UN rights chief calls for action to tackle ‘plague’ of violence against women

[struggle4progress]

28 February 2007 – Progress has been made already this year in protecting human rights worldwide, such as the recent adoption of a convention against enforced disappearances and other legislation, the top United Nations rights officer said today, but she stressed that more must be done in other areas, particularly to curb the “plague” of violence against women.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour also told a press briefing in New York that Tuesday’s decision by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor to name a Sudanese minister and a militia commander as the first suspects for war crimes in Darfur would help deal with the issue of impunity although this was still a major concern.

She voiced optimism about progress in the work of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council. “I think in the general landscape of human rights normative work this year, we’ve seen lots of progress,” she said, citing the adoption of the treaty against enforced disappearances and other initiatives, including on torture and the protection of indigenous peoples.

But she said gender-based attacks remain a cause for grave concern. “The continuing plague of violence against women…continues to be a very serious issue in times of war, in times of peace, in times of transition to peace and I think we need to be much more proactive,” Ms. Arbour said, adding she hoped this issue would be highlighted again next week on 8 March, which is International Women’s Day ...

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21712&Cr=&Cr1=

[CrazyOrangeCat]

1. K&R

. . . because women are our last hope.

[Solo_in_MD]

2. Never going to happen since it would mean taking on the Sharia and Islamic countries

and their backwardness.

[Chulanowa]

3. Or the bible and "Christian" countries

...Or the "Atheist" countries like China where girl babies are put out to die of exposure...
Or the "Jewish" country of Israel which is one of the hubs in the sex slave trade from eastern Europe...

Ain't just the muslims.

[Morgana LaFey]

5. Amen

Isn't it interesting how "invisible" that beam in our OWN eye is to some?

[Triana]

4. K & R for Naming it and Mentioning it, at least....

....it's a hella lot more than has been done at that level in the past! It's a beginning.