Newsflashes
The introduction on each document is provided as a guide but you will need to download the PDF to see the full text.
NewsFlashes
(1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011).
“her contributions to sustainable development, democracy and peace” .
Introduction of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the Human Rights Council, on January 25 2011, Palais des Nations, Geneva. The NGO statement was delivered by the NGO Representative Budi Tjahjono, President of NGO Committee on Human Rights in Geneva (of CONGO).
1. Update on the deadline for submissions of communications for the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. 2. IAW member from South Africa asks for attention on the article: ‘The lack of fairness in the UN Women hiring process’. 3. Urgent Annoucement: Nominations for NGO and civil society representatives at MDG Summit.
Public flogging of young woman in Swat Valley: Statement condemning blatant actions against human rights.
The right to education is a basic human right for all and we are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Introduction.aspx), yet women and girls continue to be deprived of education, often due to longstanding traditions and/or ignorance.
Please read the attached articles from The Independent newspaper concerning Afghani student, Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, who is under threat of the death sentence. The IAW strongly supports this campaign and urges you to take whatever action you can.
IAW calls on the international community to exercise its responsibility for the protection of human security, human rights, and the fundamental rights of all to live in a healthy and sustainable environment, free from occupation, oppression, terrorist attacks and the arbitrary use of force as stipulated in international law and human rights conventions. We call for an exchange of prisoners, an end to violence on both sides and for the immediate return to the path of negotiations under the leadership of the United Nations.
We received a message from Deirdre Exell Pirro about the result of the lobbying of women’s groups throughout the world, about the gender mainstreaming within the International Criminal Court. This message will certainly be of interest for the IAW members of the “West African Center on Gender and Conflict”, an organisation that was installed during the IAW Board Meeting in Burkina Faso in November 2006, so we are sending it out as a FLASH.
On the first of June 2006, the ICC has also issued Red Notices for the arrest of five individuals for multiple counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder, abduction, sexual crimes, rape and child conscription in Uganda, Sudan and Congo.
This message is important for us, members of the International Alliance of Women, so we are sending it as a FLASH. Our sisters who are living in poverty, are in need of the political will to help. Many of us have a political background. We can use the figures as arguments. At the moment our thoughts are also with the victims of the devastating earthquake in South Asia. With millions at risk from hunger and cold now the winter sets in. More in our next newsletter.
The situation at the UN is currently full of tension. The UN has to be reformed, after a period of 60 years of good work into the changed world of today. The problem is that at the moment criticism of the UN, for instance by the US administration, is trying to cross boundaries of already accepted agreements. Several of the 750 amendments by US ambassador Bolton are also threatening agreements which are essential for the international women’s movement. Will the UN member states be strong enough to keep those threats at arms length during the negotiations of the Summit? Please be informed during the coming weeks and mail us your opinion! To give you some food for thought, we are sending you an excellent article by the IAW representative of the UN, Kay Fraleigh.
In IWNews you will find a good summary of the reports of IAW members at CSW. The Alliance was well represented and our members have worked well and hard. This NewsFlash features an interview with two young people at the Youth for Women’s Rights Caucus at CSW, with their impressions of all that happened there.
You will also find a few URLs of international activities around young people at the end of this newsletter.
In Berlin over 100 IAW delegates from all over the world will be attending the Centennial Conference on September 12th and Celebration in the great City Hall of Berlin on September 13th.
They will hear speeches on such topics as “25 Years of CEDAW: Challenges and Opportunities”, “Women investing in Women”, “La France et l’AIF”, “Women as Providers of Food” and “Women and Warrdquo; and have the opportunity to discuss these timely themes with theinternational experts - and every IAW delegate is an expert in the field of women’s rights.
A special IAW pamphlet has been produced for wide distribution leading up to the 2004 Centenary Celebrations.
In this News Flash you will find the latest information about regional activities in preparation for Beijing+10, which well be held at the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2005 in New York. This handy frame, compiled by WEDO, is well worth displaying on your information board.
Announcing a New Website for the IAW Young Women‘s Network. Lotta Viinikka, our youngest Board Member, was appointed to coordinate a new network for younger members of IAW and to attract new members - to talk about the issues that affect young women today, to exchange ideas and information, to put proposals to the Alliance for lobbying and action. Please tell your daughters, nieces, grand daughters, grand nieces, and their friends, about this website and encourage them to become involved. This is the start of something very exciting just at the time the Alliance is looking forward to its second century.
Draft Constitutional Treaty of the European Union, a women-omitting one. On 2 April 2003 conclusions for amendments were formulated during a stimulating Conference, organised by IAW Affiliate ‘Greek League for Women’s Rights’, in collaboration with the International Alliance of Women, the European Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) and the Association of Women of Southern Europe (AFEM). These conclusions are endorsed by many European NGOs, in addition to the four co-organisers of the Conference. These conclusions should be supported by more NGOs, as soon as possible!
If your organisation wishes to support these conclusions, please take action - at the latest, in May. You well find the amendments in the attachment to this News Flash.
The second urgent matter is the follow-up of the Fifth World Conference on Women, discussed by NGOs at the 47th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
During the last weeks a stream of worried e-mail messages have been circulating between members of IAW, requesting us to raise our voices and join actions against war. And so we did, all in our own way. Was it in vain, now war is a fact? Not entirely, no. It made people think of other possible solutions against aggression in this globalising world. We read and e-mailed those sometimes illuminating thoughts around too. Also, we women have to keep speaking out for humanity and take action against senseless violence during wartime.
In this News Flash a first impression of the discussion on the two subjects in the Commission on the Status of Women: 1) Media and ICTs, and 2) Violence against Women and girls. See also the attachment: CSW, a Step to the Right.
With this News Flash we are sending you thoughts and opinions from very concerned IAW members about a future war and the effects it will have for our world. Please raise your voice against war!
We are sending you this time a few short October News Flashes, with attachments of reports to the 32nd IAW Congress in Sri Lanka. Please, if members attending Congress will send us their reports by e-mail, we can try to include those too in our next News Flashes. Depending on its size, your full report or maybe in a reduced form will be attached. There has been such valuable work done for IAW, it should be shared as widely as possible.
Attached to this News Flash are: a report from Norway, a request of IAW member Mbatho Ramagoshi and a list with names of the new IAW Board. Included in this Flash are also some URLs of websites which are well worth visiting.
A short IAW News Flash this time, to express our deepest concern at the situation in the world. At the moment, just before leaving for Sri Lanka, we are awaiting President Bush‘s speech to the United Nations, the debate that follows and the outcome of that debate. In this News Flash there is a quotation of WILPF US. Also some URLs on the outcome of the WSSD for women and on CSW 2003, which is being prepared with an on-line discussion of women in the media. Other news just has to wait till after the 32nd IAW Congress at Sri Lanka, where our hosts are preparing a most cordial welcome with a most inspiring programme! It is hoped, however, that some media releases will be issued from Congress.
This is another Special Stop Express IAW Newsletter, to mail you the latest news about the Beijing +5 Special Session in June. Please be so kind to notify our IAW members without email too.
This message was mailed to us by Malin Bjork of the European Women’s Lobby. She is doing a wonderful job in informing us all. Thank you Malin!
This is an Special Stop Express IAW Newsletter, to let you know the latest date for attending the Beijing +5 Special Session. We also ask you to notify Priscilla Todd as soon as possible if you are planning to go to the IAW Board Meeting in Israel.
For the moment no news from CSW in this
letter. There is plenty of news to find on the net and also very
interesting news in the Daily Bulletins.
