Generation Equality Forum – the Paris edition: More bold commitments, less empty promises

by Vany Cortés, Universal Rights Group Geneva Gender equality, Thematic human rights issues

On 30 June, UN Secretary-General António Guterres opened the second session of the Generation Equality Forum (GEF) alongside UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and French President Emmanuel Macron. The GEF is a global gathering co-organised by UN Women and the Governments of France and Mexico in close cooperation with youth activists and civil society organisations from around the world. …

Foro Generación Igualdad – Edición de París: Más compromisos ambiciosos, menos promesas vacías

by Vany Cortés, Universal Rights Group Geneva Gender equality, Thematic human rights issues

El 30 de junio, el Secretario General de la ONU, António Guterres, inauguró la segunda sesión del Foro Generación Igualdad (GEF por sus siglas en inglés) junto con la Directora Ejecutiva de ONU Mujeres, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, y el Presidente de Francia, Emmanuel Macron. El GEF es un encuentro mundial coorganizado por ONU Mujeres y los gobiernos de Francia y México …

Generation Equality Forum 2021: A light at the end of the gender inequality tunnel?

by Vany Cortés, Universal Rights Group Geneva Gender equality, Thematic human rights issues

In his virtual address at the inauguration ceremony of the Generation Equality Forum 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron remarked that ‘no country in the world has yet achieved complete equality between men and women’. This observation crystallises the alarming state of gender equality almost 26 years after the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and the adoption of the landmark …

US co-host virtual signing ceremony of the Geneva Consensus Declaration in latest pushback on women’s rights

by Anna Mattedi, Universal Rights Group Gender equality, SRHR, Thematic human rights issues

On Thursday 22 October 2020, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, co-hosted a virtual signing ceremony of the Geneva Consensus Declaration on ‘Promoting Women’s Health and Strengthening the Family’. During the ceremony, a coalition of 30 States, repeatedly denied women’s right to an abortion in the guise of protecting national sovereignty and …

The Gender Parity Strategy and UN reforms

by Jane Murray Gender equality, Thematic human rights issues

The United Nations System-wide Gender Parity Strategy sets targets for equal representation of men and women in the United Nations, and also advises on recruitment and retention practices. All secretariat units have developed their own implementation plans for the strategy, setting objectives for themselves to achieve parity at all levels. This strategy is being implemented alongside wider UN reforms that deal with the UN’s management system, and reconstituting …

Ethiopia secures important advances for human rights, including women’s rights

by Yibza Aynekullu Tesfaye, Minister-Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Ethiopia to the UN & Other Organizations in Geneva By invitation, Gender equality, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Thematic human rights issues

“…Our government’s stand on the rights of women and their equality is not out of favour to them but rather for our common good” Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia There is a growing public sense, promoted by the Western press and NGOs, that human rights are in retreat around the world. It is true that in some countries, including …