Tag Archives: violence against women and girls

This Mother’s Day, What More Can be Done to Help End Violence Against Women and Girls Globally?

May 9, 2014 at 1:40 PM
The International Violence Against Women Act introduced yesterday in the Senate would make legislation ending violence against women a diplomatic and foreign assistance priority for the U.S. government (Photo Credit: Sarah K. Eddy).

The International Violence Against Women Act introduced yesterday in the Senate would make legislation ending violence against women a diplomatic and foreign assistance priority for the U.S. government (Photo Credit: Sarah K. Eddy).

The eyes of the world are currently focused on Nigeria and the efforts to free the nearly 300 schoolgirls currently held captive by Boko Haram. The abduction of these girls is yet another deeply disturbing example of the ways in which violence against girls and women affects every aspect of their lives, in this case, their right to education.

Even as we work to #BringBackOurGirls in Nigeria, we continue to press for a permanent solution to end violence against women and girls globally.

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate took an action that would help.

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What Can Be Done for the Girls of Chibok?

May 7, 2014 at 2:38 PM

nigeria

This piece originally appeared in Al Jazeera English’s Opinion Section under the name: “Nigeria: A Serious Test of Stability.”

By Salil Shetty, Amnesty International Secretary General

As Nigeria takes centre stage hosting the World Economic Forum on Africa, events in recent weeks have tarnished its image as a country that has come of age.

In April, as Africa’s most populous nation assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council and chairmanship of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, news came that Nigeria had also outstripped South Africa to become the continent’s largest economy.

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Biting the Bullet – Why the Arms Trade Treaty Must Regulate Ammunition

March 20, 2013 at 8:01 PM

By Conor Fortune, News Writer at Amnesty International

This post is part of a special series on the Arms Trade Treaty. From March 18-28, world leaders from more than 150 countries are gathering for the UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in New York. An Amnesty International delegation with representatives from every world region is participating and will be pressing leaders to agree to a strong treaty that upholds international human rights law.

“When she came out she was covered in blood. There are two bullets still in her head.”

No mother should ever have to utter such a chilling line about her child. But in Côte d’Ivoire, one woman recently told our researchers the harrowing story of how her 12-year-old girl survived a deadly attack on their village in the west of the country amid the post-election violence of early 2011.

The guns and ammunition used by Dozo militias were among those illegally smuggled into the country via Burkina Faso, in contravention of a UN arms embargo in place since 2004. Since before the embargo, weapons and ammunition were irresponsibly shipped to both sides in the Ivorian armed conflict.

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