News Archives: July - December 2007

December 14th 2007
Health Financing for Equity and Aid Harmonization in Health
An intimate group of Ministers and high-level representatives from countries including Bolivia, Mongolia, Indonesia, Poland, Cote D???Ivoire, the Dominincan Republic and Mozambique gathered for a Ministerial breakfast during the Women Deliver conference to discuss the topics of health financing for equity and aid harmonization in health, and to share experiences of policy reform in the health sector.

December 10th 2007
Every Human Has Rights
International Human Rights Day (December 10th) marked the start of a year-long celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Every Human Has Rights campaign will work with civil society, businesses and multilateral agencies to encourage practical action to make human rights a reality for all and call on citizens to uphold the goals of the universal declaration in their daily lives and to hold governments accountable...

December 7th 2007
WLIF launches Arab chapter in Jordan
The Women Leaders Intercultural Forum (WLIF) has launched a chapter in the Middle East through their partnership with Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan. 25 women leaders, including Mary Robinson, President of Realizing Rights, gathered to discuss the issue of security and the role WLIF can play to provide a collective voice to prioritize action for a more secure world.

December 3rd 2007
United Nations Climate Change Conference 2007
The thirteenth United Nations Climate Change Conference is currently underway in Bali, Indonesia. It brings together representatives of over 190 countries together with observers from intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, and the media. The conference, which runs until the 14th of December 2007, aims to start discussing a successor to the Kyoto agreement on climate change, which expires in 2012.

November 26th 2007
Aid for Trade Global Review
Last week the first global Aid for Trade Review took stock of current efforts to deliver more and better trade related assistance to developing countries. Realizing Rights joined more than 40 civil society organizations in calling on governments to ensure that the Aid for Trade process prioritizes efforts to reduce poverty, generate employment and ensure gender equity.

November 19th 2007
Mary Robinson responds to The Economist
The Economist has published a letter by Mary Robinson responding to its recent article: "Doing the Wrong Thing". Mary Robinson explains how "serious efforts are being made to build a stronger international human-rights regime that governs the activities of all participants, including corporations."

November 15th 2007
ILO Forum on Decent Work for a Fair Globalization
An International Labour Organization (ILO) Forum hosted a three-day session earlier this month to provide a broad social platform for discussing the forging of a new movement for promoting decent work and a fair globalization. The International Labour Organization Forum on Decent Work was held in Lisbon, Portugal from 31st October to 2nd November 2007 and featured Mary Robinson as a keynote speaker.

November 9th 2007
Health Worker Migration Global Advisory Council Meeting
Six months after its launch, the Health Worker Migration Global Policy Advisory Council held its second meeting, on November 5th and 6th 2007, at the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C. The initiative is a collaborative effort between the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Realizing Rights which seeks to identify solutions to one of the most visible causes of the global health workforce crisis.

November 1st 2007
Women Deliver - A landmark Global Conference
More than 1,800 participants from 109 countries cheered a final statement from the 70 cabinet ministers and parliamentarians present at the landmark WOMEN DELIVER Conference, which sought to mobilize political will and investment to reduce pregnancy-related deaths and disabilities worldwide. The final statement pledges to make the achievement of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number 5 (to improve maternal health) ???a high priority on the national, regional and international health agenda???.

October 8th 2007
Global Leaders call for dialogue on Burma
Twenty global leaders leaders, including Mary Robinson, are urging China to use its "uniquely powerful position" to press Myanmar's military regime to hold talks with the opposition and to push for the release of opposition leader and 1991 Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

September 24th 2007
David Frost interviews Mary Robinson on the crisis in Darfur
Following a recent trip to the region, Mary Robinson spoke to Sir David Frost on the crisis in Darfur and what steps must be taken to prevent further civilian deaths. "It's as bad as it gets for the women and their families", she urged. "They urgently need protection. They need a ceasedfire and they need action to secure them today."

September 13th 2007
African lawmakers share experiences on fighting HIV & AIDS and improving women's health
Parliamentarians from Botswana, Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania came together on 11 and 12 September in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss strategies for fighting stigma associated with HIV, improving women's health policy and connecting lawmakers with communities.

September 10th 2007
A plea to protect women in Darfur and Chad
Mary Robinson, along with seven other prominent women leaders from around the world, has just returned from a visit to refugee camps in eastern Chad. Tales of unimaginable suffering were relayed first-hand to Mary Robinson by women and their families whom she met at the camps prompting Robinson to call for a much greater sense of urgency for the region.

August 1st 2007
African Regional Meeting of Women Leaders on Security Priorities
What are the biggest threats to the security of people and states in Africa? What can women leaders in Africa and women around the world do together to address these concerns? In July, the Women Leaders Intercultural Forum (WLIF) team from Realizing Rights traveled to Nairobi to discuss security issues with 70 African women leaders...

July 19th 2007
Group of World Leaders creates 'Elders' Alliance
Former South African President Nelson Mandela has convened a new alliance of leaders dedicated to working together to address some of the world???s most pressing problems. "The Elders" alliance was unveiled in events marking Mandela???s 89th birthday in Johannesburg.

July 9th 2007
Mary Robinson speaks at Swiss event demanding increase in overseas development aid
Marking the half-way point between the adoption of the Millennium Declaration in 2000 and the deadline of 2015 for the achievement of eight Millennium Development Goals, several thousand people gathered in Bern, Switzerland on July 7th 2007 to demand an increase in Swiss overseas development aid. Mary Robinson spoke at the event.

July 4th 2007
Global Forum on Migration and Development
On 9, 10 and 11 July 2007 the Belgian government hosts the first meeting of the ???Global Forum on Migration and Development???. The ???Civil Society Day??? on 9 July is being chaired by Mary Robinson, President of Realizing Rights, and will gather a broad range of non-governmental actors to discuss the migration and development nexus and give input to the governmental discussions.