UN forum on indigenous issues opens with Ban calling for respect for values

19 April 2010 – The annual United Nations forum on indigenous issues opened today with a call from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for Member States to promote development while respecting the values and traditions of indigenous peoples.

“The loss of irreplaceable cultural practices and means of artistic expression makes us all poorer, wherever our roots may lie,” Mr. Ban told the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. This year’s theme at the forum is “Development with Culture and Identity.”

“I call on all governments, indigenous peoples, the UN system and all other partners to ensure that the vision behind the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples becomes a reality for all,” the Secretary-General added. Read more: UN forum on indigenous issues opens with Ban calling for respect for values

Investing in women can lead to progress on all development goals, says Migiro

The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General has called for greater investment to ensure the health and wellbeing of women, stressing that healthy women can lead to better families and societies, and help achieve the globally agreed development targets with a 2015 deadline.

“We need to tell people that it pays to invest in women – that investing in the health and rights of women triggers greater progress for all,” Asha-Rose Migiro said last night at a working dinner on maternal health held outside of New York City that was attended by UN officials, senior government officials and policymakers.

Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 – just one of eight ambitious targets set by world leaders in 2000 to slash a host of social ills by 2015 – aims to reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters. Read more: Investing in women can lead to progress on all development goals, says Migiro

Ban readies multifaceted campaign to combat maternal mortality worldwide

14 April 2010 – With hundreds of thousands of women and girls dying in pregnancy or childbirth every year and 10 to 15 million more suffering long-lasting disabilities, the United Nations today outlined steps for a multi-pronged campaign to fight the scourge.

Calling for urgent and strategic efforts, the Joint Action Plan will urge all stakeholders, developed and developing countries, civil society actors, private businesses, philanthropic institutions and the multilateral system to each offer new initiatives and adopt an accountability framework that will keep maternal and child health high on the national and international development agenda. Read more: Ban readies multifaceted campaign to combat maternal mortality worldwide

Gender stereotypes continue to limit women’s progress, Migiro says

29 March 2010 – Women continue to bear disproportionate responsibility for often unappreciated care-giving work in households and communities, despite significant progress in gender equality and women empowerment during the past 15 years, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro has said.

“The unequal sharing of responsibilities between men and women reflects stereotypical assumptions about the role of women and men in society – and the stubborn persistence of those assumptions,” Ms. Migiro told the Spain-Africa conference in Valencia on Saturday.

“Inequality, whether in the private or public sphere, has adverse impacts on women, as well as men, their families, the economy and society as a whole. It has implications for equality of opportunity in education, in the labour market and in public life,” Ms. Migiro told the gathering, whose theme was ‘Women for A Better World’. Read more: Gender stereotypes continue to limit women’s progress, Migiro says

Philippines adopts national cction plan for UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820

In compliance with two United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, the Philippines has finally adopted a national action plan (NAP) for the protection of women during armed conflict.

With this, the Philippines has become the first Asian country to come up with an action plan as required by the UNSC Resolutions 1325 and 1820 for UN member countries to implement measures to strengthen and protect the rights of women and ensure peace and security.