Author: Ed Gracely

July 17, 2018 — 20th Anniversary of the International Criminal Court

July 17 is  World Day for International Justice, also referred to as the Day of International Criminal Justice or International Justice Day. It was on that day that the Rome Statute was adopted, the treaty that created the International Criminal Court. This week, July 17, 2018, we commemorate the 20th Anniversary of that International Criminal […]

Ongoing Debate in Tonga Over CEDAW Ratification Reflects U.S. Challenges on a Smaller Scale

Recently, the small Polynesian island state of Tonga (officially known as the Kingdom of Tonga) has attempted to recharge an internal process toward ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Earlier this year, the Tongan government had announced that it planned to move forward with steps toward […]

Slide show on threats to press freedom

Bob Groves has provided the slide show from one of his talks on press freedom. The figures are scary. The threats to press freedom (and democracy) are real. Take a look! Note — it is a pdf file. Open the blog post (clicking on the title) to see the link: here.

Los Angeles Moves Forward With New CEDAW Initiatives

During a press conference on March 31, 2015, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the enactment of a major Gender Study and Plan for implementation of the L.A. CEDAW ordinance. The five-part study will be developed via partnership with the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women and researched by Mount St. Mary’s […]

Cities for CEDAW National Conference Call

On January 20th, the National Conference call for the Cities for CEDAW campaign was launched. The call hosted hundreds of participants across the country, as well as a number of prestigious speakers, including:  – Lakshmi Puri – Assistant secretary general of U.N. Women (conversing with Rick Smith of the Pinkerton Foundation);   – Ambassador McDonald from […]

We Are Charlie! [Click on the title to read the whole post]

The United Nations Association Greater Philadelphia Chapter (UNA-GP) condemns the vicious and outrageous murders of journalists and police in Paris. UNA-GP (https://una-gp.org) recognizes the strong link between press freedom and the basic rights of free expression and democracy — no press freedom, no democracy!

CEDAW VICTORIES: IN 2011 CASE, MALAYSIAN WOMAN WON DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT BASED ON CEDAW PRINCIPLES

Several years ago, the Malaysian Ministry of Education, responding to a shortage of trained teachers in the country, decided to implement a program by which they would hire untrained teachers to serve on a temporary basis. In 2009, a Malaysian woman, Noorfadilla Saipin, interviewed for the position and several months later, was offered the job. While […]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CEDAW!

By: Lana Ulrich   Today, December 18th, CEDAW turns 35. Since its adoption by the UN General Assembly in 1979 it has been ratified by188 countries.   Read here a recent General Statement posted by FIDH – the International Federation for Human Rights — on where to go from here and things we’ve still got to work on, […]

CEDAW NEWS: IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

By: Lana Ulrich December 10th , or International Human Rights Day, marked the end of the recent campaign, 16 Days, aimed at spreading awareness of measures to end violence against women across the world. The color of the campaign was bright orange, and activists, citizens, and leaders all over the world donned orange gear in […]