Gender Equality

The State of World Population 2008 demonstrates that an appreciation for cultures and values is a critical but sometimes overlooked aspect of successful development strategies. It shows how culture can strengthen and validate human rights perspectives and enable their broader acceptance, ownership and realization. The report argues that synergy between the global human rights agenda and cultural aims can help advance the Millennium Development Goals and contribute to ending extreme poverty.

Gender-based violence is a pervasive and devastating manifestation of discrimination against women and girls. International human rights standards provide a solid framework for preventing and responding to violence against girls in both public and private spheres. Unfortunately, non-compliance with human rights obligations to protect girls remains a serious challenge. This report contributes to the dissemination and implementation of the Model Strategies on Violence against Children, adopted by the General Assembly in 2014. It also aims to support the implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, which calls for an end to all forms of violence against children, equal access to justice for all, and effective, accountable and inclusive institutions.

Ce rapport s’efforce d’appréhender les conséquences du doublement imminent de la population urbaine du monde en développement et analyse les mesures à prendre pour se préparer à cette croissance massive. En effet, en 2008, pour la première fois de son histoire, plus de la moitié de la population du globe, soit 3,3 milliards d’habitants, vivra en milieu urbain. Il étudie de plus près les processus démographiques qui sous-tendent la croissance urbaine dans les régions en développement et leurs implications politiques. Il se penche tout particulièrement sur les conséquences de l’urbanisation pour la réduction de la pauvreté et la viabilité. Au-delà des problèmes actuels, ce rapport lance un appel à l’action.

Despite the tremendous changes of the 20th century, discrimination and violence against women and girls remain firmly rooted in cultures around the world. This year’s Report looks at the gender inequality - the restrictions placed on women’s reproductive choices and how it affects their health, education, social and economic participation. The publication also explores women’s rights as human rights, gender violence and the role of men in reproductive health decisions. The Report acknowledges the role of governments in creating conditions for gender equality, but points out that in the end, different societies need their own solutions to provide a better life for both women and men. This annual also provides easily accessible tables and data representing trends and statistics for world population.

El Estado de la Población Mundial es un informe anual publicado por el Fondo de Población de las Naciones Unidas (UNFPA). Cada edición cubre y analiza los desarrollos y las tendencias de la población mundial y la demografía, y hace énfasis en regiones específicas, países y grupos de población y los desafíos únicos que enfrentan.

Despite their enormous assets and contribution to society, indigenous women still suffer from multiple discrimination, both as women and as indigenous individuals. They are subjected to extreme poverty, trafficking, illiteracy, lack of access to ancestral lands, non-existent or poor health care and to violence in the private and the public sphere. The present publication contains cases submitted by the different UN agencies about their work with indigenous women in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

This publication provides practical guidance on the integration of a gender perspective throughout the work of investigative bodies or entities, from the planning phase to the investigations and to writing the report and presenting its findings. It should be read in conjunction with existing OHCHR guidance in the Manual on Human Rights Monitoring and Commissions of Inquiry and Fact-finding Missions on International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law: Guidance and Practice. The publication specifically aims to strengthen the content of human rights reports in order to accurately depict the different experiences of women, men, girls and boys. It is primarily aimed at United Nations Human Rights Officers, especially those performing investigative functions, including with CoIs/FFMs. It may also be used as a reference material for the human rights monitoring, analysis and reporting performed by OHCHR field presences or as part of peace operations mandated by the Security Council and overseen, managed and supported by OHCHR. States Parties, regional mechanisms, national human rights institutions, national commissions of inquiry, civil society organizations and others could also benefit from guidance on how to integrate a gender perspective into monitoring and investigating human rights violations and abuses.

This publication looks at the benefits of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) when placed in the hands of men and women working in agriculture and in rural areas. It examines the challenges to be overcome and makes recommendations so that rural communities can take full and equal advantage of the technologies. FAO’s E-agriculture 10 Year Review Report on implementation of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) of the Action Line C7. ICT Applications: e-agriculture concludes that while substantial progress has been made in making ICTs available and accessible for rural communities, challenges remain with respect to the following seven critical factors for success: content, capacity development, gender and diversity, access and participation, partnerships, technologies, and finally, economic, social, and environmental sustainability. This publication analyses with the gender lens the seven factors of success, followed by an overview of the general existing barriers to women’s access to, control and use of ICTs. Finally, it offers a series of recommendations for better integration of gender in ICT initiatives, based on gender mainstreaming throughout the seven critical factors of success, illustrated with concrete examples.

Hoy, la mitad de todos los migrantes internacionales – 95 millones – son mujeres y niñas. No obstante, pese a sus sustanciales contribuciones a sus familias en el lugar de origen y a las comunidades en el extranjero, se sigue pasando por alto y haciendo caso omiso a sus necesidades. El informe de este año examina el alcance y la magnitud de la migración de mujeres, los efectos de las remesas que éstas envían al lugar de origen para apoyar a sus familias y comunidades, y su desproporcionada vulnerabilidad a la trata, la explotación y el abuso.

This report was prepared to inform the UNECE Regional Conference ‘Enabling Choices: Population Dynamics and Sustainable Development’ (1–2 October 2018, Geneva), which marks the 25th anniversary of the ICPD held in Cairo in 1994. Both the report and the outcome of the conference discussions have the potential to contribute towards more equitable development and prosperity for generations and societies across the UNECE region.

Each year since 1978, UNFPA has issued a report highlighting new developments in population. Human activity is altering the planet on an unprecedented scale, the report points out. More people are using more resources with more intensity and leaving a bigger footprint on the earth than ever before. This report examines the close links between environmental conditions, population trends and prospects for alleviating poverty in developing countries. It finds that expanding women’s opportunities and ensuring their reproductive health and rights are critically important, both to improve the well-being of growing human populations and to protect the natural world.

Les personnes les plus affectées par les changements climatiques seront les groupes vulnérables, dont les femmes. Quel effet a la dynamique de la population sur les gaz à effet de serre et les changements climatiques? L’urbanisation et le vieillissement de la population vont-ils aider ou entraver les efforts d’adaptation au réchauffement de la planète? Et de meilleurs soins de santé reproductive, ainsi que l’amélioration des rapports entre femmes et hommes, pourraient-ils faire une différence dans la lutte contre les changements climatiques? Il est nécessaire de recadrer le débat sur les changements climatiques, en plaçant la population en son centre. A moins que les politiques en matière de climat ne la prennent en considération, elles ne réussiront pas à atténuer les changements climatiques ni à protéger les groupes vulnérables de leurs impacts, qui pourraient s’avérer catastrophiques.

In the last four decades, international trade, along with finance and technology, has been instrumental in the development process of many countries. Trade reforms undertaken in developing countries have been accompanied by more rapid economic growth, leading to a reduction in income gaps and lower levels of inequality between countries. While the process of global trade integration has contributed to broad economic gains at country levels and convergence between developed and developing countries, yet it has also been accompanied by polarization in the distribution of income, sometimes increasing within-country income inequality. The increase in within country inequality is possibly a cause behind the current reaction against globalization, international trade and the multilateral trading system.

The Information Economy Report 2017 analyzes the evolving digital economy and its implications for trade and development. While these are still early days of the digital economy, it is already clear that it will have globally transformative impacts on the way we live, work and develop our economies. As the world strives to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, harnessing the power of information and communications technologies (ICTs) is essential. Large parts of the developing world remain disconnected from the Internet, and many people lack access to high-speed broadband connectivity. Policymaking at the national and international levels needs to mitigate the risk that digitalization could widen existing divides and create new gaps. Since increased reliance on digital technologies, such as cloud computing, three-dimensional printing, big data and “the Internet of things”, it is essential to start assessing opportunities and pitfalls alike, and to prepare for what is coming. The analysis contained in the report contributes to this process and proposes ways in which the international community can reduce inequality, enable the benefits of digitalization to reach all people and ensure that no one is left behind by the evolving digital economy.

This data booklet highlights estimates of the prevalence of individual contraceptive methods based on the World Contraceptive Use 2019 (which draws from 1,247 surveys for 195 countries or areas of the world) and additional tabulations obtained from microdata sets and survey reports. The estimates are presented for female and male sterilisation, intrauterine device (IUD), implant, injectable, pill, male condom, withdrawal, rhythm and other methods combined.

El Estado de la Población Mundial es un informe anual publicado por el Fondo de Población de las Naciones Unidas (UNFPA). Cada edición cubre y analiza los desarrollos y las tendencias de la población mundial y la demografía, y hace énfasis en regiones específicas, países y grupos de población y los desafíos únicos que enfrentan.

Les catastrophes naturelles et les conflits mettent en péril la santé de millions de femmes et d’adolescentes chaque année. Bien que des progrès remarquables ont été accomplis au cours de la dernière décennie, protéger la santé et les droits des femmes et des adolescentes dans les situations de crise humanitaire, la croissance dans le besoin a dépassé la croissance du financement et des services. Pourtant, ces services sont d’une importance cruciale, en particulier pour les très jeunes adolescentes, qui sont les plus vulnérables et les moins capables de faire face aux nombreux défis auxquels ils font face, même dans les moments stables. L’État de la population mondiale 2015 décrit l’impact des crises sur les femmes et les filles et propose un programme de transformation pour l’avenir.

À l’heure actuelle, aucun pays ne peut se prévaloir d’être entièrement inclusif et de garantir à chacun une protection et des perspectives égales, ainsi que le plein exercice de ses droits fondamentaux — pas même les pays considérés comme les plus riches et les plus développés. Parmi les droits de l’homme reconnus par la communauté internationale comme essentiels au bienêtre des individus figure le droit à la santé sexuelle et reproductive. Ce droit a été établi par 179 pays dans le Programme d’action de la Conférence internationale sur la population et le développement de 1994. Le Programme d’action affirme que le respect de la dignité et des droits individuels — y compris l’égalité des droits des femmes et des filles et l’accès universel aux soins de santé et aux droits sexuels et reproductifs — est nécessaire à la réalisation du développement durable. Toutefois, une grande partie de ces engagements ne sont toujours pas tenus. Certains des manquements les plus graves concernent les femmes et les filles qui souffrent déjà d’autres formes d’exclusion, et particulièrement de la pauvreté. Dans nombre de pays en développement, les femmes démunies se trouvant dans les 20 % inférieurs (quintile) de l’échelle de revenu, notamment celles qui vivent en milieu rural, ont bien moins de chances d’accéder à des contraceptifs et à des soins lors de la grossesse et de l’accouchement que les femmes plus aisées vivant en ville.

This is the third edition of a policy paper on the current situation, trends and challenges in Inland Water Transport on European inland waterways of international importance in the region of the Economic Commission for Europe. The White Paper describes the current status of the E Waterway Network, the evolution of the institutional and regulatory framework for inland navigation since 2011, recent programmes and activities of UNECE, the European Union and other international organizations. The White Paper identifies eight priority areas to make IWT in the ECE region more sustainable and competitive, and comes up with policy recommendations for UNECE actions for each of them.

This publication provides recommendations to governments and standards bodies to improve voluntary norms and standards for gender equality and women’s empowerment. This best practice is based on the broad analysis contained herein, which includes examples of gender-blind standards that have resulted in sub-optimal outcomes for women as professionals, consumers, and members of wider communities. To maximize the relevance of the research, the publication references three main families of standards: voluntary sustainability standards; standards related to agriculture and produce; and standards developed by regional, national and international bodies relating to goods and services. It also highlights actions necessary for the international community going forward, presenting in detail the UNECE Gender Responsive Standards Initiative and encouraging standards bodies to sign and implement the Declaration on Gender Responsive Standards.

This report is a first-of-its-kind initiative of the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE), the single largest network of gender focal points in the UN system. It presents a critical stocktaking of 51 UN entities’ support for implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, showcasing key actions in areas such as women’s empowerment, the elimination of violence against women and girls, and the improvement and expansion of women’s education, political participation and entrepreneurship. As this report makes clear, UN system support for achieving gender equality remains critical, and urgent, sustained, and coordinated action is needed to safeguard the well-being of women and girls everywhere.

People who sell or exchange sex in humanitarian situations have particular health and protection needs that are often not well addressed. This document provides operational guidance on how best to meet these needs, and ensure that people who sell/exchange sex have support, and access to quality, non-discriminatory health and protection services. It has been developed by UNHCR and UNFPA, with extensive inputs from communities, humanitarian responders and technical partners. The guidance provides practical advice for reducing risks and ensuring safety for people engaging in sale and exchange of sex in this context. Overall guiding principles and approaches are provided, as well as suggestions for addressing initial, immediate health and protection needs, and for developing longer term, comprehensive responses in more protracted situations. Good practice tools and examples are provided to guide actors working with people, who are often selling or exchanging sex for the first time, owing to displacement and loss of livelihood.