Child widows, some less than ten years old, face bleak futures as they bear the triple disadvantage of gender, marital status, and being underage. Research is now revealing the hidden lives of these children, and it's time to hold governments to account under international law, argues Margaret Owen

A UN body of independent experts today urged the Government of Morocco to further consolidate and advance the country’s decade-long achievements on equality and women’s human rights by establishing without delay the Authority for Parity in accordance with international standards.

United Nations Special Rapporteur Rashida Manjoo will visit Italy from 15 to 26 January 2012 to gather information on the issue of violence against women in the country. This will be the first visit to Italy by an independent expert charged by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor violence against women, its causes and consequences.

In October 2000, the UN Security Council passed its landmark Resolution 1325 as the first international agreement to specifically recognize the impact of armed conflict on women and their role as builders of peace. While many achievements have been made across the globe as a result of the Resolution, the persistent lack of an accountability mechanism at the global, national and local level has hindered progress.

On the occasion of the eighteenth session of the Human Rights Council and the 20th annual celebration of the UN International Day of Older Persons (1 October), a High-level Panel on Older Women and the Right to Health was held on 26 September in Geneva. The Panel was co-sponsored by the UN NGO Committee on the Status of Women Geneva and a number of other civil society organizations including the Geneva International Network on Ageing; the Women’s UN Report Network (WUNRN); HelpAge International; and the International Disability Alliance.

According to a UNICEF report, Children’s Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Disaster Impacts in East Asia and the Pacific, children will be among those most affected by climate change. Millions of children across East Asia and the Pacific already suffer from a lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation, and are vulnerable to food shocks and risks of disease. Climate change is expected to worsen this situation.

ABC News and the UN Foundation launched an initiative engaging millions of Americans to support millions of  moms across the globe around the critical issues of pregnancy, childbirth and children's health — moms here helping moms worldwide.

The United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) today announced USD 17.1 million in grants to 22 initiatives in 34 countries, including, for the first time, Iraq and South Sudan.

On October 1, 2011, the world celebrates the 21 anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons. This is a significant moment to assess the global ageing situation, particularly from the point of view of older women’s health rights. Especially after two decades of UN recognition, how older women are discriminated on the basis of age and gender and deprived of their human rights, limited access to justice and lack of social and political protection to ensure their basic needs.

The International Day of Peace ("Peace Day") provides an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. It was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982.

Prevention of violence against women was the focus of a discussion on women’s human rights held last month at the UN in Geneva in the framework of the 17th session of the UN Human Rights Council.  

A drought developing across the Horn of Africa is now the worst in 60 years - affecting 10 million people, according to the United Nations.  

GENEVA - The UN Independent Expert on water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque, the Independent Expert on extreme poverty, Magdalena Sepúlveda, and the Special Rapporteur on housing, Ms. Raquel Rolnik, issued the following joint statement:

Indeed, Afghanistan is a country where life remains challenging, for women and girls, in particular.

On 3rd of June, in conjunction with the 17th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), the Women’s UN Report Network (WUNRN) organized a panel discussion on “Women-Poverty-Crises-Human Rights” in Geneva. Co-sponsored by NGLS, the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL), the NGO Committee on the Status of Women in Geneva, and the Worldwide Organization for Women (WOW), this event aimed to explain the linkages between women, poverty and economics from a human rights perspective.

BAMENDA, Cameroon--Ngwa Amos, who earns a living by taxiing people from town to town on his motorbike, is now a single father of four.