A short poem to remember an honour WHRDs and activists who are no longer with us.

With the global surge to the right and the attacks on civic space, many hope that powerful corporations can be allies for the civil society. Among them, the panelists of  “The Business Case for Civic Space”, a public event organized by CIVICUS, on 14 June 2017, in the headquarters of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The panelists included high level UN leadership and a Microsoft representative.

Sandisiwe comes from a lineage of Black queer South African artists, who have documented the joy, pain, and beauty of their communities. In a national context where they face femicides and the targeted rape of lesbians, self-exploration is tantamount to resistance. Here, Sandisiwe describes her foray into visual activism, her aspirations, and ongoing book project.

Women Human Rights Defenders are at the forefront of rights struggles. WHRDs are targeted because of our work, including for what we do, the fact that we do it, and the identities we carry.

To understand FRIDA’s achievements in the context of the larger movement and history of feminist organizing, the team reached out to Lydia Alpizar to share her personal reflections on why it is important to document these beginnings, what it contributes to our knowledge of movements, and what were some of the lessons learned. Lydia was the Executive Director at the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) who helped kickstart the beginnings of FRIDA.

AWID and partners express our strong concerns about the draft resolution on the protection of the family. We are concerned that the resolution attempts to instrumentalize older persons and their rights.

At a time when the experiences and demands of domestic workers are often narrated by others, Beirut-based, Filipina domestic worker Ursula Cruz tells her own story.

AWID works with partners to share key knowledge, convene civil society dialogues and events, and influence negotiations and outcomes of the 35th session of the Human Rights Council. We met with Meghan Doherty, Cynthia Rothschild and Alejandra Sardá-Chandiramani, who are involved in this process. They reflect on their perspective.

The State of Our Feminist Movements animation is the first of “Movement Sparks”, a series of animations exploring key topics facing our movements for justice and liberation today; and the need for integrated and coherent approaches that cut across diverse locations, agendas, and strategies.

As we look ahead to the 35th session of the Human Rights Council we share a refresher on key progressive language relating to religion, culture, and tradition that came out of the last session (27 February - 24 March 2017).