UN-INSTRAW News / Noticias del UN-INSTRAW
E-Newsletter - March 2008
Current UN-INSTRAW work/activities
Challenges for a Greater Participation of Women in Local Governments in
Latin America
Within the framework of the Project Strengthening governance with a
gender perspective and the political participation of women at the
local
level in Latin America of UN-INSTRAW, the workshop on Challenges and
Opportunities for a Greater Participation of Women in Local Governments
in Latin America was held on 17-19 march 2008 in Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic. Although in the last decade the number of women in
political posts at the national level in Latin America has increased
significantly, according to data collected by UN-INSTRAW in 16 Latin
American countries, only 5.3% of governments at the local level are
headed by women mayors, thus implying that most Latin American
municipalities where women participate less in decision-making posts,
lack plurality and representativeness. In order to confront and close
this gap in representation, discussions were held during the workshop
concerning new challenges and opportunities to promote greater
political
participation of women in decision-making posts at the local level, and
a Project Consultative Committee for the mentioned project.
Read more:
http://www.un-instraw.org/en/media-center/press-releases/ challenges-for-a-greater-participation-of-women-in-local- governments-in-latin-am.html
Agreement between Bolivia and Ecuador to eradicate harassment and
political violence
Within the framework of International Womens Day, UN-INSTRAW, in
coordination with the Association of Women Mayors of Bolivia (ACOBOL)
and the Federation of Municipal Associations of Bolivia (FAM) organized
the workshop Equality in Local Power: Strengthening governance and
womens political participation, on 6-7 March 2008 in La Paz, Bolivia.
During the event ACOBOL and the Association of Councilwomen of Ecuador
(AMUME) signed an agreement to coordinate awareness-raising actions to
fight against harassment and political violence. Through this
agreement,
the two associations will promote the exchange of experiences and an
active and effective participation of women politicians at the local
level. In this context, ACOBOL registries, a survey made with 96
councilwomen from 35 municipalities and 30 in-depth interviews in
2003-2004, reported that 65% of councilwomen from large urban
municipalities in Bolivia, 32 % of medium-sized municipalities, 24% of
small municipalities and 22% of those with less than 5,000 inhabitants,
declared that they were victims of political harassment.
Read more:
http://www.un-instraw.org/en/media-center/press-releases/ bolivia-and-ecuador-signed-an-agreement-to-eradicate-harassment- and-political-viol-2.html
Seminar - Challenges and Opportunities in Peace Operations: The
Incorporation of Women
UN-INSTRAW participated in the International Seminar - Challenges and
Opportunities in Peace Operations: The Incorporation of Women,
organized by the Network for Security and Defence in Latin America
(RESDAL) and the Training Institute for the Sustainable Development
(IEPADES), on March 11th and 12th in Antigua (Guatemala).
Representatives from Ministries of Defense, Regional Training Centres,
UN agencies and academia met to consider the issue of the participation
of women in peace operations, within the context of the next
Ministerial
Conference on Defense in the Americas. Among the issues discussed:
peace
operations and the incorporation of women in the armed forces;
challenges and opportunities for the participation and the
incorporation
of women in peace operations. As part of the Seminar, UN-INSTRAW
presented the Gender and Security Sector Reform Toolkit, a
comprehensive
tool to strengthen the security sectors response to violence against
women and other gender-based crimes. Developed by UN-INSTRAW, the
Geneva
Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) and the Office
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR), the Toolkit includes
12
Tools and easy-to-follow Practice Notes on different areas of security
sector reform. The event was organized within the project Women in the
Latin American and Caribbean Armed Forces: A Gender Approach to Peace
Operations, financed by the Global Peace and Security Fund (GPSF).
Read more:
http://www.un-instraw.org/en/media-center/ press-releases/working-with-the-security-sector -for-inclusive-security-justice-and-gender-equ-3.html
Read the Toolkit:
http://www.un-instraw.org/en/gps/security-toolkit/introduction.html
International Seminar on Women in Sustainable Human Development
Within the framework of International Womens Day, the Office of the
First Lady and the Gender Machinery of the Dominican Republic organized
the International Seminar Women in Sustainable Human Development,
held
on 6-7 March in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. First Ladies from
Latin America, governmental representatives, members of Congress,
community leaders participated in the seminar which focused on aspects
such as health, education, political and social participation and
economic development. UN-INSTRAW presented the main findings of the
studies carried out under the project Strengthening Governance with a
Gender Perspective and the Political Participation of Women at the
Local
Level that is being implemented in 10 countries of the Andean and
Central American Regions, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. This
three-year project (2006-2009), financed by the Spanish Agency for
International Cooperation and Development (AECID), focuses on three
main
lines of action: research, capacity-building and influence in public
policies.
Read more:
http://www.un-instraw.org/en/media-center/e-news/ un-instraw-participated-in-the-international- seminar-women-in-sustainable-human-develo-2.html
UN-INSTRAW received the visit of the First Lady of Mexico
In the framework of the celebrations commemorating International
Womens
Day, Ms Carmen Moreno, Director of UN-INSTRAW, received the visit of
the
First Lady of Mexico, Ms Margarita Zavala. The Institute presented its
last works, including information on conferences and other
international
events, as well as its most recent publications, result of its research
and numerous capacity training events. Ms. Margarita Zavala
congratulated UN-INSTRAW for the work that it is carrying out in the
areas of Gender, Peace and Security and Gender, Migration, Remittances
and Development. Moreover, she offered her support for the Campaign
UNITE to end violence against women launched by the Secretary General
of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, on 25 February 2008 in order to
intensify initiatives for the adoption of concrete actions to prevent
and eradicating violence against women and girls.
Read more:
http://www.un-instraw.org/en/media-center/e-news/ un-instraw-received-the-visit-of-the-first-lady-of-m.html
Establishment of the Councilwomens Network in Costa Rica
On the occasion of International Womens Day and to foster initiatives
that will encourage greater participation of women in Latin America,
the
UN-INSTRAW gave its support to the establishment of the Network of
Costa
Rican Councilwomen (RECOMM). At the inaugural Constituting Assembly of
RECOMM held on 6 March 2008 in San Jos้, Costa Rica, were present
almost
500 women who hold popularly-elected posts in local governments such as
mayors, councilwomen, trade unionists, superintendents and district
councilwomen from all over the country. RECOMMs establishment aims at
increasing the number of women in decision-making posts at the local
level and to influence the formulation of municipal public policies on
behalf of gender equality.
Read more:
http://www.un-instraw.org/en/media-center/e-news/ establishment-of-the-councilwomen-s-network-in-costa-2.html
Vacancy Announcements
Director of UN-INSTRAW
The United Nations is currently accepting applications for the post of
UN-INSTRAW Director. Candidates from every region of the world are
strongly encouraged to apply. Applications, including a letter of
intent, full curriculum vitae and completed UN Personal History Form
must be submitted by COB on 15 April 2008. Incomplete applications will
not be considered. Applications can be submitted by fax to
1-809-685-2117 or by e-mail to: diroffice@un-instraw.org
Read more:
http://www.un-instraw.org/en/instraw/opportunities/ vacancy-announcement-director-of-the-un-instraw-2.html
Posts Available: Lead Researcher and Research/Project Assistant
Project on Gender and Security Sector Reform in Haiti
UN-INSTRAW is implementing a project on Gender and Security Sector
Reform in Haiti with the objective of: conducting a comprehensive
assessment of the gender entry-points in the Haitian security sector;
generating in-depth knowledge on gender and security sector reform
issues among relevant stakeholders; and sustainably build the capacity
of security sector actors including the police, justice and penal
systems and national and municipal government to prevent and respond to
gender-based insecurities. UN-INSTRAW seeks a Lead Researcher and a
Research Project Assistant to form the research team for the assessment
phase of the project. The deadline for the submission of applications
is
30 April 2008.
Read more: http://www.un-instraw.org/en/instraw/opportunities/13.html
Community of Practice Specialist
UN-INSTRAW is establishing a Community of Practice on Gender Training
with the objective of: bringing together practitioners/experts in the
field of gender training for dialogue and exchange of experiences;
carry
out a series of virtual dialogues on gender training, in particular
identifying challenges and ways to move forward; building on
UN-INSTRAWs Gender Training Wiki
(http://www.uninstraw.org/wiki/training/index.php/Main_Page) and other
existing resources, set up a virtual clearinghouse and support platform
of information on gender training, including an ask the expert
feature; and establish a compendium of good practices in gender
training. UN-INSTRAW seeks qualified candidates to establish the
Community of Practice on Gender Training. The deadline for the
submission of applications is 30 April 2008.
Read more:
http://www.un-instraw.org/en/instraw/opportunities/un-instraw- community-of-practice-specialist.html
Global Gender News
International Women's Day: UNHCR launches handbook for protection of
women
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has launched an important
guide for the protection of women, as the organization's leader,
Ant๓nio
Guterres, reaffirmed UNHCR's commitment to the rights of women. This
tool, which replaces UNHCR's 1991 "Guidelines on the Protection of
Refugee Women", was launched on the occasion of International Women's
Day celebrated on 8 March 2008. The handbook denounces "a massive
culture of neglect and denial about violence against women and girls"
and outlines strategies to answer the protection challenges faced by
women and girls of concern. It also sets out international legal
standards and responsibilities in this area. The document is designed
to
promote gender equality by using a rights- and community-based
approach,
by mainstreaming age, gender and diversity, and through targeted
actions
to empower women and girls in the civil, political and economic
sectors.
Read more: http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/47cff6a44.html
30 Years of Democracy: Riding the Wave? Women's Political Participation
in Latin America
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
(IDEA) has released the report entitled 30 Years of Democracy: Riding
the Wave? Womens Political Participation in Latin America. The report
draws data from 18 countries in the Latin American region, exams the
progress made in womens participation in politics, and gives
statistics
on womens political representation in areas which were before
exclusive
to men. The study analyzes the progress achieved by women in certain
posts, why some countries have advanced more than others, presents the
obstacles encountered by women and offers recommendations for improving
womens situation in public life.
Read more: http://www.idea.int/gender/iwd_2008.cfm
"Latin America's MDG Progress on Gender Equality: Poor Women Still Lag
Behind"
This is the title of the One Pager published in February 2008 by the
International Poverty Center (IPC) of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP). The author, Eduardo Zepeda, recently a senior
researcher at IPC, notes that Latin America and the Caribbean have
shown
notable progress on MDG indicators for gender equality. Moreover, he
emphasizes that when national averages are disaggregated, the picture
is
less impressive, particularly for poor women workers. They are not, in
fact, making significant progress in securing decent wage employment in
the non-agricultural sector. As the author declares: access to
non-agricultural wage employment, though important, does not
necessarily
expand significantly the economic opportunities of poor women.
Available for downloading at:
http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/pub/IPCOnePager49.pdf
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