Iraq and UN Security Council Resolution 1325

As each day's tragic headlines make clear, post-Saddam Iraq is still plagued by major security issues and economic deprivation. And evidence is mounting that women's ability to fully enjoy human rights--indeed, even to demand such rights--is integrally linked to their economic empowerment.

A three day workshop on peace, security and women affairs under the Great Lakes Region has opened in Lusaka. The workshop is a preliminary meeting ahead of the Great Lakes summit of Heads of States and Governments which will be held on Wednesday.
Delegates from all member states are attending the workshop which is being held at Mulungushi International Conference center.

As security continues to improve in Iraq, the country is rebuilding both its civilian and military aviation sectors. Now that all legal restrictions on women in aviation careers have been removed, Iraqi women now have opportunities to excel in this field. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad will host an event to provide practical advice and encouragement for Iraqi women interested in flying.

The International Criminal Court, the first permanent tribunal set up to prosecute individuals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, opened its doors in 2002. Five years earlier, people in the global women's movement had organised a women's caucus for gender justice to bring about this happy event, and the existence of the ICC is in no small part the result of their concerted efforts.

Kurdish women are largely divided into four regions; Syria, Turkey, Iran and Kurdistan. Their problems and struggles are equally divided. Oppression towards women in these four regions varies, and the great female personalities from these regions have fought, and campaigned for different things. When speaking about Kurdish women, we have to be specific about their region.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY POSNER: Welcome, everybody, and happy Human Rights Day. Please have a seat. Sixty-two years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which established, really, for the first time, the universality of human rights – every human being entitled to rights because of their humanity.

Since the United Nations was established over 60 years ago, there have been dramatic advances in crafting and implementing a system of universal human rights – rights which are, under international law, applicable to each and every one of us: old and young, male and female, rich and poor, whoever we are and wherever we are from.

Washington (CNN) -- Toward the end of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's surprise appearance at the TED Women conference Wednesday, she told the story of a girl and her father in a developing country.

A workshop on human rights of women in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held Wednesday.

The workshop is jointly held by the Vietnamese Research Centre for Human Rights, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and Canadian International Development Agency.