Focus on Energy

A new United Nations human rights report on Liberia says that violence against women persists in the country.

Covering the period between August and October 2006, the report pays particular attention to the fact that the Rape Amendment Act is not yet adequately implemented by the national authorities charged with the investigation, prosecution and trial of suspects, despite clear legislative provisions.

The report says that "the very small number of cases indicted and tried to date is an indicator that far more needs to be done to ensure that the various institutions of justice coordinate to address rape as a crime and as a human rights violation." The report also notes that women and girls in some areas of Liberia remain at risk of female genital mutilation. More

A police workshop in Italy is the UN's latest effort to attract more women into the force. The 4-day conference at the UN Training Centre will bring together 30 gender experts from the UN and elsewhere to strategize on ways to encourage Member States to provide more female officers.

Progress has been made over the last two years in attracting more female officers into the UN Police, including the recent introduction into Liberia of an all-female specialized unit, but while the Peacekeeping Department's (DPKO) Police Adviser Mark Kroeker is full of praise for all his officers worldwide - both men and women, he says the current figure of just 6 per cent of the force made up of female officers is unacceptable.

The Peacekeeping Department's (DPKO) Police Adviser Mark Kroeker said, "I am extremely gratified by the increase in the numbers of women who serve in police components in UN missions. But this is way too few. Our attempts at getting our Members States to contribute police are difficult but the attempts in addition to add women to their contribution, this is almost impossible: we need to have women police officers so that we send the signal that women are co-equals in police work and that's the way it should be because they're available for every assignment as every man is in policing." More

Yesterday, on International Women's Day, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the UN must spearhead efforts to eradicate violence against women. "Violence against women and girls makes its hideous imprint on every continent, country and culture...It is a threat to all women, and should be unacceptable to all humankind." More

In celebration of International Women's Day, The People Speak asked 16 prominent women, including Her Majesty Queen Rania, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman, about the women who have inspired them. The site also includes an interactive feature where you can write about an inspiring woman from your own life.

Today is International Women's Day! Observed since the early 1900s, March 8th is now an official holiday in many countries and the inspiration for thousands of events worldwide held to celebrate women and their accomplishments. Today in Cambodia, for example, women are holding a photography exhibit to showcase women's contributions in rebuilding the country and in India women are using the day to hold a seminar on the law and domestic violence. Unfortunately, not all governments are too happy about International Women's Day. As previously reported, over 30 women in Iran were arrested this week, which according to Amnesty International, was a deliberate move to deter women from organizing IWD events. The United Nations, its agencies and regional offices are commemorating the day through various events, including a discussion today on eliminating violence against women in Afghanistan. More

After over 30 women's rights activists were arrested in Tehran, High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour expressed concern about their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression. Arbour further urged authorities in Iran to adhere to the international agreements they are party to, specially the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Iran is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Economic, Civil and Cultural Rights, and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. Iran must adhere to the legal obligations undertaken under those treaties to respect all human rights without discrimination, Ms. Arbour was quoted as saying by a spokesperson at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Iran has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Amnesty International released a statement yesterday about the arrests, noting that they believed the arrests were intended to deter women from organizing events to mark International Women's Day on March 8. More Picture from Krpasevananda at Flickr.

United Nations officials have called for increased efforts to end human trafficking, most notably in women and girls. At the International Conference on Trafficking in Women and Girls, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said that "the fact that there are forms of slavery in our world today should fill us all with shame...As an African woman, I would add that it also fills me with rage." More

A Friday event called "Girls Speak Out" featured girls from around the world, including a former child soldier from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and an HIV-positive rape victim from Zambia, sharing their experiences of activism. Moderated by CBS News anchor Katie Couric, the event was part of the 51st Commission on the Status of Women. More

Women's empowerment as a poverty eradication tool was discussed by top UN officials at the 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

Despite several promising steps, including increased provision of microcredit and the accession of several States to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), "challenges remain," Rachel N. Mayanja, the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, said at a meeting yesterday. "Continued discrimination against the girl child, violence against girls and women, and low representation of women in decision-making" still pose major problems, Ms. Mayanja said.

More For more information on CSW, click here. For more information on poverty eradication and women, check out the Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO).