UN // Current TV

Sushi to the Slaughter

From Siberia to the Amazon, you can now get your sushi fix in some of the most remote... more

Adam_Yamaguchi
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1 month ago
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Views On The News: Syria

In this new programme, a group of volunteers reflect on the conflict in Syria.... more

worldwrite
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1 month ago
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United We Fall: Full Length

A film by Bryan Law and Dan Dicks "United We Fall" is a documentary about... more

rodstradamus
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2 months ago
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The New World Order Of The 21st Century: Press for Truth

The agenda for a one world government is advancing at an exponential rate as it... more

rodstradamus
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2 months ago
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Article: Civil society, gov’t delegates decry attempts to scrub off rights language from Rio 20

NEW YORK, March 27 (IBON) — Civil society organizations (CSOs) and some... more

frankpatton
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2 months ago
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World Water Day 2012- Water And Food Security

This Thursday, March 22, is World Water Day as designated by the UN and celebrated... more

JanforGore
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2 months ago
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Global Water Goal Met; Now Let's Push Sanitation

The UN's target for access to drinking water was reached ahead of time. Great... more

Womens_eNews
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3 months ago
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Women's Human Rights: More than Just a Slogan

Framing women's rights in terms of human rights, as expressed by the phrase "women's rights are human rights," was an idea and a movement whose time had come. It came simultaneously from more than one source, but it began to bubble to the surface in the context of the global feminist movement of the 1980s. This was a formative time for feminists in our development as women's human rights activists.

In a pre-Internet era, the rapid movement of the petition by hand, letter, or--for a privileged few--sparkling new fax machine reflected the emergence of the women's movement as a global political force. However, the petition was not just to be signed. It was an organizing tool for feminists to provoke a discussion of why human rights were not already systematically seen as including women's rights, as well as to mobilize women around the world to make their voices heard.

Major, even revolutionary, advances have been made in awareness, recognition, and standard setting around women's rights as human rights. Yet the revolution is unfinished. UNWomen's 2011-2012 Report on Progress of the World's Women shows clearly that justice--an essential element in the realization of human rights--is still a distant dream for most women. When it comes to violence against women in particular, impunity is still rampant and justice is often denied.

The backlash and violence experienced by women's rights activists is especially worrisome. Women defenders often face gender-specific abuse in addition to the threats all defenders face, especially if they are seen as defying societal norms. This can take many forms: sexual violence and harassment, familial pressures and threats to their children, name calling and sexuality baiting, or other attacks on their reputation in the community or work place. Increasing numbers of women activists from Colombia to Nepal to South Africa and Mexico have been murdered or driven out of their communities for their defense of women's rights.

Despite the daunting challenges they face, women keep showing extraordinary, courage and creativity in demanding their rights and seeking to create a better world. New technologies have spread ideas of change rapidly, and young women have played key roles in the recent revolutions in the Middle East. These women--connected to each other and women in the rest of the world--are poised to be key actors and potential leaders in movements for change as well as governments in the near future.

http://womensenews.org/story/books/120309/womens-human-rights-slogan-global-agendaFraming women's rights in terms of human rights, as expressed by the phrase... more