Abstract
I’m Here: Adolescent Girls in Emergencies is a resource for emergency response staff. It outlines an operational approach and recommendations that can help humanitarian sectors be more accountable to adolescent girls from the start of an emergency.
Full Report
The report structure allows readers to read the full narrative or, via hyperlinks, to access summary briefs and specific sub-sections. Each chapter begins with a summary of key findings and messages. Annexes contain supplementary material and tools.
Social Justice Fosters Peace, Peace Enables Social Justice
GENEVA (19 February 2015) – Following is a message by the United Nations Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Alfred de Zayas, to mark the World Day of Social Justice, 20 February 2015:
“The World Day of Social Justice was launched by the General Assembly on 26 November 2007 to reaffirm the conflict-preventive function of social justice and urge all States, inter-governmental organizations, and the international community to proactively advance social development and social justice as the foundations of lasting international peace and security.
The source of many of today’s problems lies in systemic social injustice and widespread discrimination. It is futile to look for the root causes of terrorism in any one religion – since all religions are based on universal aspirations of peace and human dignity. Among the root causes are economic and trade imbalances, a history of intervention, exploitation and extreme poverty.
Solutions cannot be sought in a military surge, but in a wider understanding of the problems that drive people, especially young people, to despair and violence.
Experts to Review Reports of Paraguay, Tajikistan and Gambia
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will meet at the Palais Wilson in Geneva from 23 February to 6 March to examine measures taken by Paraguay, Tajikistan and Gambia to comply with the standards of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
At the opening of the session, on Monday, 23 February, the Committee will hear an address from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights or his representative. The Committee will elect a Chairperson, three Vice-Chairpersons and a Rapporteur; it will then adopt its agenda and discuss organizational matters and its methods of work and will hold a meeting with non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions to hear information with respect to the country reports that will be reviewed during the session. In the afternoon, the Committee will begin with the review of the report of Paraguay. Reports will be reviewed over two days, rather than one day, as was previously the practice.
The country reports, common core documents, written replies, lists of issues, parallel reports and other session documents before the Committee are accessible on the Committee’s webpage in various official United Nations languages. At the end of the session, the concluding observations of the Committee on each State party will also be accessible on this website.
Care & the New Emotional Imperialism
“The astonishingly high number of women migrating is a new global trend.”
By Zuhal Yesilyurt Gunduz, Associate Professor in the International Relations Department at TED University in Ankara, Turkey
Migration, Care, Care Drain, and Care Chains
The history of migration is as old as the history of humanity. Since the very beginnings humans have migrated to build a new, more hopeful existence somewhere else. Today migrants often break away from their home countries as a consequence of warfare, political repression, or severe poverty. Stephen Castles and Mark J. Miller write that “migration has become a private solution to a public problem.”4 Migrant labor is also of course associated with a myriad of other problems to which such workers are subjected.
Employers, recruiting agencies—as well as both sending and receiving states—profit from migrants’ hard work and contributions. For the sending countries, migration is a successful development and growth policy. It not only decreases unemployment rates, but also brings in remittances. Some states market the image of female migrants by praising them as “‘economic heroes’ who not only sacrifice themselves for their families but also for the nation.”5 Receiving countries, too, gain from the hard, but low-priced, work of migrants. These states are able to reduce labor shortages in sectors such as information technology or health and domestic care and provide upper-middle-class families the possibility of private child or elderly care as a kind of limited recompense for the shrinking welfare state. They also benefit from the brain drain of sending nations—the siphoning of highly educated professionals from their home countries, where they received their education, towards the economically developed countries. And of course by taking advantage of the availability of low-cost, migrant care workers, relatively privileged families in the rich countries are able to acquire a higher standard of living.
Asghar Zaidi – 08.01.2015 - We live in a society that would be unrecognisable to visitors travelling in time from the early 20th century. They would notice the technological wonders of this age, but may not notice something which we take for granted: increasing numbers of us are living longer than ever before!
In most countries around the world life expectancy at birth today is on average around 70 years, which has more than doubled since the start of the 20th century. It is estimated that there are in excess of 10,000 people over 100 in the United Kingdom today; when they were born there were only 100 centenarians.
Why should we take notice of our ageing population?
One of the many aspects of longevity to celebrate is the prospect of older people living active and engaged lives during this phase of life. At the same time, we know that the process of ageing exposes older people to vulnerabilities and, as a society, we have been slower in acknowledging and responding to them.
