Government and aid donor partners need to place more efforts on combating gender inequality if they want to win the war of global poverty, said the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the European Commission last Tuesday.

UNIFEM Director, Ines Alberdi said:

"Over a billion women worldwide continue to be trapped in poverty...Where women can't thrive, national development strategies and progress towards the Millennium Development Goals [MDG] are in jeopardy. There can be no aid effectiveness without a focus on gender equality."

UNIFEM has implemented gender-responsive budgeting (with the help of the European Commission) which has supported in over 40 countries. This helps to ensure women's development needs are addressed when supplying aid resources.

Check out more info on the The EC/UN Partnership on Gender Equality for Development and Peace program.

(cross-posted at On Day One)

FP Passport just released its "top ten" list of John McCain's worst ideas (it follows a similar run-down for Barack Obama last week), and sitting at the top is something we have frequently cautioned against here at Dispatch: the heroic-sounding, but ultimately dangerous, idea to circumvent the UN by investing in a "League of Democracies." Though McCain's foreign policy team -- and some of Obama's as well -- has proposed that such an organization could come to the rescue in places like Georgia, Myanmar, and Darfur, where UN Security Council action is stalled by veto threats, creating a "League of Democracies" would inevitably prove counter-productive.

In addition to the concerns that Passport cites -- it would dangerously weaken the United Nations, no one else in the world seems interested, and a previous iteration has not made much of an impact -- McCain's proposed "League" would provocatively antagonize key emerging powers, such as China and Russia, with which the next president will have to work closely, whether he likes it or not. This would sow unnecessary discord both between supposed "democracies" and "non-democracies" and within the ranks of democracies themselves, thereby accelerating global polarization and making it that much more difficult to tackle thorny issues. Far from being a harmonious squad of like-minded democracies, a "League" of "over 100 democracies" would find themselves bickering amongst each other far more often than taking unified stances against oppression and human rights abuses. The U.S.'s already struggling image in the world would take a further beating, and crises across the world would continue to fester.

The "League of Democracies" is not the only poor foreign policy idea that the folks at Passport have identified -- on both sides of the aisle. McCain has also voiced support for the incredibly harmful "Global Gag Rule," a restriction on U.S. foreign assistance that prevents funding for any group that even discusses the option of abortion. A particularly terrible idea to come out of Obama's camp, on the other hand, was his support -- since renounced -- of the "coal-to-liquid" fuel process. This method is even worse for the environment than oil, would set back even moderate efforts to clean up "dirty coal," and would emit the very greenhouse gases that other planks in Obama's energy platform seek to decrease.

Let's hope the candidates change their minds on some of these less thought-out policies before Day One in the White House.

Via UN News Center:

Three more young girls have been kidnapped in Haiti over the past week, the United Nations peacekeeping mission to the impoverished Caribbean country reports, amid mounting UN concern about the continuing spate of child abductions.

An eight-year-old girl was kidnapped in the capital, Port-au-Prince, last Thursday, and the following day a seven-year-old girl was abducted in the town of Arcahaie, according to the UN mission (known as MINUSTAH).

On Saturday, a three-year-old girl who had been kidnapped two days earlier was found in Arcahaie and brought to hospital after being injured with a razor blade.

While both boys and girls have been kidnapped, it seems that females are a large target, and often raped and sexually abused. The criminal gangs who are kidnapping the children (while on their way to and from school) also frequently end up killing them, despite the family paying their requested ransom. Massimo Toschi, a child protection adviser with MINUSTAH, says that while successfully decreasing the prevalence of adult kidnappings may have led the gangs to move on to target children in response.

MINUSTAH, the Haitian police and the military have been working diligently to curb this devastating trend, and now have a new victim to protect.

UN Photo/Sophia Paris

We find via RH Reality Check that the Lithuanian Parliament is considering an abortion ban.

This was brought up at the 41st Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the UN agency that monitors nations' progress on ensuring women's human rights. Anna Wilkowska-Landowska reports:

By adopting more restrictive regulations on abortion Lithuania would join a group of three countries of the European Union (Malta, Ireland and Poland), where access to abortion is significantly limited.

The Committee considered the recent official reports from Lithuania as well as a shadow letter submitted by the Seimos Planavimo ir Seksualines Sveikatos Asociacija (The Family Planning and Sexual Health Association-FPSHA) based in Vilnius, Lithuania and the Center for Reproductive Rights, based in New York. In their letter of June 5, 2008, organizations brought to the Committee's attention the pending restrictive abortion legislation. And during Lithuania's review, CEDAW committee members pressed the government delegation not only on access to contraception but also on proposed legislation that seeks to defend prenatal life and would pose restrictions on access to abortion. Japanese committee member Yoko Hayashi stated that governmental restrictions on abortion "contradict the full enjoyment of women's reproductive health rights that are protected by CEDAW."

CEDAW is recommending that instead of changing the laws to restrict abortion (which won't effect the number of abortions or population growth), Lithuania develop strategies to increase family planning, "such as a comprehensive range of contraceptives, including emergency contraception, more widely available and affordable, provide mandatory sexual education in schools and increase knowledge and awareness about family planning among women as well as men."

Let's hope the nation takes their advice.

The UN Development Program has donated 500 bicycles to women in northern Uganda. UN News Centre explains why this could substantially help efforts to aid those affected by the region's long-standing violence.

The bicycleprogramme is part of UNDP's larger sexual and gender-based violence programme which has trained over 700 women in peacebuilding, negotiation and conflict resolution skills. It is hoped that the bikes will help these women reach remote and inaccessible communities sheltering the displaced who are returning to northern Uganda.

Meanwhile, in Liberia, a country where female peacekeepers have played a leading role in combating gender violence, the UN's strategies seem to be working.

Allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) against personnel serving with the United Nations Missionin Liberia (UNMIL) have fallen, according to a new report from the mission.

No word on whether bicycles have played a part in the success, but this report is a welcome bit of positive news on the UN's concentrated campaign to eliminate sexual abuse among peacekeepers -- work that often gets lost in the reporting of cases of peacekeeper misconduct.

BBC has been airing "No Country for Young Girls" this week, a UN-funded documentary on India's preference for sons. Via UN News Center:

"No country for young girls" explores issues such as illegal sex determination and consequent elimination, and its consequences for vast Asian nation in the years to come. It portrays a young Indian woman who has to choose between staying with a husband who does not want girl children, or to make it on her own.

According to a series of studies commissioned by UNFPA last year, prenatal son selection in several Asian countries - including India, China and Viet Nam - is likely to have severe social consequences in coming years. The agency has been working to address the issue for many years.

This comes a few months after the Indian prime minister denounced the widespread practice of aborting female fetuses as a "national shame." Check out the BBC World News website to find out when the film is airing in your area.

With 7,000 young women becoming HIV positive every day, it's no news that massive efforts are being made to specifically to target its prevalence among girls and young women in the world. And yesterday, a UN-backed guide was released in an attempt to decrease these staggering numbers. Via UN News Center:

At the publication's launch in Mexico City against the backdrop of the XVII International AIDS Conference, Purnima Mane of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said that "girls and young women face double vulnerability, and double efforts are needed to protect them."

The guide "Make it Matter" was created by UNFPA, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Young Positives and the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS.

What really stands out about this guide is that its focus is not only on increasing access to reproductive and sexual health services for girls and young women (which is obviously a key component), but recognizes that there are a number of other factors - like socioeconomic status and certain patriarchal customs like child marriages - that contribute to this epidemic among the world's women.

You can find more information and download the full guide here.

This is a good step:

Sierra Leonean police have adopted new policy guidelines on sexual abuse and exploitation that have been drafted by United Nations officials as part of their efforts to reduce the widespread levels of violence against women and girls in the West African country.

The policy guidelines, the first in the region, were drafted by the conduct and discipline office, the gender adviser and the UN Police section of the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL), according to a statement issued in Freetown by the office on Saturday.

Considering the prevalence of sexual assault and abuse in Sierra Leone, this is a good thing to see happening. This week, UNIOSIL is conducting workshops and trainings not only for police officers, but managers and other employees of the police force. Only time will tell of the impact it will make; we can only hope it's a great one.

There's a huge UN conference happening today in the Congolese capital Kinshasa on women's rights:

Women's rights ministers from 11 countries across Africa's Great Lakes region are gathering today in Kinshasa for a United Nations-organized conference to take steps to set up a regional research and documentation centre on women's rights.

The two-day meeting in the Congolese capital, jointly organized by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Ministry of Women's Rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), will also be attended by representatives of the African Union, the African Bank of Development and the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region, as well as several UN agencies.

Check out UNESCO's site for more details, but the goal seems to be that the Great Lakes research center will be based on a similar UNESCO-initiated women's rights center created in 2006 in Ramallah in the occupied Palestinian territory. Sounds like a great and necessary initiative for the Great Lakes.

Today is United Nations World Population Day. This year's theme: "Family Planning: It's a Right, Let's Make it Real." Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund explains the critical nexus between maternal health, family planning and poverty alleviation

Maternal death and disability could be reduced dramatically if every woman had access to health services throughout her lifecycle, especially during pregnancy and childbirth. Today millions of women lack access to health services, which puts their lives at risk.

Now is the time to accelerate action to ensure that health services reach women in the communities in which they live. Three reproductive health services are vital for maternal health: skilled attendance at birth, emergency obstetric care and family planning to time and space births.

Family planning is also essential to women's empowerment and gender equality. When a woman can plan her family, she can plan the rest of her life. Information and services for family planning allow individuals and couples to realize their right to determine the number, spacing and timing of their children.

All true. Maternal heath is the foundation upon which other public health solutions in the developing world can emerge. Unfortunately, the United Nations says it has only received about half of the $1.2 billion necessary to provide critical maternal health and family planning services to the developing world this year.

Over at On Day One, users have their own ideas on how the next American administration can promote women's health across the world. Have your say.

There's a great piece on RH Reality Check today on the fact that while global climate change is, at long last, getting the attention it deserves, there needs to be more focus on how women are being disproportionately affected - particularly in low-income countries.

While studies have shown that natural disasters shorten women's life expectancy significantly more than men's as well as contribute to reproductive and maternal health problems, there are also inequalities in everyday life experiences resulting from climate change:

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that women produce 60-80 percent of food grown in the developing world -- often small scale crops critical to their family's sustenance. Women and girls are responsible for collecting and carrying water -- a time consuming and physically demanding task in places where wells are not easily accessible. In some places, this work takes hours each day, and as communities cope with the effects of changes in climate, demands on women's time and workloads are likely to increase.

The piece raises up a lot of questions to be answered, and a few potential ways to improve women's status during global climate change, like giving them more decision-making power in disaster prevention and preparedness programs and disaster recovery operations and increasing female participation in national talks about climate change. The author says it best:

The world needs more women-centered research and strategies for climate change adaptation, and the world's large emitters must shoulder the responsibility for their impacts on the world's poorest populations in order to see a world that is more equitable, healthy, able to prevent catastrophic climate change, and to adapt to its impacts.

RH Reality Check has a great new feature, "Global Perspectives," where they've stored all of their international analysis in one place for people to check out - the newest in reproductive health, poverty, HIV and AIDS, and a number of other issues that affect women globally can be found there. Make sure to check it out.

From VOA, an aspect of the repression in Myanmar that has not attracted the same level of attention as did the government's blocking of foreign aid after Cyclone Nargis:

Cheery Zahau, a member of Burma's Chin minority, says members of the Burmese army rape women in ethnic minority areas all over the country. She says in Burma's western Chin State alone, at least 38 cases of sexual violence were committed by soldiers in 2006. The youngest victim was only 12.

...

"The soldiers are raping women to punish the populations who they suspect of supporting insurgency groups," she said. "And also they rape the women to disturb the faith and psychological welfare of these ethnic women. For example in 2003, a woman was raped by four soldiers on her way back home from the market. Until now she is mentally disturbed."

In light of the UN Security Council's recent -- if long-overdue -- resolution officially condemning rape as a weapon of war, this testimony reveals yet another example of a conflict zone marred by rampant, targeted sexual violence against women.

The situation in Myanmar following Nargis may have slipped off the radar of the mainstream press, but the same ruling military junta remains, using the same reprehensible tactics to terrorize its people. Humanitarian support is still desperately needed to aid those suffering from the cyclone's destruction, and such a systematized, state-organized campaign of rape will require a sustained effort from the UN and its Member States.

Over at his blog, On the Ground, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof is incensed that the Bush administration has, for the seventh consecutive year, decided to withhold any funding for the United Nations Population Fund. He's not alone, as voices on the Hill are already registering their outcry. Why would the U.S. object to helping fund an organization that provides reproductive health services for women across the world (not to mention assistance in development, human rights, and gender equality initiatives as well)? Kristof explains:

The reason given for withholding the U.S. funds is that the Population Fund (universally called UNFPA, after its old acronym) supports forced abortions in China. Even if that were true, it would be ridiculous to withhold funds for UNFPA activities against maternal mortality in Africa because of its work in China. But in any case, UNFPA has been a major force against compulsion of any kind in China, as the U.S. blue-ribbon committee that investigated the charges found. In the areas in China where UNFPA set up a model program, there is no compulsion and the abortion rate is lower than in the U.S.

It seems that the administration is assuming that, simply because China has a one-child policy -- and because yes, like everywhere else in the world, some women in China do get abortions -- that abortions there must be non-voluntary, and that the UNFPA, merely by operating in the country, is guilty by association. This logic is clearly flawed, its assertions are wholly unsubstantiated by the evidence, and, perhaps worst of all, it contradicts the findings of the U.S. government's own investigative panel. Moreover, as Kristof suggests, depriving UNFPA of support for any of its work -- even in places like Africa, where President Bush has trumpeted his development efforts, such as PEPFAR, as a staple of his legacy -- out of either political or ideological posturing makes for nonsensical policy.

Cross-posted on On Day One.

UPDATE: Tamara Kreinin, the Executive Director of the Women and Population program at the United Nations Foundation, issues a strong statement on UNFPA funding (read it below the fold).

UPDATE II: As commenter Tyler LePard notes, the news only gets worse. Check out Craig Lasher's post over at RH Reality Check for more.

"The United Nations Foundation joins the international community in expressing its deep disappointment that the administration has decided--for the seventh straight year--to withhold the $39.7 million authorized by Congress to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the world's leading voice on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

"In a statement notifying Congress of the administration's decision to withhold funds from UNFPA, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte once again cited UNFPA's program in China as a violation of the Kemp-Kasten Amendment, which bars funding for programming that "supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive or involuntary sterilization."

"UNFPA does not--and has never--supported coercive or involuntary sterilization. In fact, the decision to withhold funds from UNFPA is inconsistent with the reports from the State Department and several other blue-ribbon investigative teams, which included descriptions of UNFPA's work as "a force for good" in China.

"Working in 150 countries, UNFPA is on the front lines reducing maternal and infant mortality, decreasing HIV/AIDS rates, and protecting women and girls from rape and violence, particularly during conflict situations. The $34 million that the United States has withheld each year is close to 10 percent of UNFPA's regular income. The amount withheld every year could have helped UNFPA prevent 2 million unintended pregnancies, 800,000 abortions, 4,700 mothers' deaths, and more than 77,000 infant and child deaths. Approximately 181 industrialized and developing countries, including all the countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, contribute to UNFPA. The United States is the only country to withhold funding for political reasons.

"The UN Foundation is looking forward to working with the next administration to restore funding for UNFPA and to strengthen the U.S.'s role as a global health leader. During the 2000 UN Millennium Summit, the United States pledged to work to respond to the world's most pressing development challenges, including poverty, gender inequality and disease. It is past time that the administration acknowledges how fundamental UNFPA is to addressing these global challenges and that the U.S. funds UNFPA's work.

There's been a lot of buzz in the blogosphere over the meeting hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week that resulted in the UN Security Council's resolution declaring rape as a weapon of war.

Now that the word is out, there's much to be done, including a push for international law of rape as a war crime. In the meantime, serious kudos goes to the UN Security Council for creating this resolution. As I said last week, while rape as a weapon of war has existed for a long, long, time, it's only begun to be documented and its recognition is a huge step. And now it seems the resolution has already begun to mobilize the international community; UNIFEM's "Say No to Violence Against Women" campaign has signed on ten more supporting countries this week.

One of UNIFEM's goals is to have 1 million names signed before November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, when the signatures will be handed over to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. So get to it and sign your name.

Photo was taken by Hazel Thompson used in NY Times article, of Honorata Barinjibanwa, rape victim of war crimes in the Congo.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is hosting a talk with the UN today on the state of Zimbabwe, the importance of transparent election, and the urgency to address how rape is used as a weapon of war, and what measures need to be taken.

Via AP:

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the council's discussion on women would send an important signal to the world just by discussing the systematic use of rape and mutilation as a weapon of war in conflict or post-conflict situations.

'We believe it is very important that a message is sent that there is no impunity for such crimes,' he said.

The simple acknowledgment of rape as a weapon of war is a great accomplishment, as its very existence has only really begun to be documented recently - but I'm also looking forward to seeing what strategic plans might come out of the meeting to really do something about violence against women in conflict and post-conflict situations.

Yesterday, the U.N. Population Fund's William A. Ryan called for more efforts to be made to assist pregnant women living in Myanmar. Cyclone Nargis has resulted in a significant loss of health centers and midwives. "It is clear that many pregnant women do not have anywhere to go to deliver with skilled assistance," says Ryan.

Before the cyclone even hit, the maternal mortality rate in Myanmar was 380 per 100,000 births -- almost four times the rate in Thailand and 60 times the rate in Japan. And while the UN Population Fund has been providing supplies to Myanmar's Health Ministry, new government guidelines is making it difficult to bring relief to survivors.

All women are severely affected by natural disasters. Via Echidne of the Snakes:

When a disaster occurs, don't forget the gendered aspects. During the chaos, women can be more vulnerable to rape and violence by intimate partners. They may trade their bodies for aid. Because women often care for the young, the old and the sick, they may have greater needs or different needs than men. In many cultures, women have to protect their honor or dignity in different ways that may hinder their ability to get help.

Research has also found that more women die than men as a direct and indirect result of natural disasters.

Ending gender-based violence should be and is a top UN priority, stated Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro yesterday. Via UN News Center:

'Together we can end this terrible human rights abuse,' Ms. Migiro told an event in New York on violence against women, organized by San Marino and the Council of Europe.

Stopping gender-based violence is at the top of the UN's agenda, Ms. Migiro noted, recalling that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched in March a multi-year global campaign bringing together the UN, governments and civil society to try to end the horrific crime.

'That call energized many advocates who have long been working to stop violence against women. Now our challenge is to build on this momentum so that we can translate passionate commitment into concrete progress,' she stated.

She says that while the UN's efforts are "gaining speed," mentioning that the Trust Fund to End Violence against Women has tripled in donor funding, the organization's goal is to get a minimum of $100 million in annual contributions to the Trust Fund by 2015.

Let's hope they hit their mark - the world's women certainly need it.

Yesterday, women's rights activists and UN officials testified in Stockholm about the escalation of violence against women in Iraq since U.S. occupation:

The United Nations' special representative to Baghdad, Staffan de Mistura, cited a recent UN human rights report on Iraq as saying that 'in Basra 100 or more women had been killed or mutilated because they were wearing what was considered by some as inappropriate dress. The dress was not inappropriate at all.'

De Mistura also mentioned the high number of so-called 'honour crimes' in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.

'Since the (2003 US) occupation we have seen a deterioration of women's rights,' said Lena Ag, the secretary general of the Swedish organisation Kvinna till Kvinna (Woman to Woman).

The testimony took place the day before the International Compact with Iraq (ICI) conference, which looks at the political and security status since its peace plan they launched five years ago.

Iraqi women's rights activists also stressed the importance for more women, and civil society in general, to take part in development efforts in Iraq.

'Women are a potential factor for democratic and development processes in Iraq,' said Hanaa Edwar Busha, one of the founders of the Iraqi Women Network, stressing that women represent around 55 percent of the Iraqi population.

For more information on Iraqi women's rights, check out the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq and the Iraqi Women's Rights Coalition.

It looks like Australia will soon be making an admirable move regarding women's rights:

The Federal Government says steps are being taken to sign a United Nations protocol that aims to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women.

Signing the optional protocol would enable women to complain to the United Nations if Australia violates its obligations and domestic remedies have been exhausted.

Attorney-General Robert McClelland said, "We're committed to the promotion and protection of women's rights and making gender equality a reality in Australia." He adds, "Obviously if we're to promote the rights of women within our region we need to at least set the example domestically."

Indeed.

As Liberia recovers from a decade of civil war, the country's top UN official is not only pushing for an advancement in women's rights, but also saying that women's empowerment is critical to improving peace and development:

Addressing participants at the start of a five-day national women's conference in the capital, Monrovia, the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Liberia, Ellen Margrethe Løj, yesterday highlighted the need to take the message of women's empowerment and the advancement of human r