Get Involved
Nobel Women's Initiative
430-1 Nicholas St.
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 7B7
Canada
Tel: +1 613 569 8400
Fax: +1 613 241 7550
Search
Nobel Women's Initiative Update - December 2008
 |
 |
 |
Nobel Women's Initiative Update - 9 December 2008
In Recent News
First Global Treaty Banning Cluster Bombs Signed in Oslo
Eleven years to the day following the signing of the Mine Ban Treaty, over 90 countries gathered last week in Oslo to sign the first global treaty on banning cluster bombs. Countries signing the historic document included Laos, Lebanon, the United Kingdom and—at the last minute—Afghanistan. The Convention on Clusters Munitions sets the highest standard to date in international law for assistance to victims and their communities. Nobel Laureate Jody Williams and the Nobel Women’s Initiative supported the process leading up to the signing. Now, Williams and other activists are encouraging countries to ratify the treaty—and move quickly ahead with implementation.
Learn more at www.stopclustermunitions.org.
Nobel Laureates Speak out on Darfur: Op-Ed in the Guardian
The on-line version of the Guardian (UK) last week published an editorial on Darfur by Nobel Peace Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams. Ebadi and Williams argue that the UN Security Council should offer its full support for the International Criminal Court’s efforts to indict Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir: “The people of Darfur deserve – and have clearly voiced a desire for – justice and accountability. And while the ICC is not the only vehicle for justice, it is the only vehicle right now.”
Read the full op-ed by clicking here.
Release Aung San Suu Kyi: Nobel Laureates Ask for UN Action
Jody Williams, Rigoberta Menchu Tum and Shirin Ebadi in November 2008- highlighted the imprisonment of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in New York. Photo by Judy Rand.
Recent events in the Congo prevented UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon from meeting with a delegation of Nobel Peace Laureates last month in New York. So instead Jody Williams and her sister Laureates sent Ki Moon a letter, calling on him to do everything in his power to “secure the release of our sister Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and address the use of rape as a tactic of war in Burma”.
To read the full text of the letter, click here.
Nobel Laureates Call for End to Targeting of Iranian Women Activists
The Nobel Women’s Initiative stepped up its call last month for the end to the harassment and arrest of women human rights defenders in Iran. This followed the notable targeting of members of the One Million Signatures Campaign, including Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi. The Campaign is a grassroots movement launched over two years ago to promote gender equality in Iranian laws. Other members include Iranian-American student Esha Momeni, arrested by Iranian authorities on October 15. Almost a month later, authorities released Momeni on bail. To date, however, they are still holding Momeni’s travel documents and she is unable to leave the country.
Meanwhile, the website of the Campaign has received the Reporters Without Borders Jury Prize of the Deutsche Welle International Weblog Awards - The BOBs.
Learn more about the Campaign here: www.change4equality.com/english
Nobel Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire Visits Gaza
In October, Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire embarked on a four-day visit to Gaza with the Free Gaza Movement. The group arrived in Gaza on a ship carrying medicine, to bear witness to the humanitarian crisis there. She notes: “We as the human family must all learn to deal with our fears non-violently, and realize that our best hope for human security is not in occupation and siege, but in reaching out to make justice and our enemy our friend.”To download Mairead Corrigan Maguire’s full report, click here.
Take Action
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is coming to a close. 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. Since its inception, over 2,000 organizations in approximately 154 countries have participated in the 16 Days Campaign.
Join UNIFEM's global movement and sign your name to the Say NO to Violence Against Women campaign!
Recent Events
Shirin Ebadi and Iranian Activist Women Speak at AWID Forum
A group of Iranian women activists—including Shirin Ebadi— discussed the One Million Signature Campaign with other women activists gathered for the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) 11th International Forum held November 14 to 17in Cape Town, South Africa. They joined Nobel Women’s Initiative staff and more than 2,000 women’s rights leaders and activists from more than 140 countries. The theme of the event was The Power of Movements. Ebadi and the young Iranian activists used their workshop to launch a provoking, inspiring video introducing the Campaign to a wider audience.
Campaign videos are now posted on the Change for Equality website at www.change4equality.com/english.
While in South Africa, Ebadi also published on op-ed, Peace and Justice Go Together, in South Africa's Mail and Guardian on the International Criminal Court and Sudan.
Nobel Women’s Initiative Honored by US Magazine for Empowering Women
Jody Williams, Rigoberta Menchu Tum and Shirin Ebadi at 2008 Glamour Women of the Year Awards.The US Magazine Glamour awarded the Nobel Women’s Initiative the ‘Women of the Year Award’ on November 10 at a celebrity-studded event at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The organization was honored for its work to “empower women around the globe to fight violence, inequality and injustice In accepting the award, Jody Williams—along with sister Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Rigoberta Menchu Tum—noted that the seventh Laureate—Aung San Suu Kyi—remains under house arrest in Burma.
To learn more, check out the Glamour magazine article Nobel Women’s Initiative: The Peacemakers.
New Report from NWI
The report from NWI’s peace delegation this past summer to the Thai-Burma border, Sudan and Chad is now available!
Please click here to read a PDF version of the report, or contact us directly for a print copy.
![[]](/webyep-system/data/23-im-Image_5-3411.jpg)
NWI Thanks Our Supporters for A Successful 2008!
We couldn’t have done it without you. This year we led a delegation to the Thai-Burma border, Sudan and Chad, greatly expanded our global advocacy work on peace, justice and equality—and grew our staff and resources! Our success is thanks to the many inspiring activists, volunteers and supporters who believe that a nonviolent world of security, equality and wellbeing for all is possible. Thank you!
Help Make a Difference in 2009
We invite you to join our efforts by making a contribution to the Nobel Women's Initiative. Your donation will help continue our work in 2009, as we seek to open new ground for discussion, debate and change.
Click here to donate.
Learn More About NWI
Visit our website to learn more about NWI - issues, news, media, and ways you can take action.The