Global perspective Human stories

cedaw

Jean-Marc Ferré (file)

Russia urged to amend list of jobs women cannot perform

The decision to prohibit a Russian woman from working at the helm of a boat has been criticized by a UN human rights body.

Svetlana Medvedeva, a trained navigation officer, had been hired by a private company but was later turned down because her employment would contravene legislation on jobs that are off-limits to women.

UN Photo/Pierre Albouy (16/10/2013)

Japan needs to do more on “comfort women” deal with South Korea

Japan’s agreement to settle a long-standing dispute with South Korea concerning wartime sex slaves needs to do more for the victims, a UN rights panel said Monday.

Independent rights expert Ismat Jahan, who sits on the UN women’s rights committee known by its acronym CEDAW, said that the “rights, demands and views” of so-called “comfort women” who were used by the Japanese military in the Second World War need to be heard.

World Bank/Nugroho Nurdikiawan Sunjoyo

More women, girls die during disasters than men

More women than men died during the Indian Ocean Tsunami and Cyclone Gorki in Bangladesh, UN human rights monitors have heard.

At a meeting organized by the UN Convention on ending discrimination against women known as CEDAW, experts discussed the scale of the problem and how women and girls could play a greater role in reducing the risk of disasters occurring.