U.N. Audience Shocked by Sexual Health, Abortion Statistics

Audible gasps echoed through the United Nations' Trusteeship Council chamber on Tuesday, with audiences told the grim impacts of unsafe reproductive practices on women worldwide.

U.S. Honours 10 “Extraordinary Women” for Courage and Leadership

Speaking at a ceremony to honour 10 “extraordinary women” from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America for their exceptional courage and leadership in advocating peace, justice, human rights and gender empowerment, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom cited the former president of Malawi Dr. Joyce Banda, recognised at the United Nations as a relentless advocate for women’s rights.

Humanitarian Aid Under Fire Calls for New Strategies

In the face of the growing number of crises taking place at the same time worldwide, humanitarian aid organisations – many of which have already reached their financial and logistic limits – are in desperate need of global coordination.

Equality Is a Matter of Human Rights

Gender equality in political, economic and social arenas is a matter of human rights, said Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury on Monday to civil society organisations, ambassadors and activists in New York.

U.N. Says Maternal Mortality Rate Has Nearly Halved since 1990

The global rate of maternal deaths is reducing faster than any time in history, according to a new report presented to the United Nations on Tuesday.

Women Make Progress in Politics, But Glass Ceiling Remains Unbreakable

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a creature of the U.N.’s 193 member states and who serves at their will and pleasure, did not hesitate to fault 13 countries that kept women out of their national parliaments and governments in power.

‘Cli-Fi’ Reaches into Literature Classrooms Worldwide

From Columbia University in New York to the University of Cambridge in Britain, college classrooms are picking up on the "cli-fi" genre of fiction, and cinema and academia is right behind them.

200 Million Fewer Women than Men Online

Two hundred million fewer women have access to the internet than men, according to a report released Monday.

Bridging the Gender Inequality Gap in the Media

Despite the vast number of media outlets and news sources worldwide, women and girls are still not getting enough attention in the news.

Opinion: The World Sees Progress Against Undernutrition, but it’s Uneven

In 2014, an estimated 805 million people – one in nine people worldwide – were estimated to be chronically hungry. All but 14 million of the world’s hungry live in developing countries, i.e., 791 million are in developing countries, where the share of the hungry has declined by less than half – from 23.4 per cent (1990-1992) to 13.5 per cent (2012-2014).

Opinion: A Year of Progress for “Children, Not Soldiers”

One year ago, representatives of the last eight governments of the world named by the U.N. secretary-general for the recruitment and use of children in their security forces gathered at the United Nations in New York to declare they were ready to take the steps necessary to make their security forces child-free.

The 15 Journalists Putting Women’s Rights on the Front Page

Media coverage of maternal, sexual and reproductive health rights is crucial to achieving international development goals, yet journalists covering these issues often face significant challenges.

Opinion: A Legally-Binding Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons

Five years after the adoption of the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) Action Plan in 2010, compliance with commitments related to nuclear disarmament lags far behind those related to non-proliferation or the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

World Misses Its Potential by Excluding 50 Percent of Its People

The meeting is billed as one of the biggest single gatherings of women activists under one roof.

Opinion: Bridging the Gap – How the SDG Fund is Paving the Way for a Post-2015 Agenda

The countdown has begun to September’s Summit on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with world leaders discussing the 17 goals and 169 targets proposed by the United Nations Open Working Group.

42 Human Rights Groups Slam Indonesia’s Death Penalty

More than 40 human rights groups from around the world have penned an open letter to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, pleading for the halting of 10 imminent executions.

Opinion: Let’s Grant Women Land Rights and Power Our Future

Women are not only the world’s primary food producers. They are hardworking and innovative and, they invest far more of their earnings in their families than men. But most lack the single most important asset for accessing investment resources – land rights.

Opinion: Greece and the Germanisation of Europe

At last, on Tuesday Feb. 24, the Eurogroup (of eurozone finance ministers) approved the Greek government’s commitment to a programme of reforms in return for extending the country’s bailout deal.

Syrians “Have No Faith” in International Community to Solve Human Rights Crisis

Syrian citizens “have no faith” in the international community to solve the chaos and war raging across their country, according to a prominent human rights defender.

Illegal Wildlife Trade Booms on Chinese Social Media

Despite a major online crackdown on the sale of illegal wildlife products in China, merchants are still peddling their wares in a thriving social media market.

Tackling Ebola: Give Autonomy to Local African Communities, Says International Rescue Committee

Recommendations on how to eradicate Ebola and avoid future outbreaks were released in a report on Tuesday by the International Rescue Committee (IRC).