sexta-feira, outubro 27, 2006

Ciclo Causas & Efeitos

Em três sessões, a Livraria Almedina do Atrium Saldanha propõe o ciclo Causas & Efeitos.
Estes debates vão centrar-se na troca de testemunhos por parte de activistas, voluntários e representantes de movimentos e entidades portugueses que promovem a prática de uma cidadania solidária.
Para mais informações, clique em http://www.inde.pt/Actualidade/CoopDesenv.htm

domingo, outubro 22, 2006

Ban Ki-Moon será o próximo secretário-geral da ONU

Eleito dia 13 de outubro de 2006 como secretário-geral da ONU para o lugar de Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-Moon é actualmente o ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros e Comércio da Coreia do Sul.
Sucederá a Kofi Annan como secretário-geral da a partir de
1 de Janeiro de 2007.

Para mais informações,
clicar aqui

sexta-feira, outubro 13, 2006

Nobel da Paz 2006 atribuído a Mohamed Yunus e Grameen Bank



Este ano o Comité norueguês decidiu, e muito bem, atribuir o prémio nobel da paz a Muhammad Yunus e ao Banco Grameen, pelos seus esforço no desenvolvimento económico e social.

Mais informações aqui
Banco Grameen

terça-feira, outubro 10, 2006

Urgent action needed to counter widespread violence against women: UN health agency

Urgent action needed to counter widespread violence against women: UN health agency

October 2006 – Violence against women is common and widespread throughout the developing and developed world and urgent action must be taken to deal with the scourge, the United Nations health agency warned today in a report highlighting that women are generally more at risk from their partners than other people.

Over 24,000 women from 15 sites in 10 countries were interviewed for the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women, which showed that over 75 per cent of women physically or sexually abused since the age of 15 reported a partner as the culprit.

“Violence against women by an intimate partner is a major contributor to the ill-health of women. This study analyses data from 10 countries and sheds new light on the prevalence of violence against women in countries where few data were previously available,” writes WHO Director-General Lee Jong-Wook in the Forward to the report.

“This study will help national authorities to design policies and programmes that begin to deal with the problem… Challenging the social norms that condone and therefore perpetuate violence against women is a responsibility for us all… Much greater investment is urgently needed in programmes to reduce violence against women and to support action on the study’s findings and recommendations.”

The main focus of the Study was violence against women by male intimate partners, including physical and sexual violence, emotional abuse and controlling behaviour by current partners or ex-partners, and covered both the current situation of the women interviewed and their lifetime experience.

The proportion of women who had experienced physical or sexual violence, or both, by an intimate partner, ranged from 15 per cent to 71 per cent, with most sites falling between 29 per cent and 62 per cent. Women in Japan were the least likely to have experienced such violence, while the greatest incidence was reported in provincial –– mostly rural –– areas of Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Peru, and the United Republic of Tanzania.

The Study also examined physical and sexual abuse by men and women other than a current or former partner and contradicted the common perception that most violence is perpetrated by strangers.

“In the majority of settings, over 75 per cent of women physically or sexually abused since the age of 15 years reported abuse by a partner. In only two settings, urban Brazil and Samoa, were at least 40 per cent of women abused only by someone other than a partner,” it found.

Presenting seven categories of recommendations, ranging from promoting gender equality to encouraging abused women to seek help, the report concludes that violence against women is “morally indefensible; [while] its cost to individuals, to health systems, and to society in general is enormous.”

“The wide variations in prevalence and patterns of violence from country to country, and, even more important, from setting to setting within countries, indicate that there is nothing “natural” or inevitable about it. Attitudes can and must change; the status of women can and must be improved.”


The categories of recommendations are:

  • Strengthening national commitment and action. In particular, the Study notes that improving women’s legal and socioeconomic status is likely in the long term, to be a “key intervention in reducing women’s vulnerability to violence.”
  • Promoting primary prevention, including such measures as media campaigns that encourage women to talk about the problem, plus prioritizing the prevention of child abuse.
  • Involving the education sector, including eradicating teacher violence.
  • Strengthening the health sector response, including ensuring that health providers who see and care for abused women coordinate and work with other sectors, particularly the police and social services.
  • Supporting women living with violence, especially through better and more accessible support services.
  • Sensitizing criminal justice systems, namely by ensuring that police, investigators, medico-legal staff, lawyers and judges are trained to consider and address the particular needs and priorities of abused women, particularly those faced with violence by a partner or ex-partner.
  • Supporting research and collaboration to increase knowledge of the problem of violence against women and thereby design programmes to combat it.

Ofereça o Natal num Cabaz de Comércio Justo

Outubro 2006
Cabaz de Natal "Sabores do Globo"
Ofereça o Natal num Cabaz de Comércio Justo

Este cabaz resulta de uma parceria estabelecida entre Equação (associação de Comércio Justo), Médicos do Mundo (ONGD) e Cercimarante (trabalho com crianças inadaptadas do concelho de Amarante).

À venda por 22,50 euros (IVA incluído), o cabaz contém os seguintes produtos: cesta (Vietname); café (México); bolachas (Gana); chá verde (Sri Lanka); barrita de sésamo (Nicarágua); arroz basmati (Índia); cajú (Brasil); e cacau ou esparguete (Bolívia).
Os fundos arrecadados procuram apoiar os produtores mais desfavorecidos da América Latina, Ásia e África, as crianças inadaptadas do concelho de Amarante (Cercimarante) e os idosos com sintomas de solidão de S. Mamede de Infesta (projecto Terceira (C)Idade, Médicos do Mundo).

Esta acção conta com o apoio do actor António Reis, da gráfica Lidergraf (oferta de todo o material publicitário) e do fotógrafo Tiago Valente.

Este artigo pode ser encontrado nas lojas de Comércio Justo associadas à Equação, em Amarante (Centro Comercial do Parque, Loja 2), Barcelos (Galeria Zona Franca, Loja 11), Braga (Rua D. Diogo de Sousa, 119), Lisboa (Rua de São José, 17) e no Porto (Rua de Cedofeita, 282; Central Shopping, 211, Piso 4; Parque da Cidade, Junto ao Picadeiro).

Para mais informações:Equação (para vendas): 255001011 ou encomequacao@gmail.comMédicos do Mundo: 229039064 ou ricardo.pereira@medicosdomundo.ptCercimarante: 255410930 ou cercimarante.edcaoip@sapo.pt

domingo, outubro 01, 2006

Zambia's Vote: The China Issue

Zambia’s elections have sparked a heated debate over the presence of Chinese-owned businesses in the country. Though Zambia qualified for debt forgiveness from the G8 last year, whoever wins the presidency will face tough budget restrictions and may think twice about eschewing Chinese investment.

Para aceder a informacoes mais detalhadas: http://cfr.org/publication/11552/zambias_vote.html

UN Security Council Resolution 1706, Darfur

This resolution authorizes the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops in Darfur, Sudan, but will not come to pass until Sudan's government allows the troops' presence.

Para aceder a resolucao: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8821.doc.htm

Water Stress in Sub-Saharan Africa

Backgrounder
Sub-Saharan Africa suffers from greater levels of water stress than many other regions in the world. Experts say wise economic development focused on infrastructure and improved treaties on water allocation are crucial to relieving this stress.
Author:
Christopher W. Tatlock


Para mais detalhes: http://cfr.org/publication/11240/water_stress_in_subsaharan_africa.html