European Parliament Committee on Women’s Rights & Gender Equality Opinion Document for the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for Report on Human Rights & Democracy
This is an important and comprehensive gender-focused document . It comes from the European Parliament FEMM Committee on Women’s Rights & Gender Equality, and provides extensive text for the renewal of the EU Plan of Action on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and Development. It notes of the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2015-2019 promoting non-discrimination, gender equality and women’s empowerment within and outside the European Union.
Just one example of its Calls for Action suggestions is:
12. “Calls for the promotion of women’s rights, gender equality and the fight against violence against women to be systematically included in the human rights country strategies and in the human rights and political dialogues with third countries and candidate countries; welcomes the appointment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) advisor on gender issues and gender-sensitive training programmes for diplomats and officials who are taking part in EU delegations; recalls the commitment to include human rights in all EU impact assessments so as to ensure that the EU respects, upholds and implements human rights and that its external policies and activities are formulated and implemented in such a way as to consolidate human rights abroad; points out that gender equality is not confined to men and women, but must encompass the whole LGBTI community; points to the need to mainstream gender issues more strongly into EU humanitarian aid.”
Direct Link to Full 10-Page 2015 Document: http://www.wunrn.org/pdf/femm.pdf
Извор: WUNRN – 21.11.2015
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) released its Hate Crimes Report-Data for 2014 on 16 November 2015. Forty-three OSCE participating States submitted information to ODIHR. Of these, 17 provided detailed police statistics. OSCE also received information from 122 civil society groups about incidents in 46 countries. This information is supplemented by data submitted by seven OSCE field operations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Hate Crimes are criminal acts motivated by bias or prejudice towards particular groups of people. To be considered a Hate Crime, the offence must meet two criteria. The first is that the act constitutes an offence under criminal law. Secondly, the act must have been motivated by bias.
The W20 group -- having 20 women leaders from G20 nations - would host its first summit next month in Istanbul after all member countries appoint their nominees.
World's 20 largest economies, including India, launched W20, an engagement grouping of women leaders, to push for gender inclusive global economic growth.
6 September 2015 - Ankara | Agency: PTI
The W20 group -- having 20 women leaders from G20 nations -- would host its first summit next month in Istanbul after all member countries appoint their nominees.
At the official launch event here, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the prosperity of a country can be best understood by the smile of women from that country and it is very important to empower them in the economic growth process.
W20's newly appointed President Gulden Turktan said it would work as an outreach group and seek to promote gender inclusiveness in economic growth process by empowering women.
She asked all G20 countries to nominate their members.
One of the deepest roots of poverty is gender discrimination, which imposes a disproportionate burden on women. When women are poor, their rights are not protected. They face obstacles that may be extraordinarily difficult to overcome. This results in deprivation in their own lives and losses for the broader society and economy, as women's productivity is well known as one of the greatest generators of economic dynamism. While both men and women suffer in poverty, gender discrimination means that women have far fewer resources to cope.
World Bank Warns Climate Change Could Add 100 Million Poor by 2030
By Megan Rowling
BARCELONA, Nov 8, 2015 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Without the right policies to keep the poor safe from extreme weather and rising seas, climate change could drive over 100 million more people into poverty by 2030, the World Bank said on Sunday.
In a report, the bank said ending poverty - one of 17 new U.N. goals adopted in September - would be impossible if global warming and its effects on the poor were not accounted for in development efforts.
But more ambitious plans to reduce climate-changing emissions - aimed at keeping global temperature rise within an internationally agreed limit of 2 degrees Celsius - must also cushion poor people from any negative repercussions, it added.
Women & The refugee crisis
November 12, 2015 - Women and children make up the majority of refugees and internally displaced persons in Syria. Syrian refugee women fleeing war face increased risks of sexual violence and harassment in both refugee camps and as they flee from Syria to neighboring countries. Women who end up in refugee camps are often restricted to tight spaces and forced to use common toilet areas where the risk of being attacked increases.
Little information is being collected on the challenges Syrian women refugees and asylum seekers face in camps along the Syrian border or on the long and dangerous journey through Europe. Women’s groups in Syria and across Europe are raising their voices on the issue—pointing to insufficient laws and specific services for refugee women. They are also calling for separate accommodations for women in refugee camps to protect refugee women from violence and abuse.
German women’s organizations in particular have criticized their government for under-reporting cases of sexual violence in German refugee camps. Authorities have been relatively silent on the matter—due to fear backlash from political factions arguing for Germany to close its borders to refugees, many argue.
