Ending violence against women in the context of COVID-19

Date: Friday, March 27, 2020

As the current COVID-19 global pandemic spreads through the world, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund), and its grantees, recognize the gender dimensions of the impact from the COVID-19 outbreak. In this challenging time, the need to respond to the immediate and long-term consequences of the current crisis for women and girls is critical.

Women and COVID-19: Five things governments can do now

Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2020

UN Women Deputy Executive Director Anita Bhatia takes a look at how impacts of COVID-19 are hitting women hardest, and how governments around the world can address these issues.

Checklist for COVID-19 response by UN Women Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér

Date: Friday, March 20, 2020

As governments respond to the global COVID-19 crisis under huge pressures to act fast, UN Women Deputy Executive Director Asa Regner, calls on leaders and decision-makers to answer 10 key questions about how their responses and policies will include and impact women and girls

Paying attention to women’s needs and leadership will strengthen COVID-19 response

Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2020

A week since The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, the social impact of the Corona Virus is hitting women hard, around the world. Globally, women make up 70 per cent of workers in the health and social sector, and they do three times as much unpaid care work at home as men. As first responders, frontline health workers, primary care givers at home and community mobilizers, women are at increased risk of exposure to the virus. They are also playing a disproportionate role in responding to the disease.

Women’s organizations advocate for localized humanitarian and crisis response

Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2020

UN Women’s Humanitarian Action and Crisis Response Office, together with the informal Friends of Gender Group (created at a Grand Bargain meeting in Bonn in September 2016), organized three regional consultation workshops with local women’s organizations – in Addis Ababa, Amman and Jakarta – which culminated in an informal Friends of Gender Group annual meeting in December 2019.

UN Women Executive Director attends the UN Human Rights Council

Date: Friday, February 28, 2020

The Human Rights Council marked the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action with a high-level panel discussion during its high-level segment on Tuesday the 25 February.

Marta Vieira da Silva and One Win Leads to Another girls celebrate women’s empowerment in Brazil Carnival

Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Global soccer star, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and UN SDG Advocate, Marta Vieira da Silva was honoured in the Carnival parade in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

Calling for action to meet the unfulfilled promise of education for girls

Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Celebrities, youth activists and world leaders gathered yesterday at the UN Headquarters to put a spotlight on adolescent girls’ education, in an event co-hosted by the Permanent Mission of Ireland, together with UN Women, the One Campaign and the Global Partnership for Education. Singer and co-founder of the ONE campaign, Bono, and Chair of the Elders, Mary Robinson, were amongst the participants at the event that launched the initiative, "The Drive for Five: A Call to Action to...

UN Women Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér visits Brussels and the new European Union leadership

Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2020

UN Women Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér visited Brussels, Belgium, from 4 to 5 February 2020.

Report published on the importance of accountability for child rights violations

Date: Monday, February 10, 2020

Investigating child rights violations in armed conflict was the topic discussed by experts at an event at the UN Headquarters in New York on 30 January, organized by UN Women and Justice Rapid Response, and co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Canada and Sierra Leone to the United Nations.

Marlène Schiappa: “For generations, we have been nominating men just because they are men”

Date: Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Marlène Schiappa, Minister of State for Gender Equality and the Fight against Discrimination in France, attended the 25th year Regional Review Meeting of the Beijing Platform for Action for the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Region. She highlighted why this meeting is key for advancing the gender equality agenda and the priorities for the Generation Equality Forum in 2020, a global gathering for gender equality, convened by UN Women and co-chaired by France and Mexico.

Civil society and youth from the Arab States review Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

Date: Friday, December 6, 2019

Over 70 representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs) and youth advocates from across the Arab States region met in Amman, Jordan on 26 and 27 November, to conduct a parallel review and discussion on the progress and lessons learned in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action , in the lead up to the Arab States High-Level Conference on the Beijing+25 Review.

Arab States region looks ahead to 25th Anniversary of Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

Date: Friday, December 6, 2019

Following a comprehensive and inclusive regional review process that has spanned nearly 12 months, on 28 November governments, civil society organizations, and youth representatives from across the Arab States region met to agree on a set of priorities and strategies to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in light of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Asia-Pacific UN Ministerial Conference opens with urgent call for change to make gender equality a reality

Date: Monday, December 2, 2019

Over 500 Ministers, senior policymakers, UN officials, civil society, youth and private sector representatives from across Asia and the Pacific region today gathered in Bangkok to chart out priority actions to support accelerated progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The three-day Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on the Beijing+25 Review, organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and UN Women

UN Women Deputy Executive Director Anita Bhatia attends Paris Peace Forum

Date: Thursday, November 14, 2019

UN Women Deputy Executive Director, Anita Bhatia, attended the Paris Peace Forum, an international event on global governance issues and multilateralism, on 12 November, to discuss the upcoming 2020 Generation Equality Forum. The Forum is a civil society–centred, multi-stakeholder, global gathering for gender equality, convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France.

Participants in the Africa Beijing+25 review call for implementation of the commitments made 25 years ago

Date: Friday, November 8, 2019

Member States, civil society and other stakeholders gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 27 October to 1 November to review the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, celebrate the significant progress made in Africa on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and agree on concrete action to be taken to accelerate implementation.

UN Women Executive Director visits Bosnia and Herzegovina

Date: Wednesday, November 6, 2019

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka travelled to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 3-6 November to reaffirm UN Women’s commitment to support the country in its efforts to advance gender equality and the women and girls’ empowerment.

In Geneva, Member States and gender advocates call for urgent and effective measures to accelerate gender equality

Date: Friday, November 1, 2019

From young gender equality advocates to high-ranking government officials, key stakeholders from North America, Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia called for the urgent realization of women’s and girl’s human rights and for turning the commitments to gender equality into reality.

Ten years on from mandate on sexual violence in conflict, survivors and experts call for promises to be fulfilled

Date: Friday, November 1, 2019

On the margins of the annual UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security in New York, at a side event on 30 October, survivors, leaders and experts came together to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Coverage: UN Women Executive Director visits Ethiopia

Date: Wednesday, October 16, 2019

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is on a joint visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 15 to 19 October, together with the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö. This will be the Executive Director’s first official country visit to Ethiopia, and the first official visit to Africa for President Niinistö.