In progress at UNHQ

Women and gender issues

12 March 2014

WOM/1982

‘Gender Lens’ Sharpens Focus of Economic and Social Council Reforms, Shapes Global Policy, Speakers Say in Women’s Commission

The Commission on the Status of Women played a “catalytic” role in shaping global policy on gender equality, as well as in ensuring that the Economic and Social Council incorporated a gender perspective in its work, Council President Martin Sajdik told the women’s body today during day three of its fifty-eighth session.

11 March 2014

WOM/1981

Speakers in Women’s Commission Say Legal Gaps in Protection, Prevention, Accountability for Violence against Women Must Be Addressed

Protecting women and girls from violence and discrimination was the ultimate responsibility of the State, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences told the Commission on the Status of Women today, pressing Governments to better address the legal gaps in protection, prevention and accountability.

10 March 2014

WOM/1979

‘We Need Bold Action Going Forward’, UN-Women’s Chief Tells Commission in Prelude to Session’s Review of Development Goals’ Impact

With one year left to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 target date, the international community must take decisive steps to ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment became a reality, high-level speakers said today as the Commission on the Status of Women opened its fifty-eighth session.

15 March 2013

WOM/1952

Adopting Agreed Conclusions, Commission on Status of Women Urges Global Action to End Pervasive Violence against Women, Girls

Ending all violence against women and girls “must be a priority, not an option” for achieving human rights, social cohesion and sustainable development, declared the Commission on the Status of Women this evening, capping its fifty-seventh annual session with the adoption of a set of much-anticipated agreed conclusions that outlined a strong global framework for prevention and response.

14 March 2013

WOM/1951

Women’s Commission Concludes General Debate amid Calls to Challenge Invisibility That Perpetuates Violence against Older Women, Young Girls, Lesbians

The Commission on the Status of Women wrapped up its general debate today amid calls from civil society groups to focus more substantively on protecting the women and girls whose rights were most often under-represented — or excluded — from the very international human rights instruments intended to protect them.

12 March 2013

WOM/1950

Commission on Status of Women Spotlights Successes, Challenges in Countering Negative Stereotypes, Unequal Power Relations

A sharp, deeply embedded distinction between the so-called “private” family sphere of women and the “public” market sphere of men — coupled with imbalanced caregiving responsibilities — threatened to hamper the development of both women and societies around the world, stressed panellists addressing the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women today.

11 March 2013

WOM/1949

Men, Boys Must Speak Out, Take Action to End Gender-Based Violence, Delegates Tell Commission on Status of Women

Men had a crucial role to play — as fathers, brothers, husbands and public advocates — in both speaking out against violence against women and girls, and in defying the destructive stereotypes that served to normalize gender inequality, delegates stressed today, as the Commission on the Status of Women moved into week two of its fifty-seventh session.

8 March 2013

WOM/1947-OBV/1186

Marking International Women’s Day, Secretary-General Calls for Concrete Action to End All Violence against Women, Girls; Says ‘We Have Right on Our Side’

With a groundswell of support for women’s rights rising in all corners of the world, the international community must seize the momentum and keep its promise to eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a packed room at the 2013 celebration of International Women’s Day this morning.

7 March 2013

WOM/1946

Speakers at Commission on Status of Women Highlight Progress on Promoting Anti-Violence Strategies across All Spheres

Despite shrinking budgets and often-conservative political agendas, Governments throughout the world were making significant strides in expanding multisectoral approaches to eliminate violence against women, characterized by a range of integrated services to prevent abuse and support survivors, speakers said today as the Commission on the Status of Women continued its general debate.

6 March 2013

WOM/1944

Societies Must Be Willing to Examine Root Causes, Exacerbating Factors of Gender-based Violence, High-level Speakers Tell Women’s Commission

Societies must be willing to examine the underlying causes of gender-based violence, the systems that facilitated it and the factors that exacerbated it, in particular, armed conflict, HIV/AIDS and poverty, senior Government officials stressed as the Commission on the Status of Women moved into the third day of its fifty-seventh annual session.