impunity

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence

The UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE Campaign to End Violence against Women will commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November. The International Day and virtual event will kickstart the global mobilization of the 16 Days of Activism campaign – running from 25 November until 10 December – under the theme: “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”

Even before COVID-19, violence against women was one of the most widespread violations of human rights, with almost 18 percent of women and girls experiencing physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner within the last year. During COVID-19, calls to violence against women helplines increased up to five fold in the first few weeks of the pandemic. For every 3 months the lockdown continues, an additional 15 million women are expected to be affected by violence.

Calling for a “cease-fire at home”, the UN Secretary-General urged governments earlier this year to make the prevention and redress of violence against women and girls a key part of national response plans for COVID-19. While UN Member States responded, and 135 countries have adopted measures to prevent or respond to violence against women during this global crisis, only 48 countries – less than a quarter of the 206 analysed in a recent study – treated violence against women and girls-related services as an integral part of their national and local COVID-19 response plans, with very few adequately funding these measures. The culture of impunity still prevails widely, and the pandemic is threatening to undo any progress as women are not being able to access the live-saving care and support they need.

The commemoration will be an opportunity for Member States, civil society, influencers and the UN System to spark a renewed sense of urgency and bolster global action to end violence against women and girls by calling on all to: fund essential services on gender-based violence and women’s organizations who are at the forefront; to respond to the needs of survivors, including during the global pandemic; to prevent gender-based violence from happening in the first place by challenging cultural and social norms, mobilization campaigns and a zero-tolerance policy; and to collect data to improve services, programmes and policies. In the lead up to the commemoration, UN Women has appealed to Member States to make concrete, tangible commitments during the 16 Days of Activism.

Join the kickoff event on Wednesday, 25 November 2020, from 10:00 am – 11:30 am EST

Participants:

Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres
Member States representatives
Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Under-Secretary-General and UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem
UN Women Goodwill Ambassadors Nicole Kidman and Cindy Bishop
Co-Hosts Zahra Al Hilaly and Stuart Moir
With the musical performance of Ensemble Corona, Bosnia and Herzegovina

How to watch:

Please note that the event will be held in English with simultaneous interpretation provided in all official UN languages. Participants need to pre-register and attend the event through the Zoom platform to be able to access the language interpretation.

Live Webcast of the event will be available on UN Women’s website and UN Web TV. Follow the online conversation using the hashtags #orangetheworld and #16days and follow @SayNO_UNiTE and @UN_Women on Twitter.

Stories and more: We handed over the mic to survivors and those on the forefront of response efforts. Read and share stories of change, videos, interactives, and social media messages, and check out the 16 Days editorial content at https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/end-violence-against-women.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org.

[UN Observance] International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists

The United Nations recognizes the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists every year on November 2.

Help keep the investigations of killed journalists alive and perpetuate their legacy by sharing their articles and their stories. Learn more about the #TruthNeverDies campaign, developed jointly by UNESCO and DDB Paris, here: https://unesco.exposure.co/truth-never-dies.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Drugs and Crime, please visit nyngoc.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

Urgent Debate: UN Human Rights Council — “Race-based human rights violations, systemic racism, police violence against persons of African descent, and violence against peaceful protests”

THE DEBATE CAN BE VIEWED AT UNTV: webtv.un.org

The UN Human Rights Council will be holding an urgent debate on “race-based human rights violations, systemic racism, police violence against persons of African descent, and violence against peaceful protests.” This unprecedented meeting will take place on Wednesday, June 17 at 3:00pm Geneva time (9:00am New York time).

Last Friday, the African Group (which represents the 54 African countries in the United Nations) submitted a request for an Urgent Debate during this week’s Council session which resumed after it was suspended in March due to COVID-19. While the request for an “Urgent Debate” (which is technically equivalent to a special session) is not specific to the U.S., it is very clear that racism and impunity for police killings of people of African descent in the United States including recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery were the impetus for the request.

George Floyd’s tragic murder has sparked what appears to be an unstoppable global movement demanding concrete and bold actions to end racist policing practices and impunity for police violence.

While there is a  recognition that the global nature of racism and police violence, there is now an invitation to encourage governments, especially members of the UN Human Rights Council, to ensure that the Urgent Debate and its outcome, are focused on efforts to hold the United States accountable. The recommendation is the creation of an independent international accountability mechanism to document and investigate extrajudicial killings of unarmed Black men and women, and police violence against protesters and journalists.

We are encouraged to contact foreign embassies in Washington D.C. that are members of the UNHRC (see list here) especially U.S. allies and urge them to support international accountability for police killings in the U.S. This is a call made by families of victims of police killings in the United States and over 660 groups from 66 countries to mandate an independent Commission of Inquiry.

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