Dutch Federation participates in CEDAW Shadow Report
January 2010
The Dutch Federation VVAO submitted, together with other 52 NGOs, a shadow report called "Report on Women's Rights - Some progress, many gaps" to the 45th session of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The report examines the Fifth Report by the Dutch Government on the implementation of the UN Convention on CEDAW. The 45th session will examine the reports on 18-25 January 2010.
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IFUW Representative wins prestigious prize
November 2009
The international MINERVA Prize is awarded annually to remarkable women working to instill new knowledge, new values and new passions to their communities. Conchita Poncini, Coordinator of IFUW's Representatives to the United Nations in Geneva and head of IFUW's delegation to the Human Rights Council, received the prestigious 2009 MINERVA Prize in recognition of her lifelong work promoting women's human rights.
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2009 International Labour Conference
October 2009
The 2009 International Labour Conference focused on the global financial and economic crisis and its effect on employment. Gender was high on the agenda, with the crisis being seen as an opportunity to form new gender equality responses. The Conference adopted a Global Jobs Pact, laying out a set of guiding principles and specific policy options on the acceleration of employment creation, jobs recovery, sustainable enterprises and social protection systems.
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UNESCO Appoints First Women Director-General of UNESCO
October 2009
We were very moved to be present this afternoon when the UNESCO General Conference appointed Irina Gueorguieva Bokova of Bulgaria as the first woman Director-General of UNESCO. In her vision statement, UNESCO in a Globalized World: New Humanism for the 21st century, she states that "the greatest challenge is to lead the world into a new era of peace and humanism, to create more inclusive, just, and equitable societies through sustainable economic and social development, based on science, innovation and new technologies that will serve mankind and will preserve the environment."
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Highlights from the 2009 World Conference on Higher Education (WCHE)
October 2009
Ten years after the first World Conference on Higher Education, organized by UNESCO, over 1,200 participants representing a broad range of actors with a vested interest in higher education came together in Paris to assess the progress made and the remaining challenges. The 2009 WCHE Conference, held in Paris from 5-8 July 2009, had as its theme New Dynamics in Higher Education Research for Societal Change and Development. The need to ensure an end to all discrimination in higher education was stressed throughout the conference.
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2008 Advocacy Action reports
August 2009
At the end of 2008, the IFUW Status of Women Committee asked national federations and associations for information about recent advocacy efforts. Many interesting projects were reported. The Scottish Federation, for example, made submissions to Government on two aspects of the judicial system: Children's Hearings and the Role of the Jury in Criminal Trials. Canadian clubs worked with Provincial Governments to develop action against bullying. The Australian Federation worked in coalition with other NGOs on a wide range of issues, including the economic independence of women and paid parental leave.
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Protecting Children in Cyberspace
July 2009
In the past ten years the number of internet users has increased from 186 million to 1.5 billion; in the same period, Interpol (the world's largest international police organization) went from 12 reports of child abuse material per year to 1.5 million. The cyber safety of the world's children is a growing concern. This was one of the issues at the recent 2009 WSIS Global Forum, part of the the continuing followup to the World Summit on the Information Society held in 2003 and in 2005.
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The Global Downturn: Are Women Disproportionately Affected?
May 2009
The United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) just held its first Public Symposium on the effects of the global financial turmoil. One agenda item discussed whether women were disproportionately affected by the crisis. It concluded that women ARE indeed a factor in the economic crisis and that governments that do not empower women will be at an economic disadvantage not using the work force at its full potential.
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IFUW Promotes Gender Equality at the Human Rights Council (HRC)
April 2009
IFUW presented a joint statement to the 10th Session of the HRC (March 2009) calling for the continued systematic review of gender equality and women’s rights in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and in reports to treaty bodies, notably the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Further, it asked for closer co-operation between the Human Rights Council bodies and financial institutions to exchange best practices and identify gender equality gaps. At the same session, IFUW co-organized one of five NGO parallel panels, on “Safe School Environment for the Girl Child through a Human Rights Education Perspective”. The workshop advocated that education in a safe environment is a human right for every girl.
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Combating Violence Against Girls
April 2009 
Catherine E. Moore, Coordinator of IFUW's UN Team in New York, represented IFUW at the International Conference on Violence Against the Girl Child in The Hague (March 2009). The Conference called on all governments to take a leading role in combating violence against girls and urged multi-stakeholder partnerships between government, civil society, international organizations, media and corporate businesses to work together. Best practices were discussed with innovative ideas such as creating child help lines and safe spaces where girls can learn about their rights.
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Strengthening the Contribution of Higher Education & NGOs in EFA
March 2009 
In June 2008, the Working Group on Education for All (EFA) of the NGO-UNESCO Liaison Committee organized a workshop in Paris to discuss how NGOs could work closer with the higher education community to acheive the six UNESCO Education For All (EFA) goals.
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IFUW Statements at the 53rd Session on the Commission of the Status of Women
March 2009
At the occasion of the Fifty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women (March 2009), IFUW submitted a statement on The equal participation of women and men in decision-making at all levels.
IFUW also co-signed, together with other NGOs, a number of statements.
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Trends in Women's Human Rights
December 2008
In September, Ambassador Erlinda Basilio, Permanent Representative of the Phillipines to the United Nations in Geneva and Vice President of the Human Rights Council, addressed a meeting of the Geneva NGO Committee on the Status of Women. She started the discussion by confirming that, although the Women’s Rights movement has come a long way, there is still a long way to go. She also stressed that is very important to make sure that those States which have not enacted the necessary legislation to ensure women's human rights, do so.
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General Recommendation on Older Women
November 2008
On 6 November 2008 a meeting was held to examine the case for a new CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) General Recommendation on Older Women focusing on "Strengthening the Protection of the Rights of Older Women".
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World bank presentation on the Global Economic Crisis and the Power of Women
November 2009
In preparation for CSW's Beijing+15 Review, the Geneva NGO Committee on the Status of Women (NGOCSW) invited Ms. Mayra Buvinic of the World Bank to present the Bank’s strategy and policy in approaching the financial and economic crisis from a women’s empowerment and gender equal perspective and to address how gender equality is mainstreamed in the Bank. For a summary of the presentation, see the report by Conchita Poncini, IFUW Representative and President of the Geneva NGO Committee on the Status of Women.
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UNESCO General Conference
October 2009
In the opening statement, Director General Irina Bokova, spoke of responsibilities in a world conditioned by an economic, social and environmental crisis. She stressed that she does not believe in the clash of civilisations and will favour multicultural dialogue and tolerance. Gender equality and education for sustainable development are both high on her agenda.
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UN Security Council passes new Resolution 1888 to end sexual violence against women in conflict-affected countries
October 2009
0n 30 September 2009, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that addresses the need to end sexual violence against women in conflict-affected countries. The resolution calls for the immediate appointment of a Special Representative to provide leadership, work effectively to strengthen existing UN coordination mechanisms and advocate with governments, military, judicial representatives and parties to armed conflict.
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Human Rights Council Advisory Committee Meeting
August 2009
The Human Rights Council Advisory Committee met in August. High on the agenda was a draft declaration on human rights education and training. This declaration will seek to combat discrimination deeply rooted in society and to promote legal literacy, important for those affected to recognize their own rights. A highlight from the meeting was an intervention from the Slovenian delegation. Their government said to have two priorities: the full realization of equal rights of women and men and the rights of persons with disabilities.
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Cyberhate: Danger in Cyberspace
July 2009
The latest seminar in the United Nation's "Unlearning Tolerance" annual series looked at two specific risks the Internet poses to young people - cyberhate and cyber bullying. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon opened the seminar by saying that a top priority of the UN is protecting children by preventing abuse by racism, xenophobia and related intolerance. While the internet has brought much good to the world, it also causes anguish and suffering because of those who use it to target religious and ethnic and minorities or bullying youth.
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Durban Review Outcome Document looks to the Future
April 2009
Government delegates from more than 100 countries and 470 NGO representatives gathered in Geneva to assess progress achieved since the first World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in 2001 in Durban, South Africa. Despite a highly inflammatory speech by the Iranian president that marred the opening and a boycott by a small number of countries, the outcome of the Durban Review provides a basis for multilateral relations and international cooperation for the future.
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A Record High For Women in Parliament
April 2009 
According to the latest analysis undertaken by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a record number of women now hold seats in parliament following elections and renewals that took place in 54 countries in 2008. On average, women hold 18.3% of the seats across all chambers of parliament. This represents a 60% increase in the number of women parliamentarians since 1995. Also, for the first time, 15% of parliamentary chambers in 32 countries have reached 30% or more women members.
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Armenian Association Prepares Alternative CEDAW Report
March 2009 
The Armenian Association of Women with University Education (AAUWE) co-authored an alternative report to the 43rd Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) assessing the discrimination Armenian women and girls face in areas such as education, employment and health.
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IFUW Representatives to International Organizations: 2008 Annual Reports
February 2009
IFUW's teams of representatives have been working actively throughout 2008 to ensure that the IFUW priority issues are taken into consideration in international debate. Because of IFUW's special consultative status, these representatives have an official presence at the meetings and conferences where new international conventions and agreements are drafted and adopted. There they are able to highlight members' concerns through oral and written statements, special presentations and intense discussions with individual government delegates.
To see what each center has been working on in 2008, check out the Reports Page and visit our IFUW Representatives page.
Say No to Violence Against Women
November 2008
UNIFEM's Say No to Violence Campaign, which IFUW has participated in as a partner, continues to gain support. Close to 250,000 individuals and 35 Governments have signed the online petition. UNIFEM hopes to reach 1 million names by 25 November, when all the names will be handed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a broad-based call for governments to take action to end violence against women and girls. All IFUW members are encouraged to add their names to the petition and to invite three friends to do the same.
Bioethics
October 2008
With the progress of science and technology and with questions arising on globalization, ethical issues - in particular bioethics, concern us all. In response, UNESCO has proposed an institutional framework for collective discussion. It calls for NGOs to take part in bioethics education and information, bringing closer biomedical and environmental ethics.
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Manual for Gender Audit Facilitators: The ILO Participatory Gender Audit Methodology
November 2007
The International Labour Office (ILO) has published a gender audit manual to promote organizational learning at all levels on how to mainstream gender in the policies, programmes and structures of an organization. The manual has evolved from the gender methodology which the ILO itself used internally in recent years to integrate sex disaggregated data, gender analysis, gender equality objectives, indicators, conclusions and strategies for action within their programmes and projects.
The following publications are available for download from the ILO website:
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