WUNRN
Stop Violence Against Women Website
National VAW Monitors
who contributed to this month’s newsletter include: Armenia and Slovakia.
STOPVAW Website News
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Updated StopVAW Page: Slovakia
Main Page
As
of 20 May 2008, the Slovakia main page has been updated. (More information) |
New StopVAW Page: Obstetric Fistula
As
of June 2008, a page on Obstetric Fistula has been added to StopVAW. (More information) |
Updated StopVAW Page: Resources
for Domestic Violence and Housing Issues
As
of 11 June 2008, the Resources for Domestic Violence and Housing Issues page
has been updated. (More
information) |
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International and Regional News
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UN Human Rights Council Discusses Violence against Women,
Maternal Mortality and Human Rights of Women
The
Human Rights Council of the UN held two panel discussions on women's human
rights on 5 June 2008. The first panel met to discuss priorities in dealing
with violence against women. The second panel discussed maternal morality and
women's human rights. (More
information) |
UN Security Council Adopts
Resolution 1820 to End Sexual Violence in Conflict
The
Security Council has demanded the “immediate and complete cessation by all
parties to armed conflict of all acts of sexual violence against civilians,”
expressing its deep concern that, despite repeated condemnation, violence and
sexual abuse of women and children trapped in war zones was not only continuing,
but, in some cases, had become so widespread and systematic as to “reach
appalling levels of brutality.” (More
information) |
UN Experts on Torture and Violence against Women to
Conduct Joint Visit to Moldova
The
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences,
Yakin Ertürk, and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak, will undertake a visit
to Moldova from 4 to 11 July 2008, at the invitation of the Moldovan
Government. (More
information) |
UNICEF Statement on the Continued
Abduction, Torture, and Rape of Children around the World
UNICEF
is deeply concerned by increasing reports of kidnappings and abduction of
children by criminal gangs and armed groups, particularly in countries
affected by violence. In many cases, these abductions are being carried out
with impunity. (More
information) |
OSCE Urges Azerbaijan to Cooperate
with NGOs to Better Identify Victims of Human Trafficking
The
OSCE Special Representative for Combating Human Trafficking, Eva Biaudet,
commended Azerbaijan for passing important anti-trafficking laws, and
encouraged authorities to step up cooperation with non-governmental
organizations to better identify victims. (More
information) |
UN Office on Drugs and Crime Produces Report on Assistance
to Trafficked Persons in Moldova
The
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has produced a report on the
services provided by governmental and non-governmental organizations to
victims of trafficking in Moldova. (More
information) |
UN Security Council Should Listen
to Women Hurt by War
The
United Nations Security Council should effectively address sexual violence in
conflict as a weapon of war and its destabilizing impact on communities,
Human Rights Watch and the International Women’s Tribune Center stated. (More
information) |
Stop the Traffic! Greater Cooperation Needed to Combat
Human Trafficking
Despite
the efforts of governments and NGOs around the world, trafficking has been
increasing, which is the conclusion from several recent UN conferences. What
is needed is greater international partnership and cooperation in combating
human trafficking. (More
information) |
Council of
Europe to Hold Closing Conference of Its Campaign to Combat Violence against
Women, Including Domestic Violence
The
closing conference of the Campaign to Combat Violence against Women,
including Domestic Violence, held by the Council of Europe, will take place
on 10-11 June in Strasbourg. The conference brings to an end a two-year
campaign to raise political awareness of violence against women throughout
Europe. (More
information) |
Congolese Women Angered by ICC
Decision to Drop Sexual Violence Charges
Lawyers,
women's organizations, and survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) are outraged by the International Criminal
Court's decision to drop charges of sexual slavery against two militia
leaders, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo, who were indicted on these and
other charges of playing leading roles in inter-ethnic violence in the DRC. (More
information) |
Statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on
the Eighth Session of the Human Rights Council Meeting on Human Rights of
Women
UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour made a statement at the
Human Rights Council’s meeting and began by welcoming its debate, which
focused on the two pressing issues of violence against women and maternal
mortality. (More
information) |
Committee on the Rights of the Child Holds 48th Session
From
19 May through 6 June 2008, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the
Child held its 48th session. Bulgaria, Georgia, and Serbia were among the
states whose reports were examined during the session. (More
information) |
Council of Europe Calls on
European Governments to Ratify the Convention on the Protection of Children
against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
The
Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual
Exploitation and Sexual Abuse offers states a valuable new tool for
preventing and combating every kind of violation of children’s fundamental
rights. (More
information) |
UN General Assembly Focuses on
Human Trafficking
UN
General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim stated that global and regional pacts
must be put into action if the world is to tackle the scourge of human
trafficking, a $32 billion annual industry. (More
information) |
Sixty-First World Health Assembly
Encourages Action to End Female Genital Mutilation
The
World Health Assembly met in Geneva for its sixty-first session from 19
through 24 May 2008. Female genital mutilation was one of the issues
discussed by the Assembly's 2,704 participants from 190 countries. Member
States committed to intensifying their efforts toward the elimination of
female genital mutilation through legal, educational, and community actions.
(More
information) |
Adoption of EU Annual Report on Human Rights
The
European Parliament Annual Report on Human Rights in the World in 2007,
prepared by Rapporteur Marco Cappato, the Italian Radical MEP, was approved
in plenary by the European Parliament. The Report, which assesses the state
of human rights in the world in 2007 and also evaluates the EU's efforts to
promote human rights through its policies, is in part a response to the
annual report on human rights published by the Council and Commission last
October. (More
information) |
Report from the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against
Women in Ghana
The UN recently released a report from the Special Rapporteur to Ghana, based on his trip from 7 to 14 of July 2007. Ghana adopted the Domestic Violence Act in 2007, but still faces many problems with its implementation. (More information) |
Violent "Witch
Hunts" Still Occur
The Feminist Daily News Wire has reported a recent increase in news stories about mob violence directed at women accused of witchcraft. (More information) |
UN CESCR Issues Concluding Observations on India
The
UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights recently released its
response to India’s second report on compliance with the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. (More
information) |
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National News
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Afghanistan
USA
New Research and Reports
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World Bank Publishes Report on
Gender and Social Transformation in Bangladesh
The
World Bank’s Bangladesh Development Series has published a report examining
gender equality in Bangladesh, which has improved over the past few decades.
Gender equality in Bangladesh has seen achievements in education, infant
mortality rates, lower fertility rates, and other areas. (More
information) |
Northeastern University
Releases Report on Response of Law Enforcement Agencies to Human Trafficking
Northeastern
University's Institute on Race and Justice has released a report documenting
the way in which law enforcement agencies currently identify and respond to
human trafficking. The report is based on a national survey sent to 3,000
county, state, and municipal law enforcement agencies. (More
information) |
U.S. Department of State Releases
Eighth Annual Trafficking in Persons Report
The
Department of State has released its eighth annual Trafficking in Persons
Report. The report documents the efforts of 170 countries to investigate and
prosecute human trafficking crimes, protect victims, and ultimately abolish
trafficking in persons. (More
information) |
Report Highlights Links between
Urbanization and Violence against Women
The
Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions has released a report documenting the
gender-specific causes and consequences of urbanization that affect millions
of women worldwide. (More
information) |
Report on Child Soldiers Details Girl Soldiers' Need for
Support
The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers has released a new report documenting progress that has been made in the past several years toward universal condemnation of the involvement of child soldiers in armed conflict, but also the n |