Global Health: Then and Now
How the world changes! Nearly a generation ago, in 1994, I served as co-author of a major World Bank study, Better Health in Africa. Now I have the privilege to observe health issues around the world as President and CEO of the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA). These experiences give me perspective on changes in global health institutions, policies, and funding.
Navigating Refugee Life
Those of us concerned with violence against refugee women and girls may agree on two things: the first is that the magnitude of the problem is grave, and the second is that although there have been numerous efforts to address the problem in the past three decades, the effectiveness of the outcomes remains to be debated.
Social Protection for Women
Periods of economic upheaval are always destabilizing and, as such, outcomes are uncertain. We are right now faced with a great danger and a great opportunity. The danger is that recovery efforts will favour those in positions of strength, reinforcing existing inequalities between and within countries. As this occurs, we will see existing disparities deepen, leading to social exclusion with grave social, economic and political repercussions. The opportunity is that leadership and bold policy action could reduce inequalities among countries and across gender lines.
Prevention, Prosection and Protection - Human Trafficking
How much would you pay for a winter coat? How much would you pay for the child that made it? Fifty years ago, the abomination of slavery seemed like a thing of the past. But history has a way of repeating itself. Today, we find that human slavery is once again a sickening reality. At this moment, men, women and children are being trafficked and exploited all over the world: 2.4 million have been trafficked into forced labour worldwide of these, 600,000 to 800,000 are trafficked across borders each year and 12,000 children are working as slaves on cocoa plantations in West Africa.
Sexual Violence as a War Tactic - Security Council Resolution 1888: Next Steps
At the end of September 2009, two sharply contrasting events coincided: the United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton introduced resolution 1888 at the United Nations Security Council on 30 September which, like resolution 1820 passed the previous year, condemns conflict-related sexual violence and aims to equip the UN with measures to prevent it and to address impunity.
Toward a New Future for Haiti
The Petionville Golf Club sits upon a hillside overlooking Port au Prince and the sea. These days, its once-groomed fairways are home to nearly 50,000 people, among the 1.2 million displaced by the January 12 earthquake and crowded together in tents or tarpaulin lean-tos provided by the UN or international relief agencies.
A Brief Survey of Women's Rights
The story of the global struggle for women's rights since 1945 is just beginning to be told. For a proper understanding of the continuities and changes in the struggle for women's rights during this period, we need to go back to the League of Nations, the predecessor to the United Nations. In addition, we need to consider more fully the important role of what are now often called traditional women's organizations in advancing women's rights on the international level, at least until 1975.
Armed Conflict and Women - 10 Years of Security Council Resolution 1325
In October this year, the United Nations will commemorate the tenth anniversary of an important, but inadequately recognized international development landmark: Security Council resolution 1325, which recognized the importance of understanding the impact of armed conflict on women and girls and guaranteed their protection and full participation in peace agreements. Although late in coming, there are now signs of increased commitment and action to ensure that the goals of the resolution are met.
The Deadline Has Arrived
Message on International Day for Biological Diversity, 2010
The planet's species and habitats, and the goods and services they provide, form the basis of our wealth, our health and our well-being. Yet, despite repeated global commitments to protect this heritage, the variety of life on Earth continues to decline at an unprecedented rate. Biodiversity loss is moving ecological systems ever closer to a tipping point beyond which they will no longer be able to fulfil their vital functions.
Freedom of Expression, a Fundamental Human Right
Message on World Press Freedom Day, 2010
Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But around the world, there are governments and those wielding power who find many ways to obstruct it.
Help and Support Migrant Families Around the World
Message on International Day of Families, 2010
This year's commemoration of the International Day of Families focuses on the impact of migration on families around the world. Rising social and economic disparities create both pressures and incentives for people to leave their homes in search of better opportunities. Many migrate out of necessity due to poverty, unemployment, political or armed conflicts or violations of human rights.
Hungry to Learn
See also Ms. Migiro's Time for Solidarity with the Women of Haiti, a personal essay on the need for solidarity with the mothers and children of Haiti. Mine is the rare job that allows me to meet, within the span of a very few hours, both a president and a homeless mother. And each told me the same thing. Three months after the earthquake that devastated Haiti, President Préval welcomed me to his offices in Port au Prince -- a modest building in the gardens behind his ruined presidential palace. Education, he said straight-off, must be a corner stone of the international effort to rebuild Haiti. Without that, there is no future.
At What Point Does One Lose One's Humanity?
I have been incredibly blessed in my life to be able to travel. Seeing the world and its diversity first hand has been the greatest teacher, and never have I learned a more difficult lesson then when I visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2009. The DRC, bordered by nine different countries, is home to over 200 ethnic groups, making it literally the heart of Africa. This country is in a state of emergency. Various militias and complicated politics all play a part in the devastation of the land and the population, but no one is suffering more than the women and young girls. Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been beaten, tortured and raped -- atrocities beyond anything that I have ever heard of or could imagine.
In Haiti... The World From Her Mother's Side
As the earthquake shook the house around her, ten-year-old Dessica ran outside and into a field behind her small street. Did you run out alone? I asked. Yes, she says. You didn't wait for your mother or your sisters or brothers? No, she says. I just ran.
Time for Solidarity with Women of Haiti
I will never forget the time an earthquake shook Dodoma in 2002 when I was a parliamentarian in my home country of Tanzania. I had no idea how to react to the tremors and instinctively ran outside. Though I was fortunate that the tremors caused minimal damage, they brought home to me in a deeply personal way just how fragile we are. The earthquake that devastated Haiti brought these memories back vividly, and my heart went out to my many colleagues and the people of Haiti who have been deeply affected.