WUNRN

October 22, 2009

The Nobel Women's Initiative was established in 2006 by sister Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Maguire.

Amplifying the voices of women in Burma and supporting women’s advocacy work for peace and equality in Burma—these are two key activities for the Nobel Women’s Initiative, supported by the MDG3 Fund.

One of the main partners for this work is the Women’s League of Burma (WLB), a remarkable group of women from across the region, including India, Thailand and Bangladesh. The WLB believes that the contribution of women in the struggle to bring about human rights, democracy and equal rights for all nationalities in Burma will have an enormous impact, and their participation in the national reconciliation and peace-building process is essential.

Telling stories of women, and using those stories to advance peace and justice for Burma, is an important part of our work with the Women’s League of Burma. This spring, on March 2, the first-ever International Tribunal on the Crimes Against Women in Burma will be held in New York City.

This event, which will feature Nobel Peace Laureates and other important public figures as ‘judges’, will hear testimony from women who have experienced a range of crimes against humanity, including rape, at the hands of the military junta. The Tribunal will produce a ‘judgment’ which will be widely disseminated, and used as an advocacy tool to push for more action on Burma—including the use of international justice mechanisms.

The on-going work with WLB includes supporting their efforts to deepen their relationships with other organizations working on gender equality in the region. For example, WLB staff participated in the Asia Pacific NGO Forum on Beijing +15, held recently in the Philippines.

Other groups that partner with the Nobel’s Women Initiative, with the support of the MDG3 funds, include the Migrant Action Programme, which lobbies for migrant rights in Thailand. Building this group’s capacity to reach out to media and thus bring more visibility to the situation of migrant women is the focal point of the collaboration.

Helping women journalists from Burma to be more effective catalysts for change is also a key issue. The Nobel Women’s Initiative is proud to be lending a hand to the Mekong Media Forum, organized by the IPS Asia-Pacific Center Foundation and being held this December in Thailand.

Last but not least, the Nobel Women’s Initiative uses the voice of its Nobel Peace Laureates to advocate for the people of Burma at the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) through a variety of activities, including opinion editorials in the media and outreach to high-level politicians.

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Nobel Women’s Initiative: Raising the Voices of Women in Burma