WUNRN
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
November
25 - December 10, 2008
2008 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER VIOLENCE
Theme Announcement
The 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a
historic moment, recognizing the past six decades of work to secure the
conventions and treaties that make up the human rights framework. The
principles of the declaration also gave legitimacy to activists around
the world who were calling for the realization of universal human rights.
On December 10, 2007, a civil society campaign was launched to celebrate
the upcoming 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR). This project is pioneered by a group of notable activists
known as “The Elders” and seeks to reclaim the principles in the UDHR
through the message that Every Human Has Rights. The Center for Women's
Global Leadership (CWGL) is proud to be a partner in this UDHR60 NGO
campaign, which comes at a time when the legitimacy of both women’s
rights and human rights are being challenged in too many settings.
Human rights cannot be universal without human rights for women. The
UDHR60 campaign offers an opportunity to advocate for women’s rights and
the quest to end gender inequality, and to create a world free from
violence, discrimination and injustice. These are critical to building a
just, peaceful and sustainable world where human rights for all are
respected. Over the past 60 years, women have created groundbreaking
global and local efforts to challenge gender inequality and feminist
approaches to human rights are being developed and used around the
world. Women’s advocacy has brought about pioneering change in areas
such as education, health, law, and political participation – and, in
interpretations of the human rights framework itself. The global
frameworks for realizing women’s rights have been spelled out in the
Women’s Convention (CEDAW), and in documents from other UN processes,
such as the Vienna Human Rights Declaration, the Cairo Programme of
Action, the Beijing Platform for Action, the Millennium Development
Goals, and the World Summit. Women have successfully demanded state
political will to create meaningful change, but the implementation and
resources to fulfill these promises are still lacking.
CWGL’s focus in this UDHR60 campaign is not exhaustive, but what we will
do is build on, celebrate and honor this global momentum, particularly
in areas most closely related to our work on women’s human rights. In
addition, we will dedicate the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender
Violence Campaign 2008 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the UDHR and
to make demands to advance women’s human rights. CWGL’s primary areas of
focus will be:
• Support Women Human Rights Defenders
• End Violence Against Women
• Strengthen Gender Equality Structures in the UN
• Expand Financing for Gender Equality
Recognizing that the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
Campaign provides an opportunity to bring global activism around women’s
rights to the forefront of the celebration of UDHR60 on December 10
2008, we invite all to join in celebrating the anniversary of the
Declaration and honoring decades of landmark women’s rights advocacy. We
encourage groups to focus their plans for the 16 Days of Activism
Against Gender Violence Campaign 2008 on activities that address the
many human rights challenges facing women around the globe and to
celebrate the leadership of women in defending human rights.
*Join the 16 Days movement! *
Create or join a community, campus, national or international activity
for the 16 Days. Request a Take Action kit, join the 16 Days listserv,
and use past 16 Days International Calendars of Activities (available
online) to spark ideas for your activities or to find information about
groups in your area. Submit your planned projects to CWGL for posting to
the 2008 International Calendar of Activities and become part of the
global 16 Days movement.
*Join the 16 Days electronic discussion! *
Join the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence email listserv
discussion, which lets activists share work against violence, build
partnerships with others worldwide, and to develop strategies and themes
for the annual 16 Days campaign.
To join the discussion, visit
https://email.rutgers.edu/mailman/listinfo/16days_discussion.
*Submit your materials! Help us build a 16 Days Archive! *
CWGL requests that participants in the 16 Days campaign – past as well
as present – send descriptions of your current or past 16 Days events to
the contact information below for posting in the electronic
International Calendar of Activities. CWGL would also be pleased to
receive other materials, including posters, fliers, photographs,
t-shirts, video footage, poems, songs, statements, and reports for the
campaign archives. If you have photographs, documents, or other examples
of your work that you can send in an electronic version, please do so
and we will post it on the website.
Center for Women's Global Leadership
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
160 Ryders Lane
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8555
Tel: 1-732-932-8782
Fax: 1-732-932-1180
Email: cwgl@igc.org
Website: http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu
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Thank you.