After two weeks of fierce negotiations at the United Nations’ annual Commission on the Status of Women, on March 15 more than 130 governments committed to ending violence against women and girls, and reached strong agreements to promote gender equality and ensure access to sexual and reproductive health services.

The International Women’s Health Coalition and our amazing partners from around the world came out in force to the UN for the negotiations. Our agenda was clear: push governments to commit to concrete strategies to empower women and girls and end gender-based violence.

We met with instant opposition from conservative governments. Countries such as Iran, Russia, Egypt, and Syria joined with the Vatican in what The New York Times called “an unholy alliance.” IWHC staff and our women’s rights caucus of more than 100 activists worked around the clock to support progressive delegations to stand strong and not to cave in to pressure. We would not let a small but vocal minority use culture and religion as excuses to deny women their rights.

Our efforts prevailed and consensus was finally reached to loud applause from supportive governments such as Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, United States, Uruguay, and even the small island of Tonga! As the “agreed conclusions” document was adopted, hundreds of women’s rights activists streamed into the negotiating room to join in the cheers.

For the first time at the UN, governments reached consensus that survivors of rape are entitled to emergency contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancy, and to timely and respectful forensic exams to support prosecution. They called for an end to child marriages. They agreed women’s right to control their sexuality is essential to preventing further violence. And they recognized the role that evidence-based sexuality education can play in reducing the harmful gender stereotypes that lead to violence.

In a sign of just how much was at stake, this year’s meeting received an unprecedented amount of media coverage after the Muslim Brotherhood condemned (and mischaracterized) the negotiations. IWHC featured prominently in many news articles, including in The Washington Post, The Guardian, Associated Press, ABC News, The Globe and Mail, Radio Free Europe, O Estado de S. Paulo, and Reuters.

Once again, we women have shown we’re an irresistible force. But our work is far from over. Now we must be vigilant to ensure that the agreements made at the UN are put into practice in local communities worldwide.

For that to happen, we must continue to support women’s groups to hold their own leaders to account.

Best regards,

But as important as it is to teach others this valuable skill, it’s just as important for us to make sure that every single person in our own organization is exposed to these vital tools.

That’s why this past Monday and Tuesday we held the first ever IWHC Staff AiP training right here in our NYC headquarters! During the training, just like in past AiP’s, we discussed key international agreements and why they matter, advocacy strategies, and messaging around the themes of comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive rights and health. There was a lot of information for staff to absorb and consider, but we also did some exercises and role plays to helps us think through various aspects of the work.

Akimbo contributors Lori Adelman and Audacia Ray at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women:   

I personally was grateful to be able to attend the training, which until now I had helped provide support for, but never attended in full. I found it to be extremely useful for gaining a better understanding of the work of my colleague in International Policy (IP). I was fascinated by the intricate details of the UN infrastructure, and floored to find out that, althought the UN technically operates on consensus, countries often participate in negotiations via blocks, or groups of aligned countries. I was also pleased to spend time with my co-workers in such a setting, and felt it brought all of us a bit closer. Below, I’ve shared some of my colleague’s impressions as well.

Audacia Ray, Program Officer for Online Communications and Campaigns, said the following about her experience:

“Having provided support for the AiP trainings and meetings at the UN during the last couple of years at IWHC, it was really interesting to get a deeper perspective on how advocacy at the UN functions. Though the UN seems like a very large, very bureaucratic entity with many agencies and acronyms, most of the advocacy for our issues actually happens one-on-one and is very much about building relationships and knowledge.”

Kelly Castagnaro, Director of the IWHC Communications Program, said: “It was fascinating to learn about the different UN agreements related to women and how they can be used by advocates to forge change on the national level.  The UN is a big place and while governments have busy schedules and many agendas, advocating with government delegates on how they can support the health and rights of women and girls is within our reach.  In this type of advocacy, a thorough knowledge of relevant precedent language is essential, as are excellent communications skills.  At the end of the training, I felt that I had learned a lot but still had much to learn, particularly related to how UN agencies operate and carry forth the content of these agreements with national governments.  Mostly, I left with tremendous respect for and admiration of the many talented advocates around the world who spend countless days and nights at the UN on behalf of women and girls.”

As men and women of conscience, we reject discrimination in general, and in particular discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. When individuals are attacked, abused or imprisoned because of their sexual orientation, we must speak out. We cannot stand by, silent.

In all these kinds of cases, I put myself on the line. I take pains to find the right balance between public and private diplomacy to reach difficult solutions. I will continue to do so. I will continue to speak out … at every opportunity, wherever I go. And I will do so because this is the right thing to do. Because this cause is just.

That is why this day … this very special day … means so much to me. Human Rights Day commemorates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  It is not called the partial declaration of human rights. It is not the sometimes declaration of human rights.
It is the universal Declaration, guaranteeing all human beings their basic human rights … without exception.

People were not put on this planet to live in fear of their fellow human beings.

The watchwords of civilization have always been tolerance, understanding and mutual respect.

That is why we are here today. And that is why we ask the nations and the peoples of the world to join us … To join us in common cause in the name of justice and a better life for all.

The new Entity will be headed by an Under-Secretary General, and will focus on assisting intergovernmental bodies to form policies and global standards, and on supporting UN member states to uphold and adhere to the standards set by these bodies. To ensure a more coordinated and coherent approach to addressing women’s rights and health throughout the UN, UN Women will consolidate the four existing UN bodies on women (UNIFEM, DAW, INSTRAW and OSAGI) into one new entity.  Bringing these together and coordinating their work throughout the UN system should help the UN and governments to deliver more effectively on their obligations and many commitments to advance gender equality, women’s empowerment, and women’s human rights.

In a media release issued by GEAR, founding member Charlotte Bunch said that the Campaign has “high expectations for this new agency to be a solid foundation for advancing the human rights of women as central to global policy efforts to reduce poverty, and move toward greater realization of peace and democracy in the world. The coalition of women’s groups and other social justice, human rights and development organizations that played a pivotal role in this effort will now turn its efforts toward ensuring that the new body has the human and financial resources necessary to succeed.”

The Aipers discussed the significance of global agreements on women’s health and rights,  effective messaging on sexual and reproductive health and rights issues, and advocacy strategies at the UN and in country they can put into practice following the training.

In addition to a special video greeting, our Aip participants have sent a few photos:

Aipers at work

We whipped up a blizzard just for our Camerounian partners!

Mapping an effective advocacy strategy

The full Advocacy in Practice Crew

My mother thought she could only be a wife and mother.

My older sister doesn’t know about her body.

This stops with me and my generation.

These are the words of Clara Nkwemi, who addressed policymakers and donors at a reception during the Fourth Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights in Addis Ababa.  Clara attended the Advocacy in Practice Training we co-hosted with Advocates forYouth following the conference in Addis, and will be in New York this week to strategize with 11 other youth advocates from 10 countries prior to the UN Commission on the Status of Women meeting. 

Everyone at IWHC is excited to learn with and from such talented and exceptional young feminists.  Tomorrow, the office will be buzzing.  We look forward to hearing more about their experiences and writing about what we learn during the Aip.   And we have no doubt that this generation will create a different future.

 Get ready United Nations!

Today, I attended a high-profile panel focused on combating violence against girls. The speakers made excellent remarks, although all of them missed a key element critical to the prevention of violence against girls and women: gender-sensitive and rights-based sexuality education.

Organized by the Netherlands, the United States and Brazil, “Combating Violence Against Girls” brought together ministers and representatives of UN agencies, including the World Health Organization, the UN High Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Population Fund.   Moderated by Al Jazeera presenter Riz Khan, speakers included US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen, Brazil’s Minister of External Relations Celso Amorim, and International Children’s Peace Prize winners Mayra Avellar Neves from Brazil and Thandiwe Chama from Zambia.

Secretary Clinton began her remarks by stressing that girls and women’s rights are central to the U.S. Administration’s foreign policy. Both Minister Amorim and Minister Verhagen mentioned a recent UN study on violence against children, which states that “no violence against children is justifiable and all violence against children is preventable.”    Several speakers stressed the need to adopt measures that ensure education, punishment of aggressors, and the engagement of women and men in the efforts to end violence.

The meeting definitely showed a high level of interest by the governments that organized it, which supported the work of the recently appointed Special Representative on Violence against Children, Mrs. Marta Santos Pais.  In a joint press statement,  the US, the Netherlands and Brazil expressed their “commitment to combating all forms of violence against girls: child abuse in the home and family, sexual exploitation, rape and other sexual violence in situations of armed conflict, forced child labour, violence in schools and other institutions, and violence in the community generally.”

Although it was a remarkable event, none of the speakers mentioned comprehensive sexuality education as essential to preventing violence against girls. As Minister Amorim explained in his speech, violence against girls is caused by gender-based discrimination and worsened by other components such as racial discrimination. Therefore, the root causes of gender-based violence, including gender inequality and the lack of empowerment of girls and women, must be addressed.

Those issues have been successfully addressed through comprehensive sexuality programs implemented by IWHC partners, including Girls Power Initiative in Nigeria and Grupo Curumim in Brazil.  These comprehensive sexuality education programs do not just give young people biological information about their health and information about health services:  they teach young people about sex, contraception, and pregnancy; communication and decision-making; and help them learn how to establish equality in relationships, respect the right to consent in both sex and marriage, and end violence and sexual coercion.

Efforts to combat violence against girls will only be complete if they include sexuality education programs that are gender sensitive and have a rights-based approach.  Through these programs, we can create a healthy and just world for young people, and future generations.

Denise Hirao is IWHC’s Program Officer for Latin America.

“Through word and deed,” said Ambassador Rice  “the United States is showing that we are ready to lead once more.” 

This leadership, based on the principle that the well-being of America is dependent on the well-being of people everywhere, has already been exercised in word and deed by the Administration: in May, the United States sought election to- and joined-the UN Human Rights Council for the first time, stood strong for reproductive health and rights at a high-level United Nations meeting, and rescinded the prohibitive Global Gag Rule .

Acknowledging that one nation cannot change the world on its own, the Ambassador called for effective and coordinated multilateral cooperation in eradicating poverty, eliminating health disparities, and protecting human rights.  This shared global agenda requires “states with both the capacity and the will to tackle common challenges.” 

Most importantly, she stated that this new ”era of engagement” will be guided by respect and sound policy, rather than hubris and ”petty battles”:

“We have changed course, embracing as our own the Millennium Development Goals, which the United States once shunned…We no longer oppose mentions of reproductive health or the International Criminal Court.  We no longer balk at every reference to the ‘right to food’ or the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.” 

It is clear that the new U.S. era of engagement is here to stay.  We have stepped off the “sidelines” and onto the global stage.   We are committed to protecting human rights and playing nice with others. 

Change has indeed come. 

I’ve taken a bit of a closer look at it, and here’s a quick assessment:

The bad:

•They specifically use “transgender people” for the purposes of this paper to mean male to female, as they “have much higher rates of HIV infection than ‘female to male’ transgender people.”
•Similarly, they note that lesbians may be at risk of HIV through sexual violence, but don’t discuss further the implications of that and basically drop lesbians from the rest of the paper.
•They’re a little overeager to draw the connection between reducing transmission among MSM as a conduit to reducing heterosexual transmission. But that’s getting nit-picky.

The good:

•Human rights is goal number one. This document is not playing around that human rights violations of MSM and trans people are driving the infection rates in these populations and must be addressed for any intervention to have a prayer of working. It’s VERY strong on this.
•Strong emphasis on making sure governments, non-governmental organizations, etc. can “appropriately address diverse sexuality.” One of the action points is training for UN staff.
o Under objective 1:
-The promotion and guarantee of the human rights of MSM and trans people, including protection from discrimination and removal of legal barriers to access such as laws that criminalize sex between males. (why just males? I don’t know.)
-The empowerment of MSM and trans communities to participate equally in social and political life.
-Public campaigns to address homophobia and transgender discrimination
-Training and sensitization of health care providers
-Access to medical and legal assistance for boys, men and trans people who experience sexual abuse. (again, this should have been expanded to more than men and boys.)
o Under objective 3:
-Access to drugs, gender reassignment procedures and support
-The ability to change one’s name and gender identity on official documents and the legal right to live as another gender, free from stigma or discrimination.

The awesome: They expressly state that the big Human Rights documents (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) include MSM and trans people.

The United Nations launched a new website, Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa, to focus on the empowering of women and girls; providing universal access to HIV prevention, care treatment and support; and engaging civil society in the HIV/AIDS response.

On Pandagon, Amanda Marcotte has an interesting post about some research being done in the UK that shows that the parents of daughters become more politically progressive.

Feministing has a long and upsetting post about femicide in Mexico.

On the sex worker rights blog Bound, Not Gagged, I posted an open letter from a sex worker advocate to South Africa’s Honorable Premier Nomvula Mokonyane.

Our Bodies, Our Blog has a great commentary up about some mainstream media coverage about midwifery and maternal mortality in Afghanistan.

And here on Akimbo, we blogged about
…The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and an accompanying film night featuring Peruvian indigenous activist Tarcila Rivera Zea (pictured above).

…a conversation between former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jocelyn Elders and Dr. Padmini Murthy of the International Medical Women’s Association at the United Nations on domestic vs global health and women.