The adoption of the first-ever resolution on women human rights defenders by the United Nations General Assembly's Third Committee is a step forward in protecting those who face risks and attacks for their work to promote human rights, including women's rights, Amnesty International (AI), the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID), the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), and JASS (Just Associates) said today.

OPEN LETTER TO:

Mr. Peter Sorensen, Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina and European Union Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Mr. Valentin Inzko, Office of the High Representative,

Ms. Anne-Marie Esper Larsen, UN Women,

Mr. Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, Embassy of the Russian Federation

Mr. Nigel Casey, British Embassy

Ms. Ulrike Maria Knotz, German Embassy,

On November 25, 2013, the Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) at Rutgers University will launch the 23rd annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign. CWGL will join thousands of activists from around the world in a call for an end to gender-based violence and more substantial responses on the part of governments to act with due diligence in protecting and preventing gender-based violence.

When I was first elected in 1987, I was part of an increased number of women in the UK parliament, but we still comprised only 5% of MPs. Even now, more than a quarter of a century later and in a country that has long prided itself on a commitment to equality, only one in five MPs is a woman. Far from leading the way, we are languishing at the global average.

In a Belfast hotel last spring, stories of children and life floated through the rooms.

Yet those of us who were present for this meeting of female human rights activists from more than 20 countries were painfully aware of old friends who could not join us.

Women's empowerment in Afghanistan was at the forefront of the international agenda after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Now, more than 10 years later, improvements have been made, but with a weakening of political will and transition underway, it is questionable whether these advances have been sustainable and how they are impacting the day to day lives of Afghan women.

We must protect women human right defenders

The UN General Assembly votes this week on a resolution to protect women human rights defenders.

Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation. It is violence against families, communities, nations and humanity. It is a threat to international peace and security, as recognized by the UN Security Council. It has reached a crisis point and demands action from all of us, young and old, women and men.

On Monday, November 18th, 2013, PeaceWomen, along with the Mission of Liechtenstein and Princeton University, hosted the eleventh panel of our Women, Peace and Security lecture series, titled “Women, Peace, Security: Looking Ahead to 2015”, with keynote speaker Ms. Anne-Marie Goetz, Chief Advisor for Peace and Security, UNWomen. Ms.

Two important issues to gain traction in Israeli civil society this past year are gender issues and the peace process. And while neither is new, there has been movement on both. Gender issues exploded onto the scene in 2011 with the ultra-orthodox fanatical takeover of public space in the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh by terrorizing young girls and women as they walked city streets.