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9th Anniversary of the International Day on Zero Tolerance to FGM
The Inter African Committee on Practices Affecting the Health of Women and children ( IAC), requests your participation and contribution at an advocacy program in support of the important decision of the African Heads of States, to support a resolution at the 66th Ordinary Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations to ban Female Genital Mutilation(FGM) worldwide. While the practice of FGM persists worldwide, the recent development from the African Heads of State is noteworthy and is a demonstration of political will to end this gruesome practice.
Proposed in 2003 in Addis Ababa by IAC during its International meeting on Zero Tolerance to FGM, February 6 was adopted by the United Nations and continues to be observed worldwide since 2004, as a campaign tool towards the achievement of Zero Tolerance to FGM. FGM is a harmful traditional practice that not only violates the basic Human Rights of women; it threatens their health and well-being while degrading their human integrity, all in the name of tradition and culture. Until Zero Tolerance to this practice is achieved, we all need to join hands together to advocate for its abandonment.
This year a panel debate followed by an Art exhibition on FGM is being organised to commemorate the 9th anniversary of the International Day on Zero Tolerance to FGM. Details of the event are as follows:
Theme: ‘Malabo to New York: supporting the UNGA resolution on Zero Tolerance to FGM'.
Date: Monday 6th of February 2012
Time: 2 - 6pm
Venue: ARIANA museum
Avenue de la Paix, 10. CH-1202, Geneva
Thank you and we look forward to your presence as we all join voices together for Zero Tolerance to FGM!
For further information, please do not hesitate to contact Inter-African Committee (IAC) email: cominter@iprolink.ch
UN Millennium Development Goals
Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day.
Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
Ensure that all boys and girls complete full course of primary schooling
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005 and at all levels by 2015
4. Reduce child mortality
Reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five
5. Improve maternal health
Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
7 Ensure Environmental Sustainability
Integrating principles of sustainable development, reversing loss of environmental resources, access to safe drinking water, improvements to lives of slum dwellers.
8 Develop a Global Partnership for Development
Develop further an open trading and financial system that is rule-based, predictable, and non-discriminatory.
UN Representatives' Reports 2010 - 2013 Triennium
1/UN/10-13: New York – Anushka Wirasinha
Global Forum for Women: Beijing+15, 27 & 28 February 2010
Commission on the Status of Women, 54th session, 1-12 March 2010
2/UN/10-13: Geneva – Meg Berruex-Bryant
NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 29 June 2010
3/UN/10-13: Geneva – Meg Berruex-Bryant
Meeting of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Status with ECOSOC, 30 September 2010
World Women’s Summit Foundation prize giving, 1 October 2010
4/UN/10-13: New York – Anushka Wirasinha
Commission on the Status of Women, 55th session, 22 February-4 March 2011
5/UN/10-13: New York – Anushka Wirasinha
UN Headquarters Report to 5 October 2011
6/UN/10-13: New York – Patricia Altshuler
NGO Committee on UNIFEM, 4 April 2011
7/UN/10-13: San Francisco – Patricia Altshuler
Women’s Economic Summit to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), 13-16 September 2011
8/UN/10-13: Geneva – Meg Berruex-Bryant
Annual NGO Meeting on the Rights of the Child, 11 March 2011
9/UN/10-13: Geneva – Meg Berruex-Bryant
Committee on the Rights of the Child: Day of general discussion on children of incarcerated parents, 30 September 2011
10/UN/10-13: Dresden/Bonn – Valerie Stevens
Meeting of OV Landwirtschaft Mittelsachen and DPI/NGO Conference, 29 August – 5 September 2011
UN Representatives' Reports 2007 - 2010 Triennium
1/UN/07-10: Geneva -
26.6.07 / Meg Berruex
Sub-group of the Human Rights Council. Rights of the Child.
2/UN!07-10: Geneva - 12.17.07 / Meg Berruex
NGO Committee on the Status of Women.
3/UN/07-10: Almaty, Kazakhstan - I7-23 May 07 / Chaiskran
Hlranpruk
UN Economic & Social Council for Asia & the Pacific
(UNESCAP), 63rd Commission session.
3/UN/7-10: Geneva - 28.11/07 / Meg Berruex
NGOs and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
4/UN/07-10: Geneva - 29.11.07 / Meg Berruex
NGO Committee on the Status of Women.
5/UN/07-10: Geneva - 25.2.08 / Meg Berruex
offshoot of Health Promotion Group: Local Wisdom in Health
Promotion.
6/UN/07-10: New York - 25/2/08 - 7/3/08 / Anushka Wirasinha
Commission on the Status of Women. 52nd session, New York, 25 Feb -
7 March 08.
7/UN/07-10: Geneva - 21.05.08 / Meg Berruex
NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child - General
Assembly.
8/UN/07-10: Innsbruck - 26-27.6.08 / Gertraud Pichler
26th FAO Regional Conference for Europe.
9/UN/07-10: Rome - 3-5.6.08 / Gertraud Pichler
FAO High Level Conference on World Food Security.
10/UN/07-10: Geneva - 27.10.08 / Meg Berruex
'Elaborating on the Human Rights & Development Nexus’
Civil Society Development Forum, Geneva Component. CONGO.
11/UN/07-10: New York - Patricia Altshuler
General report on events at UN HQ, received 31.10.08.
12/UN/07-10 New York - Anushka Wirasinha
UN First Observance of the International Day of Rural Women.
13/UN/07-10 New York - 2-13.3.09 / Anushka Wirasinha
Commission on the Status of Women. 53rd session, New York.
14/UN/07-10: New York - 21.5.09 / Anushka Wirasinha
Children & Armed Conflict briefing, UN HQ.
15/UN/07-10: Geneva - 3.7/09 Meg Berruex
Briefing with Mr Andrei Abramov, Chief of the NGO Branch ECOSOC in
New York.
16/UN/07-10: New York - Anushka Wirasinha
14.9.09 - NG0 Committee on UNIFEM.
30.9.09 - UN Security Council.
17/UN/07-10: New York - l2.l0.09- Anushka Wirasinha
NGO Committee on UNIFEM.
18/UN/07-10: Geneva - 20.11.09 / Meg Berruex
Rights of the Child - Juvenile Justice
Anniversary meeting of the beginning of the drafting of the
Convention.
19/UN/07-l0: Geneva - 11.12.09 / Meg Berruex
NGO Alliance for Health Promotion - Annual General Meeting.
20/UN/07-|01 Geneva - 20.11.09 / Meg Berruex
Celebration of 20 years of Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
21/UN/07-10 New York - 26.10.09 - Anushka Wirasinha
UNIFEM Women Ambassador’s lunch.
International and World Days
World Food Day, October 16
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, October 17
Sharon Hatten, Chairman of ACWW’s United Nations Committee, writes:
October 15 has been declared by the UN as the International Day of Rural Women (IDRW). This important day was started in 1995 during the Beijing Conference on Women to honour rural women. It is no coincidence that IDRW is followed by World Food Day, October 16, and the International Day for the Elimination of Poverty, October 17. When rural women succeed to their rightful place, world food production will increase and poverty will decrease.
Rural women continue to suffer from discrimination within states, communities and families. They suffer discrimination and are prevented from the rights of full citizenship. Rural women lack access to education, adequate health care, proper employment and lack the opportunity to own land or obtain micro credit. While rural women toil for many hours in their fields to provide for their family they are often undernourished as they are the last ones to eat.
The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women is the only human rights instrument that specifically addresses the situation of rural women. Some progress is being made but it is slow.
Millennium Goal 3 promotes gender equality and the empowerment of women. It is noted that to invest in the empowerment of women is to invest is all eight Millennium Development Goals. Women are recognised as the ‘multipliers in development.’
During IDRW 2010, I encourage each member society, and each individual, to remember your fellow rural women who are less fortunate. Let us commit to keeping our governments aware of the need for change in rural communities> Let us commit to supporting rural women and girls to reach their aspirations of education, proper nutrition, good health care and acceptance as full citizens.