European & International News

International news globe All the latest news from the European Union, its member states, and beyond.

European & International News
European Parliament’s Women’s Rights Committee calls for more women in peacekeeping operations

Posted on 23 November 2011 |

[European Parliament, Brussels, 23 November 2011] The EU and Member States should increase the number of women in military and civilian peacekeeping operations, especially in leadership positions, through national campaigns promoting military and police forces as a viable job option for women as well as men, says the Women’s Rights Committee on Tuesday, voting a report on the situation of women in war.
Other options are to promote women-friendly policies within the military, such as (...) Read more
European & International News
UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet unveils comprehensive policy agenda to end violence against women

Posted on 22 November 2011 |

[United Nations, New York, 22 November 2011] In her first message for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, since UN Women became operational earlier this year, Executive Director of UN Women Michelle Bachelet outlines a comprehensive policy agenda to end violence against women globally. Violence against women is pandemic but there has been progress. Today 125 countries have specific laws that penalize domestic violence, a remarkable gain from just a decade (...) Read more
European & International News
European Parliament backs plans for European minimum wage

Posted on 17 November 2011 |

[Brussels, 17 November 2011] According to reports in the Parliament Magazine, MEPs have adopted a motion calling for a Europe-wide minimum wage. Read the article below by Martin Banks.
European Parliament backs plans for European minimum wage
Parliament has approved controversial plans to investigate the possibility of creating a legally-enforceable Europe-wide minimum income.
The move, agreed by MEPs at Tuesday’s plenary session in Strasbourg, would also seek to classify poverty as a (...) Read more
European & International News
Commission work program 2012 - all about growth

Posted on 16 November 2011 |

[Social Platform, Brussels, 16 November 2011] This week the Commission published its work programme for 2012. The headlines are "building a Europe of stability and responsibility", "building a union of sustainable growth and solidarity" and "giving the EU an effective voice in the wider world".
The CWP 2012 gives a multiannual overview which frames the Commission’s work and helps stakeholders and other EU institutions plan their work with the Commission. Some strategic initiatives may be (...) Read more
European & International News
World Economic Forum report says women losing ground in economic, political equality

Posted on 14 November 2011 |

[IPS, 14 November 2011] While gender equality ratios have improved in 85 percent of countries over the past six years, economic participation and political empowerment for women has failed to match the steady progress of health and education, says a new report by the World Economic Forum.
By Sandra Siagian
The report, "Global Gender Gap", compiled by Ricardo Hausmann from Harvard University, Laura Tyson from University of California, Berkeley and Saadia Zahidi from the World Economic (...) Read more
European & International News
27 countries in Sport for Development resolve to address gender-based violence in sport

Posted on 14 November 2011 |

[NOWSPAR, Port of Spain, 11 November 2011] The Next Step Conference 2011 ended with resolutions to adopt Principles on Gender Based Violence in Sport and to develop Standards, the second key resulution is to develop and share resources and tools to use sport to address Gender Based Violence with a commitment to report on actions and progress at the Next Step 2013 Conference. This is a milestone in the campaign on Gender Based Violence spearheded by NOWSPAR, Nowergian Olympic Committe and (...) Read more
European & International News
Bosnia & Herzegovina - UN envoy welcomes conviction for rape during conflict

Posted on 13 November 2011 |

[United Nations, New York, 09 November 2011] The envoy spearheading United Nations efforts to combat sexual violence in conflict today welcomed the conviction of a Bosnian Serb ex-soldier for acts of murder, rape and enslavement during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s. Sasa Baricanin was found guilty and sentenced to 18 years in prison by a court in Bosnia and Herzegovina of various war crimes carried out in the city of Sarajevo in 1992-93, according to media reports. In a statement, (...) Read more
European & International News
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi of Iran urges arab women to advocate for their rights in post-revolution governments

Posted on 7 November 2011 |

[Brussels, 07 November 2011] In an interview with Reuters, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi of Iran calls on women in the "Arab Spring" countries to stand up for their rights. Read the Reuters article below.
DUBAI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Women should voice demands about their rights during the popular uprisings sweeping the Arab world to avoid being short-changed by post-revolutionary governments, Iranian Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi said.
Ebadi, a practising Muslim, also (...) Read more
European & International News
FRA to conduct first EU survey on violence against women

Posted on 7 November 2011 |

[Brussels, 07 November 2011] In 2011-2012, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) will conduct an EU-wide survey on violence against women. This is the first survey of its kind to randomly sample and interview 40,000 women across the 27 EU Member States and Croatia. It will therefore furnish the robust, comparable data that policy makers need to shape informed, targeted policies to combat such violence.
On their website you will find a factsheetwith valuable background information (...) Read more
European & International News
World Health Organisation publishes Fact sheet on Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence Against Women

Posted on 7 November 2011 |

[Brussels, 07 November 2011] The WHO in September 2011 updated its Fact sheet N°239 on Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence Against Women, finding that between 15–71% of women reported experiencing physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lives.
Key Facts: Violence against women - both intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women - are major public health problems and violations of women’s human rights. A WHO multi-country study found (...) Read more