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.

From Sudan to the Security Council: Sudanese women lead drive for change

Date: Thursday, November 7, 2019

On 8 April 2019, Alaa Salah took to the streets in protest of the declining economic state of her country, just like thousands of other students and young people in Sudan. She had no idea that she would become the face of the Sudanese protest movement. By 11 April, the President of Sudan had been arrested, and a photo of Salah, standing atop a car in all white and leading a crowd in a chant, had gone viral.

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.

Remarks by UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security in New York

Date: Tuesday, October 29, 2019

In her remarks at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said: "Progress is too slow, political will is not strong enough, and pushback against the needs and interests of women is threatening the progress we have made and pushing further away those who need the resolve and support most".

Statement by Alaa Salah at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security

Date: Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Alaa Salah was selected to represent civil society at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security in October 2019. She spoke in her capacity as an activist, community leader, and member of MANSAM, and on behalf of the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security.

The power of women peacebuilders

Date: Monday, October 28, 2019

Women do groundbreaking work for justice, peace and security. Yet, they continue to be sidelined in formal peace processes. As conflict continues to affect every region of the world, urgent action is needed to ensure that women are part of peacebuilding, and their contributions are visible and valued.

In Colombia, peace is a journey

Date: Friday, October 18, 2019

The conflict in Colombia has left deep scars, and lasting peace is more of a journey than a destination. The one thing that remains constant in this journey is the power and perseverance of women forging peace against all odds, defending human rights every day. Through projects funded by the Government of Sweden and Norway, UN Women has accompanied Colombian women in this journey.

My take, your take: Women’s rights in Kosovo, then and now

Date: Friday, October 18, 2019

In this new intergenerational series for Generation Equality campaign, young people take the lead to shape the conversations. Marigona Shabiu, 26-year-old, a human rights activist from Kosovo is talking with Igballe Rogova, 58 years, whose women’s rights activism spans three decades.

Women, peace and security experts call for women’s meaningful participation in peace processes

Date: Monday, September 30, 2019

On 25 September, at an event of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network during the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, ministers, heads of regional organizations, focal points on women, peace and security and civil society representatives called for urgent action to secure women’s equal and meaningful participation in peace processes.

From where I stand: “Young women's inclusion in peacebuilding will create sustainable peace”

Date: Thursday, August 8, 2019

At 32, Susan Sebit is an accomplished lawyer and advocate from South Sudan. She works to protect women and children from violence and to ensure the implementation of existing women, peace and security global frameworks.

In the words of Dorcas Amakobe: “We take girls when they are nine years old and give them a chance to be bold”

Date: Thursday, July 25, 2019

Dorcas Amakobe is the Executive Director of “Moving the Goalposts”, a sport for development organization based Kilifi, a coastal town in Kenya. As part of a UN Women programme funded by the Government of Japan on enhancing women’s active participation in prevention of violent extremism in Kenya, the organization ran a project that provided livelihood skills training and helped build financial independence of young women engaged in its sport programme to build their resilience.

Inclusive peace in Afghanistan means ‘women at the centre’, urges UN deputy chief in Kabul

Date: Sunday, July 21, 2019

The UN deputy chief issued an impassioned plea on Sunday for Afghans to reconcile with the past and put “women at the centre” of all efforts to forge a durable peace, and a truly inclusive political process where women’s voices are truly heard.

Statement by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka on the conviction of Bosco Ntaganda by the International Criminal Court

Date: Monday, July 8, 2019

UN Women welcomes the conviction of Bosco Ntaganda by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 8 July 2019 for crimes committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2002 and 2003. The former rebel leader was found guilty on 13 counts of war crimes and 5 counts of crimes against humanity, including rape, sexual slavery, displacement of civilians, and enlisting and conscripting child soldiers under the age of 15 and using them to participate actively in hostilities.

Statement: Peace Hut Women of Liberia wins 2019 UN Population Award

Date: Thursday, June 20, 2019

Statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women, to honour the National Peace Hut Women of Liberia selected as 2019 UN Population Award laureates

From where I stand: “I lived in terror every day”

Date: Friday, June 14, 2019

Bage Jidda spent three years as a hostage of Boko Haram. Inspite of all her suffering, today she is the sole provider for her family, in Mora, the Far North Region of Cameroon. She embodies resilience, her optimism is infectious. Empowering women like Jidda is at the heart of building resilience among communities torn apart by the Boko Haram crisis.

Statement: Placing victims at the centre of investigations spurs justice for survivors of sexual violence in conflict

Date: Thursday, June 13, 2019

In a joint message for the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict (19 June), Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women and Nina Suomalainen, Executive Director of Justice Rapid Response, stress the importance of preventing sexual violence by addressing its root causes, including gender inequality.

Take five: “Impunity is not acceptable”

Date: Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Drita Hajdari is a prosecutor for the Special Prosecution Office of Kosovo, where she investigates and prosecutes war crimes. Today, police investigators and special prosecutors, like Ms. Hajdari, are working on an increasing number of cases, with a victim-centred approach. UN Women, through the Gender-Sensitive Transitional Justice project, funded by the European Union, has facilitated mentoring support from international criminal law experts to prosecutors and investigators in Kosovo.

Executive Boards of UN Women, UNDP, UNFPA, UNOPS, UNICEF and WFP jointly visit Colombia

Date: Monday, June 3, 2019

From 11-18 May, members of the Executive Board of UN Women visited Colombia for the first time to observe UN Women’s programmes and policy work in the country and assess how they contribute toward the implementation of national development priorities.

In the words of Oksana Potapova: “We need radical transformation”

Date: Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Oksana Potapova, 35, is a Ukrainian peace activist, community theatre practitioner and a feminist. She is the co-founder of ‘Theatre for Dialogue’, an organization that uses community-based theatre to work with conflict-affected communities. UN Women Ukraine works in partnership with Theatre for Dialogue to raise women’s awareness of their rights. Ms. Potapova spoke to UN Women about her work and her reflections on the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Statement by UN Women Executive Director for the International Day of UN Peacekeepers

Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2019

In her statement for International Day of UN Peacekeepers, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka highlights the important role women peacekeepers play in tackling critical issues, such as helping to make the peacekeeping force approachable to women in the community, interacting with women in societies where they are prohibited from speaking to men, and addressing the specific needs of female ex-combatants as they reintegrate into civilian life.