Events

On March the 22nd World Waterday the UN Water releases a press report

One of the important highlights subject is:
Girls and women are the first victims of a lack of water

The first impact is the deterioration of living conditions, leading to heightened food insecurity and health risks. Water scarcity also has consequences on social development, particularly for girls and women. In many rural areas, they are the primary water collectors, spending up to several hours a day on this task. Reduced access to water supply exacerbates this burden, which undermines women’s education, economic participation and safety. This may also contribute to the higher secondary school dropout rate among girls compared to boys.

Also “Having to have sex in exchange for drinking water”. It happens, and it’s unacceptable! In a debate a Member of the Parliament in The Netherlands (ms Stieneke van der Graaf) stood up for the women and girls who are faced with sextortion due to water scarcity. A motion to ensure access to safe water for women and girls was adopted with broad support from the House of Representatives on July 5, 2023.

This year a few organizations in the Netherlands wants to collect at least 80,000 signatures and present them to the United Nations Special Rapporteur so that governments are held accountable for this human rights violation and to ban sextortion. This is an important next step in the fight against sex for water!

#WorldWaterDay

Read the full press release: https://unes.co/lt3ogj

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/water-crises-threaten-world-peace-report

Version française ci-dessousالنسخة العربية أدناه

Refugee Women in the Tindouf Camps

The International Network of Liberal Women – INLW is alarmed by the vulnerability of refugee women in the Tindouf camps,

Concerned by the very high tension in the Tindouf camps and the outbreak of an unprecedented cycle of sit-ins and demonstrations within the camps,

Alarmed by the violence suffered by women refugees in the camps by the militias, considering the seriousness of the conditions in which women live in conflict zones, particularly in the Tindouf camps.

We support the efforts of the United Nations to implement Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security.

We call on States to consider the normalization of gender-based violence and the worsening of human
trafficking which has serious repercussions on women
and girls.

We condemn the instrumentalization of women and the use of sexual violence as weapons of war used to implement political agendas and exercise power on the ground.

We condemn the involvement of civilian women in armed combat operations, under duress.

We call for the release of women sequestered in Tindouf camps against their will.

We call for action to remove the injustice and unfairness suffered by women detained in the Tindouf camps, allowing international organizations defending women’s rights to look closely at this situation, and to be able to organize hearings for victims of violence and rape, in order to prosecute criminals responsible for raping women, torturing them, and insulting their dignity.

We encourage all initiatives to support women’s freedom and the protection of their fundamental rights and freedoms.

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The 67th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) was held from March 6-17 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. We hereby give you some parts of the speeches that were given at the opening session and also at the International Women’s Day. Also some of the conclusions at the end of CSW from Ms. Amina J. Mohammed.

There was a warm welcome of secretary-general Gutierrez at the opening of CSW “Today, women make up under a third of the workforce in science, technology, engineering, and maths. When women are under-represented in developing new technologies, discrimination may be baked in from the start.”

“Women and girls are leading efforts to make science and technology accessible, inclusive, and safe. Women and girls will not be silenced. Their demands for their rights and freedoms echo around the globe. The Commission on the Status of Women is a dynamo and catalyst for the transformation we need. Together, let’s push back against misogyny and forward for women, girls and our world.”
— António Gutierrez.

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The 67th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) was held from March 6-17 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. This meeting was the long-awaited face-to-face global women’s summit that had been postponed for three years due to COVID-19 prevention measures. This year’s CSW67 registered a large number of participants, with over 7,000 attendees, including four heads of state and government, 116 ministers, 205 offsite events held by the United Nations, and approximately 700 non-governmental organizations participating in parallel forums.

Although the United Nations is not friendly to Taiwan due to pressure from China, Taiwanese women’s rights groups and non-profit organizations that support gender equality and women’s empowerment have not passively resisted but have courageously taken action and actively participated in the conference as NGOs. In total, Taiwanese NGOs organized 17 physical meetings and 15 online meetings. About 60 representatives from Taiwan traveled to attend the physical meetings of CSW67 in New York.

Especially with the support of the Women’s Empowerment and Development Foundation, along with the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in New York, during the CSW67 summit, Taiwan not only showcased its many years of efforts in gender equality and the impressive achievements of women’s participation in public affairs but also highlighted the contributions and achievements of Taiwanese women in the field of technology through two large-scale events hosted by TECO in New York: “Taiwan Night – Celebrating Women in Tech” and “Taiwan Main Stage”. These events echoed this year’s CSW67 theme – “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality” – emphasizing the importance of gender equality in the digital, innovative, and technological era.

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The UN Water Conference is back for the first time in 50 years, organized by the UN General Assembly and co-hosted by the Governments of Tajikistan and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The event’s revival highlights the increasing necessity for action on water and water-related goals. It will focus on the sustainable development and integrated management of water resources for the achievement of social, economic and environmental objectives, the implementation and promotion of related programs and projects, as well as on the furtherance of cooperation and partnerships at all levels.

“The UN 2023 Water Conference in March must result in a bold Water Action Agenda that gives our world’s lifeblood the commitment it deserves.”
Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General.

The conference will include an opening and closing session, six plenary sessions, and five interactive dialogues, as well as side events organized by participants. It will result in a summary of proceedings from the UNGA President that will feed into the 2023 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). The event promises to bring together stakeholders from Governments, IFIs, NGOs, civil society, and more, working together to forge out a path to water security.

Ruth Richardson will organize a side event on behalf of INLW called “Reflections on Women, Water, Culture and Education Past, Present and Future” and Columbia University in New York is the main sponsor of the side event.

She is also been invited to speak at the side event, theme “Charting A Feminist Pathway to Inclusive and Productive Water Use and Governance” hosted by IWMI ( The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Thursday 23rd of March from 10.00 am to 12.30 am at 62 Orchard St. 2 Floor, Manhattan, NY 10002 and will also be broadcast through an online Zoom link. She will be speaking at the side event titled “Innovative Solutions for a Sustainable Blue Economy through Water Action, Cooperation and Youth Engagement inside the UN Headquarters” on Friday 24th of March, from 12.30 to 13.45 PM, Conference room A.