International

International: Formation of an International Bureau for Laicite

Considering that:- The so-called theory of ‘clash of civilisations’ between a ‘Christian West’ on the one hand, and a ‘Muslim Orient’ on the other, is gaining ground, in total disregard of all people the world over, who have been fighting in favour of a political model founded on principles of secularism.

Mondiale: Appel à soutenir le Bureau Laïque International

Constatant : Que la théorie dite du « choc des civilisations » entre d’un côté un occident chrétien, de l’autre un orient musulman, tend à s'imposer au mépris de tous ceux qui, partout dans le monde, militent en faveur d'un modèle politique fondé sur le principe de laïcité ; Que, sous couvert de défendre un « droit à la différence », de nombreux Etats légitiment la différence des droits entre les citoyens en fonction de leurs options spirituelles, favorisant ainsi les communautarismes ; Qu'avec l'aide des religions, des gouvernements tentent d'embrigader les peuples dans des affrontements guerriers meurtriers.

International: WTO Ministerial Conference was a missed opportunity

The seventh WTO Ministerial Conference turned out to be a missed opportunity in addressing the serious challenges facing women and men in the global economy. It turned out a missed opportunity to promote a new model of multilateral trading system that addresses livelihood, employment, decent working conditions, food security, climate change and gender inequalities.

International: The pitfalls of monitoring and evaluating gender equality programmes

A summary of Part I “Capturing change in women’s realities: The challenges of monitoring and evaluating our work” a paper by Srilatha Batliwala* and Alexandra Pittman.** Monitoring and evaluation now form an integral part of women’s rights and gender equality programmes as we attempt to measure how effectively we work. But are the frameworks we use able to perform this ambitious task? In their paper Capturing change in women’s realities: The challenges of monitoring and evaluating our work Srilatha Batliwala and Alexandra Pittman assess the “ifs,” the “whys” and the “hows” of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in women’s rights, women’s empowerment and gender equality. They observe that “over the past few decades, important strides have been made in developing ways of capturing a whole range of abstract but vital social realities, and particularly in trying to quantify them.

UPDATE: International: “One Day, One Struggle” to Promote Human Rights across Muslim Societies

On November 9, 2009, a diverse group of nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions and activists across the Middle East, North Africa, South and Southeast Asia carried out bold events to promote sexual and bodily rights as human rights. As part of the historic international campaign “One Day One Struggle” organized by the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR), over 20 organizations held simultaneous public demonstrations and meetings to assert that sexual and reproductive rights are universal human rights and sexuality is not a private issue but a site of political struggle.

Everyone's Guide to By-passing Internet Censorship

Internet censorship, or content filtering, has become a major global problem. Whereas once it was assumed that states could not control Internet communications, according to research by the OpenNet Initiative (http://opennet.net) more than 25 countries now engage in Internet censorship practices.

UN: Cultural Rights: New UN Independent Expert Takes Charge

Pakistani sociologist Ms. Farida Shaheed has taken office as newly appointed Independent Expert in the field of cultural rights, one of the latest areas earmarked for special monitoring by the UN Human Rights Council. My decades of work at the grassroots in promoting human rights leaves me in no doubt that the right to cultural life and cultural development is an essential and inherent right of all individuals and peoples, said Ms. Shaheed, who was appointed by the Human Rights Council in October 2009.

Asia Pacific : NGO Declaration on Beijing + 15 Review

Acknowledging and recognizing the hard work and struggles of many women who have walked with us to this point and paying tribute to those who have passed on, we, close to 700 women and girls representing women’s movements from the Asia and Pacific Region, reaffirm the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) as a strategic document for women and girls empowerment, human rights, peace, human security and gender-inclusive development and as a key tool for advancing government’s commitments to the Millennium Development Goals. (MDGs)

International: Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms

The Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms (RCRF) team is currently documenting a broad spectrum of feminist strategies to counter fundamentalist politics.

International: “One Day, One Struggle” to Promote Human Rights across Muslim Societies

Advocates in eleven countries gather for milestone in history of sexual and reproductive rights movement. On November 9, 2009, a diverse group of nongovernmental organizations will stage bold actions in 11 countries to promote human rights. As part of the historic international campaign “One Day One Struggle” organized by the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR), over 20 organizations will hold simultaneous public demonstrations and events to assert that sexual and reproductive rights are universal human rights based on the inherent freedom, dignity and equality of all human beings.