Brazilian celebrity same-sex wedding video premiered at UN

A video of a celebrity wedding which took place in Brazil is being premiered at the UN as part of an event to highlight a decade of progress in Latin America in protecting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex or LGBTI people. The video features Daniela Mercury a Brazilian singer who has sold more than 20 million albums. Ms Mercury left her husband and married her girlfriend in 2013. She’s supporting the UN’s for LGBTI equality with the release of the video of their wedding. Charles Radcliffe, chief of global issues at the UN human rights office, has been speaking to Daniel Dickinson.

Training in business skills and HIV prevention empowers women and youth in Zimbabwe

Programmes that promote women’s entrepreneurship and educate adolescents about HIV and AIDS have changed the lives of more than 6,000 people in Zimbabwe. That’s according to Stella S. Dongo who heads the Community Empowerment Project, which was established as a means to lessen the impact of the 2008 global economic meltdown on citizens of the southern African country. Ms Dongo was recently honoured by Rotary as a ‘Global Woman of Action.’  The international charity has had a longstanding relationship with the UN and hosts ‘Rotary Day at the UN’ each November. She tells Dianne Penn why it is important to invest in women and young people during tough times.

Afghan women want peace “but not at any cost”

Women in Afghanistan want peace, “but not at any cost” according to a UN human rights and gender expert in the country. The central Asian nation continues to recover from decades of instability, including the threat posed by the outlawed Taliban movement, with which the government is trying to forge a peace deal.  Federica Seymandi is a human rights officer for the UN mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA. Daniel Dickinson asked her what changes Afghan women would like to see in their country.

Presenter: Veronica Reeves

Production Assistant: Ana Carmo

Duration: 10’00″