Category Archives: Women and girls

Adolescent girls critical to post-2015 agenda

Pregnant women paint their bellies before an event to celebrate "Healthy Maternity Week" in Lima May 30, 2013. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil

UN Women staked an important claim this month in the turf war that is the post-2015 development agenda. Its contribution, a note titled, “Stand-Alone Goal on Achieving Gender Equality, Women’s Rights and Women’s Empowerment: Imperatives and Key Components in the context of the Post-2015 Framework and Sustainable Development Goals,” is a great start.  But it doesn’t go far enough.

Those of us who advocated for a higher-profile and more consolidated UN agency to lead efforts related to gender equality and women’s empowerment hoped that UN Women would not only be taken seriously, but that it would also be a bold and envelope-pushing entity in the global development arena. With Michele Bachelet’s initial leadership, the agency was indeed taken seriously. And sometimes, under her leadership, it was bold.  Now, as the international community sets the development agenda for the coming decades, and as it looks to UN Women to lead the discussion of where women and girls fit in that agenda, it’s time to push that envelope.

In the note that’s not yet publicly available but that has been making its way through various networks, UN Women argues for both a stand-alone goal to achieve gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment and for the integration of gender considerations throughout and across all other goals, as relevant. This is a smart strategy. On the one hand, because integration alone is not sufficient to provide the level of attention we need to ensure gender equality, we still need a specific goal with specific targets and indicators by which to measure progress.  And on the other, we know that gender issues must be specifically identified and addressed across all development efforts if they are to be successful.

UN Women identifies freedom from violence, gender equality in capabilities and resources, and gender equality in decision-making power and voice as the three core areas of focus.  They proceed to explain these targets in greater detail and even provide illustrative indicators which they indicate are “designed to measure progress towards transformative change in gender relations.” A good and aspirational first step. But as a community of women’s rights advocates, we need to not just step, but leap.

UN Women notes that the proposed indicators for the three target areas are based on internationally agreed standards, and for a UN agency, this is standard procedure – they’re not going to extend far beyond the boundaries of what their member states have agreed to (that’s why advocates are needed).  But even within these self-imposed guidelines, there is room to demand more.

Adolescent girls, often highly vulnerable and overlooked in international development spheres, are only called out in relation to violence and education. There’s no mention of the needs of adolescent girls to access health information and services, no mention of their reproductive rights, and conspicuously absent is child marriage, a human rights violation which more than 14 million girls are newly subject to each year. Working towards ending the harmful practice should be indicated as a distinct target in this and other relevant development goals, as it profoundly impacts a community’s ability to transform gender roles and hobbles development progress.

Where UN Women does specify age groups, they mention only those “over 15 years old,” leaving out very young adolescent girls altogether. True, most data collected for national and international surveys, such as the Demographic and Health Surveys, start with girls aged 15 or even 18, but if we are looking at ways to truly “transform” international development and women’s lives for the next generation, we need to identify as a priority the need to collect data in order to better understand the reality of very young adolescents’ lives – and how that reality can impact the course of their adult lives.

Finally, sexual health and rights are left off the table altogether.  Since its creation, UN Women has largely deferred to UNFPA on issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), though its conciliatory statements about these issues at the start of this year’s Commission on the Status of Women placed SRHR advocates, including many governments, on their heels.

We cannot achieve gender equality and women’s rights unless all individuals, regardless of age, gender, or where they live, have not only the right, but also the ability, to make informed decisions about their bodies, their sexual partners and their relationships, free from violence, discrimination and coercion.

As we proceed through the next phases of the post-2015 development agenda, all advocates of gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment, including UN Women, should stand boldly and press forward courageously to ensure that the full and comprehensive needs and rights of both women and girls around the world are taken seriously.

 

31 May 2013
By Suzanne Petroni
http://www.trust.org/item/20130531140410-vgxie/

Facebook Vows To Crack Down On Rape Joke Pages After Successful Protest, Boycott

An example such a rape joke on Facebook.

In what amounts to a big win for advocates working against online domestic abuse jokes and references, Facebook has said it will try to crack down on pages that include hate speech, particularly “gender-based hate.”

The social media giant released a statement to that effect Tuesday afternoon, following a wave of online advocacy spearheaded by the groups Women, Action and the Media (WAM!) and the Everyday Sexism project.

 

While there have been protests against similar Facebook groups in the past, the latest campaign against so-called “rape joke” pages began on May 21, 2013, when WAM! wrote an open letter to Facebook, demanding the company address rape and domestic violence references on its site.

“Specifically, we are referring to groups, pages and images that explicitly condone or encourage rape or domestic violence or suggest that they are something to laugh or boast about,” the letter read. “Pages currently appearing on Facebook include Fly Kicking Sluts in the Uterus, Kicking your Girlfriend in the Fanny because she won’t make you a Sandwich, Violently Raping Your Friend Just for Laughs, Raping your Girlfriend and many, many more.”

Following the online publication of the letter, 15 companies agreed to pull their ads from the site. A separate Change.org petition calling on Facebook to remove groups that promote sexual violence was signed by more than 224,000 people.

Originally, Facebook claimed that much of the content referenced by WAM! did not technically violate its current policies, according to ThinkProgress, which noted the site has proven much more aggressive when it comes to screening anti-Semitic, Islamophobic or homophobic references. (In addition, Facebook has often been criticized by breastfeeding proponents who claim the site incorrectly blocks nursing photos.)

However, the site appears to have rethought that original position, according to a statement posted Tuesday. The statement reads, in part:

In recent days, it has become clear that our systems to identify and remove hate speech have failed to work as effectively as we would like, particularly around issues of gender-based hate. In some cases, content is not being removed as quickly as we want. In other cases, content that should be removed has not been or has been evaluated using outdated criteria. We have been working over the past several months to improve our systems to respond to reports of violations, but the guidelines used by these systems have failed to capture all the content that violates our standards. We need to do better – and we will.

The statement also details a series of steps the company plans to take in order to accomplish these goals. The steps include updating the guidelines used to evaluate reported hate speech, updating training procedures for staff, increasing the accountability of those who post offensive speech — even if it does not violate Facebook standards — and working closely with groups like WAM! to “assure expedited treatment of content they believe violate our standards.”

WAM! later praised Facebook’s statement on its own website, calling the site an Internet leader for addressing hate speech.

“We are reaching an international tipping point in attitudes towards rape and violence against women,” WAM! executive director Jaclyn Friedman wrote. “We hope that this effort stands as a testament to the power of collaborative action.”

Soraya Chemaly, a feminist writer, advocate and co-author of the “Open Letter to Facebook” last week, took to Twitter to express her approval as well.

 

By Meredith Bennett-Smith

29 May 2013

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/facebook-rape-jokes-protest_n_3349319.html

Nigeria MPs outlaw gay marriage.

31 May 2013

Nigerian lawmakers approved Thursday a bill to outlaw gay marriage and crack down on gay rights, including criminalising public displays of affection between same-sex couples.

The House of Representatives unanimously approved the bill which provides for jail terms of up to 14 years for gay marriage.

A gay rights bill has already been approved by the Senate but it was not immediately clear if the laws were identical.

If there are no differences between the two, the bill will now go to the president for his approval.

Under the bill, “persons that entered into a same-gender marriage or civil union contract commit an offence and are jointly liable on conviction to a term of 14 years imprisonment each.”

It also says “any person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations or directly or indirectly makes a public show of same-sex amorous relationship commits an offence and shall be liable to a term of 10 years imprisonment.”

Beyond concerns about gay rights in Africa’s most populous nation, some have also questioned whether funding channelled through non-governmental organisations in Nigeria for AIDS treatment would be put in jeopardy by the bill.

http://news.iafrica.com/worldnews/862340.html

Uganda to benefit from multi-million dollar campaign

Health minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda

By Anne Mugisa and Cathy Mwesigwa in Kuala Lumpur

28 May 2013

Uganda will be the first African country to benefit from a new multi-million dollar global campaign to increase demand for family planning services and information.

The new campaign dubbed, “It takes two” was announced on the first day of the 3rd Women Deliver Global conference on girls’ and women’s rights in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Over 5000 delegates from international Development Agencies, funding organisations, philanthropists, government representations, NGOs and Media are in Kuala Lumpur to share best practices, identify opportunities and challenges to improving maternal health and universal access to reproductive health and rights.

The campaign, a partnership between the Global Poverty Project and Women Deliver recently launched in the USA and will start in Uganda in a few months. It aims at raising awareness of, increasing demand for and improving access to family planning services and information.

The two organisations will work with other partners in the campaign which aims to motivate young women and men to demand for family planning information and services.

Three out of ten women in Uganda who need to stop or space their next pregnancy are not using any contraception. There are about 700,000 unwanted pregnancies in Uganda every year.

According to Dr. Jotham Musinguzi, Africa Regional Director, Partners in Population and Development, Uganda needs a total of US$20m annually for its contraception needs.

“Currently Uganda is spending about US$10m annually. The presidential pledge made at the London Summit on Family Planning will reduce the shortfall,” he says.

President Yoweri  Museveni  at the 2012 London Summit on Family Planning  pledged to provide an additional  US$5m annually for reproductive health supplies. Museveni’s pledge will be included in the budget starting the next budget.

After Uganda, the campaign will be gradually spread out to other countries which include Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa among other countries.

“We don’t want governments to forget commitments they made in 2012. We want to remind the people of their government’s commitments,” said Jill Sheffield, the president, Women Deliver.

Globally 222 million poor women lack family planning services. The target is to reduce that number by 120 million by 2020. The annual global budget for contraception stands at US$8.1bn and at the moment only US$2.6bn has been committed.

The campaigners also want to hold the US to contribute US$1bn annually until 2020.

At the same conference, development experts and researchers warned that there is a connection between denial of women’s reproductive health rights and violence, political instability and extremism. The experts quoted several studies which they said pointed out the danger of denied reproductive health rights.

The absence of reproductive health services, they said lead to large pools of unplanned populations that are ill prepared for development and have to fight for the limited resources. They said that girls are often left out of the picture when issues including health are discussed which leads to omission of some of the vital services like reproductive health services that have a serious impact on society.

As a result, the vicious cycle of poverty continues yet it can be broken by the simple interventions like planned spaced families.

According to Dr. Musinguzi, investment in family planning would save countries a lot in costs of direct and indirect consequences. For example, he said, investment of US$1 in family planning would save the country loss of US$4 in dealing with the consequences of lack of the service.

The experts called on governments and societies to deal with harmful practices and beliefs that impede access and provision of family planning services.

“We need to work for changes that end gross injustices that perpetuate inequalities. Investing in girls and women is the smart thing to do. We need to look at the women’s reproductive and sexual health” Lakshmi Puri, deputy executive director of UNWOMEN said.

Speaking at the opening forum, Jeni Klugman, the World Bank Director, Gender and Development, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management observed that gender gaps have narrowed during the last century. More girls are getting into schools and completing primary education, more women are getting into positions of leadership, however challenges still persist which the experts attribute to lack of prioritisation of women’s family planning and other rights.

“Women labour force participation has grown by only 1% in 30 years, earning disparities persist and are hurting women and their families and so does their lack of voice in household matters,” she said.

She noted that poor reproductive health contributes to the challenge which in turn impacts national and global development.

Klugman said that gender equality and reproductive health are linked and that they have a correlation with high maternal and child deaths and affect future generations.

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/643288-uganda-to-benefit-from-multi-million-dollar-campaign.html

Uganda’s Anti-Pornography Bill: “If a Woman Wears a Miniskirt, We Will Arrest Her”

With its vague and broad definition of ‘pornography’, Uganda’s proposed Anti-Pornography Bill could curb a range of individual rights and freedoms.

Within a inch of the law in Kampala: under the Anti-Pornography Bill, "anything above the knee is outlawed", according to Simon Lokodo, Uganda’s Ethics and Integrity Minister. Photograph Gabriel White.

Kampala, Uganda:

Uganda has hit the international headlines once again recently following the re-tabling in parliament of a proposed Anti-Pornography Bill. Just months after MP David Bahati’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill – referred to by many as the ‘Kill the Gays’ Bill – attracted international attention and much condemnation, the Anti-Pornography Bill has now generated another storm of controversy in Uganda and beyond.

If passed, the Anti-Pornography Bill would cover a range of practices and activities, but much of the outrage and debate has come to be centred on one particular issue: the miniskirt.

The Bill laid bare

The Anti-Pornography Bill is purportedly a reaction to an “increase in pornographic materials in the Ugandan mass media and nude dancing in the entertainment world”. Its provisions would aim to “equip the country with a better law to tackle the insidious social problem of pornography”.

What exactly constitutes pornography, however, has long been a point of contention around the world. In a case in the US Supreme Court in 1964 regarding the proposed banning of a film for obscenity, Justice Potter Stewart famously declined to define pornography, instead saying “I know it when I see it”. His remark reflected the subjective and changeable nature of different societies may deem to be pornography. Unlike Stewart, Uganda’s Anti-Pornography Bill does put forward a definition of pornography. But, ironically, this definition does not seem to iron out ambiguities but rather embraces vagueness. Furthermore, the Bill’s understanding of pornography is so broad as to extend it from something seen on our screens to something seen on our streets.

The Bill defines pornography as “Any cultural practice, form of behavior or form of communication…or leisure activity…that depicts a person engaged in explicit sexual activities or conduct…erotic behavior intended to cause sexual excitement or indecent act or behavior intended to corrupt morals”.

This leaves as much unsaid as it says and could restrict a range of practices and activities, including the wearing of certain items of clothing. Indeed, Simon Lokodo, Uganda’s Ethics and Integrity Minister and the main figure behind the Bill, has clarified: “Any attire which exposes intimate parts of the human body, especially areas that are of erotic function, are outlawed. Anything above the knee is outlawed. If a woman wears a miniskirt, we will arrest her.”

If passed, the Bill could also prohibit the broadcasting of ‘risqué’ musical performances by Western singers such as Beyoncé and Madonna, and allow officials to monitor and establish stricter controls on internet usage.

Anyone falling foul of the pornography bill would stand to face a fine of 10 million Ugandan shillings (nearly $4000), up to 10 years in jail, or both.

Hands off our freedoms

The Bill has received support from some sectors of Ugandan society, such as certain religious groups. Pastor Omelem Paul, who leads a church in Kampala, for example, has high hopes the bill will be passed, saying “it is high time sanity is restored”.

However, it has also drawn strong criticism. To begin with, many disagree with the way in which arguments for restricting clothing seem to spread the blame for sexual violence between both perpetrators and their victims. “An onlooker is moved to attack [a woman wearing provocative clothing]”, Lokodo has said, “He is a criminal but he was also provoked and enticed”.

Many Ugandans also fear a turn towards greater patriarchy, saying that the Bill harks back to the time of Idi Amin when control over female bodies was a hallmark of the regime. Furthermore, some claim the government has no place in legislating on personal choices, freedoms and morals.

“Abolishing miniskirts is not an issue to be discussed in parliament”, Alex Makuyi, a youth chairman from eastern Uganda and a student of law at Kampala International University told Think Africa Press. “These are moral issues which need to be discussed in homes and religious places; the minister should preach this in churches. I think the bill should be abolished because it trespasses the freedom of people.”

Skirting around the real issues

While many are debating the details of the Bill and its repercussions, however, there have also been attempts to understand the intentions behind the Bill. And like with the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, some analysts believe there may be political – rather than just social or moral – motives underlying its discussion.

“They are just passing time because I think they lack things to do in that House,” said singer Moses Ssali. “There are things you can’t afford to discuss in a Third World country which still has roads and hospitals to fix, which has teachers to pay and which has MPs’ morals to put right.”

Similarly, Makuyi commented, “In a country that faces humiliating poverty, gross corruptions, poor roads, bad hospitals and a lousy education system, MPs need to find better ways to spend their time instead of discussing how to abolish miniskirts in the country”.

Meanwhile, Namutebi Sarah*, a leader of a group of sex workers in one of the Kampala suburbs whose livelihood could be significantly affected by the Bill, insisted, “The government should find other ways of impacting good morals in people; they should solve the problem of unemployment because some of us are in this business due to a lack of good-earning jobs”.

While the Bill awaits a final ruling in Uganda’s parliament, those opposing the Bill are trying to make their voices heard. Popular bars and clubs in Kampala have been organising parties to preserve the miniskirt, for example, with some holding “Save the mini-skirt” parties in which girls wearing miniskirts get free cocktails. On the Twitter meanwhile, many Ugandans have been tweeting with the hashtag #SaveMiniSkirt.

With ample support on both sides, it may be too early to speak decisively on the fate of the Bill. But what seems clear is that those opposed to the Bill will not take the potential removal of their freedoms without a fight.

*This name has been changed to protect her identity.

22 April 2013

By Nangayi Guyson

http://www.thinkafricapress.com/uganda/ugandas-anti-pornography-bill-if-woman-wears-miniskirt-we-will-arrest-her

Zimbabwe: ‘Teenage Girls Dying of Pregnancy Complications’

By Moses Chibaya

Adolescent girls aged between 15 and 19 constitute a quarter of the 960 women that die as a result of pregnancy-related complications in Zimbabwe, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said.

UNFPA country representative, Basile Tambashe said there is need to place a special focus on young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.

She was speaking during the handover of 63 ambulances worth US$2,8 million to the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, which were donated by the European Union, as part of efforts to improve maternal health services.

“I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the need to also place a special focus on young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights,” she said. “According to the results of an analysis carried out by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, about a quarter of maternal deaths were adolescent girls aged between 15 and 19.”

Tambashe added that addressing the adolescent girl’s sexual reproductive health needs could greatly contribute to reducing maternal mortality ratio in Zimbabwe.

According to the recently published 2010-11 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS), Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in Zimbabwe has more than doubled since 1990. In 1994, according to the Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey maternal mortality ratio was 283 per 100 000 live births and in 2005/6 it was estimated at 555 deaths per 100 000 live births and in 2010/11 it was estimated at 960 deaths per live births.

Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Douglas Mombeshora said at least 10 women are dying every day from pregnancy-related complications.

Mombeshora said with at least 960 deaths per 100 000 live births, Zimbabwe’s maternal mortality was much higher than the sub-Saharan and global averages. He said lack of skilled attendance at delivery declined from 73% in 1999 to 69% in 2006 and further declined to 66% in 2011.

“Institutional delivery remained constant at around 68% for the past decade, but declined to 65% in 2011.According to the 2007 Zimbabwe Maternal and Perinatal Mortality Study, home deliveries constitute 28% of births. Home deliveries are three times more common in rural areas at 42% than in urban areas at 14%,” Mombeshora said.

He said the risk of maternal death increased significantly when women delivered outside institutions, when the delivery requires surgical intervention, or is carried out by non-skilled persons.

EU ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell Ariccia pledged the bloc’s commitment to continue supporting the health sector in Zimbabwe.

No user fees for mothers and children

Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Henry Madzorera, said maternal and child service provision was being affected by a number of challenges which include shortage of transport for emergency obstetric and neonatal care services and reduced budget allocations.

The government of Zimbabwe last month scrapped user fees in rural clinics for pregnant and lactating women and children under five years, as efforts to reduce high maternal mortality ratio scale up.

The United Nations’ Millennium development goal number five seeks to reduce by three quarters, maternal health in countries by 2015, a target Zimbabwe is unlikely to meet.

19 May 2013

http://allafrica.com/stories/201305190141.html?viewall=1

AIDS council adopts National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe at a plenary meeting of the South African National Aids Council in Secunda, Mpumalanga. Picture: GCIS

By Samuel Mungadze

A NATIONAL Strategic Plan for HIV, tuberculous (TB) and sexually transmitted infections has been adopted on Friday, during South African National Aids Council (Sanac) meeting in Secunda, Mpumalanga, which was chaired by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.

The National Strategic Plan has a target to have 3-million people on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment by 2015. South Africa currently has 1.9-million people on treatment.

The plan also aims to eliminate the transmission of HIV infection from mother to child by 2015 and to reduce AIDS-related maternal deaths. The country has in the recent past seen significant changes in the rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission.

Between 2008 and 2012, the rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission dropped from 8% to 2.7%. There was a leap in the percentage of HIV-infected women receiving ARV therapy between 2011 and 2012, from 87.3 % to 99%.

Similarly, 99 % of all infants born to HIV-infected women receive prophylactic ARV medication to reduce the risk of early mother-to-child HIV transmission in the first six weeks.

In this plan “Sanac aims to reduce TB incidence and mortality caused by TB in people living with HIV by 50 % in 2015”, read the statement from the council.

Sanac also approved plans to launch an HIV prevention programme aimed at sex workers. Details of the project were, however, not released with the council saying it would do so closer to the launch.

The National Strategic Plan is one of the many plans the government is implementing. Early, this month, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced the introduction of fixed-drug combination ARV therapy.

Patients living with both HIV and TB, have started being treated on the new therapy.

Fixed-drug combination therapy is a combination of three crucial antiretroviral medications in one tablet, taken only once a day.

This eliminates the need for patients to take three or more pills at various intervals per day.

 

19 April 2013

From the Business Day Live

http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/health/2013/04/19/aids-council-adopts-national-strategic-plan-for-hiv-tb

 

NEW! Fast Facts e-Poster on the Global Fund’s Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs) in Africa

CLICK HERE to download the CCM Fast Facts e-Poster.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has recently published the 2012 CCM Composition data on its website. While AIDS Accountability International commends this transparency, the nature of the large Excel file-format does not make the data accessible or easy to interpret. This is a barrier to accountability. Responding to this need as urgently as possible, AAI has created a CCM Fast Facts e-Poster which highlights some of the more important statistics on CCM composition in Africa:

Q: Did you know that only one country in Africa has sex worker representation? Which one is it?

Q: Which country only has 5% women sitting on its CCM?

Q: Do you know which three African countries have members representing men who have sex with men?

The Global Fund’s Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs) are the in-country boards in charge of deciding what goes into Global Fund proposals, and how the grants are divided up and managed. Who is sitting on these boards? Who is really affecting the Global Fund decision making process?

Statement of Human Rights Defenders on the Need for an Integrated and Comprehensive Approach to the Protection of Human Rights related to sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions at the Human Rights Council.

As many of you know, in June 2011, the Human Rights Council began an important process to strengthen the protection of the human rights of people all over the world on the basis of sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions.

This was the outcome of decades of work by social movements and good strategic leadership by both civil society and many states.

A Resolution was adopted on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

This June marks two years since that Resolution was adopted.

What do we want to see at the Human Rights Council in taking forward the work on sexuality, gender and genedr identity?

Below, is a Statement that has been shaped by a group of civil society organisations, coalitions and networks from Africa, Latin America and from the Caribbean.

TAKE ACTION!

1. Read the Statement

2. Sign On.

You do this by sending an email to

Mtinkheni Munthali – contact@amsher.net

OR

Eunice Namugwe – eunice@cal.org.za

You can sign on as an individual or as an organisation.

Please state in your email

NAME OF ORGANISATION [in full]

Country/Region

Then insert into SUBJECT LINE the words:

SIGN ON

3. Forward the email to your networks and contacts.

More information will follow in the next days and weeks!

In Solidarity!

The Teams at the Secretariats:

African Men for Sexual Health and Rights

Coalition of African Lesbians

Statement of Human Rights Defenders on the Need for an Integrated and Comprehensive Approach to the Protection of Human Rights related to sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions at the Human Rights Council

-10 May 2013-

We, the undersigned human rights defenders, working to advance societies that affirm peoples’ diversities, choice, human rights and agency throughout the world, hereby state our position on the role of the Human Rights Council following (HRC) the adoption of Resolution 17/19 on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity by the United Nations HRC and of the Report of the High Commissioner on Human Rights on Discriminatory Laws and Practices and Acts of Violence Against Individuals based on their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity [A/HRC/19/41].

Progressing from the OHCHR study and Report, as well as the recent Regional Consultations and the Oslo Human Rights Conference, one of the key questions for the international community is ‘what would constitute an effective institutional response from the United Nations HRC to advance the respect, protection and fulfillment of the human rights of people all over the world based on their sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions?’

Our position is that an intersectional approach is required to address violence and violations based on sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions. Such an approach by the HRC will affirm and strengthen existing work for the full integration of the human rights of people based on their sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions into all existing UN mechanisms, agencies and systems. Such integration should be deliberate, systematic, resourced, coordinated and sustained. We believe that this intersectional and integrated approach will ensure respect, protection and fulfillment of the human rights of people from diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions as integral to a comprehensive human rights agenda, and not present as a separate category of rights.

We believe that effective change in the violence and other violations against persons based on their sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions is dependent on an incremental approach. Such an approach will work to build on and sustain the momentum established by Resolution 17/19 and the Report of the OHCHR [A/HRC/19/41] in a context of dialogue and engagement both within regions and across regions and between states and between states and civil society. Such an approach will also ensure that technical assistance is available to enable states to take measures to address the violence and other violations against people on the grounds of their sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and enable stronger accountability for implementation.

The mandate of the HRC is not to mirror the prejudice of Member States but to set standards that member States should be held accountable to and be bound by. The international community has witnessed increasing dialogue among States on violence and other violations based on sexual orientation, gender identities and expressions, demonstrating shifts in prejudice and willingness to engage. The HRC must both continue, through ongoing dialogue, to identify and address the intersecting factors of discrimination which make up the root causes of such violations and tobuild on efforts to sustain these shifts.

We are concerned about calls for a special mechanism which would focus solely on sexual orientation and gender identity. We believe that this is a short cut and an apparent quick win to addressing the societal problems that establish and sustain the violence and violation based on sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions.

We believe that the creation of such a mechanism would pose significant risk of contributing to the process of solidify identities even where they do not exist and creating or reinforcing “an other” category.  For some of us the work we do on sexual orientation and gender identity and the way we struggle for recognition of who we are is based on important and sometimes powerful identity categories. Often, these categories are not fixed identities, but standpoints we take in the struggle for dignity, freedom and equality.

As UN special mechanisms are dependent on the cooperation of States either by their own volition or by activation of a treaty obligation, it will be very difficult for a special mechanism on SOGI to function in the absence of an explicit treaty obligation binding States to cooperate with it. Consequently, the UN cannot count on the voluntary cooperation of States with such a mechanism.

We are further concerned that a special mechanism on sexual orientation and gender identity, whether a Special Rapporteur, Independent Expert or Working Group, would for a number of years after its establishment, be immobilized, dismissed or ignored by some states and actively resisted by others. This would have serious consequences for the possibilities of change at a national/country level. It would likely also increase the focus on name, blame and shame processes with the consequences of further polarization within the Council.  We anticipate that the creation of such a special mechanism will, in effect reinforce the opposition to the protection of human rights of people based on their sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions. This could set back gains made since June 2011, as an international tussle ensues within the Council and elsewhere. We believe that such an intervention will for some time to come strengthen the divides amongst states on this issue and will narrow the range of effective measures that some states are willing to take to address the violations; It could reduce the possibilities of and/or delay real change at a local, country/national level where it is most needed. It is unlikely to facilitate or enable the kind of change we need as a community at a local and country level.

In the light of the above positions and concerns, we call on the HRC to adopt a resolution which will:

1.       Request, to give effect to A/HRC/19/41 paragraph 82, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to convene an expert meeting to prepare Technical Guidance on the application, at a national level, of a human rights-based approach to the implementation of policies and programmes to eliminate discrimination and violence based on gender, gender identity and sexuality with a focus on sexual orientation, gender identities and expressions. This Technical Guidance should be presented to the HRC at a formal plenary session within two years following the resolution and within one year following the report [see 2 below];

2.       Request, in keeping with A/HRC/19/41 paragraph 81, that the OHCHR conduct an in-depth study that demonstrates both the human rights situation in relation to sexual orientation and gender identities and expressions as well as promising and good practices that can serve as a basis for addressing the violence, violation and discrimination facing people all over the world in relation to sexual orientation and gender identities and expressions. The report to make recommendations that can serve as the basis for addressing the implementation/application gap at a country level through the drafting of Technical Guidance

All of this should be located within a process of sustained dialogue at all levels and between states and between states and civil society and supported through properly resourced technical assistance between countries as well as the adequate resourcing of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.

We further call on the Human Rights Council, subsequent to the adoption of a resolution addressing the above two interventions, to begin a process to encourage existing special mechanisms to identify and make recommendations to address the full range of protection gaps within UN human rights system. These would include but not be limited to protection gaps on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

 

 

Liberia: GOL, UN Partners Review Operational Plan for Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV

The Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Gender and Development (MoDG) in collaboration with the National AIDS Commission (NAC),UNAIDS and other institutional partners on Wednesday ended the joint reviewed of the Operational Plan for Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV.

The Operational Plan sets the agenda for accelerated country action for women, girls, gender equality and HIV.

But giving an overview of the operational plan, Mr. Isaac Ahemesah, UNAIDS’Liberia Rights, Gender, Country Community Mobilization Adviser, noted that even though Liberia was amongst few countries to develop and launch the operational plan since 2011, but much was not achieved.

According to him, there has been insufficient data on impact of HIV epidemic on women and girls something he said was, “partly because of the limited coordination and sharing between the different ministries collecting relevant data, with limited systematic (cross) analysis.”

Making a PowerPoint presentation, Mr Ahemesah further expressed concern about women and girls limited access to integrated sexual and reproductive health and HIV services, resulting in unmet reproductive health needs, as reflected in the higher HIV prevalence among young women.

Quoiting the 2007 Demographic Health Survey, He emphasized that HIV prevalence was three times higher among girls age 15 to 19 years (1.3%) than for boys (0.4%) in the same age group. Similarly, among young women aged 20 to 22 years HIV have an HIV prevalence rate of 2.1% as against 1.6% for young men.

For his part, Mr. Hh Zaizay, National Programme Officer of Gender and HIV at the Ministry of Gender and Development indicated that even though the plan was develop and launch in 2011 by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, much of the activities in the plan were not implemented due to inadequate resources for the plan implementation. According to Mr.  Zaizay, the review will help in addressing the funding and other bottlenecks that have impeded the implementation of the plan.

Closing the workshop, Dr Ivan Carmanor, Chairman of the National AIDS Commission (NAC) urged participants to work together  with the Ministry of Gender to eliminate sexual and gender based violence, gender equality and other socio-economic and cultural factors that contribute to high HIV prevalence among women and girls in Liberia.

9 May 2013

By All Africa News

http://allafrica.com/stories/201305091173.html