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SRHR Campaigns:
Calls for Action and Solidarity:
WGNRR at Global and Regional SRHR Events:
Following the 2030 Agenda:
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Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs)
WGNRR's Partner in action!
Events Resources and Opportunities!
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Greetings from WGNRR! May and June were both very busy months as we were excitedly preparing for and participating in global and regional advocacy events. At the international level we had a blast participating in the Women Deliver Global Conference in Copenhagen where we spoke on panels, presented the "Pact for the empowerment, sexual rights and the sexual and reproductive health of Girls, Adolescent Girls and Young Women†together with our partner Elige-Red de Jóvenes por los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos, and had a wonderful consultation meeting with WGNRR members and partners. Immediately after Women Deliver we supported advocacy efforts at the 36 ECLAC Session in Mexico City. We also saw some great initiatives led by partners and members during May 28, International Day of Action fro Women's Health! At the regional level we were quite active in Asia Pacific where we attended the Global Hotline Meeting in Indonesia hosted by Samsara with safe abortion hotline providers and advocates from around the world. We also provided technical support to the Safe and Accesible Abortion Practices Project of Youth Action Nepal, where we facilitated SRHR and communications training.
We hope you enjoy the newsletter!
In solidarity,
The WGNRR Team
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SRHR Campaigns
Information about WGNRR's campaigns, allies' campaigns & calls for solidarity
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Thank you for Marking the Day! May 28 International Day of Action for Women's Health
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For over 30 years, women’s rights advocates and allies have mobilized all over the world on May 28, the International Day of Action for Women’s Health. This year, WGNRR encouraged its members, partners and allies worldwide to organize actions in their communities and advocate for women ’s comprehensive health and wellbeing, particularly their unmet sexual and reproductive rights. You showed your support on social media by using #May28 and #WomensHealthMatters
The results were amazing!
- 2,920,217 impressions
- More than 30 online articles
- 20+ offline events around 18 different countries
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Uganda: CSOs Call for Legalisation of Abortion
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WGNRR's Ugandan partners are scaling up the abortion advocacy after the SAAF project. CSOs want the government to commit to address the diverse nature of women’s sexual and reproductive health issues, and uphold rights to decide freely upon all aspects of their body. Read more HERE.
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Calls for Action and Solidarity
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Support Mabel's Bianco candidacy for CEDAW
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Show your support for the candidacy of Dr. Mabel Bianco from Argentina for the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women –CEDAW-.
Mabel Bianco is a widely known advocate of women’s and girls’ rights in her country, in Latin America and the Caribbean and the world. She has been part of the feminist movement both regionally and worldwide for more than 30 years and has broad experience in the defense of reproductive rights, the right to health, to a life free of violence, decent work and equality of conditions for women and men, as well as political participation and decision making positions.
Please complete the following form to support Dr. Mabel Bianco’s candidacy: http://bit.ly/249yw9j
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WGNRR at Global and Regional SRHR Events
WGNRR actively participates in regional and global events related to WGNRR’s focus areas (youth SRHR, sexual rights, access to safe abortion, and access to contraception) as one of its strategies for advocacy and networking.
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WGNRR at Global Hotline Meeting
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©Samsara/Imawan Rahadianto Santoso Atmosudirdjo
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WGNRR's Asia Programme Officer, Marevic Parcon, participated in Global Hotlines Meeting organised by Samsara Indonesia with support from Safe Abortion Action Fund from May 2-5, 2016 and was held in Bali, Indonesia. The meeting was attended by safe abortion hotline providers and advocates from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. During the 4-day meeting, participants discussed and tackled challenges as well as shared good practices in providing access to medical abortion outside of formal health care systems especially in settings where abortion is legally restricted or where it is permitted but widely inaccessible.
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Capacity Building and M&E activities in Nepal
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WGNRR provides technical support to the Safe and Accessible Abortion Practices Project of Youth Action Nepal and the SRHR Coalition Nepal. The project is supported by the Safe Abortion Action Fund. From May 27-June 3, WGNRR’s Asia Programme Officer, Marevic Parcon, traveled to Nepal to facilitate trainings on SRHR and communications which were attended by 20 members volunteers and members of the Coalition. After the training, Marevic conducted Monitoring and Evaluation activities in Jhapa, South of Nepal.
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WGNRR at the Women Deliver Global Conference
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WGNRR attended the 4th Women Deliver Global Conference. The Conference’s goal was to bring together diverse voices and interests to drive progress, particularly in maternal, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and to build capacity, share solutions and forge partnerships. WGNRR's Campaigns and Communications Officer, Marisol Ruiz participated in several panels as a Young Leader. In all, the Women Deliver 2016 Conference brought more than 5,700 policymakers, researchers, advocates, journalists and young people from more than 2,000 organizations and 169 countries to Copenhagen. READ MORE
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WGNRR at the Thirty-sixth session of ECLAC in Mexico City
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WGNRR participated in the 36th Session of ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean). The session provided a forum for the consideration of issues related to the economic and social development of the countries of the region and an opportunity to review the progress of the Commission’s activities and oversee its work.
The ECLAC secretariat presented the position document Horizons 2030: equality at the centre of sustainable development. WGNRR worked closely with regional and local partners and joined the calls to ask the Mexican government to formally nominate Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, executive secretary of the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, as a candidate to be the new Secretary-General for the United Nations. Alicia Bárcena has long been affiliated with the U.N. and served as a lead cabinet member under former Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
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SRHR as HR
WGNRR's work to seek recognition of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) as human rights (HR). Resolutions, news, statements, agreements, decision and actions that acknowledge SRHR as HR.
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Joint statement by UN Human Rights experts on the occasion of HLM on HIV/AIDS
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The joint statement was issued on the occasion of the High Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, to take place 8 - 10 June in New York, and it makes a strong call for human rights to be at the core of fast-tracking efforts to end the AIDS epidemic, including a call to end discrimination in health care. Read full statement HERE.
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Ireland abortion ban subjected woman to suffering and discrimination – UN experts
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Campaigners Ireland’s abortion laws in front of government buildings in Dublin on April 6, 2016. Clodagh Kilcoyne / Reuters
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Ireland’s abortion laws subjected a woman to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, according to a landmark decision from the United Nations Human Rights Committee. This ground-breaking ruling marks the first time that, in response to an individual complaint, an international human rights court or committee has recognized that by criminalizing abortion a state has violated a woman’s human rights. Read more HERE
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Government Denies Liability in the Forced and Coerced Sterilization of Women Living with HIV
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WGNRR is deeply concerned about the response from the Kenyan government to a petition filed on December 9 regarding the cases of forced and coerced sterilization of five women living with HIV. The five women were sterilized in health facilities in Nairobi County through a procedure known as bilateral tubal ligation. The Attorney General further argued that the petition does not disclose any constitutional violation by the national government, and that the petitioners have not demonstrated the violation of their rights. At WGNRR we stand with local and regional partners who continue their important work in raising awareness about this grave human rights violation. Read more and show your support HERE.
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SADC Model Law: one step closer to ending child marriage in Southern Africa
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Developed by the Southern African Development Community-Parliamentary Forum (SADC-PF), the Model Law has the potential to shape how the region addresses child marriage.
Based on the latest evidence, the Model Law sets a consistent standard for how legislation should deal with child marriage and protect children already in marriage. It will be a powerful tool for countries that are developing, reviewing or harmonising their laws related to child marriage and its impact.
Civil society was able to provide inputs into the Model Law at a consultation held by Girls Not Brides, in collaboration with UNFPA, the Southern African Litigation Centre and Plan International earlier in March. Read more HERE
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Following the 2030 Agenda
WGNRR's work to push for SRHR in the Post-2015 agenda, as well as helpful information on the New Development Agenda process for SRHR organizations
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2016 High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS
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The 2016 High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS focused on the importance of a Fast-Track approach to the AIDS response over the next five years. You can find the full Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: On the Fast-Track to Accelerate the Fight against HIV and to End the AIDS Epidemic by 2030 HERE.
The official document has a number of shortcomings, in that it does not fully reflect SRHR or the needs and rights of key populations, including transgender people, sex workers, people who use drugs, prisoners, and men who have sex with men. In response, civil society organizations have released a Shadow declaration to set out a vision for global commitments that would advance human rights for all, including key populations.
In light of the meeting, WGNRR together with ICW-CYWAG released a statement emphasizing the importance of realizing the SRHR of young women and girls living with HIV. Read more HERE
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Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs)
Highlights of issues that SRHR activists, advocates and defenders face as a result of their work.
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El Salvador: Killing of transgender human rights defender Francela Méndez
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Source: AWID
In the early hours of 31 May 2015, transgender human rights defender Ms Francela Méndez was murdered in the Las Palmeras area of the city of Sonsonate, El Salvador.
Francela Méndez was an active defender of the rights of the transgender community in El Salvador. She had been a member of the board of directors of the Colectivo AlejandrÃa (AlejandrÃa Collective) since its foundation in 2010. The Collective works to promote the rights of the LGBTQI community in El Salvador through awareness raising and education, and seeks to provide support to members of the community through training and advocacy in the face of their everyday subjection to discrimination. Before her murder, the human rights defender had been involved in the implementation of a Global Fund sponsored programme combating HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria. She was also a member of the Red Salvadoreña de defensoras de derechos humanos (El Salvadorian Network of Human Rights Defenders). Read more HERE
We at WGNRR urge the government of El Salvador to:
- Conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of this and other cases of hate-motivated violence against LGBTQI individuals, holding perpetrators accountable and providing redress to victims, as called for by Human Rights Bodies.
- “Publicly acknowledge the particular and significant role played by women defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues in the consolidation and advancement of plural and inclusive societies as a first step to preventing or reducing the risks that they face,†as recommended by United Nations Special procedures;
- Ensure the human rights of WHRDs to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and association, and freedom to defend human rights;
- Take all measures necessary to ensure the effective protection of WHRDs such as AlejandrÃa Collective from harassment, violence and discrimination.
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WGNRR Members and Partners in Action
Every 2 months we will feature at least one member organization or individual to facilitate sharing of experiences and information among members and encourage collaboration.
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