recent events and protests point to growing awareness and momentum. Over the past few months, women, men, and young people took to the streets with signs that ask “Where is the justice?” with rallying cries that say “Wake up!”

They declared solidarity with a Pakistani girl shot for defending the right to education. They pledged justice for a young woman in India and another in South Africa who were brutally raped and later died. They demanded an end to the endless cases of rape and violence that threaten the lives of countless women and girls in every country but never make the headlines.

It is an understatement to say that the priority theme of this 57th session, the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls, is timely.

I thank our Chair, Ambassador Kamara, ECOSOC Vice-President Ambassador Hoxha, Deputy Secretary-General Eliasson, Special Rapporteur Manjoo, CEDAW Chair Ameline, and all of you. I thank all of you who are here today, Ministers and Ambassadors and representatives of civil society, and all people around the world, who believe in and take action for the human rights of women.

We are here in this Commission on the Status of Women because every person has the right to live free of violence and discrimination. The world can no longer afford the costs of violence against women and girls, the social and economic costs and the costs in deep human pain and suffering.

I would like to share with you women’s voices and stories from around the world:

A 20-year-old girl named Kristin from the United States was raped by a close male friend she thought she could trust, and she wrote this in her journal: “The pain. The stench. The look of hate in his eyes. Is he still out there? What is left of my soul?” Less than five months later, Kristin took her own life, unable to live with the pain any longer.

A young woman from northern Mali said this: “The rebels were just at the corner and watching me. When I came out, they forced me in their vehicle and chained my two arms. There were four of them and they took me to a dark area. Three other girls were also there. They raped us during two nights and each time they came in groups of three, four and sometimes five.”

A 44-year-old woman from Vietnam said this: “He bled me for every dong I earned. He would say, ‘How much do you earn today? Give me all or I will beat you to death.”

And a young woman from Moldova who was kidnapped and trafficked said this in a court statement: “They took me to a forest and I was beaten and raped… I really believed I was going to die. They then drove me to a house where many men were staying. They were all very drunk and took turns to rape me.”
My friends,

The violence needs to stop. We need strong commitment and action to end violence against women and girls.

For more than six decades, this Commission has pushed us forward, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, shaping global policies on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

This Commission has promoted the advancement of women and the realization of women’s rights as human rights, and drafted the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW.

Since it first opened its doors, this Commission has welcomed women’s groups and NGOs as participants. This year broke previous records with the pre-registration of 6,000 representatives of civil society.

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,

I draw your attention to the voices of women and the history and achievements of this Commission on the Status of Women because this session, this 57th session, holds historical importance. This is the largest international meeting on ending violence against women.

During the past decades, we have made progress in the articulation of international norms and standards, and national laws and policies and programmes.
But violence against women and girls remains widespread, and impunity is still the norm rather than the exception.

Now we must take on the challenge of implementation and accountability.

My message is: Now is the time for action.

It is time for action when up to 70 per cent of women in some countries face physical and /or sexual violence in their lifetime. When intimate partner violence accounts for between 40 and 70 per cent of female murder victims in Australia, Canada, Israel, South Africa and the United States.

When one in three girls in developing countries is likely to be married as a child bride; when some 140 million girls and women have suffered female genital mutilation; when millions of women and girls are trafficked in modern-day slavery; and when women’s bodies are a battleground, and rape is used as a tactic of war: it is time for action.

Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,

This 57th session of this Commission provides us with an historic opportunity to exercise our responsibility to prevent and end violence against girls and women.

Violence against women occurs everywhere. And we know that ending this violence requires a strong chain of justice and the rule of law.

Today 160 countries have laws to address violence against women. Yet all too often the women and girls subjected to this violence are blamed and made to feel shame for the very violence that was committed against them. They search for justice in vain. In the worst cases, the women whose rights were violated are punished themselves while the perpetrators walk in freedom.

During the past six months, we have witnessed rising global public outrage at the violence committed against women and girls, some of whom are human rights defenders.

One of them is a 15-year-old girl whose courage, determination and campaigning for girls education is an inspiration to all of us. She proved her incredible strength by enduring a brutal attack and two operations to repair her skull and restore her hearing, a brave human rights defender named Malala Yousafzai.

Recently Malala spoke in front a camera for the first time, and she credited her survival to “the prayers of the people.” “Because of these prayers,” she said, “God has given me this new life and I want to serve, and I want every girl, every child to be educated.”

My friends,

It is for Malala and for every girl and woman, and every human being, that we must come to a strong action-oriented agreement to prevent and end violence against girls and women.

This is an issue of universal human rights and inherent human dignity that concerns us all, involves us all, and requires concerted and urgent action from all of us.

When we set up UN Women more than two years ago, we made ending violence against women one of our top priorities. And we are fully aware that this requires supporting changes in attitudes and behaviours, and making headway towards equal rights, equal opportunities and equal participation, especially in decision-making.

We are working in 85 countries to support national efforts to prevent violence in the first place, to end impunity for these crimes, and to expand essential services to survivors. The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women has delivered more than $86 million dollars to 351 initiatives in 128 countries and territories. You can learn more about these efforts in the two reports before this Commission—one on the normative aspects of the work of UN Women, and the other on the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women.

The UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE campaign to end violence against women is mobilizing awareness and action worldwide. In Kyrgysztan, to name just one example, NGOs, artists, footballers, media and the private sector joined together and the Government adopted a new law with tougher penalties for bride kidnapping.

And last year in November, we launched the COMMIT Initiative. So far 41 countries from every region have made clear, national commitments in their countries and I salute them. The commitment of Governments is rising, and we expect more commitments in the coming days.

Madame Chair,

The full and equal participation of women makes democracy, the economy, and peace stronger.

As a standard-setting organization, the United Nations must lead by example. The UN Secretary-General has appointed many women to high level positions, as Under-Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General, in a historic jump. However, the representation of women in the UN system increased only marginally from 39.9 per cent in 2009 to 40.7 per cent in 2011, at a slower rate than in the previous two years. Gender parity has been reached only at the lower professional levels.

Focus should be placed on establishing special measures to attain parity in the higher professional levels. The UN System-wide Action Plan for Gender Equality points the way forward with standards for accountability on reaching gender parity and having policies in place, such as work-life balance, to create a conducive organizational culture.

During the next two weeks, this Commission will discuss many important matters, from the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men to the Millennium Development Goals to the post-2015 development agenda. And let me say this: Ending violence against women is the missing MDG that must be included in any new development framework. We need a stand-alone goal on gender equality with gender mainstreamed across all other goals.

At this session, we have before us the reports of the Secretary-General on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women, another on proposals for priority themes for future sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women. And two reports, which point the way forward in addressing our priority theme—one on multi-sectoral services and responses for women and girls subjected to violence, and the other on prevention of violence against women and girls.

I would now like to highlight five key areas for action.

First, we need to strengthen implementation of laws, policies and programmes for preventing and responding to violence against women and girls.

Implementation must be accelerated and Governments should be held accountable for their commitments and obligations. While there has been some progress, particularly for services and responses, implementation has been slow and uneven across countries. Many justice systems are weak and do not respond to women’s needs and there are shortages of trained police, legal and forensic staff. We need stronger action and sufficient budgets for laws, policies and programmes to deliver justice and services to women.

Second, we need to place more focus on preventing violence against women and girls.

Violence can be prevented by addressing the root causes of gender inequality and discrimination and protecting the human rights of women and girls, including their reproductive rights and right to sexual and reproductive health. When women and girls can claim their rights, and enjoy equal opportunity and an adequate standard of living, they are less susceptible to gender-based violence.

It is also critical to foster changes in attitudes, beliefs and behaviours that condone or perpetuate violence. This can be done through awareness-raising, community mobilization, educational programmes, and support for children and young people who are exposed to violence.

One thing is certain: Preventing violence against women requires the engagement of all segments of society, and especially men and boys as partners in gender equality and respectful relationships.

Third, we must address prevention and response together as part of a comprehensive and coordinated strategy to be effective.

We need to send the strong signal that violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated and perpetrators will be punished. Words need to be matched by action. In all our efforts, we need to engage survivors because they know from experience what is needed. For instance, sending a trafficking victim back home to where she was kidnapped may result in her being targeted again by the same kidnappers, resulting in further exploitation and violations of her rights. Such a scenario could be prevented by addressing prevention and response together with a focus on the rights of the woman.

Women’s participation in overall decision-making, in peace talks and peace-building, and in institution-building, can prevent violence against women and girls. Preventing violence against women is important because this violence undermines key elements of successful post-conflict peacebuilding, such as social stability, economic recovery, effective State authority, and overall development.

Fourth, establishing comprehensive and accessible multi-sectoral services and responses is essential.

This means providing the full range of services and responses.

Here I would like to provide an excellent example from El Salvador. In their programme, Ciudad Mujer, the focus is not only in responding to violence against women, but in offering services that can empower women in all spheres of life, including childcare, financial support, access to health services – including sexual and reproductive health – shelters, legal aid, and long-term support, among others. This is exactly the approach and vision that is needed to respond to violence against women and allow me to congratulate El Salvador for pushing this model forward.

Access to services is especially important in conflict and post-conflict settings, where women and girls are most vulnerable, whether to sexual violence, forced displacement, or targeted attacks on women human rights defenders, and services are most scarce. All countries and the international community as a whole must do more to address this crisis as a top priority.

And one thing is certain: We need more women police, peacekeepers and judges. Studies show that women report rape more when there are women police officers. It is very simple – we need to give women the confidence, the trust that they will be treated fairly, justly! Women serving on the front lines of justice strengthen justice for women.

Fifth and finally, reliable data, analysis and research are essential to inform the development of laws, policies and programmes on violence against women and girls.

Monitoring and evaluating their effectiveness is necessary. And here I would like to highlight an exciting initiative that is grounded in data and evidence, the Safe Cities programme. The first step that municipalities take is a scoping study to determine the extent of the problem and identify problem areas. Work is now underway in more than 20 cities, and this number continues to rise, to make cities safe for girls and women.

All over the world, change is possible and change is happening.

Just a few months ago, Africa took the lead in the UN General Assembly with a resolution that gained unanimous support to ban the practice of female genital mutilation worldwide.
It is now up to this Commission to put its unanimous support behind an agreement that will strengthen international norms and standards and provide a plan of action to prevent and end all forms of violence against women and girls.

Ten years ago, this Commission took up the theme of women’s human rights and ending violence against women. And member States were not able to come to an agreement. Today, 10 years later, we simply cannot allow disagreement or indecision to block progress for the world’s women.

I encourage all of us to seize this historic opportunity to end the cycle of violence that diminishes us all.

Just as people worldwide are rising, let us also rise to the occasion. Let us unite for women and girls and demonstrate a United Nations that lives up to our ideals of equal rights of men and women, of human rights and human dignity for all.

Thank you very much.

21 February 2013 – The United Nations and its partners today called on the international community to prioritize ensuring access to water and sanitation to vulnerable populations in the ‘post-2015’ development agenda, stressing this would help combat inequality and promote human rights and sustainability.

“The future development agenda must aim at tackling the most persistent of all challenges: inequalities in access to essential services to realize people’s rights,” the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, the Government of Finland and Water Aid, said in a joint press release.

“Crucially, among these essential services, it must aim for every person to have equal access to water, sanitation and hygiene. Special attention should be given to women and girls, who are disproportionately affected by the lack of these services.”

The group stated that countries must build on the lessons learned working towards the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which are set to expire in 2015. The eight MDGs set specific targets on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction, and a ‘Global Partnership for Development.’

“On the eve of the consultations on the post-2015 development agenda, we believe that the world must achieve and build on the MDGs, but must also craft even more ambitious goals. The goals must create incentives for change – a change that will reach every single woman, man, boy and girl,” it said.

The group also noted that States have a responsibility to respond to the millions of people who are marginalized on a daily basis and do not have access to basic services.

“We must have a world that recognizes and responds to the millions and millions who for too long have remained hidden within aggregate statistics that mask the reality of life without safe drinking-water and sanitation: children, women, people with disabilities and those living in remote areas and urban slums.

“The post-2015 agenda must not move forward without clear objectives towards the elimination of discrimination and inequalities in access to water, sanitation and hygiene.”

As the General Assembly concluded its debate today on challenges to achieving the human right to water and sanitation in the context of the Millennium Development Goals, delegates shed light on their nations’ struggles to resolve the practical implications of that quest.

The representative of the Solomon Islands said that for many least developed countries, access to clean drinking water and better sanitation was a real challenge, especially among women and children.  The rising seas had caused salt water to seep into groundwater supplies in small island developing States, leaving local water supplies for human and agricultural consumption brackish.  Those nations were also grappling with coastal erosion, drought, floods and king tides.  To address such “water poverty”, tangible programmes and resources to ensure sustainable water must be incorporated into overall development frameworks.

New Zealand’s representative pointed to a recent report on the issue’s impact in the Pacific region, which revealed that the most pressing concern for Pacific families was access to water and sanitation.  Extreme weather events threatened to damage or destroy water infrastructure, while sea-level rise could threaten the availability of safe, clean drinking water.  Atoll communities were particularly vulnerable, while growing urbanization was straining existing supply systems.  To address those concerns, New Zealand was supporting improvements in rainwater harvesting and distribution infrastructure in the Cook Islands and other areas.

The Permanent Observer of Palestine said Israel continued to violate the Palestinian people’s right to water and sanitation by exploiting 90 per cent of the shared water sources for its own use, forcing Palestinians to survive on just 10 to 30 litres per day per capita, far below 100 litre daily minimum set by the World Health Organization (WHO).  Israel had not supported General Assembly resolution 64/292, which stated that clean drinking water and sanitation were integral to the realization of all human rights.  On the contrary, Israel had destroyed several cisterns, wells and other water infrastructure, he said, urging the international community to ensure Israel respected the human right to clean water and sanitation; allocated shared water resources equitably and immediately stopped destroying Palestinian water and sanitation infrastructure.

Some delegates shed light on their nations’ strategies to implement the goals set forth in the Assembly resolution.  For example, Kyrgyzstan’s representative said that with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), his Government was carrying out new projects to ensure its population had access to clean drinking water.  It recently had installed water pipes in 550 villages across the country — a move that had increased access to water and lowered the prevalence of infectious diseases.  The Government recently passed the Drinking Water Act, along with related legislation, to that end.

India’s representative, quoting national hero Mahatma Gandhi, said “sanitation is even more important than independence”.  But Mr. Gandhi’s dream of total sanitation for all was elusive; India was still confronted with widespread lack of sanitation and about 12 per cent of its population lacked safe drinking water, posing a major challenge to India’s development goals.  Addressing that issue as a matter of priority, in the past five years, India had increased investment in rural sanitation by as much as six times.  Its Total Sanitation Campaign focused on the demand-side to effect change through local community leadership, while nearly 300 villages were being added to the drinking water supply network each day.

Sister Deirdre Mullan, Executive Director of the Partnership for Global Justice at the UN, carried the Irish Flag into a packed General Assembly on February 14th 2013 to celebrate Inter-faith harmony week.

There were speakers from all religious faiths and traditions as well as Ambassadors from many of the Nation States. The flags were carried in alphabetical into the Assembly were over 1800 delegates had gathered.

Acc – The United Nations today launched the International Year of Water Cooperation, which seeks to provide a platform for countries to collaborate in the management of this precious resource in the interest of peace and development.

“Water is central to the well-being of people and the planet,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his video message for the International Year of Water Cooperation 2013. “We must work together to protect and carefully manage this fragile, finite resource.”

More than half of the world’s people depend daily on water resources shared by more than one country and 90 per cent of the global population live in countries that share river or lake basins. However, 60 per cent of the world’s 276 international river basins lack any type of cooperative management framework.

Mr. Ban stressed that with rising demands and changing climate conditions, it will be crucial for countries to work together to ensure every person has access to quality water.

“Each year brings new pressures on water,” Mr. Ban said. “One-third of the world’s people already live in countries with moderate to high water stress. Competition is growing between farmers and herders; industry and agriculture; town and country. Upstream and downstream, and across borders, we need to cooperate for the benefit of all – now and in the future.”

The General Assembly proclaimed 2013 International Year for Water Cooperation in 2010, following a proposal from Tajikistan. The Year will serve to raise awareness and prompt action on the multiple dimensions of water cooperation, such as sustainable and economic development, climate change and food security.

“Overexploitation, management, financing of water resources, all of these aspects are incredibly important and cooperation at different levels is therefore critical,” UNESCO Science Specialist Ana Persic said during a press conference to mark the start of the Year at UN Headquarters in New York.

Ms. Persic added that the benefits of intensifying cooperation include poverty reduction, equity, economic growth, and the protection of the environment. “We know water is critical for human life, but it is also critical for life on Earth if we want to protect and sustainably manage the planet we have.”

The UN representative of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Paul Egerton, underlined the link between climate change and water, stressing that extreme weather events result in desertification or extreme flooding in different areas and hinder development and access to safe water.

“Water scarcity triggers migration, refugees, situations where basic human rights are weakened or threatened,” Mr. Egerton said, adding that fewer resources can also trigger conflict and governments need to address these risks immediately.

The official launch of the Year took place today at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Headquarters in Paris, France. Opened by the agency’s Director-General Irina Bokova, the event gathered representatives from inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organization (NGOs), scientists and policymakers from around the world to discuss themes such as existing mechanisms for water cooperation and regional, national and local cooperation around river basins.

As part of the launch, an exhibition entitled “Water at the heart of science” was inaugurated at UNESCO, and students from Japan travelled to meet their French counterparts to share their experiences related to water and prepare a youth declaration on water cooperation to be presented to the other participants.

Cooperation on water issues will also be the theme for World Water Day, observed on 22 March.

For more information about the UN and the International Year for Water Cooperation, click here.

Today we join the international community in recognizing the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation is observed each year to raise awareness about this practice. Female genital mutilation of any type has been recognized as a harmful practice and violation of the human rights of girls and women. WHO is committed to the elimination of female genital mutilation within a generation and is focusing on advocacy, research and guidance for health professionals and health systems.

Female genital mutilation (FGM) refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Female genital mutilation has no known health benefits. On the contrary, it is associated with a series of short and long-term risks to both physical, mental and sexual health and well-being.

FGM is affecting about 140 million girls and women, and more than 3 million girls are at risk every year. A special focus for WHO this year, is the troubling trend of health-care providers increasingly being the ones performing female genital mutilation, and thereby contributing to legitimize and maintain the practice.

For more information about FGM, visit the WHO website by clicking here.

The Partnership for Global Justice joins the international community in commemorating World Cancer Day in order to promote awareness about cancer.

Did you know?
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and accounted for 7.6 million deaths (around 13% of all deaths) in 2008.

Each year on 4 February, the World Health Organization (WHO) supports International Union Against Cancer to promote ways to ease the global burden of cancer. Preventing cancer and raising quality of life for cancer patients are recurring themes.

To learn more about this WHO initiative, click here.

January 11, 2013: U.S. National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. To learn more about domestic sex trafficking in the U.S., visit http://sharedhope.org/learn/what-is-sex-trafficking/. For information on labor trafficking, visit http://www.polarisproject.org/humantrafficking/labor-trafficking-in-the-us.  Learn how you can recognize possible signs that a person is a trafficked victim at www.northstarinitiative.org/identifyreporttrafficking.htm. Victims, please call the National Trafficking Hotline (24/7), 1-888-373-7888. ·        

January 11-13, 2013; Weekend of Prayer to End Slavery/Trafficking brings together a broad array of anti-trafficking groups and people from many faith traditions. The Weekend includes a National Conference Call with key leaders from 9am-11am (EST). Call (712) 432-0075, and use access code 6149782 followed by the # sign. Also, there is a National Prayer Rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. at 2 pm on the 12th. Contact: www.weekendofprayer.net.

To learn more about International Migrants Day, click here.

Today we join in commemorating International Mountain Day.

To learn more about the International Mountain Day click here.

The following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for Human Rights Day, which was observed on 10 December:

Everyone has the right to be heard and to shape the decisions that affect their community.  This right is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and fully integrated in international law, especially in article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Over the past century, we have made undeniable progress along the path of inclusion.  Yet far too many groups and individuals face far too many obstacles.  Women have the right to vote almost everywhere, but remain hugely underrepresented in parliaments and peace processes, in senior Government posts and corporate boardrooms, and in other decision-making positions.  Indigenous people frequently face discrimination that denies them the opportunity to make full use of their guaranteed rights or fails to take account of their circumstances.  Religious and ethnic minorities — as well as people with disabilities or those with a different sexual orientation or political opinion — are often hampered from taking part in key institutions and processes.  Institutions and public discourse need to represent societies in all their diversity.

More generally, in several parts of the world, we have seen alarming threats to hard-won gains in democratic governance.  In some countries, civil society groups face growing pressures and restrictions.  Legislation has been introduced specifically targeting civil society organizations and making it almost impossible for them to operate.  Champions of democracy have encountered new confrontational measures.  We should all be troubled by such backsliding.

Even in societies with a good track record, there is room for improvement.  No country has succeeded in ensuring that all its inhabitants are able to participate fully in public affairs, including the right to be elected to public office and to have equal access to public services.  Enacting new rights or removing unjust laws is not always sufficient.  Too often, discrimination persists in practice, creating barriers and mindsets that can be hard to overcome.

Vibrant civil society groups are among the keys to the well-being and functioning of any nation, and the United Nations deplores measures taken to suppress them.  That is why, on this Human Right Day, the United Nations is highlighting the right to participate and the associated rights that make it possible — freedom of expression and opinion, and peaceful assembly and association.

International law is clear:  no matter who you are or where you live, your voice counts.  On this Day, let us unite to defend your right to make it heard.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

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