Hosted by the UN Women National Committee Australia, the annual meeting brought together staff from UN Women Headquarters, UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office and National Committees around the world in Fiji for a week.

To mark the historic 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, and its 20th anniversary this year, representatives from politics, the private sector, civil society and academia came together today in Berlin. The event with German Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Manuela Schwesig, and the UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, was held in the Representation of the State North Rhine-Westphalia in Berlin, hosted by the UN Women National Committee for Germany and attended by high officials and other dignitaries.

In the words of Beatrice Sisina Shanka, a 26-year-old community activist from the Inkinyie community. She works for Il’laramatak Community Concerns (ICC), a non-governmental organization that addresses human rights and development concerns of pastoralist (nomadic livestock herding) indigenous peoples of Kenya, with a focus on women and girls.

The Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, today welcomed the launch of the UN Women National Committee in France. Joining the 16 other existing National Committees, the latter will help advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of women as well as raise funds for the implementation of UN Women activities worldwide.

As part of efforts to promote more accessible services for women and girls, UN Women has supported a special category of the UN Public Service Awards on “Promoting Gender-Responsive Delivery of Public Services.” Winners will be recognized 23 June at a ceremony in Bahrain.

A new study launched today during the XII Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, reveals that indigenous girls have a greater risk of experiencing violence due to the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination they face.

In light of Pakistan’s fourth periodic report to the CEDAW Committee in Geneva on 12 February, UN Women spoke to the recently appointed Chairperson of the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW). The new and autonomous Commission became part of the constitution on 8 March, 2012.

UN Women and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have signed a partnership agreement which will promote women's empowerment through sports.

Brussels — The European Commission, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today announced the launch of a multi-country initiative to enhance women's participation in peace-building and post-conflict planning and economic recovery.

In Russia and Central Asia, UN Women has joined national governments and non-governmental partners, the International Organization for Migration and the World Bank in a programme aimed at improving the living conditions of families of migrant workers. It helps them gain skills and seek better livelihoods.

UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet is in Brussels 24-25 March 2011 to discuss strengthening the partnership between the European Union and UN Women.