The pandemic has shown the critical state of violence against women and girls in conflict and crisis settings around the world, and the aid industry’s failure, yet again, to protect them or support their leadership.
Tag: United Nations
Turning Point in History: U.S. Sends the Most Diverse Delegation to CSW65
The U.S. Delegation to CSW65 is a historic turning point in U.S. political leadership and marks the first time the U.S. will be represented at the session at the White House level, and the first time two women of color have co-led the delegation: Vice President Kamala Harris and U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Plus, meet the historic eight non-government advisors joining the U.S. Delegation who are changing the game.
From the Vault: “Dispatch from Beijing” (Jan/Feb 1996)
The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women (September 4–15, 1995) was ground-breaking and revolutionary, forcing participants to realize that all issues are “women’s issues.” But attendees also had to suffer dirty, crowded conditions, disrespect and downright misogyny.
“Why did women endure such treatment? For each other’s sake. (This is how they get us.)”
Democracy Depends on Women’s Empowerment, Kamala Harris Says in Her U.N. Debut
Addressing a mostly virtual annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the U.N.’s key advocate and protector of women’s rights since 1947, Harris—the first woman to rise to the vice presidency—presented a broad view of rights and freedoms held by the Biden administration.
What the World Learned About Women’s Talents in a Hellish Year
It was a tough and discouraging year, 2020, for women around the world as they prepare for the 12-day annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
Table for 12, Please: Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, “The People’s Ambassador”
When President Biden announced Linda Thomas-Greenfield as his pick for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, he lauded her as a “seasoned and distinguished diplomat with 35 years in the foreign service who never forgot where she came from growing up in segregated Louisiana.”
On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Thomas-Greenfield by a vote of 78-20, marking a return to a career of foreign service where she excels.
Intersectionality, Accountability, and the United Nations
Gender parity doesn’t necessarily mean the U.N. is working better, and towards the interests of women, girls and marginalized populations. If the U.N. is to “leave no one behind,” it must fully grasp the multiple forms of discrimination holding people back.
It’s time U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres accepts and takes on recommendations for making intersectionality central to the U.N.’s mandate.
The “Shadow Pandemic”: Confronting Period Poverty During COVID-19
The pandemic highlights and exacerbates the challenges women and girls confront in obtaining basic menstrual products and education. One nonprofit working to address this situation is Days for Girls.
Rest in Power: The UN’s First Feminist, ‘Peg’ Snyder
Peg Snyder, the founding director of Unifem, now folded into UN Women, died on Jan. 26, 2021, after a brief illness while staying in Syracuse, N.Y., near her relatives and the city where she was born.
U.S. Aid Returns to UNFPA Amid Efforts to End Global Gag Rule Permanently
“UNFPA’s work is essential to the health and well-being of women around the world and directly supports the safety and prosperity of communities around the globe, especially in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic.”