Last week I took my trusty bloggingheads video camera to the United Nations to film a series of interviews. I scored some big time hits with various ambassadors and under-secretaries general and more. (Full list here) Enjoy!
As Women Deliver wrapped up its third and final day, a tangible sense of excitement and accomplishment was running through the conference center's halls. The day began with actress and advocate Ashley Judd moderating a panel of courageous young people who were making a difference in their countries. From the young Afghan woman, Maihan Wali, captain of her country's national basketball team, to the 20 year-old Ugandan activist Esther Namataka, each panelist shared their journey as change makers during what was arguably one of the most emotion-ridden Women Deliver plenaries.
The Security Council adopted a sanctions resolution on Iran, with a vote of 12 -2, with one abstention. The outliers, as expected, were Brazil and Turkey which recently negotiated a fuel swap deal with Iran. Apparently the P-5 found that deal insufficient, so they imposed a new round of sanctions today. According to a release from the United States Mission to the UN, this is what the resolution specifically targets:
Walking through the halls of the imposing Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C., you can feel that the Women Deliver conference is the largest gathering on women’s issues in more than a decade. There is a palpable excitement and enthusiasm among the thousands of attendees milling around between sessions, connecting and sharing experiences, which is only matched by the intense engagement and intellectual energy felt during the panels, plenaries and discussions.
Note: This post summarizes a panel I attended at Women Deliver.
A few weeks ago, I wrote here about our desperate need for new approaches to preventing the spread of AIDS. At the Women Deliver conference, I learned about a new way of looking at HIV prevention that may hold the key to reducing the number of new infections.
The valuable, insidery Security Council report just put out an alert suggesting that a vote on a new round of Security Council sanctions on Iran can be expected as early as tomorrrow. Unlike the three previous sanctions resolutions on Iran, however, it is unlikely that the resolution will pass unanimously. From the Security Council Report:
By Fabiano Teixeira da Cruz, Inter-American Development Bank
Ed note: Tomorrow, the author will participate in the Women Deliver conference panel ‘Mobilizing Reproductive Health: How Cell Phones Are Revolutionizing Women’s Health’, organized by the mHealth Alliance, which the Rockefeller, UN and Vodafone Foundations launched in 2009 to facilitate cross-sector collaboration to bring mHealth to sustainable scale. These are a preview of her remarks.
Maternal mortality remains a major challenge to health systems worldwide.
During an official Women Deliver press conference on Monday, former Presidents Michelle Bachelet and Mary Robinson, actress and activisit Ashley Judd, executive director of the UNFPA Thoraya Obaid and World Bank managing director Oby Ezekwesili offered their views on why it is so critical to increase and improve investments in women and girls.
Last Friday, I sat down with the Iraqi Ambassador to the United Nations Hamid Al-Bayati. We discuss the recent Iraqi elections, what the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq is up to, and his thoughts on the planned U.S. draw down of troops. Enjoy.