As we begin the Easter break I hope you are all able to take time with your families to recharge. I also hope that during this time the world can focus on peace and reconciliation. There are more and more displaced people across the world through no fault of their own. We must focus our efforts and call on governments to work for progress to ensure that a collective solution is found.
This month I encourage you to read and share the following books, articles and reports.
Happy Easter.
Baroness Mary Goudie
Reimagining Britain - Foundations for Hope
The archbishop of Canterbury shares a fresh vision for the future in 'Reimagining Britain - Foundations for Hope'. He sets out to identify the values that will enable us to reimagine, and to enact, a more hopeful future.
I encourage you to read it, as he reviews community, courage and stability, unpicking each one in more detail. He provides a detailed analysis of the growing inequalities that exist across our nation. “Austerity,” he writes, “is not merely an economic term. It is a word that almost invariably conceals the crushing of the weak, the unlucky, the ill and a million others. Austerity is a theory for the rich and a reality of suffering for the poor.”
When so many are immobilised by political turmoil, this book builds on our past to offer hope for the future, and practical ways of achieving a more equitable society.
Women, Business and the Law - World Bank Group
Promote Gender Equality in Economic Participation
Women, Business and the Law (WBL) measures gender inequality in the law. The dataset identifies barriers to women's economic participation and encourages the reform of discriminatory laws.
In its 5th edition, Women, Business and the Law introduces scoring to better inform the reform agenda. The report tracks progress made over the past two years and identifies opportunities to ensure economic empowerment for all.
Read the report here.
Girls not Brides welcomes historic drop in global number of child marriages but warns complacency is not an option
Girls not Brides - Girls Not Brides is a global partnership of more than 900 civil society organisations committed to ending child marriage and enabling girls to fulfil their potential.
The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage welcomes new data published showing a significant drop in the global number of child marriages. However, the organisation cautioned that there is still a long way to go before child marriage is a thing of the past.
The Use of UN Sanctions to Address Conflict-Related Sexual Violence – GIWPS
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security
The United Nations has recognized that sexual violence, when used as a tactic of war or as a widespread practice, can exacerbate armed conflict and hinder peace. The UN Security Council can use sanctions—specifically the designation criteria and the subsequent listing of sanctioned individuals—to prevent and curb sexual violence in armed conflict and address the impunity of perpetrators.
Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) conducted the first review of how the UN Security Council has used targeted sanctions to address sexual violence in conflict to date. A review of eight sanctions regimes reveals the current approach is characterised by inconsistency across sanctions regimes, delayed focus on sexual violence, and weak implementation of sanctions.
We helped negotiate the Good Friday Agreement. We cannot allow Brexit to destroy it
An important article from the New Statesman on how Brexit negotiations cannot derail all the progress that was made with the Good Friday Agreement. Read more.
