General Women, Peace and Security

UN Commission on the Status of Women 55 Power Point:

Women and the Human Right to Peace

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New York: A passionate comment from a Cameroonian woman, appealing to the African Women's Caucus that gender advocacy must begin at home and address ordinary women, reminded me of two things yesterday.

The first is that when African women gather in groups of more than one, as we were at the African Women's Caucus during the 55th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), it will be loud and bustling.

An animated discussion is taking place about the relationship between Islam and equality and justice in the context of women's human rights. How will the democratic uprisings sweeping across the Arab world affect this conversation?

For a few brief days during the Egyptian uprising, women felt relatively safe on the streets of Egypt where sexual street harassment has, for many years, been a problem of epidemic proportions.

Recently, Obama Administration officials, including Secretary Hillary Clinton, Ambassador Susan Rice, and even President Barack Obama himself, have spoken in support of ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The treaty also enjoys support from former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

In 2011, Ban Ki-moon begins the fifth year of his five-year term as United Nations secretary-general, and a discussion will begin about a possible extension of his term or a possible successor for him.

U.N. member states should appoint a woman to be the next secretary-general starting in January 2012.

The first international conference on peace, security and governance was organised by the Centre for Peace, Security and Development (Dadabhoy Institute of Higher Education) in collaboration with Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) at a local hotel.

The International Women's Media Foundation is seeking nominations for the 2011 Courage in Journalism and Lifetime Achievement awards.