Read the 2013 Theme Announcement for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign!
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Call for Translations!
Volunteer to translate the 16 Days Take Action Kit for 2013
Are you fluent in English and another language? Do you want to help support and reach women and women’s human rights activists working around the world by using your translation skills?
In the coming weeks, the Center for Women's Global Leadership will be finalizing the English version of the Take Action Kit, which includes materials that will support campaign activities in 2013. We had a fantastic turnout of volunteer translators for the Theme Announcement, and are looking for volunteer translators for the 16 Days Take Action Kit. For an example, you can take a look at last year's Kits, available on our website in Word and PDF format.
We will be sending the English version to translators in early July and would ideally like the translated version sent to us by early August. In the meantime, we would like to hear from you on whether you can volunteer your time to translate for us!
We would greatly appreciate if you could respond by letting us know:
- Into which language(s) will you translate the 2013 Take Action Kit?
- Will you be able to translate the Take Action Kit by early August (or by what date if you cannot do so by early August)?
Kindly, email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to let us know of your availability.
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Arms Trade Treaty: the Work Has Just Begun
On April 2, the UN General Assembly approved the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), an agreement that is the first of its kind. It is meant to regulate the transfer of arms, improve transparency of trade flows, and obstruct access to those who are likely to commit human rights violations through the use of arms.
It requires seller states to report on the selling and transfer of arms, but it is not clear through what mechanism this will be done. The ATT also fails to adequately address the role seller states play in manufacturing and selling weapons used to kill civilians in conflict hotspots, including arming non-state actors. Furthermore, the treaty covers a variety of conventional weapons, parts of arms, ammunition and munitions, but it is unclear how much it applies to other arms such as drones, and on lending or gifting of arms from one state to another state or non-state actor.
Advocates of regulation and disarmament around the world have fought for a treaty for almost a decade, so while the passage of the ATT is important and historic because it may be used for future work on improved regulation of the arms trade, the treaty does not ban any specific types of weapons, and regulation depends largely on how countries implement it at the national level.
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Advocates for Women's Rights
As many of you already know, on Friday, March 15, 2013, at the CSW 57, UN Member States adopted Agreed Conclusions with reservations on the priority theme of the and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls. A draft of the outcome document is available on the UN website.
While the negotiations resulted in a set of agreed conclusions, it is not as strong as we had hoped. Most importantly, member states failed to reach consensus on language related to violence against women because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. However, the Agreed Conclusions highlight the role of small arms and light weapons in the perpetuation of violence against women and girls; and for the first time in a negotiated document, there is acknowledgement of the risks faced by women human rights defenders and states’ obligation to support and protect them.
We are heartened by the overwhelming response to the Statement of Feminist and Women’s Organizations on the Very Alarming Trends in the Negotiations of Outcome Document of the 57th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Over 400 organizations and individuals endorsed the statement and we look forward to working with all of you in the days, weeks, and months ahead to advance women’s rights!