Press and Publications

This report, published in advance of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women pre-sessional review of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's human rights record in November 2018, documents human rights violations against women and girls, including threats to and violations of their gender-based human rights and participation in peace building efforts, particularly in the eastern provinces of the country. This report informs the Committee's creation of the List of Issues that will be posed to the Government of the DRC before the official hearing in 2019.

‘What did you really think of the opening plenary?’ 

A new international treaty is in the works, focusing on crimes against humanity such as massacres, torture, and rape. However, the draft treaty adopts an opaque definition of gender, that would give some governments an excuse to ignore persecution of women and LGBTIQ people. Most civil society groups are unaware of the treaty and have not weighed in. Today, activists are launching a campaign calling on the international community to affirm our understanding of discrimination, including when based on sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics.

In Kenya, MADRE partners with Indigenous women leaders who organize to build healthier and more resilient communities. Together, we combat the dangers of climate change by creating sustainable farming initiatives and protecting water sources. We advocate for the rights of women and girls to be educated, to be safe from violence and to step up as leaders. We're excited to share these two videos, to give you a glimpse at that work.

MADRE staff visited our partners in Guatemala earlier this year, traveling from community to community to meet with grassroots women organizers. We saw so clearly the impact that supporters like you make possible and wanted to share a few stories and snapshots with you.

Conservative Ivan Duque has won Colombia’s run-off election in a result that threatens to undermine the future of the still fragile peace agreement. MADRE pledges to continue to stand with our local partners to foster peace.

We know that lasting peace requires a commitment to diplomacy and the pressure generated by people’s peace movements -- and that women peacebuilders are crucial. In recent years, people mobilized in South Korea to press for democratic and transparent government. Now, women are leading the way in organizing people, in the two Koreas and around the world, to call for a lasting peace and an end to nuclear threats.

“We have one goal — to save lives and evacuate people. And to send a message to the world: Without weapons, we can do anything.” The young woman who spoke these words -- Razan al-Najjar -- was shot dead on Friday by Israeli snipers. She was 21 years old. A volunteer with our partner group, the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS), Razan was rushing to provide medical care to an injured protester when she was shot in the chest.

I still believe that our world can find the healing and transformation we so desperately need — because I believe in mothers.

Every day, mothers worldwide bring new life into the world with someone vital by their side: a midwife. And in places where maternal healthcare can be hard to come by, a community midwife helps ensure that every mother’s birth experience is safe and joyous.

Women often bear the brunt of climate change's impact. In Guatemala, they also have become some of the country's most visible environmental activists.

MADRE has joined the Afro-Colombian Solidarity Network, Black Alliance for Peace, Proceso de Comunidades Negras and others to call for the release of Afro-Colombian women human rights defenders Sara Quiñonez and Tulia Maris Valencia.