International Women's Day: UN calls for progress on all fronts

Each year around the world, International Women's Day is celebrated on 8 March. Hundreds of events occur not just on this day but throughout March to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women and highlight areas of concern.
Click here to access a list of events being organised by UNA branches this month.

The UN's theme for the 2010 observance is 'equal rights, equal opportunities: progress for all'. In his message marking the Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasised that "gender equality and women's empowerment are fundamental to the global mission of the UN" and said that the world body must lead by example by working, for instance, to deploy more women officers to peacekeeping missions and ensuring that more women are in senior UN posts.
Click here to read his message in full.

Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, chose to highlight domestic violence, in particular 'honour killings' which according to UN estimates see around 5,000 women murdered by family members each year. In a statement, Pillay noted that these killings are "an extreme symptom of discrimination against women, which including other forms of domestic violence is a plague that affects every country". She called on states to remember that they have a clear responsibility to uphold women's rights and ensure freedom from discrimination.
Click here to read the full statement.