----------------

Dear journalist,

You can download photos, including hi-res JPEG images, of Mairead Maguire at the Nobel Women’s Initiative’s online photo gallery. This way, you can choose the photo that works best for your lay-out and resolution needs.

To access the photos, go to: {url}

Click the thumbnails to enlarge images.

Once you find the image you want (some are hi-res, some are not), right click and “Save Image As”.

If you use a photo that has a photographer credited (in “File Info” at the bottom of the enlarged image), please credit the image to that photographer.  If not, please credit the photo to Judy Rand.

Let me know if you have any trouble or need anything further.

Thank you,

Kim

Wangari Maathai is calling on the African Union to recognize the vital role of women in the ongoing Sudan peace process at the summit in Kampala, Uganda later this month.

In an opinion editorial published in Daily Dispatch and the Deccan Herald, Maathai urges African leaders to ensure that women play a key role in the upcoming referendum on the secession of Southern Sudan.

Read the full editorial

The African Union has declared 2010 as the Year of Peace and Security in Africa, and will soon launch the African Decade of Women. In order to show real commitment to these pledges, the AU must carve out a space for women to meaningfully participate in all decision-making processes. As Maathai has eloquently put it, "achieving lasting peace and security in Sudan is not possible without women's full inclusion".

LEARN MORE

Learn more in our Sudan News section

In our second session of testimony, we heard from four testifiers who have experienced egregious civil and political rights violations at the hands of the military regime in Burma.  In particular, they outlined the ways in which women political prisoners face risks which are unknown to men.  Included among these additional dangers are sexual and reproductive violence.

Tribunal judge Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn commented that what is clear from these testimonies is that "democracy has been stolen from the people" in Burma.  One of the testifiers told us that when she was working with Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the early 1990s, there was a "ray of democracy" in the country, but that she does not know when they will see it again.

We have an important opportunity here to stand in solidarity with the people of Burma in their struggle for democracy.  The testifiers we have heard from so far have been unanimous in their request for action from the international community.  As a start, I will take this opportunity to echo the demand of Professor Muntarbhorn - free all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi now!

The International Tribunal continues on this afternoon.  Watch the live webcast at http://tinyurl.com/yzywzgn#burma!

You can also follow testimony updates on Twitter!

The Iranian elections, held on June 12, 2009, captured attention worldwide. Results released to the public declared incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the election winner.  Reformist candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Iranian voters are contesting the results.  There have been demonstrations throughout Iran.

Over 100 reformist, activists, and demonstrators have been detained over the last 4 days in Iran, some have been released but many remain detained. Internet contact and telecommunications have been interrupted.  According to Shirin Ebadi, "The Iranian people have expressed their demand in a very peaceful manner, but they are facing a violent reaction. All those who have been arrested in the past three days must be released without any conditions."

In The Media:

Shirin Ebadi’s Message in Defence of " Mothers in Mourning" , The Femenist School, 20 July 2009

Iran Human Rights Activists Being Arrested, Nobel Prize Winner Tells NPR, 16 June 2009

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Winner Ebadi Calls for New Elections Radio Free Europe, 16 June 2009

An Appeal to Iranian Authorities International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, 14 June 2009

Iran: End Violence Against Peaceful Protests Human Rights Watch, 15 June 2009

Iran's Human Rights Test, by Shirin Ebadi, Washington Post, 11 June 2009

Success in progress is the mantra of the 10th anniversary of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. The unprecedented activism that led 122 states to sign the treaty was spearheaded by civil society from around the world and led by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).

The campaign's unorthodox approach of bypassing traditional diplomatic channels was not only landmark, it was profoundly effective. The speed by which the treaty entered into force was unprecedented, and it created a model to be replicated by other international campaigns. Ten years later, 155 states have signed on to the treaty, but there remains significant work to be done.

Nobel Laureate and ICBL founding coordinator Jody Williams and her ICBL successor Liz Bernstein, who coordinated the campaign from 1998 to 2004, were joined by sister Laureate Shirin Ebadi to represent the Nobel Women's Initiative at "Clearing the Path for a Better Future," an event marking the 10th Anniversary.

Conference participants looked back on the successful experience of the mine ban movement and looked forward to reflect on lessons learned and how they could be applied to the challenges facing the human security of millions of people in the world. ForUM hosted the international conference, as well as a day of action and numerous cultural events in Oslo.

Shirin Ebadi, speaking on "Human Rights and Human Security" noted that "we should not allow governments to use the excuse of security to further repress their people. Human security means meeting basic needs, respecting human dignity and basic human rights."

Jody Williams remarked that the landmine campaign changed the way traditional diplomacy was conducted, as civil society worked with governments to address the landmine crisis. Similarly, "today we must rethink the way we define, protect and defend security. Why are we still defining security in cold war terms? When are we, people, going to require states to redefine security the way that we want - as people-centered not state-centered security?" She also urged governments to support the new process for negotiating a treaty banning cluster munitions, to be concluded in 2008, and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

On Tuesday, the 18th of September, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo hosted a conference, marking the official anniversary of the conclusion of the negotiations on the Mine Bay Treaty. Williams and Ebadi addressed this gathering and NWI joined other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in presenting the statement "10 years with the Mine Ban Treaty - Human Security is the way forward".

For more information:

To read the statement delivered by NGOs click here

Oslo Landmine Week

International Campaign to Ban Landmines: 1997-2007, Ten Years of the Mine Ban Treaty, A Success in Progress

Overview of the 10th Anniversary

Landmine ban a success 10 years on, campaigners say, by Reuters

***

Read the latest News on Disarmament.

Take Action for disarmament.

Eleven Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, including: Shirin Ebadi, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Wangari Maathai and Jody Williams have sent an open letter to President Calderon demanding justice for the people of Atenco. On May 3-4, 2006, more than four thousand state security and police attacked at least two hundred people in Atenco during a protest. The Laureates are asking the President to release the 12 political prisoners still held, and drop all charges against them. The Laureates are calling for justice for the 50 women of Atenco who were raped and tortured during the attack.

Jody Williams recently visited Mexico City at the invitation of Mexican human rights activists. She met with high level government officials, legislators and one Supreme Court judge to discuss the Atenco case. Williams used these meetings to urge for the release of the 12 political prisoners and justice for the women who were assaulted and violated in Atenco. All of the Laureates hope to see Mexico comply with the international and domestic laws protecting human rights.

LEARN MORE

Read the Letter in English

Read the Letter in Spanish .

(5 January 2007 - Washington, DC) Laureates worldwide - from Seoul to Washington- will seek visas today to visit sister Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the only imprisoned Nobel Peace Laureate. The day after Burmese Independence Day, thirteen Peace Prize Laureates will submit visa applications in 9 countries in a collective effort to visit Suu Kyi.

"We hope to visit our sister, who today is spending her 4088th day in detention, said Shirin Ebadi. We want to personally tell her that the world has not forgotten her and the people of Burma, and we want to tell her that we support her movement's call for a UN Security Council resolution on Burma.

We welcome the recent proposal of a Security Council resolution on Burma, and urge all members to support it immediately, said Jody Williams, 1997 Laureate and one of the founders of the Nobel Women's Initiative (NWI), who initiated today's action. As the elected leader of the Burmese people, we have to ensure Suu Kyi's voice reaches beyond the walls that confine her. When I visited her in 2003 she asked that we use our liberty to promote hers and that's what we're trying to do, Williams added.

Suu Kyi, one of only twelve women to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize, was awarded the Prize in 1991 in recognition of her work in the non-violent struggle for democracy in Burma. She has spent most of the last sixteen years in detention. Her political party, the National League for Democracy, won the 1990 general election in a landslide victory. The military junta refused to recognize the election results and placed Suu Kyi, along with other pro-democracy activists, under house arrest. Since 1996, the Burmese Army has destroyed over 3,000 villages in the eastern part of the country and forcibly recruited an estimated 70,000 children as soldiers.

In December 2006 a draft resolution on Burma was circulated in the Security Council, calling on the Burmese military dictatorship to end attacks against civilians and immediately release Suu Kyi and more than 1,100 other political prisoners in Burma. The resolution also calls on the military junta to desist immediately from the use of systematic rape of women and girls as an instrument of armed conflict." The junta is known to use systematic rape as a weapon of war and force women and girls into sexual slavery and other forms of forced labor.

The following Laureates or representatives of Laureate organizations will apply for visas to visit Suu Kyi in nine countries today:

Wangari Maathai (Kenya, 2005) will apply in South Africa

Shirin Ebadi (Iran, 2003) will apply in the US*

President Kim Dae-jung (South Korea, 2000) will apply in South Korea

Jody Williams (US, 1997) will apply in the US*

The British Pugwash Group, on behalf of Joseph Rotblat and Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (UK, 1995), represented by Sally Milne who will apply in the UK

Rigoberta Menchu Tum (Guatemala, 1992) will apply in the US

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (US, 1985), represented by Ron McCoy who will apply in Malaysia, Mary-Wynne Ashford who will apply in Canada, Gunnar Westberg who will apply in Switzerland and Ime John who will apply in Germany

Lech Walesa (Poland, 1983) will apply in Germany

Adolfo Perez Esquivel (Argentina, 1980) will apply in the US

Betty Williams (UK, 1976) will apply in the UK

Mairead Corrigan Maguire (UK, 1976) will apply in the UK

On behalf of Albert Schweitzer (France, 1952) David Ives will apply in the US

International Peace Bureau (Switzerland, 1910), represented by Arielle Denis who will apply in France

The following Laureates are unable to apply for visas today but have expressed support for this action:

His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Tibet, 1989), Elie Wiesel (US, 1986), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (South Africa, 1984) and American Friends Service Committee (US, 1947).

For additional information contact media@nobelwomensinitiative.org.

###


*Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams Lead Demonstration at Burma Embassy in Washington DC, Call for UN Security Council Action*

(5 January 2007 - Washington DC) Before submitting their visa applications to visit Suu Kyi, Nobel Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams will join activists at a demonstration in front of the embassy of Burma's military regime in Washington DC. The two Laureates will call for a UN Security Council Resolution on Burma and demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, student leader Min Ko Naing, and all political prisoners in Burma.

The demonstration will take place at 10:30 am Friday, January 5th at 2300 S St, NW.

For more information contact Jeremy Woodrum: +1 202.234.8022.

***

Read the latest News on Burma.

Read about Burma's political history and repression at the hands of the military regime at our Burma Issue page.

Fourteen Nobel Laureates today released an open letter to the members of the United Nations Security Council. This, in response to the wrongful conviction and sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi --Burma’s democratically elected leader.

Signatories to the open letter include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, President Mikhail Gorbachev, and Nobel Women's Initiative Laureates Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Mairead Maguire, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Betty Williams and Jody Williams.

Suu Kyi was sentenced today to an additional 18 months house arrest for breaching the terms of her most recent period of house arrest. She has already been under house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years.

In the open letter, the Laureates insisted that the UN Security Council must give its attention to Burma, and called on the Security Council to pass a resolution creating a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma, and to end the impunity of the Burmese military.

Read the open letter here .

The Elders - a group of eminent global leaders founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Nelson Mandela - have also called on ASEAN, the European Union and the UN Security Council not to accept the verdict and sentence delivered today in Burma against their fellow Elder, Aung San Suu Kyi.

On August 7th, Nobel Women's Initiative partner the Women's League of Burma, joined by sixty-four leading women’s organizations, sent an open letter to the UN Secretary-General and members of the Security Council. The letter called for the prosecution of General Than Shwe at the International Criminal Court, and an immediate end to the longstanding impunity that has been afforded to the brutal military junta.

"The decades-long struggle to end atrocities and repression and bring about national reconciliation and democracy in Burma is at a particularly critical moment. The nonviolent efforts to bring about the change so desperately needed require the full support of the United Nations Security Council." - Open letter to the UN Security Council

LEARN MORE

Pressure builds as UN delays action over Suu Kyi, Associated Press, 12 August 2009

Nobel laureates urge UN probe, The Peninsula, 12 August 2009

Myanmar activist is detained 18 more months, Wall Street Journal, 12 August 2009

UN Security Council to meet on Suu Kyi sentence, Reuters India, 11 August 2009

Myanmar junta returns Suu Kyi to house arrest, CNN, 11 August 2009

Myanmar sentence draws criticism, New York Times, 11 August 2009

Read more about Burma's struggle for democracy and human rights at our Burma Issue page.

Take Action for Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma.

Urge the UN Security Council to establish a Commission of Inquiry on Burma.

Demanding Implementation, Challenging Obstacles: End Violence Against Women

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (25 November - 10 December) is an international campaign originating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991. Participants chose the dates, 25 November, International Day Against Violence Against Women and 10 December, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including 29 November, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, 1 December, World AIDS Day, and 6 December, which marks the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. (Center for Women's Global Leadership)

• About the 16 Days

• 16 Days Take Action Kit

• 2007 International Calendar of Campaign Activities

• Global Organizing for the 16 Days

• Violence Against Women Bibliography & Resources

International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) Women's Network:

• IANSA Women's Network  members around the world are mobilizing and raising awareness of the impact of guns on women's lives as part of the 16 days of activism 2007.

  
  This year's 16 days campaign objectives:

  
  
  • Call for greater accountability and political commitment from states to prevent and punish all forms of violence against women in practice, not just in words
  • Increase awareness of the impact of violence against women
  
  An IANSA Women's Network event will be taking place in a different country on each different day of the campaign. To view the full calendar of events, from Angola to Burundi, visit the IANSA Women's Network website. (IANSA)

Blogs and Articles

openDemocracy.org is supporting the 16 Days campaign with a dedicated blog led by Zohra Moosa and a series of articles exploring issues of violence against women. Articles include Iran's Women: Listen Now! by Roja Bandari, Empowering Women in the Middle East by Hibaaq Osman, India's Silent Tragedy by Jameen Kaur, and Women & Conflict by Rebecca Barlow.

Read the Latest News on Women's Rights.

Read about issues directly affecting the rights of women at our Women's Rights Issue page.

Take Action for Women's Rights.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign originating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991. The bookend dates-- November 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women and December 10, International Human Rights Day-- were chosen to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates, including International Women Human Rights Defenders Day (November 29), World AIDS Day (December 1), and the Montreal Massacre Anniversary (December 6).

Since its inception, over 2,000 organizations in approximately 154 countries have participated in the 16 Days Campaign. This year's theme is:

Human Rights for Women ‹—› Human Rights for All: UDHR 60.

Visit the official 16 Days Exhibit to learn more.

What is UDHR 60?

UDHR 60 stands for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in which the United Nations declared that "the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world". Read the full Universal Declaration of Human Rights and learn more about the UDHR 60 Campaign.

Campaigns Highlighted

One Million Signatures Campaign

The One Million Signatures Campaign is dedicated to challenging and changing the discrimination against women in Iranian laws. Sign their International Support for Women's Campaign Petition.

openDemocracy

Follow the 16 Days on openDemocracy with articles contributed by men and women all over the world on issues of gender equality and empowerment on a global scale.

United Nations Population Fund

The United Nations Population Fund (formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities) is "an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity". Read about the UNPF's 16 days of activism and see how they have been committed in ending 16 forms of gender-based violence . Also, check out their online exhibition.

Women's League of Burma

The Women's League of Burma is an umbrella organization over 12 other organizations, united in their commitment to the importance of women's contribution to the struggle for human rights, democracy and equal rights in Burma. Read official statements released by the WLB during these 16 days and see how they are calling ASEAN governments and the UN to action:

• Burma's military Constitution condemns women to a continuing cycle of violence
• WLB issues urgent call for UN Representatives to visit Nilar Thein and other Women Human Rights Defenders in Burma

Take Action

UNIFEM

Join UNIFEM 's global movement and sign your name to the Say NO to Violence Against Women campaign. The campaign demonstrates the united concern over the need to prioritize ending violence against women in governments everywhere.

For 16 days, Nobel Women's Initiative will spotlight stories about women activists around the globe -- from Wednesday, November 25th, to Thursday, December 10th.

Each year since 1991, tens of thousands of activists from around the world have taken part in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign. The campaign's central messages - women's rights are human rights and violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights - have been a rallying call of the women's movement.  This year, thousands of organizations are participating.

Each day we will post on our site a video, photos, or story about a woman who is doing amazing things to make change in her world.  Check back every day from November 25th, International Day Against Violence Against Women, until December 10th, International Human Rights Day, to learn about these incredible women.

Visit the Nobel Women's Initiative 16 Days of Action section starting November 25th! 

LEARN MORE

Go to Nobel Women's Initiative's 16 Days of Activisim section.

Visit the global 16 Days of Activism website.

See other events around the world.

See what our other partners are doing.

For 16 days, Nobel Women's Initiative will spotlight stories about women activists around the globe -- from Wednesday, November 25th, to Thursday, December 10th.

Each year since 1991, tens of thousands of activists from around the world have taken part in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign. The campaign's central messages - women's rights are human rights and violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights - have been a rallying call of the women's movement.  This year, thousands of organizations are participating.

Each day we will post on our site a video, photos, or story about a woman who is doing amazing things to make change in her world.  Check back every day from November 25th, International Day Against Violence Against Women, until December 10th, International Human Rights Day, to learn about these incredible women.

Visit the Nobel Women's Initiative 16 Days of Action section starting November 25th! 

LEARN MORE

Go to Nobel Women's Initiative's 16 Days of Activisim section.

Visit the global 16 Days of Activism website.

See other events around the world.

See what our other partners are doing.

Seventeen Nobel Peace Laureates have issued a declaration calling upon political leaders and citizens worldwide to act immediately to eliminate nuclear weapons.  The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Declaration urges leaders to choose non-proliferation over nuclear brinkmanship, and citizens to press their leaders to ban nuclear weapons.

With just a year until the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference convenes at the United Nations  April 26 - May 21, 2010, we the undersigned Nobel Peace Laureates renew the call for a complete ban on the production, testing, stockpiling and deployment of nuclear weapons.

The declaration was initiated by Peace Laureate, Mairead Maguire, after a visit to the a-bombed city of Hiroshima, Japan.  Signatories include President Jose Ramos-Horta of East Timor, President Oscar Arias Sánchez from Costa Rica,  former president Frederik Willem de Klerk from South Africa, President Kim Dae-jung from South Korea, and Wangari Maathai from Kenya.

View the declaration here, as well as video and written messages from the signatories.

LEARN MORE:

View a video message from Mairead Maguire.

View a video message from Shirin Ebadi.

View a video message from Jody Williams.

IN THE MEDIA:

Nobel Laureates compare climate crisis to threat from nuclear weapons,  guardian.co.uk, 29 May 2009

Why we should start worrying and learn to fear the bomb again, thestar.com, 30 May 2009

Peace laureates publish declaration against nuclear arms, Japan Times Online, 19 May 2009

Nobel Peace Winners Issue Declaration, UPI.com, 17 May 2009

The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Declaration of Nobel Peace Laureates

Sixty-four years ago, the horror of atomic bombs was unleashed on Japan, and the world witnessed the destructive power of nuclear weapons.  The world knew then, as we know now, that nuclear weapons must be banned. With just a year until the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference convenes at the United Nations  April 26 - May 21, 2010, we the undersigned Nobel Peace Laureates renew the call for a complete ban on the production, testing, stockpiling and deployment of nuclear weapons.  We remain convinced that world leaders must hear the voices of the millions of people demanding a safer world for all.

We find ourselves in a new era of proliferation.  Despite the near universal ratification of the 1970 treaty, which binds states to nuclear disarmament, there are few signs that nuclear weapon states intend to eliminate their nuclear weapons.  On the contrary, some states are openly threatening to use their weapons, driving others to acquire their own nuclear arms.

We are deeply troubled by the threat of proliferation to non-nuclear weapon states, but equally concerned by the continued development and stockpiling of nuclear weapons by the nuclear states.

The fact that humanity has managed to avoid a third nuclear nightmare is not merely a fortunate whim of history. The resolve of the A-bomb survivors, who have called on the world to avert another Hiroshima or Nagasaki, has surely helped prevent that catastrophe. Moreover, the millions who have supported the survivors in their quest for peace, as well as the reality of our collective restraint, suggest that human beings are imbued with a better, higher nature, an instinct for inhibiting violence and upholding life.

In this year leading up to the NPT Review Conference, states are reviewing progress in the treaty’s implementation, and mapping a path forward.  For the first time in decades, there is an opportunity for genuine progress towards the confidence building, negotiation, and institution-building that will be required to put an end to the nuclear threat.

As this process moves forward, world leaders will be faced with a stark choice: nuclear non-proliferation or nuclear brinkmanship. We can either negotiate an end to proliferation, and a fast track to abolition; or we can wait for the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be repeated.

We believe it is long past the time that humanity heeds the warning made by Albert Einstein in 1946: “The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophe. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.”

We know that such a new manner of thinking is possible.  In the past ten years, the governments of the world, working alongside non-governmental organizations, survivors, and international institutions, have negotiated treaties banning two indiscriminate weapons systems - landmines and cluster bombs.  The weapons were banned when the world finally began to understand these weapons for the humanitarian disaster they are.

The world already knows that nuclear weapons are a humanitarian disaster of monstrous proportion.  They too are indiscriminate, illegal and immoral. They are military tools whose consequences have already been in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the long-term impacts of those attacks.  Eliminating nuclear weapons is a possibility -- more than that it is a fundamental necessity for a more secure planet for us all.

As Nobel Peace Laureates, we call on the citizens of the world individually and collectively to press their leaders to grasp the urgency of humanity’s plight and guide us safely to a future that is free of nuclear weapons. Working together we can make that vision a reality.

China's potential to support a resolution of the violence in Darfur and the ongoing repression in Burma is unrivaled. China has so far defended its policies in both regions, and has accused activists of 'politicising' the Olympics. Even so, China remains more vulnerable to pressure in the months leading up to the Games.

China was granted the right to host the Olympic Games after it vowed to adhere to the Olympic charter and improve its human rights record. Instead, its human rights abuses have worsened.

The Olympics provide an opportunity to spotlight China's economic, military and political support for the regimes in Sudan and Burma, and to push its government to act for peace.

China and Darfur

Since 2003, militias backed by the Government of Sudan have waged a brutal counter-insurgency war in Darfur, targeting the civilian population. Several hundred thousand people have died in the violence, and over 2 million have been displaced.

China is the primary economic, military, and political partner of the Government of Sudan. China has significant influence over the Sudanese government, and could play a key role in the ending of the crisis in Darfur.

Energy-hungry China buys more than two-thirds of Sudan's oil exports. Chinese state-owned oil companies also have significant oil production investments in Sudan. A former finance minister for Sudan estimates that 70% of Sudan's oil revenues are used to purchase weapons.

China also sells large shipments of weapons to the Government of Sudan. While China is careful not to violate the UN embargo against selling arms directly to Darfur, analysts have confirmed that Chinese weapons find their way into the hands of armed militias and are used against Darfuri civilians.

China has continued to provide political cover for Khartoum, even as the violence in Darfur has escalated and the Sudanese government has continued to defy the international community. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China has blocked, vetoed, or diluted every attempt at international action against the Government of Sudan, including UN Security Council Resolution 1769 - calling for the deployment of a hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force - a Resolution which China diluted.

China and Burma

The Burmese people have endured political repression since colonization and through the twentieth century. Students, nuns, monks and others have long been involved in an intense, courageous freedom movement with the aim of restoring democracy in their country. The most recent wave of resistance began in August 2007, and captured the attention of the international community.

China is a strong economic, military, and political partner of the oppressive military regime in Burma. China could exert its influence to push for democracy, reconciliation, and freedom for political prisoners in Burma.

China has significant economic interests in Burma in a variety of industries including construction, power production,
manufacturing, telecommunications, natural gas, and mining. These economic connections continue to get closer each year, with the Chinese presence in Burma growing increasingly strong.

China is also a significant weapons supplier to Burma. As the military regime has intensified its campaign against civilians and pro-democracy activists, China has increased its weapons sales to the regime.

In its capacity as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has propped up the military regime, using its veto power to block all international sanctions, including a proposed arms embargo. The Chinese government has also refused to call for the release of all political prisoners in Burma, including the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Read the latest News on the 2008 Olympics.

Take Action on the 2008 Olympics.

Learn more about the crisis in Darfur at our Darfur Issue page.

Learn more about the crisis in Burma at our Burma Issue page.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON THE 2008 OLYMPICS

Campaigns

Dream for Darfur

Team Darfur

Turn It Off for Burma

Human Rights Torch Relay

China in Burma Report, Earth Rights International, 2007

Olympic Corporate Sponsor Report Card, Dream for Darfur, 2007

Letter to Chinese Envoy to Darfur, Darfur Bar Association, 2008

Sudan Issue Brief: Arms, Oil and Darfur, Human Security Baseline Assessment, 2007

Genocide in Slow Motion: How Darfur's Refugees are Dying a Protracted Death, American Jewish World Service and Dream for Darfur, 2007

News Sources

Dream for Darfur News

US Campaign for Burma News

Human Rights Torch Relay News

This past July the Nobel Women’s Initiative led a delegation of prominent human rights activists to the Thai-Burma border, Ethiopia, Sudan and Chad. The resulting report includes recommendations on how to build sustainable peace in Burma and Sudan—and details the work of women’s groups working for change. To read the full report from the 2008 Peace Delegation, please download below.

Nobel Women's Initiative Delegation Report: 2008

Download sections of our report:

• Mission Statement, Table of Contents, Introduction
• Who We Met/What We Saw, Thailand & Burma-Thai Border Part One
  
• Thailand & Burma-Thai Border Part Two
• The African Union - Addis Adaba, Ethopia, Sudan Part One
• Sudan Part Two
  
• Eastern Chad
• Recommendations, Biographies, Acknowledgements

Want more information about the recent delegation?

Visit the Nobel Women's Initiative Media Room to view media releases and press coverage from our recent delegation to the Thai-Burma border, South Sudan and the Chad-Darfur region.

Click here to view photos and video and read blogs from the trip.

Learn more about Darfur and Burma at our Issues pages.

RELATED STORIES

Nobel Women at the UN: Act Now on Darfur, Burma , 29 September 2008

Peace Laureates Call for Immediate Cessation of Violence in Darfur , 8 August 2008

Media Briefing in Addis Ababa, Seat of the African Union , 3 August 2008

Nobel Women's Initiative Hosts Media Briefing in Bangkok , 24 July 2008

Chiang Mai University Hosts Symposium to Discuss Political Rights Crisis , 23 July 2008

Nobel Women’s Initiative Leading Peace Delegation of Prominent Women , 21 July 2008

From Oslo, Norway

Jody Williams

Background

(23 February 2007 Oslo, Norway) Government delegates from 49 countries met this week at the Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions to discuss the development of an international process for a treaty rejecting the use of cluster munitions and dealing with the devastating effects of these weapons. At the end of the conference, 46 of the 49 states in attendance agreed to a declaration to conclude a treaty prohibiting clusters with unacceptable harm to civilians by 2008. This was the first meeting of this magnitude to take place concerning the campaign to eradicate the global use of cluster munitions.

Cluster munitions have killed and injured civilians for 40 years. Today the international community took a historic step today to put an end to that once and for all. The strong political will, common purpose and sense of urgency in the conference give us confidence that this new process will succeed in bringing about a meaningful new treaty in 2008, said Thomas Nash, Coordinator of the international Cluster Munition Coalition.

The Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC), in partnership with Norwegian People's Aid, organized a civil society forum held parallel to the government meeting from Tuesday 20 to Friday 23 February 2007. Many leading international organizations attended including Human Rights Watch, Handicap International, International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Iraqi League of Doctors, Oxfam GB, Amnesty International and Greenpeace Spain.

Jody Williams, having returned from the UN high level mission on Darfur, was also in Oslo supporting our ICBL and CMC colleagues at this historic meeting. For more information on the Nobel Women's Initiative's support for the ban of cluster munitions click here.

Following is CMC's Press Release regarding the successful outcome of the conference:

CMC Press Release
23 February 2007

A historic process to develop, negotiate and conclude a new treaty prohibiting cluster munitions that have unacceptable consequences for civilians was launched at a successful conference hosted by the Norwegian Foreign Minister in Oslo at a meeting of 49 states, the Cluster Munition Coalition said today.

The group of states, meeting after the failure of arms talks in Geneva last year, agreed to a clear declaration committing them to conclude by 2008 a new instrument prohibiting cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. Of the states meeting in Oslo, only Japan, Romania and Poland did not support the declaration.

Cluster munitions have killed and injured civilians for 40 years. Today the international community took a historic step today to put an end to that once and for all. The strong political will, common purpose and sense of urgency in the conference give us confidence that this new process will succeed in bringing about a meaningful new treaty in 2008, said Thomas Nash, Coordinator of the international Cluster Munition Coalition.

The states also agreed to a clear roadmap for the way forward with follow up meetings in this process in Lima in May or June, Vienna in November and Dublin in early 2008.

The group of 46 states to agree to the new process includes key users, producers and stockpilers of the weapon from all continents, including a number of countries affected by cluster munitions such as Afghanistan, Lebanon and Serbia.

Having 46 nations agree to this strong declaration shows how far we have come in so short a time towards a new treaty. The momentum has to continue and those states still outside this process need to get on board if they are serious about protecting civilians from the effects of armed conflict, said Steve Goose, Co-Chair of the Cluster Munition Coalition.

The presence of 100 participants from NGOs at a parallel civil society forum held in Oslo during the government meeting underlines the growing determination amongst civil society groups for a new treaty. This public campaign and partnership with governments mirrors the successful effort to ban landmines in the 1990s.

***

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Today, 5 November, activists from more than 30 countries, from Afghanistan to Zambia, are participating in a Global Day of Action to Ban Cluster Bombs. In the worldwide act of solidarity, campaigners are calling on their governments to attend the Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions, which will take place a month from today, and back the global treaty banning cluster munitions.

Find out how you can join the Cluster Munition Coalition's Global Day of Action to Ban Cluster Bombs.

5 November 2007

Press Release : Cluster Munition Coalition

Global public unites in day of action to ban cluster bombs

(London, United Kingdom, 5 November 2007.) Public actions are taking place in more than 30 countries around the world today, from Austria to Zambia, as civil society calls on all governments to adopt immediate national moratoria on the use, trade and production of cluster munitions and participate in diplomatic discussions on a new international ban treaty in Vienna in one month's time.

The number of countries taking part in the first ever global day of action to ban cluster bombs is a sign of the public's commitment to achieving a new treaty. It is the public, particularly in states affected by these horrendous weapons, that is driving this process and we will not stop until a ban treaty is signed next year, said Thomas Nash, Coordinator of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC).

Campaigners in Wellington, New Zealand kick started the events this morning by dropping thousands of cluster-bomb shaped leaflets across the city, mimicking the deployment of a cluster bomb strike. Silhouettes' representing the all too often anonymous victims of cluster bombs are being placed in cities including Sydney, Geneva, Vienna and Washington. In London, a giant wall is being constructed outside the Mayor's office where members of the public will post messages and cards in support of a global ban.

Today also marks a rare joint appeal by the United Nations, CMC, and UK-based Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund in support of the ban treaty with an advertising campaign featured in several newspapers worldwide. The UN is calling on all countries to freeze the use and trade of cluster bombs and negotiate an international prohibition on cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. The Cluster Munition Coalition urges all governments to act on this appeal.

The advert shows that as a precaution certain toys have been removed from the market because of the risk they pose to children. In some cases they have not caused any injury, but preventative measures have been taken. This is in stark contrast to cluster bombs, which are known to have killed and injured thousands of children worldwide largely a result of their colourful and intriguing shapes which attract children -- but cluster bombs are still available on the international market for potential future use.

UNICEF issued a statement today marking the Global Day of Action and highlighting the particular impact cluster bombs have on children, saying that it is with urgency that we encourage all Governments to develop a legally binding instrument prohibiting cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians, especially children.

Although public opposition to cluster munitions has existed for over 30 years, global public awareness intensified in 2006 after Belgium banned the weapon, Norway introduced a moratorium and the use of the weapon in southern Lebanon demonstrated beyond any doubt the urgent need for an international ban. As the international non-governmental Cluster Munition Coalition stepped up its calls for a new treaty, many states responded by joining a Norwegian-led initiative to conclude a new ban treaty in 2008, a process now known as the Oslo Process.

##

Contact: Thomas Nash, CMC Coordinator +44 77 11 926 730

(English, French, Spanish)

Read the latest News on Disarmamement.

Learn more about Cluster Munitions in our Disarmament Issues page.

More than two-thirds of US senators have signed a letter calling on President Barack Obama to develop a plan to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.  The treaty bans the production, transfer, and use of anti-personnel landmines.

The Senate letter, which was sent to the White House last week, expressed "strong support" for an ongoing administration review of the Mine Ban Treaty that is expected to conclude before the fall.  "We are confident that through a thorough, deliberative review, the Administration can identify any obstacles to joining the Convention and develop a plan to overcome them as soon as possible," it said.

Senators Patrick Leahy of (VT-D) and George Voinovich of (OH-R) circulated the Senate letter, while a similar letter, circulated by Representatives James McGovern (MA-D) and Darrell Issa (CA-R) in the House, was also delivered to President Obama.  These letters follow a letter sent to President Obama on March 22 by leaders from 65 nongovernmental organizations, including Handicap International, that also urge the US to relinquish antipersonnel landmines and join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty immediately.

In 1998, President Bill Clinton set the goal of joining the Treaty in 2006, but President Bush reversed course in 2004, and declared that the US would not join.  These policies have left the United States at odds with many of their closest allies, including every member of NATO.

The United States has not used anti-personnel mines since the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and stopped producing them in 1997, but its military retains 10.4 million mines in reserve.  Last November, the Obama administration said "national defense" concerns prevented it from signing the Mine Ban Treaty.  Key lawmakers and nongovernmental organizations were outraged, prompting the Obama administration to begin its current review of the issue.

Read the Senate letter and a statement from Senator Leahy here.

Read the letter signed by 65 nongovernmental leaders here . 

Read the text of the Mine Ban Treaty here (English / Spanish ). 

LEARN MORE

Senate pushes Obama administration to sign treaty banning land mines, Washington Post, 8 May 2010

US: Two-thirds in Senate back land mine ban, Human Rights Watch, 8 May 2010

White House is being pressed to reverse course and join land mine ban, New York Times, 7 May 2010

TAKE ACTION

Take action to help ban land mines!

Send a letter to President Obama.

Sign a worldwide petition. 

Photo © Jon Bjorgvinsson/ICRC

October 31 2006 marks the sixth anniversary of the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. This landmark resolution is regarded as one of the most influential documents in setting a policy framework for women's participation in peacebuilding.

Resolution 1325 Calls For:
*Increased protection of women and girls in armed conflict
*An end to impunity for war crimes against women
*Increased participation of women in conflict prevention, management and resolution

In adopting Resolution 1325, the Security Council (for the first time) addressed the disproportionate impact of armed conflict on women and acknowledged women's contributions as active agents in promoting and maintaining international peace and security.

In the six years since 1325's adoption, we've seen some progress made in women's inclusion in peace negotiations. Yet, too often women continue to be left out of formal peace processes and gender-based violence against women and girls remains pervasive.

6th Anniversary Calendar of Events
For a sampling of events organized for the 6th anniversary of 1325 click here.

Feminist International Radio Endeavour (FIRE) All Day Webcast
On Thursday, October 26 Feminist International Radio Endeavour and the International Women's Tribune Center are hosting an all day webcast in support of Resolution 1325. For more information click here.

Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security
On Thursday, October 26, 2006 the Security Council will hold an Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security to review progress made in the implementation of Resolution 1325. Previous reviews have revealed a number of barriers to moving 1325 forward, including insufficient monitoring, reporting and accountability mechanisms and inadequate allocation of resources.
 

For more information on Resolution 1325:

PeaceWomen

The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security

Women Watch

UNIFEM Portal on Women, Peace and Security

Download Resolution 1325

English

Farsi

Spanish

PeaceWomen provides more than 70 more translations of the resolution!

2006 Secretary General's Report on Women, Peace and Security

(see also Peacewomen's comment on Secretary General's Report)

NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security 5 Years On Report

NGO_Working_Group_2006_Recommendations_to_the_Security_Council.pdf

Media on the 6th Anniversary

UN Gender Adviser Calls for More Action

***

Read the Latest News on Women's Rights.

Read about issues directly affecting the rights of women at our Women's Rights Issue  page.

Take Action for Women's Rights.

On Friday, 22 February, the Wellington Conference ended with 82 countries endorsing the Wellington Declaration. The Declaration affirms their intent to conclude a legally binding international instrument to prohibit cluster munitions in 2008, and outlines essential elements of the instrument, including:

• A prohibition on the use, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions

• A framework for cooperation and assistance that ensures adequate provision of care and rehabilitation to survivors and their communities, clearance of contaminated areas, risk education, and destruction of stockpiles

"Together all of us - ­ big states, small states, past users, producers, stockpilers, affected states, organizations, and individuals - ­ came one step closer, one very big step closer to a global treaty that will end the harm cluster munitions have caused for 40 years," reflected Cluster Munition Coalition Coordinator Thomas Nash during his closing remarks in Wellington.

Countries will now prepare to negotiate the final terms and language of the treaty in Dublin, Ireland from 19-30 May 2008.

On behalf of the Nobel Women's Initiative, Jody Williams delivered a strong statement to the Wellington Conference, supporting a comprehensive treaty and rejecting any efforts to weaken the mandate.

Photo:  Jody Williams with campaigners in Wellington. Courtesy of Cluster Munition Coalition New Zealand.

STATEMENT OF THE NOBEL WOMEN'S INITIATIVE
TO THE
WELLINGTON CONFERENCE ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS
Monday, February 18, 2008

Delivered by Jody Williams, Nobel Laureate for Peace

It is a real pleasure to congratulate the Government of New Zealand, on behalf of my sister Nobel Peace Prize Laureates of the Nobel Women's Initiative, for hosting this extremely important conference on cluster munitions. Second only to the importance of the final negotiating session in Dublin at the end of May, the Wellington Conference on Cluster Munitions is key to the successful outcome of a new international treaty banning cluster bombs in 2008.

We also recognize all of the governmental delegations that have made the long trip to beautiful New Zealand and congratulate them on their willingness to take preventative action to avert future devastation by the widespread use and proliferation of cluster munitions by negotiating a comprehensive treaty to ban cluster munitions this year.

The Wellington Conference is key to such a treaty that will deal with this weapon now and not after it is too late to avert humanitarian nightmares around the world. A comprehensive treaty must not include exclusions from a cluster munition definition based on technical fixes fixes that seem to work better in the minds of their creators than on the ground where they've not worked such as in Kosovo, Iraq, Lebanon and generations after their use in Laos.

A comprehensive treaty cannot include transition periods. Those governments that are not willing to give up these lethal, indiscriminate weapons based on humanitarian grounds should not participate in this process simply to weaken a treaty that seeks to avert crisis now, not at the end of some transition period. If your militaries are not yet willing to give up this weapon then do not sign the treaty. Deal with weak measures that will not resolve the fundamental issues of cluster munitions in the CCW, where they belong.

A comprehensive treaty must include a comprehensive prohibition on assistance, including in joint operations. What nation can sign a humanitarian treaty and ban the use of cluster munitions by its own forces to then participate in operations where they are used by allied forces? The interoperability question is a smoke screen to assuage states that are not part of the Oslo Process yet want to influence its meaningful impact.

The Mine Ban Treaty comprehensively banned landmines and prohibited assistance. Some 156 nations are part of that treaty. Interoperability has not proven to be an issue. Non-use of landmines in joint NATO operations, for example, have not brought down NATO. If NATO is threatened, it certainly is not by banning landmines and banning cluster munitions.

A comprehensive treaty must include strong and clear provisions for victim assistance.

We all have learned from the Mine Ban Treaty experience that victim assistance must be a key provision of the cluster treaty, and not a vaguely worded part of the treaty that does not much more than give lip service to those who have suffered the impact of these indiscriminate weapons.

Your work here this week on cluster munitions is historic. You represent the best opportunity to be real and far-sighted leaders and ban this weapon before it causes more unacceptable harm to individuals and their communities. Without a comprehensive ban, the potential for future devastation is frightening. At least 76 nations stockpile these weapons; the government of my country alone the U.S. which is not part of this process stockpiles approximately one billion cluster munitions. One billion. What would be the total in the stockpiles of 76 nations? These weapons are also beginning to spread into the hands of irregular armed groups. With a comprehensive treaty coming out of Wellington and Dublin you can avert this potential crisis.

The Oslo Process has grown tremendously since the first meeting about one year ago in Oslo when 46 states pledged to conclude a convention banning cluster munitions in 2008. By the Vienna meeting in December that number had grown to 138, including more than two-thirds of the known producers and stockpilers of the weapon and all but four of the known users.

But numbers are not enough. Those participating in the Oslo Process must not be in Wellington to seek major exceptions or other provisions that would weaken this treaty. Such actions would make a mockery of the humanitarian goals of this Process and the need for urgent action. States who wish to protect their own arsenals of cluster munitions should not stand in the way of those who want to complete a comprehensive treaty banning cluster munitions. They should be clear and honest and walk away.

There are other venues for such negotiations and weak treaties that do little to save lives and limbs. Negotiations that protect the weapons themselves instead of the civilians whose lives are destroyed by them.

I won't wish you good luck here in Wellington, because a comprehensive treaty is not a matter of luck, it is a matter of leadership and a clear commitment to humanitarian law. I have confidence that you will fulfill the commitment and the promise of the Oslo Process.

Thank you.

# # #

Download the statement of the Nobel Women's Initiative to the Wellington Conference on Cluster Munitions.

WATCH YouTube video highlights from Wellington

Video from Day 2

Video from Day 3

MEDIA:

Cluster Munition Coalition Media Advisories:

• Historic step forward for treaty to ban cluster bombs, 22 February 2008
• 82 countries endorse strong ban on cluster munitions Human Rights Watch, 22 February 2008
• New Zealand hosts pivotal conference on global push for cluster bomb ban treaty , 18 February 2008
• Global push to ban cluster munitions at crossroads, 18 February 2008
• Nine governments seek to weaken draft treaty to allow US to continue using cluster munitions, 19 February 2008

• General conference information

• Downloads - Including photos and newsletters with daily updates on negotiations

• Questions & Answers on the Wellington Conference [PDF]

• Formal Program [MS Word]

• List of Public Events

• List of Civil Society Participants [PDF]

• Draft Cluster Munition Convention Text [MS Word]

• Draft Wellington Declaration [MS Word]

***

Read the latest News on Disarmament.

Read more about Cluster Munitions on our Disarmament Issues page.

Take Action for disarmament.

by Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams
31 July 2006

As recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, we watch with stunned disbelief as the fighting in Lebanon and Israel spins out of control, while the humanitarian crisis in Gaza apparently has slipped from public consciousness. The lack of global leadership in the face of this violence affecting hundreds of thousands of civilians is appalling.

The failure of the Group of 8 in July to tackle blatant breaches of international humanitarian law demonstrates a crass unwillingness to put civilian lives above politics. The repeated U.S. vetoes in the UN Security Council, stopping efforts to resolve these crises, are unfortunately predictable. The Bush administration - backed by strong language in the U.S. Congress supporting Israeli military operations - has done nothing to mitigate the overwhelming impact on the civilian population.

The July emergency meeting in Rome, two weeks into the crisis, resulted in nothing tangible. Only the United States, Britain and Israel oppose an immediate cease-fire. With U.S. officials describing the destruction and chaos as the inevitable birth pangs of a new Middle East, how can they expect anything less than dramatically increased anti-Americanism throughout the Middle East - if not the entire world?

Watching the wholesale destruction of much of Lebanon, it is almost embarrassing to call the Israeli response to the kidnapping of its three soldiers disproportionate. It is collective punishment of the civilian populations of Gaza and Lebanon. It is collective but personal as we read the sporadic e-mails describing death and destruction that reach us from women colleagues in Lebanon. It is collective but personal as a graduate student at the University of Houston keeps us informed about the impact on her relatives in Gaza.

The deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure, including roads, bridges, apartment buildings, relief trucks, ports and the airport has resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties. It has prevented civilians from evacuating conflict areas, and hindered provision of humanitarian aid. Hundreds of thousands of refugees - perhaps one out of every five people in Lebanon - are attempting to flee in a country whose exit points have been deliberately destroyed. Much of Beirut has again been reduced to rubble. Hezbollah's increasing attacks against civilian targets in Israel are also heinous and violations of international law.

While we watch the violence being ratcheted up in Lebanon and the north of Israel, the Gaza crisis simmers. The Israeli occupation of Gaza may have changed in form, but the reality is that it maintains control over all aspects of life there. Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has clearly stated that his soldiers will operate, enter and pull out as needed. As Israeli attacks intensified in the north, its forces also began distributing leaflets throughout Gaza stating that it would begin bombing houses suspected of being used as weapons caches. They had already destroyed the only power station in Gaza, leaving tens of thousands without water and sewage.

We do not understand how the international community can continue to stand by while entire populations are held hostage in what has been described as self defense.

No deliberate attacks against civilians by armed groups should be condoned by the international community, either explicitly or implicitly through inaction. Every new attack leaves dead and wounded in its wake. Every new attack makes another woman a widow and more children orphans. Every new attack demonstrates the inability or unwillingness of governments to exercise their moral obligation to stop the violence. Every new attack underscores our collective failure to stop making violence our preferred choice for confronting the problems facing us all.

The UN Security Council must intervene to stop the violence and avoid an escalation of the conflict that could engulf the region in yet more war. It is time for internationally mediated negotiations for comprehensive peace in the Middle East. Such negotiations must include civil society groups, and women from throughout the region. Women and children suffer disproportionately during and after conflict, and women must have a voice in finding meaningful solutions to the violence.

Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her work defending human rights. Jody Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work with the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines. A version of this editorial appeared in the International Herald Tribune.

Also read: Call for Peace - 21 July 2006

***

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MESSAGE FROM NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE JODY WILLIAMS

Monday, May 19, 2008
 

Today marks another historic day for humanitarian law, for arms control, for people -- particularly those whose lives have been forever affected by cluster munitions, and for human security.  From 19-30 May, the government of Ireland is hosting a diplomatic conference to conclude negotiations  on the draft treaty which will ban cluster munitions.  On 30 May, the finalized Cluster Munition Convention will be adopted. 

The Oslo Process to ban clusters was launched in Oslo, Norway in February 2007 and started with 46 nations adhering to the "Oslo Declaration," committing themselves to negotiate the ban in 2008.  After global meetings on the treaty in Peru, Vienna, and New Zealand -- as well as regional meetings in Zambia, Thailand and Mexico -- 109 nations are participating in the Dublin negotiations.  Another 19 states are here as observers.  There are 50 representatives of international organizations such as the UN and the ICRC, and last but most definitely not least are the over 280 representatives of non-governmental organizations that are members of the Cluster Munition Coalition.

As the Deputy Defense Minister of Norway said in remarks today in Dublin, the reason states are negotiating this treaty at all is because of the work of civil society; because non-governmental organizations  - the Cluster Munition Coalition -- kept the pressure up until governments responded and are in Dublin these next two weeks to ban cluster munitions.

The draft Cluster Munition Convention -- as it stands at the opening of negotiations -- is a strong draft.  Sincerely committed governments and the Cluster Munition Coalition will be working hard to strengthen that draft, rather than let a handful of spoilers who want to weaken the draft treaty prevail.

It is through strong partnerships of governments and civil society that critical changes can be brought about in today's world.  The government-Cluster Munition Coalition partnership will give the world the gift of a treaty that will ban yet another indiscriminate weapon -- this time it will be cluster munitions, just as the International Campaign to Ban Landmines led the charge resulting in the Mine Ban Treaty over eleven years ago. The world is watching and governments cannot let us down.

END

For press releases, media clips,  and daily updates on the Cluster Munition Convention negotiations, click here.

For an update from Jody Williams, click here. 

Read the latest News on Disarmament

Read more about Cluster Munitions on our Disarmament Issues page

Support Global Disarmament

The presence of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jody Williams  in Atenco, Mexico last week was a visit of solidarity with the women  and people of Atenco, who are defending their right to live in their land.

Read the account of Jody Willaims' visit to Atenco in Spanish.

La prescencia de la Premio Nobel de la Paz Jody Williams, en Atenco, Mexico la semana pasada fue una visita para solidarizarse con las mujeres y el pueblo de Atenco, quienes se encuentran defiendiendo su derecho a vivir en sus tierras.

Aqui puede leer el informativo de la visita de Jody Williams a  Atenco en Español.

When I was younger I thought only polar bears and seals lived in Iceland, no human beings! Now, I know how to pronounce Mount Eyjafjallajokull and even spell it without Googling it first! I know that Iceland has a population of about 317,000 and its capital city is Reykjavik.

It is nothing short of amazing that a country which has no known diplomatic relations with Kenya, a country whose culture, people, language and way of life is perhaps as far removed from mine as the 5,300 miles that separates Mount Eyjafjallajokull and Nairobi, has profoundly affected my week, my plans and my life.  By 15th April my bags were packed and I was ready to travel the following day to  Puerto Vallarta for the Gender Justice Dialogue 2010, which for me promised a space that vibrant discussion where "feminism" is not a taboo word, intellectual reflection was possible and yet real discussions on real justice would happen.

And these events made me think, isn't that the story of our lives as women. I do not know what journeys and stories of women's rights, women's empowerment emerge from Iceland, yet their stories, my stories will connect and mirror each other; stories of women determined to realize equality, to redress discrimination, to resist the degradation that comes with patriarchy and to seek justice. We are connected across the world as women, even if our experiences are not. We keenly feel the unfairness of discrimination meted out because we are women, the anger when conflict victimizes us as women even if we have never been through it. We are connected. The Gender Justice Dialogue is a place to realize, acknowledge, celebrate and learn from that connectedness. I wish I was there to share it.

Ava A. Maina Ayiera

The Vision of the NWI is a world transformed- a nonviolent world of security, equality and well-being for all.

As women who have had the privilege of witnessing and participating in extraordinary human endeavors, we believe:

• Transformation occurs when people's understanding of peace moves from a choice to an inherent responsibility
  

• Peace is constructed and created everyday
  

• Diversity and difference can be a source of great strength and creativity
  

• The responsibility of governments is to ensure human security that is a healthy environment, justice and equality for all citizens (replacing the obsession with national security)
  

• Women have unique, creative, and powerful skills in resolving and transforming conflict
  

• The seemingly unmovable can be moved

The Nobel Women's Initiative was established in 2006 by sister Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire. We six women -- representing North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa -- decided to bring together our extraordinary experiences in a united effort for peace with justice and equality.

Only 12 women in its more than 100 year history have been recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Peace Prize is a great honor, but it is also a great responsibility. It is this sense of responsibility that compelled us to create the Nobel Women's Initiative to help strengthen work being done in support of women's rights around the world - work often carried out in the shadows with little recognition.

We believe peace is much more than the absence of armed conflict. Peace is the commitment to equality and justice; a democratic world free of physical, economic, cultural, political, religious, sexual and environmental violence and the constant threat of these forms of violence against women -- indeed against all of humanity.

It is the heartfelt mission of the Nobel Women's Initiative to work together as women Nobel Peace Prize Laureates to use the visibility and prestige of the Nobel prize to promote, spotlight, and amplify the work of women's rights activists, researchers, and organizations worldwide addressing the root causes of violence, in a way that strengthens and expands the global movement to advance nonviolence, peace, justice and equality.  We accomplish this mission through three main strategies: convening, shaping the conversation, and spotlighting and promoting.

The Vision of the Nobel Women's Initiative is a world transformed, a nonviolent world of security, equality and well-being for all.

United by our desire to combat all forms of violence against women in all circumstances, we also recognize that specific issues for women vary around the world. One element of our work is to sponsor international gatherings of women every two years -- in a different region of the world -- to highlight issues of concern to women there. The objective of these meetings is to underscore our commonalities and differences by providing inclusive and energizing forums that ensure meaningful dialogue and networking by women's rights activists around the world -- but with a view to action.

It is our commitment to action that brings us together. Therefore, our meetings are linked with concrete work in the target region leading up to the conference, along with post-conference plans of action to address the issues addressed at the conference. In this way, the Nobel Women's Initiative supports meaningful work on the ground.

We believe profoundly in the sharing of information and ideas.  By networking and working together rather than in competition, we enhance the work of all. The Nobel Women's Initiative is committed to supplementing and enhancing existing work and is determined to avoid duplicating the work of others. We want to open new ground for discussion, debate and change.

We hope you share our excitement about the potential of the Nobel Women's Initiative to meaningfully contribute to building peace with justice and equality by working together with women around the world.

Today, 5 November, activists from more than 30 countries, from Afghanistan to Zambia, are participating in a Global Day of Action to Ban Cluster Bombs. In the worldwide act of solidarity, campaigners are calling on their governments to attend the Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions, which will take place a month from today, and back the global treaty banning cluster munitions.

Find out how you can join the Cluster Munition Coalition' to Take Action to Ban Cluster Bombs.

If you are in the US, call your senators and ask them to support the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act (S. 594). Also read 'US Resisting Ban on Cluster Bombs'.

5 November 2007

 Press release: Cluster Munition Coalition
 

Global public unites in day of action to ban cluster bombs

(London, United Kingdom, 5 November 2007.) Public actions are taking place in more than 30 countries around the world today, from Austria to Zambia, as civil society calls on all governments to adopt immediate national moratoria on the use, trade and production of cluster munitions and participate in diplomatic discussions on a new international ban treaty in Vienna in one month's time.

 The number of countries taking part in the first ever global day of action to ban cluster bombs is a sign of the public's commitment to achieving a new treaty. It is the public, particularly in states affected by these horrendous weapons, that is driving this process and we will not stop until a ban treaty is signed next year, said Thomas Nash, Coordinator of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC).

Campaigners in Wellington, New Zealand kick started the events this morning by dropping thousands of cluster-bomb shaped leaflets across the city, mimicking the deployment of a cluster bomb strike. Silhouettes' representing the all too often anonymous victims of cluster bombs are being placed in cities including Sydney, Geneva, Vienna and Washington. In London, a giant wall is being constructed outside the Mayor's office where members of the public will post messages and cards in support of a global ban.

Today also marks a rare joint appeal by the United Nations, CMC, and UK-based Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund in support of the ban treaty with an advertising campaign featured in several newspapers worldwide. The UN is calling on all countries to freeze the use and trade of cluster bombs and negotiate an international prohibition on cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians. The Cluster Munition Coalition urges all governments to act on this appeal.
 

The advert shows that as a precaution certain toys have been removed from the market because of the risk they pose to children. In some cases they have not caused any injury, but preventative measures have been taken. This is in stark contrast to cluster bombs, which are known to have killed and injured thousands of children worldwide largely a result of their colourful and intriguing shapes which attract children -- but cluster bombs are still available on the international market for potential future use.
 

UNICEF issued a statement today marking the Global Day of Action and highlighting the particular impact cluster bombs have on children, saying that it is with urgency that we encourage all Governments to develop a legally binding instrument prohibiting cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians, especially children.
 

Although public opposition to cluster munitions has existed for over 30 years, global public awareness intensified in 2006 after Belgium banned the weapon, Norway introduced a moratorium and the use of the weapon in southern Lebanon demonstrated beyond any doubt the urgent need for an international ban. As the international non-governmental Cluster Munition Coalition stepped up its calls for a new treaty, many states responded by joining a Norwegian-led initiative to conclude a new ban treaty in 2008, a process now known as the Oslo Process.

##

Contact: Thomas Nash, CMC Coordinator +44 77 11 926 730

(English, French, Spanish)

In a show of solidarity with Honduran Feminists in Resistance, women throughout the Americas are mobilizing to pressure the US government and international organizations to take a stronger stand against the June 28 coup in Honduras.

On July 22nd, Nobel Women's Initiative partners Just Associates (JASS), Las Petateras, Feminist International Radio Endeavor (FIRE), and other feminist allies organized and participated in simultaneous demonstrations in front of U.S. government institutions throughout the Americas demanding the Obama administration firmly condemn the coup and demand the reinstatement of the democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya.

Rallies took place in 10 cities including Tegucigalpa, Honduras, San Jose, Costa Rica, Mexico City, and Washington, DC.

U.S.-backed talks led by Nobel Peace Laureate and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias broke down last week when Honduras' interim government said it won't allow the ousted President Zelaya to return as president under any circumstances. It has vowed to arrest him if he sets foot in his homeland on four charges of violating the constitution.

Zelaya made a brief, symbolic trip a few yards into Honduran territory on July 24th. The Honduran military thwarted Zelaya's first attempt to return home July 5th by blocking his airplane from landing at the airport in the capital, Tegucigalpa. Zelaya has encamped his government-in-exile in a Nicaraguan mountain town near the Honduran border to launch his return to power.

The Nobel Women's Initiative stands in solidarity with Honduran Feminists in Resistance and their allies around the world to call on the Obama Administration to stand firm against the coup in Honduras and on the side of democracy and the rule of law.

"No one owes allegiance to an usurping government nor those who assume public office via force of arms or utilizing means and procedures that violate or circumvent what is in the Constitution and established by law. The acts taken by such authorities are null. The people have the right to recur to insurrection in order to defend the constitutional order." ~ Honduran Constitution, Article 3

What You Can Do

Organize or attend a rally in your local area.

Read & share the Demands of Feminists in Resistance from Honduras with your family, friends, and colleagues.

Send a letter to your elected representative using our sample letter or write your own.

Pressure local, national and international media to bring awareness to the situation of violence in opposition to the coup in Honduras.

Continue to spread awareness to anyone and everyone in creative ways, including art, to garner as much international support and attention as possible.

LEARN MORE

JASS Action Alert, Just Associates, 24 July 2009

Time for President Zelaya to Return to Honduras by Medea Benjamin (CODEPINK), Huffington Post, 23 July 2009

Las Petateras (Spanish), 22 July 2009

Video: The Honduran Battle for Washington, Associated Press, 21 July 2009

Video: Military Coup in Honduras, Al Jazeera, 29 June 2009

Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire, and Betty Williams joined the Dalai Lama this week in emphasizing that taking action for change is a critical element of compassion .  The women were engaged in discussions with the Dalai Lama and other luminaries over four days at the Dalai Lama Peace Summit in Vancouver. The participants discussed such topics as women and peacebuilding, educating the heart, and global compassion .

Courage is very contagious. -- Betty Williams, Nobel Peace Laureate

Betty Williams spoke to an audience of over 16,000 youth at the We Day event, along with Jane Goodall, Craig Kielburger, and Mia Farrow.  Mairead Maguire spoke on Heart-Mind Education with Stephen Covey and other thinkers. The three women also participated in a special panel with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Reverend Mpho Tutu called Connecting for Peace; Nobel Laureates in Dialogue , where they agreed that in addition to "listening," "understanding," and "suffering with," moving to act is an equally essential component of compassion and peacebuilding.

Peace is not for wimps. Peacemaking takes hard work, every single day. -- Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Laureate

Watch the sessions : Connecting for Peace; Nobel Laureates in Dialogue

LEARN MORE

Watch Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire, and Betty Williams with the Dalai Lama: Connecting for Peace; Nobel Laureates in Dialogue , CTV, 27 September 2009

Watch Mairead Maguire in the Heart-Mind Education Session with the Dalai Lama: Heart Mind Education; Enhancing Academic, Social, and Emotional Competenc e, CTV, 29 September 2009

Nobel Laureates' talk turns personal , Vancouver Sun, 27 September 2009

Dalai Lama doesn't mind being called a feminist , CTV News

Education paves the road to women's equality , Vancouver Sun, 29 September 2009

Dalai Lama tells We Day audience to show compassion , CTV News, 29 September 2009

Pursuit of peace and compassion a complex path , Vancouver Sun, 27 September 2009

Born on 19 June 1945, detained democracy leader and Nobel Peace Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi will face her 64th birthday in Insein Prison. Detained for more than 13 years by the military junta, Aung San Suu Kyi was moved to Insein after her arrest on 14 May 2009.

Having committed no crime, Aung San Suu Kyi currently faces a sentence of 3-5 years and a mockery of a trial. Clearly an attempt to add trumped-up charges at a time when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's unlawful detention was scheduled to end 27 May 2009, the democratic leader is now at the notorious Insein Prison and will remain there for her 64th birthday.

In honor of Aung San Suu Kyi's 64th birthday, 64 for Aung San Suu Kyi, has invited members of the international community to post 64 words of support for Aung San Suu Kyi.

This most recent egregious abuse of power must not continue to fall on deaf ears. You can share your support of Aung San Suu Kyi - an international symbol of heroic and peaceful resistance in the face of oppression in the following ways:

Add your 64 words for Aung San Suu Kyi

Change your FaceBook profile photo to support Aung San Suu Kyi on her 64th Birthday, Friday June 19th. Download the image here: http://www.facebook.com/aungsansuukyi

Submit a Twitter message on her birthday. Just tweet your message with this hashtag: #assk64

Submit a video or image message at 64 for Aung San Suu Kyi

Read the 64 Words for Aung San Suu Kyi, posted by Nobel Laureates Mairead Maguire, Betty Williams, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi and Wangari Maathai, here.

Join the calls of thousands of demonstrators in 15 countries around the world to demand greater support for the Sudanese peace process. Ten aid agencies recently compiled a report, Rescuing the Peace in Southern Sudan, warning that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is in jeopardy. In the past year over 2,500 people were killed and 350,000 were displaced in Sudan. On Saturday, January 10th, thousands gathered demanding greater protection of civilians and greater support of the peace process by the UN and the African Union. 

It has been 5 years since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed and yet the violence in Sudan continues. There is a need for greater protection of civilians. Women are increasingly targeted for violence in Sudan. Many are concerned the entire peace process is in jeopardy as a result of the rising violence, persistent poverty, and political tensions in the country. 

The tentative peace process will be further strained by the upcoming elections and a referendum. The referendum is planned to occur in 2011 and will decide if Southern Sudan is to secede from the country. The elections are to take place this year and will be the first multiparty elections for Sudan in 24 years.

TAKE ACTION

Join the demonstrators and Amnesty International to call on UN to ensure civilians and the peace process are protected!

LEARN MORE

Thousands Gather to Take Action on Sudan, Amnesty International, January 9 2010

Read the Report: Rescuing the Peace in Southern Sudan, January 2010

Critical year ahead for Sudan amid fears of war, BBC News, January 9 2010

Southern Sudan needs to avoid war, aid agencies say, CNN, Januray 7 2010

Monday, 28 July 2008

The sky is full of clouds and it is raining this morning in Addis – not a surprise as this is the rainy season here and no one should complain given the famine gripping parts of Ethiopia because of the drought that has hit the eastern and southeastern parts of the country bordering Kenya and Somalia.

The combination of lack of rain devastating food production in the region and skyrocketing global food prices which affect relief operations makes for a very dismal situation. Some reports indicate that over ten million people are in varying degrees affected by the drought. Ethiopia’s population is 80 million. I don’t know if the rain is finally reaching the drought-affected areas, but hope that it is the case.

As I sat down to start writing, I could hear the sound of the morning call to prayer wafting through the air from a distant mosque somewhere in the city. To me it sounded a bit mournful, but it was also beautiful.

*********

Good morning again. Obviously I didn’t get very far yesterday. Just those few paragraphs into writing, I had to stop and get myself ready to start the day.

It was excellent to see Professor Wangari and her daughter Wanjira for our breakfast meeting. They’d arrived late Sunday night and by the time they arrived at the hotel, I’d already been asleep for a couple of hours so wasn’t there to greet them properly. So before our day really got going, we took some time for Wangari, Mia and I to finalize our press statement with Rachel and also discuss our messages for the African Union.

At the press conference, we called for an immediate cessation of violence in Darfur, and full support for legitimate negotiations to build sustainable peace. Of paramount concern to the Nobel Women’s Initiative is the on-going, systematic violence against women and children including the use of rape as a weapon of war.

We also thanked the AU for its efforts to bring peace to Darfur through the first AU peacekeeping mission as well as its continued role in the UN/AU hybrid UNAMID mission. We recognized the losses sustained by those peacekeeping forces in Sudan. At the same time we pressed for more vigorous political action to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table to end the years of carnage. To achieve these ends requires strong leadership from all African countries, with the support of the African Union and the international community.

A big issue in the Q & A period of the conference was the recent decision of the International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Ocampo to ask the judges of the Court to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. African heads of state had denounced the move, calling it a threat to the peace process and noting that Bashir was important to post conflict security in Sudan. One journalist noted that it could “open a Pandora’s box” putting many heads of state at risk of indictment.

As Wangari pointed out, if a president is accountable to the people and isn’t committing crimes against them, s/he has nothing to fear from the ICC. Mia pointed out that there is, in fact, no peace process to threaten. Nothing is happening. Full deployment of UNAMID is still being blocked by Khartoum. What is at threat is the regime that is waging war against the civilian population of Darfur.

Our two-hour long discussion at the end of the day with African Union Commissioner Jean Ping and AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Ramtene Lamamra touched upon all of these themes. We agreed to disagree on the question of the International Criminal Court but all recognized the critical need to end the crisis in Darfur before it continues to spread further into Chad and the Central African Republic. Recognizing that not all African states share the same view as to how to resolve the conflict, how sufficient political will might be generated to end the fighting remains to be seen.

While we certainly had differing points of view, the Nobel Women’s Initiative delegation sincerely appreciated the time Commissioners Ping and Lamamra gave us, especially given that they had spent the day outside of Addis in a strategic retreat and were willing to come back to the AU for the meeting at 6:30 in the evening.

Between the press conference and our final meeting at the African Union, members of our delegation split and some of us went to the US Embassy where Ambassador Yamamoto had arranged for us to meet with various Ethiopian women leaders, while Mia and Wangari and others had gone for a meeting with Ambassador Nakaha Stanislas, who heads up the Darfur desk at the AU.

We also had the opportunity to spend time with Ethiopian First Lady Azeb Mesfin, who currently presides over the Council of African First Ladies and who is committed to having that important group of women tackle issues confronting the continent. She has also been a champion of proper treatment for the mentally ill and under her patronage, a 1,000 bed state of the art facility is being built. She also is a strong advocate against violence against women.

Now, we are sitting back in the airport in Addis waiting for our flight to Juba, South Sudan. I’ll get back to you later from there.#####

Campaigns:

Women's League of Burma

UK Campaign for Burma

ALTSEAN Burma: Alternative Asean Network on Burma

Campaign for Security Council Action on Burma

Reports:

Human Rights Watch, 2006

Landmine Monitor, 2006

Thailand Burma Border Consortium survey of internal displacement, 2006

United Nations General Assembly Report, 2005

Threat to the Peace, 2005

News:

Democratic Voice of Burma

The Irrawaddy

Mizzima News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

African civil society leaders, Nobel Laureates, and justice experts from across the 
continent are uniting ahead of the African Union summit, to call for action on the crisis in 
Sudan.  In particular, the leaders are supporting the work of the International Criminal 
Court (ICC), and calling for humanitarian access. 

The statement, signed by Nobel Laureates Wangari Maathai (Peace, 2004), Archbishop 
Desmond Tutu (Peace, 1984), and Wole Soyinka (Literature, 1986), as well as 39 other 
prominent African experts, emphasizes that the ICC plays a critical role in achieving the 
objectives of “justice and accountability for the peoples of Sudan.”  

African civil society leaders, Nobel Laureates, and justice experts from across the continent united ahead of the African Union summit to call for action on the crisis in Sudan. In particular, the leaders supported the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and called for humanitarian access.

An open statement, signed by Nobel Laureates Wangari Maathai (Peace, 2004), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Peace, 1984), and Wole Soyinka (Literature, 1986), as well as 39 other prominent African experts, emphasized that the ICC plays a critical role in achieving the objectives of “justice and accountability for the peoples of Sudan.”

The people of Darfur deserve more than negotiating warlords forgiving
each other for the violence – including brutal sexual violence – they have
perpetrated primarily against women, children and other non-combatants.

The signatories to the statement called for accountability and urged African political leaders to dramatically step up efforts to negotiate an end to the violence in Darfur, and ensure that all parties to the conflict, including the government, armed groups, and especially women who have been building the path to peace, are at the peace table.

The statement came on the heels of an Opinion Editorial piece penned by Maathai, Soyinka, and Archbishop Tutu, which was published in Jeune Afrique and other African media.

View the statement.

LEARN MORE

African Civic Leaders Urge African Union Leaders to Support ICC Process in Sudan, East African Tribune, 26 June 2009

Laissez la CPI travailler! Jeune Afrique, 11 June 2009

Mia Farrow’s comment that ‘working for peace is not a passive process’ rang true today during our Addis press conference. Seated in Committee Room 1 of the African Union’s modern Addis headquarters building, Prof Maathai, Mia Farrow and Prof Jody Williams made brief remarks about the delegation’s issues and goals and then opened the floor to questions.

Not surprisingly, many journalists were concerned with the ICC’s recent decision (and Nobel Women's Initiative’s response) to indict Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes. The global debate about whether the ICC’s actions could do more harm than good for peace in Sudan has been fast and furious.

“What do you think the people in the camps think about the ICC’s decision—why don’t you ask THEM,” was Mia’s unexpected response to a journalist sitting pen in hand in a bright blue chair.

Many Africans take issue with indicting a sitting African president. Some stress that national solutions be found for national problems.
Nobel Women's Initiative Delegates were pleased to have a chance to respond to these and other questions and to footnote fact vs. fiction.
The Delegation is travelling precisely to listen to the voices of the women we meet, and Mia aptly reminded us that in this ‘vacuum of justice’ that is Darfur, any action that halts the impunity and slaughter will provide some semblance of justice to the women of Darfur. “Listen to the people in the camps,” implored Mia.

One journalist wondered if the ICC’s decision wouldn’t jeopardize peace in Darfur. Could it even unleash a ‘Pandora’s box’ of uncertainty and chaos?
“There is no on-going peace process in Darfur,” quipped Jody, adding, “Anyone who thinks there is a peace process for Darfur is misinformed. “
Delegates concurred that too many continue to construe Darfur as exclusively an African problem.

The violence and atrocities have spilled well beyond one country’s borders, and the drivers, the arms suppliers, and the money to wage the war is also international. The onus is on the entire international community to bring an end to the horrors in Darfur.

Wangari cautioned against criticizing the ICC for seeking its approach to solving the crisis in Darfur. She also posed rhetorically to those sitting before her, “What’s the alternative—do we sit back and watch?”
Wangari went on to describe the bloodshed that recently engulfed her own country. Kenya’s violence was only arrested through outside mediation. Without it, she intoned, ‘We would still be killing ourselves.’
Sometimes, outside mediation and intervention IS called for, even within one’s national boundaries. Sometimes, having a third party intervene can increase chances for peace and reconciliation.

Wangari acknowledged that the African Union has made some steps toward increasing dialogue on Darfur. More though, must be done. The African Union must take up with increased commitment and international cooperation a dialogue to end the bloodshed in Darfur. The African Union has a special responsibility to end this regional crisis.
Speaking of China’s sale of weapons to Sudan one journalist invoked the issue of terrorism, wondering, “Shouldn’t African countries defend themselves against terrorism?”

“Not a good argument,” warned Jody. “The United States doubled its arms purchases since 9/11 (and to what end?!). An arms build-up will not promote progress let alone peace in Africa.”

Wangari concurred, lamenting that while Africa is one of the richest continents, Africans engage in exploitative relationships—allowing natural resources to be extracted and exploited, often in return for arms that “we then use to destroy ourselves.”

The Nobel Women's Initiative is supporting women's groups who are urging the African Union to make good on their promise to put women front and centre in peace plans. African heads of state officially launched the "Year for Peace and Security" at the 14th African Union Summit, coming to an end today in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

At the Summit, the Nobel Women's Initiative continued its work to support African and Sudanese women's organizations, participating in consultations organized by Femme Africa Solidarite and the African Union Commission's Directorate of Women, Peace and Development.

Embracing the Year for Peace and Security will demonstrate the African Union's commitments to achieving peace in Sudan. African governments must invest moral, human, and financial resources into the implementation of the African Union's High Level Panel Report on Darfur. Real commitment to change will result in the AU continuing to open space for Sudanese women to engage with African leaders and to have a voice in the peace processes.

TAKE ACTION

Read an opinion editorial by Wangari Maathai in the Christian Science Monitor here.

LEARN MORE

14th African Union Summit ends, Angola Press, 2 February 2010.

African Union Summit calls for inclusion of women in peace making efforts, Emerging Minds, 24 January 2010.

The Nobel Women's Initiative and other supporters of the International Criminal Court were disappointed by a joint resolution issued at the end of the African Union summit in Libya last week, which declares that member states will not cooperate in the arrest and surrender of Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir on war crimes charges. The resolution says that the African Union "deeply regrets" that the United Nations ignored its previous demand for the ICC in The Hague to postpone its arrest warrant against the Sudanese President for crimes in Darfur.

On June 25th, an open statement signed by Nobel Laureates Wangari Maathai (Peace, 2004), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Peace, 1984), and Wole Soyinka (Literature, 1986), as well as 39 other prominent African experts, emphasized that the ICC plays a critical role in achieving the objectives of “justice and accountability for the peoples of Sudan.”

View the statement.

LEARN MORE

Botswana condemns AU resolution on Sudan’s Bashir, Reuters, 7 July 2009

Appeal on Bashir genocide charges, BBC, 7 July 2009

African leaders tackle continent’s challenges, Associated Press, 3 July 2009

After ten days of intense negotiations at the Dublin Diplomatic Conference On Cluster Munitions, more than 100 nations have provisionally agreed to a strong treaty to ban clusters. The comprehensive treaty will be formally adopted on Friday, 30 May in Dublin and will be opened for signature in Oslo in December 2008.  Read the update below from Nobel Laureate Jody Williams, who is participating in the negotiations in Dublin on behalf of the Nobel Women's initiative.

FROM NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE JODY WILLIAMS

Thursday, 29 May 2008

The Norwegian government invited states to Oslo in February 2007 to launch what is rightly known as the Oslo Process, an effort to conclude negotiations of a treaty to ban cluster munitions in 2008.  On Friday the 30th of May in Dublin, Ireland, we will witness another victory for humanity with the adoption of the new Cluster Munitions Convention banning the use, production, trade and stockpiling of those indiscriminate weapons.  For that success, the world owes Norway in particular, as well as the other states a the core of the process -- Peru, Austria, Mexico, New Zealand and Ireland, among others, a huge debt of gratitude.

The Cluster Munitions Convention is a comprehensive ban of those indiscriminate weapons -- it will stigmatize cluster munitions just as the Mine Ban Treaty has stigmatized antipersonnel landmines.  We are emerging from the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions with a strong treaty that will have a huge humanitarian impact in the world. 

As was the case with the global movement to ban antipersonnel landmines, it was a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that was the engine of change in this case the Cluster Munition Coalition.   That coalition has kept the pressure on governments to ban cluster munitions since its launch in the Netherlands in November of 2003.  But even before that, from the early days of the success of the Mine Ban Treaty, individual NGOs such as Handicap International, Human Rights Watch, Landmine Action UK, Mines Action Canada, and Norwegian People's Aid began calling for a ban on cluster bombs.  It was the Norwegian government that responded to that call when efforts to deal with the weapons through conventional diplomatic negotiations failed at the end of 2006, just as they had with landmines in in 1996.

The Oslo Process has demonstrated again that when governments and civil society work together in clear and open partnership, we can and do change the world.  When we work together, we can ban entire classes of weapons.  When we work together we strengthen human security which in turn enhances global security.  When governments and civil society work together, there is no problem that we cannot successfully address.

END

For press releases, media clips and daily updates on the Cluster Munition Convention negotiations click here.

Read the latest News on Disarmament

Read more about Cluster Munitions on our Disarmament Issues page

Support Global Disarmament

A global conference. Anticipation. The prospect of exhilaration. Enervation, too: all those preparations—organizing clothes for packing, making sure all the email is answered, readying a plan for how household tasks get completed while I’m away. It’s all of that, but expectation wins out. What will I learn? What might I experience? What extraordinary women will I meet for the first time, or meet again, sometimes at a distance of many years? What will be the priorities of younger leaders, whose voices haven’t been heard as much as they should have? What will older leaders, the veterans of multiple struggles—many ongoing, many bracingly difficult even today—share?

Sitting here before the start of the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma, the auditorium is abuzz with excitement.  There is a distinct sense that something important is about to happen.  The room is steadily filling with hundreds of women and men, reviewing their programs, anticipating the stories of incredible courage they are about to witness. 

It will be my privilege to guide you, our online audience, through the events of the day.  My own anticipation has been months in the making, and I am thrilled that today has finally arrived.  It is sure to be an unforgettable day, so be sure not to miss it!

To watch the Burma Tribunal live, go to http://tinyurl.com/yzywzgn#burma to enjoy our live webcast.

You can also follow updates from the testimony on Twitter, at www.twitter.com/NobelWomen.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and leaders of the Arab League have formally renounced the International Criminal Court's (ICC) recent arrest warrant for Bashir.

In late March, Bashir attended the Arab League summit with sixteen other Arab heads of state.  Qatar, which hosted the summit, not only gave Bashir assurances that he would not be arrested, but also welcomed him with the red carpet.  The often divided Arab League then ended the summit with the joint statement: "We stress our solidarity with Sudan and our rejection of the ICC decision against President Omar al-Bashir."

Bashir has also visited a number of countries in the Arab region since the ICC's issuance of his arrest under similar provisions as those provided by Qatar.

ICC Chief Prosecutor: Sudan's Bashir Will Face Justice, Voice of America, 3 April 2009.

World Court Under Threat as President al-Bashir of Sudan Defies Warrant, Times Online, 2 April 2009.

Arab Leaders Snub al-Bashir Warrant, Al Jazeera, 31 March 2009.

Often Split, Arab Leaders Unite for Sudan’s Chief, New York Times, 30 March 2009.

LEARN MORE:

Read the Peace Laureates' Statement on ICC’s Arrest Warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir.

Read Humanitarian Organizations Expelled from Darfur.

Read about Sudan in the Nobel Women's Initiative 2008 Delegation Report.

For 50 years Tibetans have worked tirelessly to preserve their culture in the face of violent onslaught.  As I traveled to
India as a staff person for the Delegation to visit with the Tibetan community in exile, I thought about the idea of preserving culture.

Long before I began this plane journey I worked for the people of Micronesia, a beautiful island nation in the Pacific.  One day two Micronesians were helping me move a couch from one part of the island to another, a young man and an older man.  They hauled the couch onto the back of a truck and then we found we had no rope with which to secure it.  As the young man and I scratched our heads for a solution, the older man took out his machete and stripped a piece of bark off a nearby tree and used it to tie down the couch.  He then said something to the young man in Pohnpeian who translated for me.  The older man was apologetic that my “fancy” couch was being tied down with bark.  I was apologetic for being a useless product of an industrial society in which I was dependent on having to go to a store to buy plastic rope made from petroleum byproducts in order to get the same job done that he did with a machete and a nearby tree.

I don’t need to be a humanitarian or an anthropologist or a hippie to care about the survival of the Tibetan or Micronesian culture.  All I need to be is practical.  When cultures disappear, evicted from our global community by political and military forces, we lose knowledge based on the lived experience of hundreds of generations.  And we never know when we’re going to need that knowledge.  Like right now, as we reel from the tragic consequences of the society we’ve built in the last few hundred years.  If, as Einstein said, “the significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking at which we created them,” we need to practice greater respect for different levels of thinking.  I look forward to experiencing a little of another level of thinking in Dharamsala.

Janhabi Nandy

Immediately following the end of World War II, Japan legislated Article 9 - renouncing war and the maintenance of war potential. Article 9 is an active response to preventing further atrocities. It is Japan's pledge to the people of Asia, the Pacific, and the world, to never again repeat the mistakes it made during World War II. The pacifist principles set out in Article 9 disallow Japan from arms export, as well as prohibit the possession, production, and introduction of nuclear arms.

The standard set forth by Article 9 is a proactive instrument of peace. We at the Nobel Women's Initiative believe that genuine peace and human security is a product of legislation such as Article 9. Peace and militarism cannot coexist.

The Global Article 9 Campaign urges global civil society to adopt the "No War, No Military" message and push for this concept to be included in their own countries' constitutions.  Find out what you can do to support the Campaign.

***

Read the latest News on disarmament.

Support Global Disarmament

Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India – October 28, 2009

The first evening in  Dharamsala the delegation attended a performance of Tibetan music and dance.  It was wonderful; beautiful, entertaining, professionally performed.  I reflected that the artistic culture that an audience member interacts with is a result we see at a certain moment in time; we hear the song sung today, or the pretty carved box that we buy.  Yet the culture that is at risk of being lost is not just that result, but the process that leads to that result.  We hear the song, but we don't know the details about the hours of rehearsal needed to be able to perform it (making singing a career, not a hobby), the tradition of apprenticeship to a master musician, or the unique history of that genre.

It was the next day at a briefing from the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, that these musings became
relevant to human rights.  We heard how the Chinese government claims that it is allowing religious freedom to Tibetan Buddhists by allowing them to have monasteries, statues of the Buddha and practice certain rituals.  But it was explained to us that Tibetan Buddhism is the transformation of the mind of a person, a .lifestyle and set of insights to be learned and lived; not a pretty museum full of statues to be visited by pilgrims.  Without freedom of thought, of expression or of assembly without freedom from mandatory official indoctrination sessions, the right to wear robes and sit in a monastery is not religious freedom.  His Holiness used the freedom of thought he has had in exile to develop historical traditions of consensus decision making in Tibetan Buddhism into a democratic government for the Tibetan community.  Tibetan Buddhists who have real freedom of religion would be individuals and communities without limits on where their spiritual and intellectual learning and teaching could take them.  It is the suppression of that process and its potential results that really matters to an oppressive government.  With art and with religion, focusing on what can be seen from the outside can be misleading.

Burma's Supreme Court began hearing Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal against the 18-month extension of her house arrest on Monday. Her lawyers are optimistic about the outcome and will hear the ruling within a month.

Under Burma's newly adopted constitution, the extension of her arrest means that she will not be eligible to run in this year's pending elections. The military junta has promised its citizens and the international community that elections will be held in 2010, the first time since 1990, although a date has not been set.

READ MORE

Burma's Supreme Court hears final Suu Kyi appeal, BBC World News, 18 January 2010.

NLD restructures top decision-making body, Mizzima, 14 January 2010.

Suu Kyi meets with lawyers to discuss appeal, The Irrawaddy, 12 January 2010.

Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced today to an additional 18 months under house arrest. Suu Kyi was charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest when she offered temporary shelter to an American after he swam to her lakeside home uninvited.

Initially, the court sentenced Suu Kyi to three years imprisonment involving hard labour, but the Burmese military regime announced to the court that they would be reducing her sentence.

Critics have continually charged that Suu Kyi's trial and ongoing detention are attempts by the military junta to keep her out of Burma's 2010 national elections.

Suu Kyi has already been under house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions (UNWGAD), an arm of the UN Human Rights Council, ruled the arrest and detention of Suu Kyi illegal, stating that, "The latest renewal (2008) of the order to place Ms. Suu Kyi under house arrest not solely violates international law but also national domestic laws of Myanmar.”

In response to Aung San Suu Kyi's verdict, 14 Nobel Peace Laureates released an open letter to the UN Security Council, calling on the UN body to establish a Commission of Inquiry on Burma.

LEARN MORE

Pressuring the Burmese junta, New York Times Op-Ed, 12 August 2009

Myanmar's Suu Kyi says conviction 'totally unfair', Associated Press, 12 August 2009

Myanmar court convicts Suu Kyi of violating terms of house arrest, LA Times, 11 August 2009

Locked up, The Economist, 11 August 2009

Than Shwe's 'mercy' is meaningless, The Irrawaddy, 11 August 2009

Aung San Suu Kyi verdict: Burmese views, BBC, 11 August 2009

Take Action for the people of Burma.

Support a Global Arms Embargo against the Burmese regime.

After an hour long meeting with  Aung San Suu Kyi  on Thursday, 8 November, U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari released a statement from the detained pro-democracy leader. This is reportedly the first public remarks made by Suu Kyi since 2003, when she was returned to house arrest.

On Friday, Suu Kyi met with four leaders of her political party, the National League of Democracy, as well as the junta's Liaison Minister. The Liaison Minister was appointed as a go-between for Suu Kyi and the ruling junta following the recent  popular uprising by Burmese citizens.

Text of Aung San Suu Kyi's statement released by U.N. envoy

(Associated Press)

"I wish to thank all those who have stood by my side all this time, both inside and outside my country. I am also grateful to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his unwavering support for the cause of national reconciliation, democracy and human rights in my country.

"I welcome the appointment on 8 October of Minister Aung Kyi as Minister for Relations. Our first meeting on 25 October was constructive and I look forward to further regular discussions. I expect that this phase of preliminary consultations will conclude soon so that a meaningful and timebound dialogue with the SPDC leadership can start as early as possible.

***

Since mid-August 2007 Burma's military regime has unleashed the latest crackdown on its citizens' long-standing nonviolent resistance movement. Read a Summary of Recent Events .

Read the latest News on Burma.

Read about Burma's political history and repression at the hands of the military regime at our Burma Issue page.

Nobel Peace Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, has announced she will not take part in the upcoming elections in Burma. She outlined her opposition to the miliary regime in a six point message sent to her party. The National League for Democracy (NLD) reviewed her message at a meeting to decide the party's position on the election and voted to boycott the elections.  Under the new election laws their decision means that the NLD will likely be abolished within six weeks. The party must now develop a strategy to remain relevent outside of formal politics.

Suu Kyi is aware that her declaration precedes an important visit by the Indonesian foreign minister. The foreign minister and the military junta are expected to discuss the new election laws. The Association of Southest Asian Nations (ASEAN) are divided on how to respond to Burma's new election rules. The United States have declared their disapointment with the military junta for the unfair election laws.

LEARN MORE

NLD Will NOT Register: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Six Point Message - Download the PDF

Decision time in Burma for democracy's advocates, The Washington Post, 30 March 2010

Suu Kyi throws spanner in junta's poll plan, The Bangkok Post, 30 March 2010

US Blames Burmese Government for Opposition Election Boycott, Voice of America, 30 March 2010

TAKE ACTION

Get involved in the struggle to free Burma!

June 19 marks the 65th birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent more than 14 of the past 20 years in detention in Burma.  She is the democratically elected leader of Burma, and the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner.  

The Nobel Women's Initiative has released a statement to mark the occasion, honouring their sister Laureate and calling for international action to promote peace and democracy in Burma.  Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi also recorded a special video message in solidarity with the people of Burma.

Read the Nobel Women's Initiative statement and watch the video message from Shirin Ebadi below.

Earlier this week, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention re-established that the ongoing detention of Aung San Suu Kyi is illegal  and in violation of international law, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  This is the body's sixth opinion finding the terms of Suu Kyi's house arrest in violation of international law.  

NOBEL WOMEN'S INITIATIVE STATEMENT ON THE BIRTHDAY OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI

June 19, 2010

Today is the 65th birthday of our sister Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, democratically elected leader of Burma.  Once again, she observes her birthday under house arrest, denied the company of friends or family.  The military dictatorship ruling Burma denies Aung San Suu Kyi her freedom.  They also continue to imprison over 2000 others for expressing their political views.  Those who live outside prison walls in Burma are not free from the brutality of the military regime either.  Every day, women are raped by soldiers, children are forced to bear arms, villagers are forcibly removed from their homes and the majority of the population sinks deeper into poverty as the military elite prospers.

Today we will reflect on the courage, vision and leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi.  And we will grieve for the people of Burma who struggle under an unjust and cruel regime.  Yet we continue to be inspired by the women and men of Burma who are working tirelessly for peace and democracy in their country.  We ask all leaders and all people of the world to join us in supporting the people of Burma and responding to their calls for action.

We call on the UN Security Council to take action against Burma, specifically the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into possible crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma.  We call on Burma's neigbours to stop providing money and guns to the military dictatorship.  We call upon all states to condemn the undemocratic constitution of Burma, and the planned elections, and urge genuine dialogue with the democracy movement. 

Today is the day for change in Burma.

****

LEARN MORE

UK Ministers call for Suu Kyi's release, CNN, 18 June 2010

Aung San Suu Kyi's desperate plea to the world, The Independent, 18 June 2010

Unseen photos mark Suu Kyi's birthday, Democratic Voice of Burma, 18 June 2010

UN Special Rapporteur calls for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi, United Nations, 17 June 2010

The world prepares to mark Suu Kyi birthday, Irrawaddy, 17 June 2010

The Elders keep an empty chair for Aung San Suu Kyi, The Elders, 17 June 2010

Read more about Burma's struggle for democracy.

TAKE ACTION

Arrest yourself in solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi.

Rally for Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday in Washington, DC.

Aung San Suu Kyi has committed no crime.  However, she currently faces a sentence of 3-5 years and a mockery of a trial.  The democratic leader will remain in prison for her 64th birthday.  The charges are widely felt to be an attempt to add trumped-up charges at a time when her unlawful detention was scheduled to end 27 May 2009. View a three-minute video about her here.

In the weeks leading up to Aung San Suu Kyi's 64th birthday, the international community has responded with calls to action against the gross human rights abuses in Burma.  This birthday marks the democratic leader's 14th birthday in detention.

Petition Delivered to the United Nations

In New York, a delegation of former prisoners and activists has delivered a petition signed by nearly 680,000 people urging U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to make the release of more than 2,100 political prisoners in Burma, including Aung San Suu Kyi, a "personal priority."

Political Prisoners’ Statement

Activist groups have also gathered the signatures of 107 former or current political prisoners from more than 20 countries calling for freedom for Burma's jailed dissidents.  They have all signed a special 64 word message to Aung San Suu Kyi to mark her 64th birthday.  The statement has been signed by former political prisoners like Shirin Ebadi, Terry Waite, and Vaclav Havel.

"The continued denial of your freedom unacceptably attacks the human rights of all 2,156 political prisoners in Myanmar. As those also incarcerated for our political beliefs, we share the worldXs outrage. We call on the United Nations Security Council to press the Myanmar Government to immediately release all political prisoners, and to restrict the weapons that strengthen its hand through a global arms embargo."

Read the complete statement from former political prisoners.

Nobel Peace Laureates and others add their voices

The six other living women Nobel Peace Laureates, along with celebrities such as Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney have made special 64-word statements commemorating Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthday. These statements are posted at www.64forSuu.org .  Other celebrities that have sent messages include U2's Bono, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, David Beckham, Daniel Craig, Sandra Bullock, and Richard Branson. Political leaders such as Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the UK, and former President of South Korea, Kim Dae-Jung have also sent messages.  Stephen Fry, Eddie Izzard, Kevin Spacey and Sarah Brown have been “tweeting” about the campaign.  The website "64 for Suu" was set up to gather birthday wishes -- including many via Twitter and YouTube -- and has so far received over 10,000 messages.

Supporters across the world will mark the day with events ranging from live music and speeches in Malaysia, evening vigils in Ireland and Australia and debating forums in Thailand.  Visit www.64forSuu.org to look for events in your area.

IN THE MEDIA

Protests marking Suu Kyi's birthday, BBC, 19 June 2009

Myanmar's Suu Kyi turns 64 amid outrage over her trial, Reuters, 19 June 2009

Video: Her Burma, Amnesty International

WATCH THESE 64 FOR AUNG SAN SUU KYI VIDEOS:

Message from Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights

Message from Emma Bonino, Vice President of the Senate, Italy

TAKE ACTION:

Visit our Take Action page to learn about what you can do

Read the Free Burma's Political Prisoners Now Press Release

Upload the new high resolution image of Aung San Suu Kyi to your Facebook profile

Learn about events in your area

It's time for the world to put the Burmese generals on trial. Avaaz is launching a call for the UN Security Council to investigate the regime for crimes against humanity -- a judgment of guilt could lead to prosecution of top generals by the International Criminal Court.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/jail_the_generals

Over the next two months the UK and the US hold the powerful Presidency of the United Nations Security Council - both President Obama and Prime Minister Brown have spoken passionately about Burma, so now is our best chance in years to get the Security Council to act.

Take action now!

Read the rest of this Take Action from Avaaz and sign the petition..

From Avaaz:

Dear friends,

Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced today, but it's the Burmese generals who jailed her who have committed the real crimes. Join the call for justice for the Burmese people by signing the petition to put the generals on trial.


Today, the ailing Nobel laureate and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to another year and a half in detention by a Burmese kangaroo court.

Suu Kyi's treatment is just the tip of the iceberg of the brutality of the Burmese regime -- spanning 40 years of murder, torture, mass rape, and slave labour.

It's time for the world to put the Burmese generals on trial. Avaaz is launching a call for the UN Security Council to investigate the regime for crimes against humanity -- a judgment of guilt could lead to prosecution of top generals by the International Criminal Court. Click below to join the call and see a mock up of a banner that we plan to drop in front of the UN calling for action:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/jail_the_generals

Over the next two months the UK and the US hold the powerful Presidency of the United Nations Security Council - both President Obama and Prime Minister Brown have spoken passionately about Burma, so now is our best chance in years to get the Security Council to act.

But the US, UK and other Council members are still dragging their feet -- concerned about challenging China, a key sponsor of the Burmese regime. If a global outcry demands it, they will try harder to get China to agree, as happened when the Council decided to allow prosecution of another China-sponsored regime in the case of Darfur, Sudan.

Calls for investigation and prosecution of the Burmese Generals have been growing. The pressure is building on Obama and Brown as already dozens of US and British legislators have called for an inquiry. And a recent Harvard University report by top global jurists reveals that the UN has already quietly documented the forced recruitment of tens of thousands of child soldiers, more than one million refugees and internally displaced persons, numerous cases of killings and torture, mass rape and the forced displacement of 3,000 ethnic minority villages -- as many as reported in Darfur. Let's join them in this call to hold the regime to account:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/jail_the_generals

The Avaaz community has stood with and supported the Burmese people through cyclone Nargis, through the massive repression of democracy activists in 2007, and this year over 400,000 of us have called for the release of political prisoners. Today, if enough of us act together, we have a chance to call upon the highest body under international law to finally end the tyranny. Sign the petition and send this on to friends and family to send a clear message to the UN Security Council that the world expects them to lead:

With hope,
The whole Avaaz team.

Sources:

For the politics behind the guilty verdict visit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8177328.stm

Read the Harvard report here: http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/hrp/newsid=59.html

For a United Nations Official's appeal to the Security Council visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/opinion/28iht-edpineiro.html

See the Sudan Commission of Inquiry process here: http://www.unausa.org/Document.Doc?id=253

For the UK MPs call for Commission of Inquiry visit: http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=38487&SESSION=899

For the US Senators call for a Commission of Inquiry visit: http://avaazmedia.s3.amazonaws.com/Obama UNSC COI Final 6-15-2009.pdf

Last week, Iran prevented a prominent human rights lawyer from leaving the country to receive an award in Rome.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, an activist who works closely with Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi on womens legal rights in Iran, had her passport confiscated by government officials at the airport. She was traveling from Tehran to Rome with her family to be honored by the Italian group Human Rights International.

This unlawful seizure of Sotoudehs passport appears to be part of a general crackdown of womens rights defenders in Iran. Last month, two UN human rights experts issued a joint statement expressing deep concern. Special rapporteurs Margaret Sekaggya and Yakin Erturk noted that the women and men active in the One Million Signatures Campaign, a grassroots movement aimed at promoting equality of men and women in Iranian law, have been particularly targeted.

LEARN MORE:

Read the Urgent Appeal: Joint Open Letter to Authorities on Harassment of Women Human Rights Defenders in Iran.

Read the latest News on Women's Rights and the Middle East.

TAKE ACTION:

Join Human Rights First in calling on the Iranian authorities to end their harassment of Nasrin Sotoudeh and other women's rights activists and to respect the right of human rights defenders to travel. Take action here.

Ok. So, having left you days ago upon leaving Chiang Mai, here we are back in Bangkok, where we arrived Thursday night. Every day I kept on hoping to find time to continue writing about our ongoing journey. Yet every day was so full of exchanges with the people from Burma who we had come all this way meet and listen to that carving out extra time to write about it proved to be logistically and perhaps more honestly at least for me -- emotionally impossible.

I actually did try a couple of times, only to find myself staring mindlessly as my blank computer screen. I felt anxious that I was falling down on the job by not committing the experiences to writing until I surrendered to the realities of the trip and let it go until finally now I have a bit of time to write.

What I write now, unfortunately, will not be as complete an accounting as it would have been had I been able to write after each meeting, each encounter, each experience or even at the end of each day. I'm going to only be able to summarize some of our encounters and obviously, those will be the things that continue to run through my mind, like an endless loop video, or something like that. But such is life.

The Seminar at Chiang Mai University

I'd like to take a couple of minutes to take us back to the seminar at Chiang Mai University. No way I can now share the words of the ethnic women of Thailand or all that our Burmese women colleagues said in their presentation, but I can make a few observations.

Various of the students spoke and shared their stories with us and one young woman had us all in tears. She stood up to speak and only managed a few sentences before she began to cry and could not stop. I went over to hold her and tell her it was ok, and we sat down together as she continued to cry. As we moved on to the next student speaker, we told her she did not have to tell the story if she didn't want to, but through her tears she said she wanted to. And after a couple of the others had told parts of their own stories, she was ready to speak. Her story of was her sister's rape by a Burmese soldier and her shame in its aftermath.

It made us all so angry. I wish I could say we were shocked but since the Burmese military has used rape as a weapon of war in its campaign of ethnic cleansing in the communities in the eastern part of Burma, it was anything but shocking. I couldn't stand it. I didn/t want her to believe that sexual violence had to be something of a "death sentence" to life so I decided to share my own story of sexual assault by a member of the death squads of El Salvador when I worked there so many years ago. I hope it helped.

Our time with the students ended with a song, played on the guitar and sung by the same young man who'd composed the song on the wonderfully poignant video we'd seen. If I ever feel despair, I will only have to think of the courage of these students to remind myself that my world is so privileged and I have no business with despair.

Of the estimated 30,000 Burmese children in Thailand only approximately 10,000 are receiving some form of education and this through an amazing network of schools run by the Burmese Migrant Workers Education Committee (most of the teachers have no legal status). Our delegation broke into two groups and collectively were able to visit over a half dozen of the schools. Although very overcrowded and seriously lacking in materials, what they accomplish is impressive.

At one school, small kids in grade school greeted us with "You are my Sunshine," which of course made us all smile and join in. At another we were treated with "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Many of the children's faces were decorated with a yellowish colored paste applied in a variety of designs. Mia and I and others from our group had it applied to our faces too, but with a decidedly different effect. While all the kids looked terrific, we looked jaundiced! But we didn't know that until we saw ourselves later in a mirror. Rather horrified, we washed the decoration off!

The umbrella organization has been in negotiations with the Thai government for some form of credentials so that their very existence is not threatened and the students can receive certification of having gone to school. While negotiations seem positive, it is still uncertain if and when that will actually happen.

We also had a chance to meet with some survivors of Cyclone Nargis. I'll let one of the survivors tell you in her own words how she feels:

"The regime is very rich now. It looks like the international community is supporting and protecting the regime. They send supplies to us but it is the regime who receives it. As long as they are in power, we will have nothing."

More on this heartbreaking story later. Tonight we are off to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

UN Resolutions and Reports on Women, Peace and Security

UNSCR 1325  English     Français     Español

UNSCR 1820  English     Français     Español

UNSCR 1888  English     Français     Español

UNSCR 1889  English     Français     Español   

Conflict Related Sexual Violence and Peace Negotiations: Implementing Security Council Resolution 1820 (Report of the High Level Colloquium 2009)

UN Secretary-General's Report on UNSCR 1325 

Draft Report on Indicators for UNSCR 1325

UN Gender Equality Architecture

2010 GEAR Statement 

UN Secretary-General's Comprehensive Proposal on a Gender Entity 2010

General Assembly Resolution on system wide coherence 

Commission on the Status of Women 2010 Resolution 

DSG Gaps and Challenges Paper, June 2008: Note on the United Nations System Support to Member States on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment

GEAR Campaign Working Group

Recommendations on Civil Society participation (GEAR) 

Criteria for Under-Secretary General (GEAR)

The International Criminal Court - Overview

ICC at a Glance (ICC)

Introduction to the ICC (Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice)

English   Francais  Espanol  Arabic

The International Criminal Court and Victims

Victims Before the Court (ICC)

Victims Participation (Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice)

English    Francais   Espanol   Arabic 

Victims and Witnesses Support and Participation (Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice)

English    Francais   Espanol   Arabic

Trust Fund for Victims (Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice)

English    Francais   Espanol    Arabic

Gender Analysis of the International Criminal Court

(Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice)

Gender Report Card 2009

Making a Statement: A Review of Charges and Prosecutions for Gender-Based Crimes Before the ICC

Prendre Position 

Legal Filings 

Women's Voices March 2010

Legal Eye on the ICC September 2009

The ICC Review Conference

Background Paper (Coalition for the ICC)

Last time I wrote, which was on Sunday, 3 August, we were sitting in the airport in Addis, waiting for our flight to N’djamena, Chad. Well, that one left about four hours late, but we still did get to the city in time to check in, freshen up a bit, and then go out to dinner with Serge Male, the head of the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) for Chad. Actually, we’d met before when the UN Mission on Darfur I’d led the year before arrived in Chad. This was much very informal – and thus more fun, in my view.

We were well into dinner when the sky opened, as they say, and the rain came pouring down. We had to pull our table further under the thatched roof of the patio seating area because the backs of half of the table were getting wet. The waiters had to bring the meals to the tables under umbrellas. A few of us finished before the others and decided to go back to the hotel – well, the waiters escorted us to the vehicles under big umbrellas, but they didn’t help much. The downpour had already turned the roads into gushing rivers and we walked in water that came up to mid-calf.

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Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams asks for President Obama's commitment in the international ban on land mines and cluster munitions to be equal to his leadership on nuclear disarmament. Read Williams' editorial for the Boston Globe, Ban Land Mines and Cluster Bombs .

Human rights groups, survivors, and state representatives of affected nations met together in Belgrade, Serbia on 3-4 October to discuss the international treaty banning cluster munitions. The conference was another step in the Oslo Process, which began in February 2007 and seeks to conclude a treaty banning clusters in 2008. Conference participants are confident of the treaty's success. Reuters reported that Steve Goose, Director of the arms division of Human Rights Watch, one of the groups that participated in the conference, said "We are convinced we will have very strong support for the treaty banning cluster munitions in 2008."

Countries participating in the conference included Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chad, DR Congo, Croatia, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tajikistan, Uganda, Vietnam, and Yemen. Nobel Laureate Jody Williams issued a letter on behalf of the Nobel Women's Initiative.

Letter from Jody Williams on behalf of the Nobel Women's Initiative to the
Belgrade Conference of States Affected by Cluster Munitions

(September 30, 2007) We of the Nobel Women's Initiative congratulate the Government of Serbia for hosting this unique meeting of states affected by cluster munitions, as part of the Oslo Process, leading to a new international treaty to ban cluster bombs in 2008.

As activists for peace, we know all too well the devastating impact of the global proliferation of conventional weapons of all types, and we share growing concern over the possibilities of a re-emergent nuclear arms race and the weaponization of space.

The NWI was launched in January 2006 to work with women around the world in a united effort for peace with justice and equality. We have spoken out on a number of occasions in support of a fast track process to eliminate cluster munitions before they become yet another humanitarian crisis in this overly weaponized world.

Arms control and disarmament are not esoteric issues that only a few military powers of this world are capable of handling generally in negotiations behind closed doors. Any discussion related to weapons must not be based solely on military considerations, but must include the humanitarian perspective as well. The impact of any weapon or weapon system on individuals, communities, and whole countries must be an integral part of any arms control and disarmament discussions.

We applaud Serbia for this bold initiative of bringing together affected states and donor countries to stimulate a dialog necessary to effectively tackle some of the core issues of the future treaty. We lend our full support to this new process determined not only to eliminate cluster munitions, but also to effectively address the needs of those already affected. We have no doubt that this effort will succeed as have other open and inclusive processes that bring together civil society and bold governments in innovative efforts to tackle our common problems such as the mine ban movement, the coalition effort in support of the International Criminal Court, and the disability rights movement that brought about the Disability Rights Convention.

We congratulate the Cluster Munitions Coalition and its leading NGOs for their role in pushing this issue to center stage.

Already, cluster munitions have caused human suffering and devastation in some thirty states and territories. They have been used in conflicts by more than one dozen countries. Additionally, they have been used in at least three conflicts by armed non-state actors. These numbers may not be impressive in comparison to the global contamination of landmines, for instance. The threatening part is that today some 75 countries have stockpiles of cluster munitions and these stockpiles have submunitions that number in the billions. These are ready to use and can easily create a crisis on the ground far outreaching the landmine one.

There has been much said and written what makes cluster munitions such a pernicious weapon of ill repute. The conclusion is that these indiscriminate, inaccurate and unreliable weapons cannot be allowed to proliferate. Eliminated now, the world will not face their global contamination as it has with landmines. We watched with dismay but unfortunately with little surprise as the go slow approach to dealing with cluster munitions through the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), based on the tyranny of consensus, did not produce the rapid results so necessary to avert another humanitarian disaster during the past five years of deliberations. We now look on with further dismay as some countries continue to claim that the CCW is the only viable forum to deal with cluster munitions despite the fact that more than half of the world's states do not belong to the CCW. We need to say it openly: The CCW is for those nations that want to continue to use cluster munitions that have already been proven to claim civilians' deaths. There is only one way to get to an effective treaty that will stop harm caused by cluster munitions and will address the existing needs - and that is the Oslo Process.

There is already a large group one third of the world's countries, ready to deal with cluster munitions and it is constantly growing, as we see here in Belgrade, where majority of all affected states gathered today.

Who understands better the problems and needs of those affected by the use of the weapon than they themselves? No one.

States that bear the burden of destruction know only too well the fatal footprint of cluster munitions. They need to take the ownership of the issue and make their voice heard here in Belgrade and further in the process to ban these weapons. They know what is needed to make a real difference for those who suffered from the detritus of war. They must be heard.

We call on all governments for a genuine partnership between affected and donor countries, between producers and users and the victims, between those who have and those who don't, to work in solidarity towards a strong comprehensive treaty to put end to suffering caused by cluster munitions.

The time for action is now.

Again, on behalf of my Nobel sisters, we applaud all those governments, international institutions, and civil society alike who are working together to eliminate cluster munitions by 2008. Congratulations to Norway for launching the process and to Serbia for hosting this meeting so expeditiously. Congratulations also to Peru for hosting the second major conference in this process and to others for the meetings that will come: in Vienna, Austria, in Wellington, New Zealand, and in Dublin, Ireland where we hope the cluster munitions convention negotiations will be concluded in less than a year from now.

We have already demonstrated that working together governments, international agencies, and civil society can find new ways to address the problems of human family and to make a real difference. Today we have yet another chance to change the world a little but it requires a bold vision, strong commitment and hard work from all of us.

Thank you.

Download the pdf of this letter here.

***

For more information:

Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) Press Release on the Belgrade Conference: Contaminated Countries Embrace Ban on Cluster Munitions.

Read the latest News on Disarmament.

Take Action  for disarmament.

"The Nobel Peace Prize is not awarded for what one has done, but hopefully what one will do." These are the words of Betty Williams, who in 1976 along with Mairead Maguire, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work to end the sectarian violence in her native Northern Ireland.

Williams was drawn into activism after witnessing a car crash in August 1976. A runaway car driven by Irish Republican Army member Danny Lennon, who had been fatally shot while fleeing from British soldiers, crashed into a family of four who were out for a walk. All three children; Joanne, John, and Andrew, were killed. Their mother, Anne Maguire, was critically injured. She committed suicide four years later, saying that she could not go on.

Determined to use this tragedy to push for an end to the violence, Betty and Mairead organized a peace march to the graves of the Maguire children.  More than 10,000 Protestant and Catholic women came to show their support. The following week, 35,000 people marched with Betty and Mairead, demanding an end to the violence in their country.

In the thirty years since the award, Williams has devoted her life to creating a new way forward, a movement to begin a reversal of thinking on how we deal with the injustices, cruelty and horror perpetuated on the world's children.

"Governments do not have the answers," says Williams. "Indeed quite the reverse. A lot of times they not only do not have the answers, they themselves are the problem. If we are committed to helping our world's children, then we must begin to create solutions from the bottom up."

Williams currently heads the World Centers of Compassion for Children International, which was founded in 1997 in honour of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The organization is headquartered in the Republic of Ireland, and is building the first City of Compassion for children in the Basilicata Region of southern Italy. Williams is also the Chair of Institute for Asian Democracy in Washington D.C. Williams is the recipient of dozens of honours, including the Schweitzer Medallion for Courage and the Eleanor Roosevelt Award.

Nobel Peace Prize

World Centers of Compassion for Children International

VIEW THE OP ED

Take Action for Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma

Write the United Nations Secretary General and the Security Council members

Urge the unconditional and immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as that of her fellow political prisoners. Urge the Security Council to pass a binding resolution to help bring about national reconciliation and democracy.

Send the letter below, or draft your own, to UN Secretary General and members of the UN Security Council. Or sign an online petition to the Secretary General.

Sample Letter:

His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon

Secretary-General

The United Nations

1 United Nations Plaza

New York, New York 10017-3515

Dear UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and members of the UN Security Council,

This September will mark a year since the Security Council placed Burma on your formal agenda. Yet, a binding resolution on Burma has not been reached. I urge the Council to take meaningful action on the human rights situation in Burma and pass a binding, non-punitive resolution to help bring about national reconciliation and democracy.

I am deeply concerned about the people of Burma and the security of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whose sentence under house arrest was extended in May 2007.  I urge that Aung San Suu Kyi be unconditionally and immediately released from house arrest and that her fellow political prisoners also be released.

I urge the Government of Burma to ensure immediate, safe and unhindered access to all parts of the country, including to internally displaced people, so that the most vulnerable populations may receive humanitarian assistance.

In developing a strategy on Burma, I urge the UN to specifically address the role and experience of Burmese women and girls and take steps to implement the provisions of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. While Aung San Suu Kyi's courage highlights the role women play in processes of peacebuilding and reconciliation, the oppression she faces illustrates the junta's policy of systematic violence against the women of Burma.

Thank you for your attention to this most serious matter.

Sincerely,

Your name

Email address for Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon: inquiries@un.org

Email addresses for UN Security Council Members:

Belgium

Permanent Representative: H.E. Mr. Johan Verbeke

newyorkun@diplobel.be

China

Permanent Member

Permanent Representative: H.E. Mr. Wang Guangya

chinamission_un@mfa.gov.cn

Fax: +1 212 634 7625

Congo

Permanent Representative: H.E. Mr. Basile Ikouebe

congo@un.int

France

Permanent Member

Permanent Representative: H.E. Mr. Jean-Marc de la Sabliere

france@un.int

Fax: +1 212 421 6889

Ghana

Permanent Representative: H.E. Mr. Nana Effah-Apenteng

ghanaperm@aol.com

Indonesia

Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations

ptri@indonesiamission-ny.org

Italy

Permanent Representative: H.E. Mr. Marcello Spatafora

info.italyun@esteri.it

Panama

Permanent Representative: H.E. Mr. Ricardo Alberto Arias

emb@panama-un.org

Peru

Permanent Representative: H.E. Mr. Jorge Voto Bernales

misionperu@aol.com

Qatar

Permanent Representative: H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser

qsc@qatarmission.org

Russian Federation

Permanent Member

Permanent Representative: H.E. Mr. Vitaly Churkin

rusun@un.int

Slovakia

Permanent Representative: H.E. Mr. Peter Burian

mission@newyork.mfa.sk

South Africa

Permanent Representative: H.E. Dr. Dumisani S. Kumalo

Fax: +1 212 692 2498

United Kingdom

Permanent Member

Permanent Representative: H.E. Sir Emyr Jones Parry

uk@un.int

United States of America

Permanent Member

Ambassador: H.E. Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad

usa@un.int

Other Action Campaigns:

The Women's League of Burma, Postcard Campaign

Shan Women's Action Network, Action Update

Free Aung San Suu Kyi, The Burma Campaign UK

Support UN Security Council Action on Burma, ALTSEAN-Burma

***

Read the latest News on Burma.

Read about Burma's political history and repression at the hands of the military regime at our Burma Issue page.

Learn what you can do for the people of Burma at our Take Action page.

Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party was legally dissolved last Thursday, marking the end of the party's 21-year struggle to overturn military rule in Burma. 

Members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) decided to disband the party rather than ratify new election laws that they feared would make them puppets of the current regime. 

The new laws require political parties to expel individuals with prior criminal convictions, effectively driving out the many NLD members who have been and remain political prisoners. This would also disqualify the party's leader, Suu Kyi, who has been detained under house arrest for the past 14 years following the NLD's landslide victory in the 1990 general election.

With Burma's first election in over 20 years slated for this fall, the enacted laws have received widespread criticism. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned that elections held without the full participation of political prisoners, and Suu Kyi in particular, may not be regarded as legitimate. International observers have questioned the credibility of the proposed elections altogether, fearing that it will be used by the military to further consolidate its control. 

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (pronounced Ong San Soo Chee) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 in recognition of her work in the non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma. For 14 of the past 19 years, Suu Kyi has been held under house arrest by the Burmese military junta. She is the only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate. 

LEARN MORE

Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party disbands in Burma, The Washington Post, 7 May 2010. 

Senior Burma NLD leader defiant as party disbands, BBC, 6 May 2010. 

TAKE ACTION

Write a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging him to make the release of Burma's political prisoners an international priority. 

Join the Burma Campaign UK and build support for a global arms embargo of Burma's military regime. 

Over the past two weeks Burma's military regime has unleashed a violent crackdown on its citizens, arresting over 100 demonstrators involved in peacefully protesting the government's August 15 hike in fuel prices.  Courageous activists have responded to the unbearable rise in fuel costs by organizing protests reported to be the largest in a decade. Despite almost daily arrests and beatings, emboldened protesters have continued to return to the streets. Government and international leaders, NGO's, and international citizens have spoken out against the crackdown and the Nobel Women's Initiative issued the following statement:

The Nobel Women's Initiative Condemns Burma Arrests

The Nobel Women's Initiative condemns the Burmese government for its continued suppression of the democratic rights of its citizens and calls for the immediate release of all protestors arrested for participating in demonstrations against the regime's exorbitant increase in fuel prices. It is unacceptable that the citizens of Burma be denied the right to free speech and peaceful protest.

The brave activists facing down the Burmese regime this week is an example of the courage and determination shown everyday by the Burmese people. Our sister Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and so many other women and men have risked their safety to return to the streets day after day, year after year, to demand the most basic rights and freedoms. For 17 years now Suu Kyi has paid the price, imprisoned in her home, while the regime pads its pockets and brutalizes its people. This recent crackdown on political dissidents is just another illustration of the regime's complete and utter disregard for democracy and human rights. Enough is enough. We have passed the point for urging' the international community to act on this situation. Failing to do so at this point is an atrocity, said Jody Williams.

With almost 90 percent of Burma's citizens living at or below a dollar a day, the recent cuts in government fuel subsidies have created a dire situation for the country's poor. Fuel prices have catapulted 100 percent and the cost of cooking gas has increased by a reported 500 percent. Desperation has forced Burmese citizens to the streets and resulted in more than 100 arrests of some of Burma's most prominent activists. The government has violently suppressed protestors' efforts through overt intimidation, attacks and arrests. The continued display of resistance by Burmese activists is exceptional given the risk they knowingly face when speaking out against the hard-line government.

The Nobel Women's Initiative acknowledges the remarkable boldness of all Burmese protestors and in particular the work of our sister activists. Women have played an important role in the recent demonstrations- organizing a march on August 22 that grew to more than 300 protestors. Despite peacefully exercising their political rights they have been continually plagued by harassment and abuse.

We are outraged at the use of gender-based violence and verbal abuse as weapons against women leading the protests. Women in Burma have a long history of active participation in the forefront of resistance movements during times of crisis, and again women are now taking a leading role to show their defiance against the regime's unlawful acts and injustice. (Women's League of Burma)

The Nobel Women's Initiative again condemns China, Russia, and South Africa for their failure to support the January Security Council Resolution on Burma. We urge these governments to renounce their prior positions and join other members of the Council in taking immediate steps to resolve the current crisis and help bring about national reconciliation and democracy in Burma.

*** 

Since mid-August 2007 Burma's military regime has unleashed the latest crackdown on its citizens' long-standing nonviolent resistance movement. Read a Summary of Recent Events.

Read the latest News on Burma.

Read about Burma's political history and repression at the hands of the military regime at our Burma Issue page.

Take Action for Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma.

We women Nobel Peace Laureates of the Nobel Women's Initiative call upon the government of Israel and all other armed groups to declare an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Lebanon-Gaza conflict. We decry the appalling lack of global leadership in the face of this violence affecting hundreds of thousands of civilians. The failure of the G-8 to tackle head-on the blatant breaches of international humanitarian law demonstrates their crass unwillingness to put civilian lives above politics. In particular, we call upon the United States to stop blocking action by the UN Security Council to resolve this crisis.

To date hundreds of civilians have been killed or wounded, mostly women and children. Israel's targeted destruction of civilian infrastructure including roads, bridges, apartment buildings, relief trucks, ports and the airport has resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties. It has also prevented civilians from evacuating conflict areas, and has hindered humanitarian access to those civilians. Hundreds of thousands of refugees are attempting to flee in very dangerous circumstances. The right of self-defense does not include deliberate disproportionate response to any attack the stated policy of Israel and a violation of humanitarian law. Hezbollah's attacks on Israeli cities are also violations of humanitarian law.

Every new attack leaves dead and wounded in its wake. Every new attack makes another woman a widow and more children orphans. Every new attack demonstrates the inability or unwillingness of governments to exercise their moral and legal obligations to stop the violence. Every new attack underscores our collective failure to stop making violence our preferred choice for confronting the problems facing us all.

The UN Security Council must intervene to stop the violence and avoid an escalation of the conflict that could engulf the region in yet more war. It is time for internationally mediated negotiations for comprehensive peace in the Middle East. Such negotiations must include women from throughout the region -- it is women and children who suffer disproportionately during and after conflict -- women must have a voice in finding meaningful solutions to the violence.


# # #

Support women's organizations providing humanitarian assistance in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel.

Also read: A collective failure in the Middle East - 31 July 2006

Residents of Hay Madi, a southern suburb of Beirut, salvage what remains of their home and business after an Israeli airstrike. Photo by Hugh Macleod/IRIN on 20 July 2006.

***

Read the latest News on the Middle East.

Read about the Middle East at our Middle East Issue page.

Take Action for the people of the Middle East.

Over the last two weeks, the Iranian authorities have been criminalizing peaceful protest and taking violent actions against its citizens.   Gross human rights violations, arbitrary arrests, and extreme violence have been occuring daily.

Read more about recent events in our Middle East News section.

Take action now to call on the government of Iran to protect the human rights of women, journalists, students, peaceful protesters and activists.

Send an email to the Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Republic of Iran through Amnesty International.

Sign a petition to  the Organization of Islamic Conference, the Non-Aligned Movement, and all UN member states through Avaaz.

Donate $15 to help fund enough bandwidth for Iranians to send secure e-mails and share their information without fear of being persectued through Avaaz.

Cambodian women are joining with politician and rights defender Mu Sochua in a fight for judicial reform. Mu Sochua, a sitting member of parliament, has exhausted her appeals against a conviction for defaming the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen.

The case stems from comments made by the Prime Minister about Mu Sochua, which were derogatory to her as a woman. When she announced her intention to sue him for defamation, she herself was convicted of defaming the Prime Minister.

Mu Sochua is the former minister of women's affairs and an ardent womens' rights defender.  She was initially facing arrest over her refusal to pay the fines levied against her. The Municipal Court has informed her that the National Assembly has been authorised to dock her salary for two months in order to compensate the Prime Minister. She stated, "If my salary is taken without my agreement, it is a violation of my rights."

Mu Sochua stands to highlight the court's unjust practices to the national public and international community. Her dedication to judiciary reform has not wavered despite opposition and harassment from the current government. Cambodian women are uniting with Mu Sochua to see a judiciary system with independence, accountability, and equal access for all. She states, "The women's movement is the engine that will be strengthened to fight for true reforms of the judiciary -- I am on board."

LEARN MORE

Justice has prevailed for Mu Sochua, Peace is Loud, 17 July 2010.

Cambodian people deserve an Independent Judiciary, KI Media, 19 July 2010.

UN denounces defamation case against polititician in Cambodia, VOA News, 13 July 2010.

TAKE ACTION

Sign the petition for Cambodian Women in Politics.

(15 November 2006) In Geneva this week the Cluster Munition Coalition's campaign for a new international treaty addressing cluster munitions is picking up steam. The International Herald Tribune reports two dozen countries have joined in a move to negotiate a treaty to curb the use of cluster bombs, which are blamed for killing and injuring innocent civilians long after the end of the wars in which they were used.

The Third Review Conference of the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) is underway in Geneva. The Nobel Women's Initiative calls on the governments there to show responsible leadership and a genuine concern about the protection of civilians in armed conflict and negotiate a ban on unreliable and inaccurate cluster munitions.

*Update*
Norwegian initiative  for a new treaty to ban clusters, 17 November 2006

The below op-ed by Betty Williams, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi and Wangari Maathai appeared in the Ottawa Citizen on November 15, 2006.

Ban the Bomblets

As recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, we have been shocked by the extensive use of cluster munitions during the 33-day conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in July and August.

The unnecessary civilian deaths and injuries from cluster bombs and their lasting impact on attempts to rebuild shattered lives and communities will continue long after the conflict has faded from the front pages of our newspapers. We have watched this predictable and preventable situation unfold with deep dismay.

The appalling violence on both sides of the conflict and deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure in both Lebanon and Israel almost defies our imagination. While other weapons were also used indiscriminately during this war, cluster munitions are of particular concern because of the deadly legacy they leave in their wakes -- a legacy like that of antipersonnel landmines.

Submunitions released from the cluster munitions that fail to explode on impact, "duds," are little different from antipersonnel landmines -- except all too often they are much more lethal.

According to the United Nations, Israel used cluster munitions, which released up to four million submunitions over southern Lebanon; the overwhelming majority of those were used in the last 72 hours of fighting before the ceasefire took effect. Three civilians are still being killed or injured every day by these lethal bomblets. Beyond the deaths and injuries of men, women and children, the contamination by an estimated one million submunitions that failed to explode on impact means people's lives will not return to normal in southern Lebanon for years.

Israel also reports casualties as a result of Hezbollah's use of more than 100 Chinese-manufactured clusters.

This most recent use of these horrific weapons weighs heavily on our minds, but it is not the first such use -- cluster munitions have now been used in 22 countries by 13 governments and several non-state armed actors. The United States used them decades ago in its war in Vietnam and has used them much more recently in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. The Soviet Union used them in Afghanistan, and Russia in Chechnya.

With more than 70 countries stockpiling billions of these weapons, we are deeply concerned that cluster munitions will increasingly be used in conflicts and that this latest war in the Middle East could mark the beginning of a frightening proliferation to non-state actors.

How can the world stand by mutely and watch the use of clusters become commonplace as happened in the 1970s and '80s when landmine use proliferated in conflicts around the world? It took tens of thousands of civilian deaths and injuries and the contamination of massive tracts of land before the international community finally banned antipersonnel landmines in 1997.

Governments must not make the same mistake with cluster munitions.

Do we passively watch the suffering from cluster munitions in Lebanon today -- just another human tragedy that we can do nothing about? Or do we create the political will necessary for our governments to change their policies on this humanitarian issue?

As ordinary women who have made a difference to peace through dedicated action, we know such changes can happen and do happen. In fact, a group of individuals and organizations came together in 2003 to form the Cluster Munition Coalition and work to stop yet another humanitarian disaster in the world -- this time from cluster munitions. And their work is bearing fruit: So far Belgium has banned the weapon, Norway has recently made its temporary moratorium on the use of clusters permanent until an international treaty is negotiated, and a growing number of other countries and political leaders are calling for negotiations to address the humanitarian concerns caused by cluster munitions.

As governments meet in Geneva for the Third Review Conference of the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), they have a chance to start work on a new international treaty addressing cluster munitions.

As activists for peace, we call upon the governments there to seize the opportunity and not let it slip through their fingers, as they did at an earlier review conference in 1996 where they proved incapable of banning landmines through the CCW. Then, just as now, the commitment from civil society was clear.

Now, it is up to governments with a genuine concern about the protection of civilians in armed conflict to show responsible leadership and negotiate a ban on unreliable and inaccurate cluster munitions.

For more information see the Cluster Munition Coaltion website: www.stopclustermunitions.org

***

Read the latest News on Disarmament.

Take Action for disarmament.

by Shirin Ebadi

16 October 2006


For years, the Western world has tried to paint a dark picture of Iranian society, especially, as it concerns Iranian women. Iran's legal sanctioning of stoning and the execution of minors only serve to reinforce these negative images.

Iranian intellectuals have objected to portrayals of Iran that are primarily based on such markers and have pointed to the inherent biases of highlighting only the dark features of their society.

One of the most impressive facets of Iranian social life is that women comprise 65% of university students, making Iranian women more educated than their male compatriots. Such statistics put Iranian women on a similar level to that of women in advanced European countries and are a great source of pride. They also serve as a stark contrast to women's subordinate legal status. Angry at their legal subordination, Iranian women ask themselves questions such as: Why should the life of a woman be half the value of a man's? When a car hits and injures a man and a woman, why should the driver be obligated to pay the woman half the damages entitled to the man? Is it a sin to be a woman? Is human dignity based on gender?

Educated and conscious women in Iran ask themselves why the legal testimony of two women is equal to the testimony of one man? And worse, why can the system punish and whip women who have chosen to bear witness to a crime in the absence of any willing male witnesses? Articles 75 and 76 of the Islamic penal code states:
  
Article 75: In cases of zena [fornication], where the punishment is had-e jeld [lashing], the testimonies of two just men and four just women suffice.
Article 76: The testimonies of women alone cannot prove guilt or innocence. Nor can the testimony of only one man. Furthermore, had-e ghezf [punishment of 80 lashes] can be imposed on such witnesses.

Is it right in the 21st century to use lashing as a form of punishment? For years, this and hundreds of similar questions have preoccupied the minds of many Iranian women. They have used various means to express their opposition to discriminatory laws, and have used every opportunity to speak of equality and justice. Whether they were arguing for the legal rights and protection of girls, opposing stoning and early marriages, or protesting against gendered discrimination in family laws, Iranian women have been voicing their opposition. And underlying all these protests was that single pressing demand: "Equality of rights between women and men in the laws of Iran."

Now, Iranian women are spelling out this demand. A campaign to reform discriminatory laws has begun. This campaign will collect one million signatures from Iranian women and men to protest against this legal degradation. The feminist movement has taken another step forward by demanding the elimination of ALL legal inequalities against women.

The feminist movement of Iran believes that women's rights and democracy are intimately related. Without equality of rights, there can be no democracy. The victories of feminist movements in all countries can open the way for democracy. Of course, this means victory of women in the true sense. The rise in power of a few select women, or the election of a handful of women to the Parliament will not solve anything. The true victory of women will occur when discriminatory laws are lifted.

The important question is, how will this take place? Are we thinking too big? To answer this question we must argue that the feminist movement of Iran cannot limit itself to one or two legal clauses. The goal of equality is much larger. The world must know the demands of Iranian women who refuse to submit to discriminatory laws. Iranian society cannot afford to tolerate such laws.

We support actions which aim to eliminate laws such as stoning as a form of punishment. But we want to go further and demand "complete equality" of rights between women and men. If you too believe in human equality, visit Change for Equality  and support your sisters and brothers.


This article was originally published in Farsi in www.roozonline.com
Translated by Mahsa Shekarloo

***

Read the Latest  News on Women's Rights.

Read about issues directly affecting the rights of women at our Women's Rights Issue  page.

 Take Action for Women's Rights.

Iranian authorities have increased their harassment of nonviolent women's rights activists. Tell them campaigning for women's rights is not a threat to national security. Take Action here.

Background

At least 11 women's rights activists have been summoned to the Revolutionary Court in the past week and another 50 cases are pending. On 23 April two more women's rights activists were sentenced to prison, reportedly charged with gathering and colluding to disturb national security, disturbing public order and disobeying the orders of officials.

Noushin Ahmadi and Parvin Ardalan were sentenced to six months in jail and two and half years suspended sentence. On April 18, Fariba Davoudi Mohajer and Sussan Tahmasebi were sentenced to prison with the same charges. The four activists were organizers of a peaceful protest on June 12, 2006 demanding equal rights for women and the One Million Signatures campaign demanding an end to discriminatory laws against women.

I am shocked to hear of these sentences. Campaigning to end discriminatory laws should not send a woman to jail. Working to build an equal society is building human security, not threatening national security, said Shirin Ebadi.

The Iranian authorities have increased their harassment of women's rights activists by breaking up several peaceful public demonstrations and continuously blocking access to websites focused the women's rights campaign for an end to discriminatory laws.

Amnesty International expressed concern in an April 20 statement that such protestors have been increasingly targeted since the Minister of Intelligence Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie publicly accused the women's movement and student campaigners of being a part of an enemy conspiracy for a soft subversion of the government in Iran on 10 April 2007.

Tell the Iranian authorities that campaigning for women's rights is not a threat to national security. Tell them to release immediately and unconditionally all those detained in connection with recent peaceful demonstrations for equality, to drop charges and to stop harassing women's rights activists. Take Action here.

To read an article written by Noushin Ahmadi about collecting signatures for the One Million Signatures Campaign click here.

***

Read the Latest  News on Women's Rights.

Read about issues directly affecting the rights of women at our Women's Rights Issue page.

Take Action for Women's Rights.

Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani ~ Photo courtesy of kosoof.com

Parvin Ardalan ~ Photo courtesy of kosoof.com

The Nobel Women’s Initiative is calling upon Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to ensure that Canadian companies uphold the rights of the indigenous communities in which they operate.

The letter, sent last week, draws attention to the human rights violations and environmental contamination that are occurring in relation to the Canadian-owned Marlin gold mine in Guatemala. 

The controversial mine was established in 2005 without consultation with the local indigenous population and has been steadily opposed by indigenous rights groups, environmental organizations and the local Catholic church ever since.

READ MORE

Laureates to Guatemala: Protect Indigenous Women Activists, Nobel Women's Initiative, 10 July 2010

Support the Struggle Against Impunity in Guatemala, Nobel Women's Initiative, 9 July 2010
 
Guatemala Suspends Marlin mine - Human rights and environmental organizations applaud the decision, urge President Colom’s government to protect communities against retaliation, Mining Watch Canada, 24 June 2010

TAKE ACTION

Send a letter to members of the Canadian government, politicians and investors with Rights Action. 

Send a letter to Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom. Visit Mining Watch Canada.

Take action with Friends of the Earth International.

After respected peace US activists Medea Benjamin and Ret. Col. Ann Wright were barred entry to Canada in mid-October, parliamentarians from the New Democratic Party invited the activists back to Ottawa to speak to activists. On Thursday October 25, activist Ann Wright was kept out of Canada a second time, despite being invited by elected Members of Parliament.

Benjamin and Wright are on an FBI watch list which, as of July 2007, Canada is using, alongside a series of shared databases, to screen would-be visitors to Canada. The activists have been ardent nonviolent opponents of the war in Iraq, and arrested in the US for nonviolent civil disobedience.

A statement from Jody Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire , two Nobel Peace Laureates, was presented at an event October 25th, on Parliament Hill in Canada. Ms. Williams plans to visit Canada in November, and is not certain whether she will be allowed entry.

See their statement below.

For more information go to Code Pink's website  .

Sign CodePink's petition to pressure the Canadian Government to stop blacklisting peacemakers!

In support of Medea Benjamin and Ann Wright

We two women Nobel Peace Laureates are disappointed and concerned that Canada has turned away two respected peace activists, Medea Benjamin and Ret. Col. Anne Wright, and refused them entry to Canada.

The two of us - Jody Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire - were arrested together in Washington, DC in 2003 for nonviolent civil disobedience against the Iraq war. Will the Canadian government keep us out too?

During the Vietnam war, Canadians welcomed between 50 and 90 thousand Americans who opposed the war, opposed the draft. Canada even turned a blind eye to army deserters during this period.

10 years ago, Canada played a lead role in negotiating an international treaty to ban landmines. Canada was a leader - and people all over the world remember that that Canada. American peace activists have relied on that Canada.

How can Canada justify turning them away? Medea Benjamin and Ret. Col. Anne Wright are doing courageous and necessary work for peace - we support them.

###

Media:

US peace activists barred again from entering Canada, International Herald Tribune, 25 October 2007

US peace activist detained at Ottawa airport en route to meet MPs, CBC News, 25 October 2007

NDP Calls on government to allow entry to American peace activists, The Canadian Press, 23 October 2007

2006 marks the 16th anniversary of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign!

What is the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign?

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign originating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991. Participants chose the dates, November 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women and December 10, International Human Rights Day, in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a human rights violation.

Since 1991, the 16 Days campaign has worked to increase the visibility of violence against women as a human rights violation. The campaign has been utilized by groups all over the world to demand support services for survivors, enhance prevention efforts, press for legal and judicial reform, and use international human rights instruments to address violence against women as a human rights violation, a public health crisis and a threat to human security and peace worldwide.

Over 2,000 organizations in approximately 137 countries have participated in the 16 Days Campaign since 1991!

This year's theme, Advance Human Rights - End Violence Against Women, celebrates activists who have made the campaign a success and honors women human rights defenders who have suffered intimidation and violence for their activism and/or have given their lives fighting for gender equality.

For more information on 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, including how you can take action, please visit the Center for Women's Global Leadership.


Information for this page came from the 2006 16 Days Take Action Kit, prepared by the Center for Women's Global Leadership.

***

Read the Latest News on Women's Rights.

Read about issues directly affecting the rights of women at our Women's Rights Issue page.

Take Action for Women's Rights.

To view more photos of the 2008 Delegation please visit our Flickr page.

The volcano in Iceland which has grounded flights throughout Europe has provided the International Gender Justice Dialogue with unforeseen challenges. Contingency plans had been developed for almost every imaginable scenario, yet the disruption caused by volcanic ash was not one that we had imagined.

In spite of this, the Dialogue will go on.  Participants from Africa and Europe will, sadly, not be able to join us in Puerto Vallarta.  However we hope to include their voices in other ways by encouraging them to send us their thoughts through our blog, Facebook page, email, YouTube, and other creative ways. 

To get the work of the Dialogue out to the world we will be blogging, Facebooking and Twittering non-stop from the conference, as well as posting video of the proceedings throughout the duration. We hope that those who were unable to join us in person will feel like they are here with us!

The Dialogue will now be happening on Tuesday, April 20^th  and Wednesday, April 21^st  to accommodate people who had to postpone their flights. People around the world can follow us here to keep up with the proceedings. 

Starting now, be a part of the Dialogue and join us, virtually, in Puerto Vallarta. This will be your online hub for everything Dialogue so keep checking back for more blogs, photos, videos, profiles of advocates and to contribute your own content. We can’t wait to hear from you!

For questions, comments and to post your own pictures, blogs,  or video messages, please contact myself -- Kieran Bergmann -- or Kimberley MacKenzie.

kbergmann@nobelwomensinitiative.org

kmackenzie@nobelwomensinitiative.org

Day Two Blog, Monday 21 July 2008
Chiang Mai, Thailand


Our day started a bit early with a briefing at 7:30 am. The inevitable question of the morning when we first meet is “So, how did you sleep last night?” Sometimes jet lag seems to hit as soon as you step foot off the plane. Other times you start out by sleeping well and then a few days into a trip you go to bed to find you seem to be awake more than asleep during the night. The next day it can be a serious challenge to not drag yourself through the day.

Generally members of a group seem to “take turns” with troubled sleep, which means that at least some are alert and energetic on any given day. The big challenge comes when the entire group has a night or two of bad sleep! It seems inevitable. It is too early in our journey for that to happen, but given that many of us have flown about 24 hours to get here the jet lag menace always seems to be lurking.

After two nights of incredible sleep (including the eleven plus hours on the plane to Bangkok), last night was not enough hours of sleep and waking up too often when I was in bed. It wasn’t a really bad jet lag attack, but it does make you jittery worrying that it is just the prelude to days of insomnia.

We all seemed to be in pretty decent shape when we began our morning, but by the time we got back to our hotel at 7:00 this evening, every one of us was looking more than a little drained. Anyone who’s been on a delegation like this one knows that days often are long and that’s to be expected. But for all of the delegation members today, it is fair to say that it wasn’t the number of hours in our day, but what we learned from the courageous and committed women we met with throughout the day.

After our briefing that covered both the situation in Burma and that of Burmese living in Thailand, we headed off to the Women’s Studies Department of Chiang Mai University, which was cosponsoring and hosting various activities for our delegation today. The Women’s Studies Department, along with a working group of women from Thailand and Burma, planned the events which not only gave us the opportunity for closed meetings with Thai women of ethnic minorities and women from Burma living here under precarious circumstances, but also afforded some representatives of those women the rare opportunity to participate in a four-hour-long seminar with our delegation before an audience of well over 700 people at the University’s auditorium. On our very first day of work, we were able to meet one of our goals of using our access to provide a forum for women who feel they are never heard to speak to a large audience and the media, if they chose.

Even as they seemed to feel it an undreamed of experience, for me it was yet another experience where I’ve emerged more motivated having been inspired by women who, under the most adverse circumstances, work for the recognition and acceptance of their human rights, not only to advance women, but also because they believe that when women’s rights are accepted and promoted, all of humanity benefits.

In our closed sessions of the morning we listened to ethnic women of Thailand talk about the disenfranchisement of their people, which in turn reinforced their own status as second class members of their communities. I was simply stunned to listen to their determination to be women politically active in their communities. Our next session was with about 20 women from Burma – every one of them spoke English, even those who’d not had the opportunity to complete even a high school education. These meetings were also preparation for the afternoon’s seminar…….

TO BE CONTINUED. Unfortunately, the day did not give me enough time to finish this blog. Nor can I tell you about the unbelievable students from Burma who are studying here to return to Burma and continue the struggle for democracy as well as share what they have learned here. Shortly we are on our way to the town of Mae Sot – about a five hour ride from here into the mountainous area on the Burmese border. Not surprisingly, there is no internet connection there, so I’ll get back to you at the end of the week when we’re back in Bangkok!

Check out Mia's blog as well!

The Nobel Women's Initiative Delegation, led by Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams and Mia Farrow, met today with women from Burma as well as various Thai ethnic groups at Chiang Mai University. The symposium was co-organized by the Women's Studies Department at Chiang Mai University and the Nobel Women's Initiative for the purpose of highlighting the political rights crises faced by women in Thailand and Burma.

Jody Williams initiated the program declaring, "We're here to bring messages of the women of Burma, of the marginalised, to the world. We're here to listen. We're here to learn the common concerns that women of the world seem to share."

Women attending the symposium shared stories of discrimination, concerns about the struggle for survivors of cyclone Nargis, as well as the detention of Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the crisis of refugees along Burma's borders. In attendance, renowned human rights activist, Charm Tong of Shan Women's Action Network, aptly stated, "Aid alone will not solve Burma's problems. Unless political issues are addressed, this crisis will continue."

During the moving discussion, delegate Mia Farrow conveyed to the audience at Chiang Mai, "I am still shaking [from listening to the women]. I am moved and inspired to go forward stronger than ever. I want to be part of the solution anyway I can."

After Thailand, the Delegation will join delegate leader and Nobel Peace Laureate, Wangari Maathai to meet with women's organizations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Juba in South Sudan, concluding the trip at Chadian refugee camps.

Follow along on the Delegation.

MEDIA

• Nobel laureate meets Burmese women, Bangkokpost.com, 22 July 2008
• Nobel Laureate Doubts Suu Kyi will be Released, The Irrawaddy, 22 July 2008
• Mia farrow to attend thai seminar, The Nation 7 July 2008
• Mia Farrow Calls for Global Pressure at Olympics for Burma, The Irrawaddy, 25 July 2008.
• Farrow: Nations Should Protest China at Olympics, Associated Press, 25 July 2008
• Mia Farrow Slams Myanmar Post Cyclone Rights Record, AFP, 25 July 2008
• Burma: Females hit worst by cyclone Nargis, IPS, 27 July 2008
• Mia Farrow calls for global pressure at Olympics, International Herald Tribune, 25 July 2008
• Quarter of aid to Myanmar lost, Al Jazeera, 28 July 2008

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The G8/G20 summits ended on Sunday with the world focused on the standoff between protesters and police in Toronto.

On the other side of the fence, the meetings themselves ended with world leaders largely ignoring international outrage about the impacts of fossil fuels, global climate change and poverty. Demands that G8/G20 leaders take action on the environment and live up to their commitments went unheard. 

Thousands of people gathered in Toronto, and 2 million people worldwide signed a petition calling for leaders to Invest in the Future Now, by tackling climate change, fighting poverty and shifting to a low carbon economy. Nobel Peace Laureates, and many others, joined the call to push for climate change to  be a central focus of the G8/G20 agenda.

At last year's G20 meetings in Pittsburgh, member countries made firm commitments to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies by 2020. Strong wording in the final communique gave climate activists hope that this was one commitment that world leaders would not shy away from. However, rather than strengthen their commitments in Canada, they have chosen to recycle statements from their last meeting. As climate change continues to gather pace, it is not the time to look back; it is time to move forward.

If the G20 held to its commitments in Pittsburgh we could make up some real ground in the fight against climate change. WWF estimates that an end to fossil fuel subsidies by 2020 would result in a 10 per cent drop in climate change emissions. Instead, 500 billion dollars (US) goes into subsidizing fossil fuel production and consumption every year -roughly ten times the annual amount estimated as adequate to meet global Millennium Development Goals for eradicating poverty.

People all around the world will continue to demand action on climate change but it is time that our leaders lead.

LEARN MORE

Climate Backslide! As Public Opinion Moves One Way, Politicians Go The Other, The Huffington Post, 28 June 2010.

Nearly 2M people call for climate action from the G8/G20, tcktcktck, 25 June 2010.

Team Green isn't looking to strong on the G20 soccer pitch, The Toronto Star, 25 June 2010.

Each of the days leading up to the G8/G20 meetings has a theme, and yesterday marked climate justice day. Hundreds of activists gathered midday at Alexandra Park in downtown Toronto to call on the G8 and G20 leaders to help stop climate change and to mitigate the effects already being felt by people all over the world.

That evening, Climate Action Network Canada launched Canada's Climate Change Calendar. It is an innovative tool to demonstrate Canada's disproportionate impact on climate change. The Calendar shows the average Canadian's greenhouse gas emissions compared to the greenhouse gas emissions of the average person in other countries. For example, in 15 days, the average Canadian has already emitted as much as the average Bangladeshi emits in an entire year.

This really struck a cord with me. Yesterday I heard women and men speak of the effects that climate change has had in their countries. Increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events (such as hurricanes and tropical storms) that destroy houses, crops and livestock; drought and floods wreaking havoc on agricultural production; the rapid retreating of glaciers. And the sad reality is that this is what happens in the countries that contribute the least to climate change. Those of us who contribute the most have yet to feel the full effects.

The impacts of climate change on the populations of developing countries have been devastating. But the impacts on women have been even worse. In fact, for every one man that dies because of disasters related to climate change, four women die. Hopefully the G8/G20 leaders will listen to the message that I heard loud and clear yesterday. Hopefully in their meetings in the next three days they will make firm commitments to help stop climate change.

International Gender Justice Dialogue: Dr. Joan Chittister 

What Are Cluster Munitions?

Like landmines, cluster munitions are weapons that claim victims indiscriminately during times of war and peace. These weapons have inhumane consequences for innocent civilians decades after conflicts end. Cluster munitions, or cluster bombs, are canister-like weapons that are dropped from planes and open in mid-air to scatter smaller submunitions or bomblets to the ground below. Each canister can drop anywhere from a dozen to 200 bomblets over an area the size of 2-3 football fields.

The mechanical function of cluster munitions is similar to antipersonnel landmines. They have trigger devices that when disturbed, trigger a deadly explosion. Unlike mines, the bomblets are designed to explode on impact, rather than being triggered by a victim stepping on the munition. However, cluster munitions' scariest threat is that they are extremely unreliable weapons. Twenty-five percent of cluster submunitions are estimated to fail to explode on impact. This means the bomblets are left lying on the ground and with the slightest disturbance, like a child's touch or even a gust of wind, explode to kill or maim their victim.

Who Uses Cluster Munitions?

Cluster munitions are standard fare in the arsenals of many state and non-state actors around the world. They are a daily threat to civilians in dozens of countries, especially Vietnam and Kosovo, where past American and NATO bombing has left thousands of unexploded bomblets behind. They were used again in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, where their brightly colored exteriors lure children, who think the bomblets are toys. During the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict, it was reported that Israel fired 4 million cluster munitions across Lebanon. After the conflict ended, UN experts estimated as many as one million unexploded bomblets lay waiting across hundreds of strike sites in southern Lebanon. Recognizing the potential aftermath, the Nobel Women's Initiative sent out an urgent call for Israel to cease its use of cluster munitions on Lebanese targets.  Read Ban the Bomblets, by the women of the Nobel Women's Initiative.

What is Being done to Ban Cluster Munitions?

The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) began a process to ban the weapon in November 2006 in Geneva. A major breakthrough was achieved in February 2007 when the government of Norway initiated a treaty development process known as the "Oslo Process". (The Oslo Process is modeled after the "Ottawa Process"- a treaty negotiation process that happened outside official UN channels to rapidly negotiate an international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines in 1997.) The Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions gained widespread support for establishing this treaty process, which has the aim of developing, negotiating, and concluding a new international treaty rejecting the use of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians.  Of 49 countries attending the Oslo Conference, 46 pledged their support to the Oslo Process.

By late 2007, the Oslo Process had gained the support of more than 90 states-  including over half of the world's stockpilers and half of its producers of clusters.  This was the result of eight month's work by key supporters of the process, anchored by a