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Press and Publications

Human Rights Report

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.

published: 10/03/2018
Your Support in Action

It has been one year since Hurricane Maria hit. Puerto Rico is still very much feeling the impacts of the disaster and now has an official death toll near 3,000 people. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, MADRE members stepped up and helped MADRE contributed to the Maria Fund in Puerto Rico. 

published: 09/17/2018
Press Release

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.

published: 09/17/2018
Your Support in Action

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.

published: 08/13/2018
Your Support in Action

Two of our partners need your voice now. Mother and daughter Tulia Maris Valencia and Sara Quiñonez are two Afro-Colombian women human rights defenders who have been unjustly imprisoned in a maximum security prison, on baseless charges.

published: 07/25/2018
Your Support in Action

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.

published: 07/20/2018
Statement

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.

published: 06/12/2018
Statement

MADRE condemns the killing of Razan al-Najjar, a 21-year-old Palestinian volunteer medic, who was shot by Israeli snipers as she attempted to provide medical care to an injured protester in Gaza. Razan was a volunteer with the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, a MADRE partner a humanitarian aid organization.

published: 06/04/2018
Your Support in Action

“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.

published: 06/04/2018
Your Support in Action

More than 50 people were killed today in Gaza protesting against the Israeli blockade that has sealed them in for years, depriving them of basic needs like water and access to medical care. This is the latest in weeks of violent retaliation by the Israeli military against demonstrators in Gaza, adding to the growing number of killed and injured. MADRE is mobilizing to provide immediate care, like emergency medical kits for on-the-ground first responders. Through our local partners, we’re helping to make sure that wounded people receive aid, like treatment for tear-gas inhalation, on-the-spot care for injuries, and stabilization so that they can be transported to a clinic. And we’re providing for ongoing support, like antibiotics to avert infection.

published: 05/14/2018
Article

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

published: 05/13/2018
Statement

Trump has announced that the US is leaving the Iran nuclear deal and reinstating sanctions, scuttling a diplomatic solution that has helped improve stability in the region and prevent war. We’re on a path to further confrontation with Iran, a prospect that could trigger massive destruction and endanger countless lives across the region.

published: 05/08/2018
Article

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.

published: 05/05/2018
Statement

MADRE has worked in Nicaragua for 35 years, standing in solidarity with women and families demanding rights and justice. The eyes of the world have been on Nicaragua in recent days, as demonstrations against proposed changes to the social security system have been met with violence. MADRE condemns the use of violence and asserts that the rights to assembly and democratic expression must be respected.

published: 05/02/2018
In the News

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.

published: 05/01/2018
Statement

The world today saw a historic milestone: a landmark meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea. This comes 65 years after a ceasefire that ended the direct hostilities of the Korean War but left the peninsula divided. After more than six decades of families separated and of the threat of renewed violence, the two leaders have pledged to work towards a peace agreement and nuclear disarmament.

published: 04/27/2018
Human Rights Report

Please sign on your organization to a letter calling on Colombia’s Attorney General to free detained Afro-Colombian women human rights defenders, Sara Quiñonez and her mother Tulia Valencia, both members of Black Communities Process (PCN), and expressing concern about politically motivated arrests of human rights defenders. Both Ms. Quiñonez and Ms. Valencia have risked their lives defending Afro-Colombians’ collective and territorial rights and were recently forcibly displaced as a result of death threats targeting them for their advocacy. The two face trumped-up accusations of guerrilla involvement, simply for being prominent human rights defenders.

published: 04/25/2018

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