Geneva: After warning of increasing attacks on women and gender rights around the world, the UN finds itself a key arena for a war of words over how those rights are defined.
UN rights chief Volker Turk has long warned of “systematic” efforts to strip women of their hard-won rights.
Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council last week, he highlighted extreme cases like Afghanistan and Iran, but warned the pushback was happening worldwide.
“No country is immune from regression in women’s rights,” he said, also decrying “ongoing discrimination and exclusion on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”
The UN itself has meanwhile become a key battleground in the fight.
Diplomats describe growing efforts to remove references to women’s rights or to sexual orientation and gender identity that had long gone uncontested in resolutions and texts across the UN system.
“What we’re seeing is a concerted effort to push back on issues related to gender and sexual orientation and gender identity in ... the work of international organizations in Geneva broadly,” said a woman diplomat based in Geneva, who asked not to be named.
Gurchaten Sandhu, program director at the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), described “coordinated efforts” of various actors “to push back on equality.”
“There is a heightened sense of paranoia” around any gender-related terms used in UN texts, he told AFP.
The United Nations working group on discrimination against women and girls presented a report to the rights council this week highlighting an “escalating gender backlash” and a clear “resurgence of a conservative and retrogressive narrative in international fora.”
Reacting to the report, Russian representative Ilia Barmin told the council Thursday that his country regretted that the text contained “controversial concepts,” including on the right to reproductive and sexual health.
“There is no such right in international law,” he insisted, adding that Russia also opposed the inclusion of “new categories of human rights” in the report, like “the right to bodily autonomy.”
The rights council is not the only UN forum where words are being hotly debated.
The World Health Organization’s decision-making assembly last month was for instance forced for the first time to take a resolution to a vote instead of adopting it by consensus due to opposition over gender-related terminology.
A conservative alliance of countries, including Egypt, Russia and Saudi Arabia, balked at the term “gender-responsive” in the text, although they ultimately failed in their bid to change it.
And last year, the UN labor agency’s budget barely passed amid a dramatic standoff over references — which had gone uncontested in previous budgets — to discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
The tensions have especially pitted mainly Western countries against conservative, largely Muslim states.
But Sandhu warned it would be “a mistake to think it’s coming from one direction.”
A range of African countries also figure among those taking part in efforts to remove language on gender rights from UN texts.
So too do Russia and China, although observers suggested their motivations are less about conviction than a desire to build alliances and to upset Western opponents.
Others highlight the Vatican’s role.
“The earliest reference to ‘gender ideology’ as a dangerous, subversive phenomenon that needed to be stopped came from the Vatican,” said Erin Kilbride, a researcher with Human Rights Watch.
Pope Francis earlier this year doubled down on the issue, publishing a document listing gender theory among the world’s “grave violations of human dignity.”
Lobbying by “anti-rights groups” is also on the rise at the UN, the woman diplomat said.
The groups, typically funded by Gulf states, Russia and influential US religious movements, had become “increasingly vocal and coordinated,” she warned.
They were pushing talking points on traditional gender roles, anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ rights on countries, which then use them in UN debates, she added.
A Western diplomat, who asked not to be named, decried “a very strong offensive.”
There is a group of countries, he warned, “intent on felling a whole host of social rights gained over the past 30 years.”
War of words rages at UN over women, gender rights
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War of words rages at UN over women, gender rights
- UN rights chief Volker Turk has long warned of “systematic” efforts to strip women of their hard-won rights.
- A range of African countries also figure among those taking part in efforts to remove language on gender rights from UN texts
Macron says Europe must protect sovereignty in face of Trump’s return
PARIS: More than ever, Europeans, including France and Germany, must protect their sovereignty in the face of the return of US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday.
He made the remarks at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris, adding that it was important to support the automobile, steel, chemical sectors, among others.
“After the inauguration of a new administration in the United States, it is necessary more than ever for Europeans and for our two countries to play their role of consolidating a united, strong and sovereign Europe,” Macron said.
Malaysia’s Anwar says don’t single out China in sea tensions
- There will always be border disputes in Asia, and China should not be singled out because of tensions in the South China Sea, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday
DAVOS: There will always be border disputes in Asia, and China should not be singled out because of tensions in the South China Sea, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Anwar said that Malaysia had border issues with Singapore and its other neighbors in Southeast Asia but they still managed to cultivate good relations.
While Malaysia also has maritime issues with China, it will push ahead with improving ties because it is an important country, he said.
“We have excellent relationship with Singapore. We still have border issues with them,” Anwar said.
“I treat the Thais as my family members, the leaders, but still we have some border issues with them. So it is with Indonesia, with the Philippines.
“(But) we don’t go to war, we don’t threaten. We do discuss. We get a bit... angry, but we do focus on the economic fundamentals and move on,” he added.
“Why is it that we must then single out China as an issue?” Anwar asked.
“That’s my only contention. Do I have an issue about it? Yes, but do I have a problem? No. Do we have any undesired tensions? No,” he said.
He said that while Malaysia has strong ties with the United States, China is an important neighbor that it must also engage with.
“Of course, people highlight the issue of the South China Sea... But may I remind you that Malaysia is a maritime country,” he said.
China has been “very reasonable” in dealing with Malaysia, Anwar added.
“They take us seriously, more seriously than many of the countries of our old allies and friends,” he said, without mentioning any country.
China has ruffled diplomatic feathers in Southeast Asia because of its assertion that it owns most of the strategic waterway despite an international ruling that the claim has no legal basis.
This has pitted it against Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, which have partial claims to the sea.
In recent years, China and the Philippines have seen an escalation of confrontations, including boat-ramming incidents and Chinese ships firing water cannons on Filipino vessels.
The clashes have sparked concern they could draw the United States, Manila’s long-time security ally, into armed conflict with China.
Washington’s UN nominee supports Israeli biblical claim to West Bank
- ‘It’s going to be very difficult to achieve peace if you continue to hold the view that you just expressed,’ senator tells Elise Stefanik
- Republican congresswoman for New York accuses international body of being ‘cesspool of antisemitism’
LONDON: The new US nominee for UN ambassador has backed Israeli biblical claims to the entire West Bank.
Elise Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman for New York, was being questioned on her stance by Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen during a Senate confirmation hearing.
“You told me that, yes, you shared that view,” Van Hollen said. “Is that your view today?” Stefanik said: “Yes.”
Her stance is at odds with international law, multiple UN Security Council resolutions, and a longstanding international consensus on the issue.
“It’s going to be very difficult to achieve peace if you continue to hold the view that you just expressed,” Van Hollen said.
During the hearing, Stefanik criticized the UN for its alleged anti-Israel bias, claiming that the organization is a “cesspool of antisemitism.”
She said: “Our tax dollars should not be complicit in propping up entities that are counter to American interests, antisemitic, or engaging in fraud, corruption or terrorism.”
The US is the largest funder of the UN and houses its secretariat in New York City. Washington pays about 22 percent of the UN’s regular budget.
India and US trying to arrange Modi meeting with Trump next month, sources say
- Washington sees India as a strategic partner of the United States in its efforts to counter its rival China
- Trump’s return to office has raised worries among officials in New Delhi about imposition of tariffs on India
NEW DELHI: Indian and US diplomats are trying to arrange a meeting in February between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump in Washington, two Indian sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.
India, a strategic partner of the United States in its efforts to counter China, is keen to enhance trade relations with the US and make it easier for its citizens to get skilled worker visas, two topics that will be on the agenda if the leaders meet, the sources said.
Trump’s return to the White House has raised worries among officials in New Delhi about imposition of tariffs on India, which he has listed as one of the countries that has high tariffs on US products and has indicated that he favored reciprocating them.
But the sources said New Delhi was willing to offer some concessions to Washington — although it has not been officially informed of any plans by US to impose reciprocal tariffs — and was also open to offering incentives to attract more US investment in India.
Officials hope that an early meeting between the pair will help get ties off to a positive start in Trump’s new term, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Trump visited India in February 2020 during his previous term in office. Then, he was cheered by more than 100,000 Indians at a cricket stadium in Modi’s political homeland in Ahmedabad, where he promised India “an incredible trade deal.”
In 2019, Trump held a “Howdy Modi” rally with Modi in Houston, drawing 50,000 people, mainly Indian Americans.
Laying the groundwork for a new Modi-Trump meeting is also on the agenda of Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who attended Trump’s inauguration on Monday and met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The United States is India’s largest trading partner and two-way trade between the two countries surpassed $118 billion in 2023/24, with India posting a trade surplus of $32 billion.
Other topics of discussion between the two leaders would be enhancing partnership in technology and defense sectors, the sources said.
Migration would be another area of discussion, as Trump has pledged a crackdown on illegal immigration but has said he is open to legal migration of skilled workers.
India, known for its massive pool of IT professionals, many of whom work across the world, accounts for the bulk of the skilled worker H-1B visas issued by the United States.
Rubio discussed with Jaishankar concerns related to “irregular migration” on Tuesday, the US State Department said.
India turns to geo-tagging to conserve Kashmir’s iconic ‘Chinar’ trees
- The trees are a cultural and ecological symbol of the restive northern territory
- The trees face threats from rising urbanization, road-widening projects, diseases
SRINAGAR: Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir are geo-tagging thousands of ‘Chinar’ trees to create a comprehensive database for their management and help conserve them amid threats from rising urbanization, road-widening projects and diseases.
The trees are a cultural and ecological symbol of the restive northern territory, which is claimed in full by India and Pakistan and ruled in part by both, but hundreds of them have been lost over the last few decades.
Under the geo-tagging process, QR codes are attached to each surveyed tree, recording information about 25 characteristics, including its geographical location, health, age, and growing patterns, enabling conservationists to track changes and address risk factors.
The public can also scan the code to access the details, Syed Tariq, the head of the project, told Reuters.
“We have geo-tagged nearly 29,000 trees, but we still have more small-sized trees that haven’t been tagged... These will be tagged in due course,” Tariq said.
The Chinar trees take around 150 years to reach their full size of up to 30 meters (100 ft) in height with a girth of 10 to 15 meters (30 to 50 ft) at ground level.
The oldest Chinar in the region lies on the outskirts of the city of Srinagar and is around 650 years old.
“We are using a USG-based (ultrasonography-based) gadget capable of determining risk levels without human intervention. The gadget will assess risk factors, eliminating the need for manual evaluation,” Tariq said.
The portion of Kashmir under India’s control was roiled by violence for decades as militants fought security forces, but the conflict has eased in recent years, leading to a gradual rise in development projects and tourism.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kashmir last week to inaugurate a tunnel and, during the event, said that numerous road and rail connectivity projects in the region would be completed in the coming days.
