Nobel Women's Initiative

Nobel Women's Initiative Update - 10 October 2008

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In Recent News

Women's Peace Delegation to the UN: Act Now on Darfur, Burma

Nobel Laureates Wangari Maathai and Jody Williams—along with actress-activist Mia Farrow—were at the United Nations on September 29 to call for immediate action to end the crises in Darfur and Burma. They also launched a report, detailing recommendations developed by the Nobel Women’s Initiative during its 3-week delegation this past summer to the Thai-Burma border, Ethiopia, Sudan and Eastern Chad. The women called on world leaders and the Security Council not to bow to pressure and delay justice to the people of Darfur. They also called for the international community—especially China—to stop supporting the campaign of violence against Burma’s ethnic nationalities, including the use of rape as a weapon of war.

 

Visit our website to read the media release.

Honoring the One-Year Anniversary of the Saffron Revolution

The Nobel Women’s Initiative launched a video on September 22 to mark the one-year anniversary of Burma’s nationwide nonviolent protests, dubbed the Saffron Revolution. In the video, Nobel Laureates Jody Williams, Rigoberta Menchu, Dr. Shirin Ebadi and Betty Williams call for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Burma, including Sister laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. They also repeat their call for the military junta to heed the groundswell of support for democracy in Burma.

Watch the video on our web site or check it out on the Encyclopedia Britannica blog.

Women Peace Laureates Support National Peace Council in Iran

We oppose any military action or threats of military action against Iran. We also demand a negotiated resolution to the current standoff between Iran and the United States. Those were the strong messages expressed in a statement released by the Nobel Women’s Initiative on June 30th in support of the National Peace Council. The National Peace Council is the brainchild of prominent Iranian intellectuals, academics, dissidents and other human rights defenders—including Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. Shirin Ebadi.

Read the full statement of support on our website.

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Take Action

Urge Iran to halt threats against Shirin Ebadi and family

The Iranian regime has stepped up its campaign against Shirin Ebadi. On August 8, 2008, an article was published on the website of the official Iranian Republic News Agency (IRNA) leveling a series of attacks against Dr. Ebadi and her family, including false accusations that her daughter converted to the Bahai faith, and appeared to be related to Dr. Ebadi’s decision to defend in court seven members of the Bahai minority in Iran.

On August 11 the Nobel Women's Initiative issued a statement condemning such accusations against her.

In September, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs canceled a series of university lectures by Ebadi. The Iranian Foreign Ministry pressured their Malaysian counterparts, warning "Her public speaking engagements in Malaysia would cause a disruption of the good relations between the governments of Malaysia and Iran."

On October 1, while Ebadi was in Germany receiving the "tolerance prize", the IRNA warned that Ebadi was exploiting the "patience and tolerance" of government authorities.

Click here to demand an end the Iranian regime's attempts to intimidate and silence Ebadi and other human rights defenders.

Sign the People’s Treaty to Ban Cluster Bombs!

Only eight weeks left for your country to decide if it will sign the new clusters munitions treaty! The new treaty was unanimously adopted by 107 participating states on May 30th. But that treaty won’t become binding international law until those countries sign on the dotted line. A vote from you on the People’s Treaty will help ensure that your country does the right thing. Do your part to help ban cluster munitions now! You can also write your government to ask that they participate in the Oslo Conference where the treaty will be signed.

Find out more by visiting www.stopclustermunitions.org.

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Recent Events

More Than 2,000 Students Join Laureates at ‘Peace Jam’

High school students from around the world joined six Nobel Peace Laureates from September 11 to 13 in Los Angeles. They were taking part in the 2008 Peace Jam Global Call to Action Conference—an ambitious event aimed at nothing less than changing the world. The conference is part of a youth movement that brings Peace Laureates together with youth to address some of the toughest issues today, including securing the rights of women and restoring the environment. The movement involves mobilizing the global community to initiate one billion 'acts of peace' over the next 10 years. With guidance from the Laureates, the students are busy organizing 'Global Call to Action Projects' that they will carry out in their local communities. Laureates attending this year’s Peace Jam included Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Jody Williams, Betty Williams and Shirin Ebadi—as well as the esteemed Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and Adolfo Perez Esquivel of Argentina.

 

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Thank you for your support

The Mission of the NWI is 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.

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