European & International News

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

European & International News
MEPs call for more support for single mothers and their children

Posted on 5 November 2011 |

[European Parliament, Brussels, 25 October 2011] EU Member States should help single mothers by setting up "family centres" to provide them with temporary accommodation, advice and education, says Parliament in a resolution passed by a show of hands on Tuesday. The number of single mothers is growing in all advanced and industrialised countries, as a result of divorce, separation or never having been married, stresses the text.
Rapporteur Barbara Matera (EPP, IT) said during the debate on (...) Read more
European & International News
NGOs issue Statement to the G20 on Embedding Human Rights in Financial Regulation

Posted on 5 November 2011 |

[Cannes, 25 October 2011] As the Group of 20 Leaders prepare to meet in Cannes to discuss and shape global economic policies, 190 organizations and networks from over 52 countries call on hem to give primacy to their duties to respect, protect and fulfill human rights in commitments on financial regulation.
We are writing to the Group of 20 Leaders, in advance of their upcoming Summit in Cannes, to remind them that even in the policies of a most eminently economic nature, their duties to (...) Read more
European & International News
UN Security Council debates women in peacebuilding

Posted on 5 November 2011 |

[UN-Women, 24 October 2011] The UN Secretary-General’s annual report to the Security Council on women and peace and security has been released ahead of the Open Debate. The report analyzes progress in implementing Security Council resolution 1325, which was passed in 2000, along with related commitments on women, peace and security. It is based on contributions from 38 Member States, four regional organizations and 27 entities of the United Nations system.
The report covers findings in five (...) Read more
European & International News
Vice-president and European Commissioner Vivian Reding: I will implement Quota

Posted on 5 November 2011 |

[Simone Brummelhuis from thenextwomen.com, 17 October 2011] “I started life as a political journalist in a time when women were supposed to write about gardening, cooking and social parties. I then became a politician, because I had already a following through my readership. I changed things and became a role model for many female journalists who wanted to get into serious writing.” These are the words of Vice-president and European commissioner responsible for justice, fundamental rights (...) Read more
European & International News
UN Special Rapporteur: Criminalisation of abortion is an abuse of power

Posted on 28 October 2011 |

[Brussels, 28 October 2011] The EWL welcomes the report (A/66/254) of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health Anand Grover that was presented to the UN General Assembly on 24 October 2011. The report is a milestone in the struggle for the full realization of the right to health for all.
The Report exposes the need to eliminate laws and policies that criminalize and restrict access to sexual and reproductive health information and supplies and services, including abortion, and that (...) Read more
European & International News
Libya - Sharia Law Declaration Raises Concerns for Women

Posted on 28 October 2011 |

[Brussels, 28 October 2011] The announcement by Libya’s interim leader that the new regime would base legislation on Islamic sharia law is raising strong concerns for women’s rights under any new order to govern the country following the deposition of Muammar Gaddafi. Piotential backsliding on women’s basic rights in cases of marriage and divorce is particularly worrisome. Read the Agence France-Press article below by Simon Martelli.
Agence France-Presse, October 24, 2011
By Simon Martelli (...) Read more
European & International News
European Parliament passes resolution saying single mothers and their children should receive more direct support

Posted on 26 October 2011 |

[Brussels, 26 October 2011] EU Member States should help single mothers by setting up "family centres" to provide them with temporary accommodation, advice and education, the European Parliament confirmed in a resolution passed by a show of hands on Tuesday.
The number of single mothers is growing in all advanced and industrialised countries, as a result of divorce, separation or never having been married, stresses the text.
Rapporteur Barbara Matera (EPP, IT) said during the debate on (...) Read more
European & International News
ROJ Women’s Association uses EWL Barometer to highlight inadequacy of Turkish National Action Plan for combating violence against women

Posted on 25 October 2011 |

[Brussels, 25 October 2011] The Turkish and Kurdish women’s association, Roj Women, has published a Press Release highlighting the results of the EWL Barometer on violence against women, stressing how the Turkish National Action Plan fails to adequately address this widespread human rights abuse. The EWL recently had the pleasure to hear from and exchange with the ROJ Women’s Association on the ocasion of the event in the European Parliament co-organised by the EWL on 20 September on the (...) Read more
European & International News
Germany - Top firms pledge to bring more women into their boardrooms

Posted on 25 October 2011 |

[Brussels, 25 October 2011] Last week, Germany’s biggest 30 firms signed a pledge to increase the number of women in top management positions, with targets varying from 12% by 2014 to 35% by 2018. The EWL has long been calling on companies to implement strong measures to redress an inbalance where in the top 300 EU publicly traded companies, less than 12% of board members are women. In Germany, the figure is shockingly low at only 2.2%. In August this year, the EWL issued a Statement on this (...) Read more
European & International News
IFJ calls on journalists to join global wage survey

Posted on 24 October 2011 |

[European Federation of Journalists, Brussels, 24 October 2011] The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today calls on journalists around the world to take part in a global wage survey "WageIndicator" to campaign for decent pay to journalists and to narrow the gender pay gap in journalism.
In a letter addressed to its affiliates, the IFJ called on all its members to participate in a global wage survey conducted by WageIndicator, to measure wages of over 1,500 different (...) Read more