Providing refuge for victims of domestic violence, trafficking and other forms of abuse is the aim of the first shelter for women in Tajikistan, which was opened by the OSCE Field Office in Khujand today. The shelter is part of a new a three-year project financed by the U.S. State Department through the OSCE and implemented by the Crisis Centre "Gulrukhsor". Since 1996, "Gulrukhsor" has been offering women in Tajikistan's northern region free medical consultations and social and psychological rehabilitation.

"We are very excited to be able to help open the first shelter for women in Tajikistan," said Frank Johansen of the OSCE Field Office in Khujand.

"The city authorities have been very supportive and are considering providing a permanent location. This is important for the long term sustainability of the shelter and the women's Crisis Centre. In the future, it would make better sense if such social services were provided by local or regional authorities."

"Data collected last year from a hotline run by the Crisis Centre revealed that up to 75 per cent of calls were from women in crisis situations," he added. "Over 35 per cent of the calls were related to domestic violence. Every second caller was in need of temporary shelter."

Cited in: OSCE Centre in Dushanbe helps open first shelter for women in Tajikistan, Press Release, OSCE, http://www.osce.org/item/15475.html, 1 July 2005.

A joint operation by Tajik police and United Arab Emirates special services freed a group of 40 Tajik women on 30 June in Dubai, Asia-Plus reported. The Tajik women, ranging between the age of 14 and 25, were victims of an organized human-trafficking network that preys on impoverished females from Central Asia and other former Soviet states. The operation also resulted in the arrest of an undetermined number of traffickers.

Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org.

On June of 2002, in Meerwala Jatoi, a remote farming village in Punjab, Mukhtar Mai, a thirty year old unmarried woman from a low-caste family, was publicly gang raped under the direction of a tribal court. She was paraded naked before hundreds of onlookers before being covered with a shawl by her father and walked home. According to the Independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, community sanctioned violence against woman is still prevalent, especially in rural parts of the country. In the first seven months of 2004 alone, 151 Pakistani women were gang-raped and 176 killed in the name of “honor.”

Mai was punished because her younger brother, Abdul Shakur, then 12 years old, had been accused of having an affair with a girl from the powerful Mastoi tribe. Investigators later determined that the “affair” was invented as a cover-up after three Mastoi men kidnapped and sexually assaulted the boy in a sugar cane field. Abdul remembers, “They asked me if I would tell my family.” When he said yes, the men beat and locked Abdul in a room. When the police arrived they found Abdul and a Mastoi girl alone together.

Mai, a teacher of Islam, went before the Panciat, (tribal council), pleading with the village elders to show mercy on her brother. According to some accounts, in order to restore tribal honor, the court ruled that Mai’s brother and the Mastoi the girl he was found with should be married. The tribal court also demanded that Mai herself be given in marriage to a Mastoi man. Sources differ on whether the Mastoi or Mai objected to the tribal court’s initial decision. The BBC maintains that the Mastois demanded zina (adultery) for zina. What isn’t disputed is that the council chose to punish Mai with karo kari, or gang rape. Four men from the Mastoi tribe volunteered to carry out the punishment.

The local imam (Islamic cleric) spoke out against the tribal court and its voluntary rapists, demanding that they be brought to trial in a civil court. The imam encouraged Mai to file an official complaint with the police. At first, the police refused to respond to the complaint. After the iman brought Mai’s story to the media, the tribal elders and volunteer rapists were tried in an anti-terrorism court. Under Pakistani law, criminal cases can be tried under Anglo-Saxon law and Islamic law simultaneously. Fourteen men were charged with rape; eight men were acquitted and six sentenced to death.

Although the government offered to buy Mai a home within Islamabad, to protect her from reprisal by the Mastoi clan, Mai chose instead to return to her native village. Using the $8,000 settlement she received in compensation, Mai opened the first school for girls in Meerwala. The school offers elementary education to 130 poor and orphaned girls, including the daughters of Mai’s attackers. With help from volunteers, the curriculum has expanded to include literacy, math, science, English, and Vocational training (sewing/handicrafts). There are now two girls-only schools in Meerwala with plans to set up multiple branches throughout Pakistan.

In the future, Mai hopes to establish a non-profit group, the Mukhtar Mai Women’s Welfare Organization which would lobby against Karo Kari, the Panciat/Jirga System, “honor” killings, and female sexual violence. The organization aims to provide emergency assistance and health care facilities for women while raising political awareness and advocating for equal rights between men and women. Through www.mercycorps.org, NYTimes Op Ed Columnist Nicolas D. Kristof, who has covered Mai’s story since 2002, has helped raise $133,000 in donations for Mai’s social work. With these funds Mai has established an ambulance service, a women’s shelter, and a trauma center for women.

This last March, the Lahore High Court overturned the convictions of five of the men, citing a lack of evidence. The sixth man was sentenced to life imprisonment. After Mai appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, the Federal Shariat Court (Islamic court) reinstated the original convictions of the six men. However, the Supreme Court threw out the Islamic court’s decision, choosing instead to hear Mai’s appeal. Thirteen of the village elders and rapists were rearrested pending the Supreme Court decision. In addition to asking that the Supreme Court reinstate the death sentences of five of the men, Mai is also appealing the original acquittals of the eight other men involved in her rape. This last Monday the Supreme Court heard the initial arguments.

At the invitation of the Asian-American Network Against Abuse of Woman, (ANAA) Mai was scheduled to appear in the United States on June 22 to publicize her success with developing a women’s trauma center in Meerwala. On June 11, expressing worry for Mai’s security, the government banned the schoolteacher from overseas travel, placing her under house arrest. On Friday of that week, the Lahore court ordered the release of Mai’s attackers on bail. Government officials have since reported that none of the prisoners were released because their lawyers failed to file the appropriate paper work. That Saturday, Mai was escorted by police officials to Islamabad, where she was instructed to withdraw her application for a US visa. According to the NY Times, officials accused Mai of being unpatriotic, threatening her family and friends.

The President has since admitted, “She was told not to go. I don’t want to project the bad image of Pakistan.”

Gen. Musharraf has received international condemnation for attempting to preserve Pakistan’s “modern” image by suppressing information about Mai’s case. Gen. Musharraf had threatened to “slap” Ms. Jehangir, a U.N. special rapporteur on human rights “in the face” for publishing information of Mukhtar Mai in international magazines Human Rights advocates also protested the Pakistani government’s ban on Mai’s ability to travel abroad. ANAA staged protests outside the Pakistani Consulate in New York and the Pakistan Embassy in Washington D.C.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice spoke with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri asking that the travel restrictions placed on Mai be revoked. In response to international public outcry Prime Minister Shaulkat Aziz removed Mai’s name from the Exit Control List. Pakistani government officials have since returned Mai her confiscated passport, but she has not announced whether she plans to travel abroad in the immediate future.

Compiled from:  “Pakistan Lifts Travel Restrictions on Rape Victim” NY Times, 16 June 2005; “Pakistanis Re-Arrested in Officially Ordered Rape” NY Times, 28 June 2005; http://www.mukhtarmai.com/Mai’sTragedy.htm; “Challenging a Tribal Code of ‘Honor’”, Asma Jahangir, Time Asia, 4 October 2004

At least 70 Roma women in the Czech Republic have publicly accused state-run hospitals of sterilizing them without their consent during the past 15 years.

While the women say they may have signed papers authorizing sterilization, their reports indicate that proper consent was not given.  Roma women report being given incomplete information and being pressured to sign before giving birth.  One woman says that a social worker threatened to take away her children permanently unless she was sterilized.

The women claim that they were targeted because of their race.  During the communist era, "undesirables," a group that included Roma women, were sterilized by the government.  This practice was supposed to have ended with the fall of communism.  However, prejudice against the Roma remains widespread: a survey reported that "nearly 80 percent of Czechs would not want a Roma as a neighbor" (From: "Sterilized Roma Women Say They Did Not Consent," Women's E-News, 25 July 2005).

The Czech health ministry has responded by drafting legislation that would restrict sterilization and provide tighter regulations for medical consent.

Compiled from: "Sterilized Roma Women Say They Did Not Consent," Women's E-News, 25 July 2005; "Romani Women Coercively Sterilised in the Czech Republic Come Forward," European Roma Rights Centre, 7 April 2005.

Revitalization of the women's movement in Lebanon has recently resulted in the formation of the Lebanese Women's Network, a coalition of civil society groups with a focus on women's rights. The Network is calling for reform of the penal code to eliminate the blatant discrimination against women. Representatives for the Network spoke out against the bias at the Lebanese Press Federation in an effort to raise awareness and stimulate legislative reform. They gave examples of the bias, including one penal code provision that allows men to kill their wives if they bring dishonor to the family and another that pardons men for rape or kidnapping if they marry the victim.

The penal code also provides for different punishments for the same crime, depending upon the sex of the offender. Mohammad Baalbakki, the head of the Lebanese Press Syndicate joined the network in the call for reform, saying that, "[b]oth genders have to be subjected to the same rules and have the same duties. We are through with ancient times where each of the sexes was given a different kind of treatment."

In the past, women's groups in Lebanon competed against each other. They now realize that working together strengthens their message and improves their potential for success.

Cited in:  Chahine, Jesse, "Women's Groups Call for Amendment of Penal Code," The Daily Star, 22 July 2005.

"The decision marks a most significant step forward in the implementation of human rights principles within the law of Kosovo," he said.

While each ministry already has "focal points" dedicated to the most pressing human rights concerns, including the rights of communities, gender equality and equal opportunity, the human rights cells will bring together civil service staff at the ministerial level.

"This will enable each ministry to give more depth of attention to human rights compliance within its specific sectoral focus."

Further, the creation of human rights cells will develop the internal structure necessary for ministry level participation in the development of the Comprehensive Human Rights Strategy, and the implementation of the Anti-Discrimination Law, Regulation 2004/32.

The significance of Prime Minister Kosumi's action today to put the focus on human rights at the ministerial level is long term and far reaching, Ambassador Wnendt added.

Even after Kosovo's future status questions have been addressed, government compliance with human rights principles will be seen as an important indicator for measuring Kosovo's stability.

The integration of respect for human rights into local cultural norms can help to stimulate economic investment from abroad.

The OSCE Mission, in addition to the support it gave in this process to date, will also train people designated as parts of the human rights cells in the ministries and the Prime Minister's office. Technical advice on the formation of this structure, as well as human rights related legislation will be provided by both local and international experts.

Published in: "OSCE Mission Head welcomes decision to create human rights cells in Kosovo ministries," OSCE press release, 22 July 2005.

18 July 2005

"Women's rights should be right at the top of the agenda for the negotiations with Turkey", says Parliaments Women's Rights Committee in a report adopted on Thursday 26 May.

Women's rights and gender equality are embedded in the Community's basic principles and in much legislation which Turkey has to accept if it is to join the EU. MEPs emphasise that Turkey's "progress in the field of legalisation now needs to be implemented in practice".

The committee's report, drafted by Emine BOZKURT (PES, NL), which followed on from a hearing held on 16 March this year, was adopted by 27 votes to 0, with 4 abstentions.

The report emphasises the key role of civil society in pushing for the recent legislative reforms. MEPs believe that the entire political class as well as grassroots organisations, religious communities and the media must be involved if democratic change is to be achieved.

Violence against women is another issue raised in the report. MEPs call on the Turkish Government to take action to protect women at risk, such as providing easily accessible healthcare and legal support and protection. According to local NGOs, in 1995 almost all women living in slum areas of Ankara had experienced domestic violence, while of 1,259 women interviewed between 1990 and 1996, 88% claimed to be living in a violent environment.

Among other concerns are the involvement of Turkish women in politics, which remains weak, (only 4.4% of members of parliament are women and around 1% of representatives at local level), access to education and the low number of women active on the labour market. According to the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living Conditions, only 27 percent of women in Turkey are currently employed.

The committee urges Turkey to ratify the Additional Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights which deals with preventing discrimination. Finally, MEPs say that they intend to monitor the situation of women in Turkey closely and report on it annually through the EP Women's Rights Committee. They call on the European Commission to do the same.

Published in: "Turkey Urged to Enforce Legislation on Women's Rights," Europarl, 27 May 2005.

On July 25, 2005, The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) held a pre-sessional review of Macedonia’s compliance with the Convention. The Roma Centre of Skopje (RCS) the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) and the Network Women’s Program Roma Women Initiative (NWP/PWI) jointly submitted a ten-page document to CEDAW detailing the widespread discrimination directed against Romani women in Macedonia. The report highlights exclusionary laws that were adopted by the government of Macedonia during the break-up of Yugoslavia which have since deprived Roma of citizenship in their own country. Because of this statelessness many Roma are denied basic human rights including education, health care, housing, and property.

According to the report, Roma face overt discrimination and verbal harassment by employers, and are subjected to poor working conditions, longer hours and less pay than non-Roma. Roma are often forced to live in substandard living conditions, where overcrowding, lack of sanitation, electricity or water contribute to the spread of disease. This is exacerbated by a public health care system that routinely excludes Romani women from treatment. There are documented cases of untreated tuberculosis while a large percentage of Romani women suffer from bronchitis, asthma and high blood pressure. Government authorities rarely intervene in cases of domestic violence.

Please click here to access the full report.

Compiled from: “United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Hears Concerns at Situation of Romani Women in Macedonia,” European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC); 25, July 2005.

The Azerbaijani parliament adopted a new law on 28 June to combat human trafficking, "Baku Today" reported. According to parliamentary Human Rights Committee Chairwoman Rabiyyat Aslanova, the new law calls for the appointment of a new "national coordinator" empowered to oversee the establishment of several "special rehabilitation centers" designed to aid victims of human trafficking. The Azerbaijani Criminal Code is also to be revised to include new penalties for human trafficking. Aslanova said that 283 people have been victims of human trafficking and 161 suspected traffickers were convicted in Azerbaijan last year. RG

Published in: RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 9, No. 124, Part I, 30 June 2005

Copyright (c) 2004. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org.

On 29 June 2005, the EU Commission adopted the negotiation guidelines for Turkey's accession to full membership in the union. The framework for negotiations was described "as the most severe adopted so far by the EU executive." Negotiation has tentatively been scheduled for 3 October 2005 and will take place if member states approve the draft and if Turkey extends the current trade agreement that it has with the EU to the ten newest EU member states. Although there has been private discusstion about granting "privileged partnership" to Turkey instead, negotiation continues toward full membership. The EU noted that "negotiations are an open-ended process, the outcome of which cannot be guaranteed beforehand" and explains that Turkey must fulfill all of the outlined obligations before gaining membership.

Compiled from: 
"Commission Drafts a Rigorous Draft Framework for Accession Negotiations with Turkey," Europa, (Press Release IP/05/807), 29 June 2005.
Vucheva, Elitsa, "EU Adopts Rigorous Negotiation Rules for Turkey," EUobserver, 29 June 2005.

On July 5, 2005, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Romania launched a new anti-trafficking project targeting countries in South Eastern Europe.  The project provides advanced law enforcement training for border officials and facilitates greater communication and cross-border coordination between participating countries. Through these measures the project hopes to identify a greater number of trafficking victims, protect and offer treatment services to victims, improve investigation techniques and convict traffickers.

In 2003, UNDP Romania distributed a “Comprehensive Anti-Trafficking Training Strategy for Law Enforcement,” for anti-trafficking investigators that has been officially endorsed as a regional training standard by 13 countries in South Eastern Europe (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, FYR of Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, and Serbia & Montenegro).

This year, UNDP Romania introduced its follow-up project “Strengthening Law Enforcement Capacities for Fighting Human Trafficking in South-Eastern Europe.” UNDP Romania, working with the International center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), created the project in response to requests from the thirteen countries for more support in developing national training plans in accordance with the 2003 anti-trafficking strategies. This project intends to update existing manuals, conduct regional seminars, strengthen law enforcement, and implement training strategies that are specifically tailored to the local needs of each country.

On June 11-17, the UNDP held its first regional seminar in Stadtschlaining, Austria. Trainers, police officers, prosecutors, and NGOs from participating countries were invited to attend. At the seminar, participants received advanced training delivery techniques and the opportunity to share experiences and comment on the progress of their national training plans.

Compiled from: “Human Anti-trafficking: the battle continues.” UNDP(Romania), 5 July 2005; (Press Release, PDF)

The Vienna Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CONGO) is organizing a Forum for NGOs of Central and Eastern Europe "to establish or improve relations with [the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime] and [the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe]." It is intended as a forum in which the NGOs can meet with Vienna-based NGOs as well as UNOCD and OSCE to develop measures to combat crime, "especially trafficking in human beings, corruption and urban crime." A panel of NGOs in Vienna will select the NGOs that will be invited to participate. CONGO is asking Central and Eastern European NGOs that are interested in the Forum to indicate their interest to CONGO by emailing congovie@ngocongo.org.

Compiled from: "Regional Crime Prevention Forum," Network of East-West Women - Polska, 4 July 2005.

United Nations, New York — The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) called on the international community today to recognize women's efforts to prevent and resolve conflict in their communities, and to strengthen support for women's inclusion as full and equal participants in formal peace processes.

UNIFEM's regional programme director for East and Horn of Africa, Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, speaking at a press conference, said that although women often play a leadership role in their communities during and after conflict, they were too often left out of formal peace negotiations and agreements. "Women's roles are often undervalued or ignored, despite the fact that it is their right to participate on equal terms with men in all governance and decision-making processes. Formal peace negotiations that leave out half the population have limited hope of popular support."

"There is certainly an increased international awareness of the gender dimensions of conflict, spurred in part by the adoption of Security Council resolution 1325, and in part by the efforts of governments, UN bodies and civil society to implement the resolution," said Joanne Sandler, deputy director of UNIFEM. "But awareness is not enough. As we approach the five-year anniversary of 1325 in October, what's needed is stronger support for women's participation in all efforts to promote and maintain peace and security," she added.

While a few women have been able to participate in different capacities over the past decade, it is still rare for women to be involved alongside men in every stage of the peace process, including the implementation of peace agreements. Where women have gained access to negotiations, they have made valuable contributions.

In Somalia, during the Djibouti peace talks in 2000, only clans — five of them — were recognized as legitimate participants at the peace table. Women, excluded from the five clans, mobilized to form a "sixth clan," which was eventually accepted as an equal participant in the high-level peace talks. Their presence at the negotiations led to the Federal Charter requiring that a minimum of 12 per cent of National Assembly seats go to women.

"We had to think out of the box," said Asha Hagi Amin, newly appointed MP and founder of NGO Save Somali Women and Children, describing how women organized across clan borders to form what became not only a "multi-clan," but a clan that for the first time represented women from all over the country. "As women we had no role in the traditional clan structure, so we had no right to represent our own clans and therefore were shut out of the peace process. Since we were not treated as full members of our individual clans, we refused to rally behind them, and chose instead to form our own — to represent the voice of women, and more importantly the voice of peace. During the Djibouti peace talks, only men were allowed inside the big tent where the negotiations were being held. So we stood outside demanding to participate until they had to let us in. I had the honour of representing the sixth clan, and for the first time I sat together next to the men as a full and equal participant."

As current negotiations in Somalia's peace process continue, women are playing a crucial role, working among different clans and militias to advocate for peace and non-violence so that Mogadishu remains a safe place for the talks to continue.

Women's networks, with their extensive local, and increasingly, regional reach, are key allies in building and sustaining vital public support for ongoing peace processes. Advocacy efforts by women's civil society groups can be instrumental to initiating formal peace negotiations, maintaining public support for their continuation until a peace accord is signed, and then assisting in its implementation.

Over the last five years, UNIFEM has been supporting and documenting the critical role that women play in promoting peace-building and conflict prevention worldwide. UNIFEM has provided assistance to women as they conduct advocacy, awareness-raising and peace education, support efforts to dispose of small arms, secure justice and psychosocial assistance for survivors of gender-based violence, and develop gender-based early warning indicators at the grassroots level — all with the explicit goal of preventing the emergence or recurrence of violent conflict. The Fund has also supported national and regional women's networks to build a "culture of peace" in areas where there are no active or formal peace processes, such as the Southern Caucasus.

In that region, women's organizations in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan have mobilized to create a Regional Coalition — "Women for Peace" — in order to back women's efforts to build a "culture of peace" in their communities in the absence of a formal peace process. Sevil Asadova, representative of the Coalition, described the growing role of civil society in the region in creating an "enabling environment for peace." "An increasing number of NGOs, including several women's groups, recognized the need to work with their counterparts in the conflict zones. They took a brave step against public opinion and started reaching out to each other from opposite sides of the conflicts," she said. "Our regional coalition brings women together, across conflict and ethnic lines, to work on everyone's mutual issue — women's human rights. This has united us, and is helping us to build confidence and mutual trus t with others. It is this people-to-people diplomacy that is laying the foundations for sustainable peace in our countries and our region," she added.

The "Due Diligence and Violence Against Women" International Symposium will be held at the University of Berne in Switzerland from September 21-23. This symposium is open to academics, students, representatives from governmental and non-governmental organizations and politicians. The symposium will serve as an information forum for the international legal concept of due diligence and launch an interdisciplinary debate focusing on four main topics: violence in the family, trafficking in women, violence in armed combat, and violence legitimized with arguments of "culture."

For details and registration information, please visit: http://www.izfg.unibe.ch/duediligence/e/index_e.htm

Compiled from: INSTRAW News, July 2005

The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles recently published a legal manual entitled, “Civil Litigation on Behalf of Victims of Human Trafficking,” geared towards legal advocates wanting to seek civil relief for trafficked persons. The manual includes sample pleadings and details the procedure for filing a civil trafficking claim. The authors, Kathleen Kim of the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and Daniel Werner of the Worker’s Rights Law Center of New York, intend to provide legislative updates and cases addressing human trafficking in civil court.

Please click here to access the report. (PDF, 161 pgs).  To order a copy of the report, contact Michelle Favis at mfavis@lafla.org.

EU Sixth Framework Programme (FP6)

The Marie Curie Fellowships for Early Stage Training in the field of Gender and Women's Studies allows early stage researchers access to a training programme offered by a network of seven universities in different European countries. The partner institutions, with proven record of high expertise in gender research and education, will jointly train and exchange junior PhD students. The Marie Curie Early Stage Training Scheme is designed to encourage international mobility and therefore carries an enhanced salary/stipend package.

The partner institutions include:

- University of Bologna (Prof. Vita Fortunati),

- Cornelia Goethe Centrum in Frankfurt am Main (Dr. Ulla Wischermann),

- University of Hull (Prof. Gabriele Griffin),

- Linköping University (Prof. Nina Lykke),

- Ljubljana Graduate School in Humanities (Prof. Svetlana Slapsak),

- University of Lodz (Prof. Elzbieta Oleksy),

- Utrecht University (Prof. Rosi Braidotti)

The training structure is a core curriculum of structured courses, some jointly taught by the partners, offered at Utrecht University. The language of instruction will be English. Furthermore, each partner university will also provide training and supervision.

The Gender Studies Department of Utrecht University co-ordinates the Marie Curie Fellowships for Early Stage Training in the field of Gender and Women's Studies. Within this Marie Curie Consortium there is currently one PhD fellowship available for 36 months at Utrecht University (the Netherlands). The preferred commencement of the fellowship is September 1st or October 1st 2005. PhD candidates for the 36 months-fellowships are offered the opportunity to follow a high-level doctoral training, including a course package and opportunity to prepare a dissertation with a professor from Utrecht university.

The fellowships are for beginning PhD students and not open to post-PhD researchers. We envisage projects in the field of gender and the humanities, with special emphasis on cultural studies in the areas of ethnicity, subjectivity, sexuality in the arts and/or technology and the media. We are looking for candidates with a strong interdisciplinary profile and expertise with both the analysis of texts and artifacts, empirical work and interviews and with theoretical discussions. The students apart from being trained in the field of feminist and/or post-colonial studies should preferably have an academic background in literature, art history, music, film, media studies, social work, anthropology, ethnography and/or philosophy.

GRANTS:

The fellowship covers: living, mobility, travel and career exploratory allowances according to the EU standards. However, medical health insurance is not included in the grant although some EU countries provide this automatically.

REQUIREMENTS CANDIDATES:

Each eligible researcher must simultaneously fulfill the following criteria:

· Nationality: The nationality of the researcher should be other than Dutch. Furthermore: The researcher must be a national of a Member State of the European Community, of an Associated State or a third country if legal residence/main activity has been in a Member State or Associated State for at least 4 years out of the 5 years prior to the appointment. In that case the researcher will be considered a national of the state in which s/he has resided for the longest period.

· Mobility: The nationality of the fellow must be different from the country in which the host university is located. In the case of holding dual nationality, the researcher will be able to be hosted by the university from the country of her/his nationality provided s/he has not resided there during the last 5 years.

· Qualifications: Candidates applying for this fellowship should have a MA degree (or an equivalent of a MA degree) from a university. The degree must demonstrate a clearly identifiable interest in Gender and Women's Studies, as evidenced in a minimum of 45 ECTS in this field of study. Candidates should have demonstrable knowledge of the main types of research questions and methods in the field of Gender and Women's Studies as well as a working knowledge of the basic concepts used in the discipline; have demonstrable research qualities and above average scores; be highly motivated to do academic research. A good knowledge of English is required. The researcher is within the first 4 years (full-time equivalent) of her/his research activity (including training) since gaining a university degree (or equivalent institution of higher education) giving access to doctoral studies in the country in which the degree was obtained. The degree/s already obtained must entitle the holder to embark on doctoral studies without having to acquire any further qualifications. Researchers who have already obtained a doctoral degree are not eligible.

If you have any questions about your eligibility, we kindly urge you to contact the Marie Curie office in Utrecht before submitting your full application.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES:

Applications, in English, must include:

- The application form completed in all sections;

- A motivation letter in which the applicant explains clearly his/her

academic and personal reasons for entering the programme;

- A brief curriculum vitae, including language skills, and any publications;

- An outline of a proposal for a PhD project (max. 4 pages). This should be accompanied by a brief abstract;

- A copy of the student's previous academic record (courses) and diplomas.

If necessary, the candidate must provide a translation into English. This need not be an official translation;

- A copy of one or more written assignments, possibly in English, which may be relevant for admission to the programme;

- A photocopy of the candidates passport;

- Two sealed letters of recommendation with the referees full address.

DEADLINE:

The application form, motivation letter, CV and PhD proposal should be sent before August 12th 2005 as an email attachment (Word format) to the Utrecht office: gendergraduates@let.uu.nl A hard copy of all the documents should arrive by registered mail on August 12th 2005 at the latest at the Utrecht office:

Utrecht University

Marie Curie GenderGraduates Programme

Muntstraat 2A

3512 EV Utrecht

The Netherlands

The application form be can found on the website.

INFORMATION:

http://www.gendergraduates.org

gendergraduates@let.uu.nl

Part 1 in Lund, Sweden, 10 October - 4 November 2005 Part 2 in Kiev, Ukraine, 15-19 May 2006

The Regional Programme on Human Rights of Women is for the first time in 2005 arranged in two separate phases.

During the first phase of the programme, held in Lund, Sweden, participants will be requested to formulate, in writing, an individual plan of action identifying challenges in implementing international human rights standards in their home countries with a focus on a particular issue or area relevant to their respective institution or organisation.

Phase two of the programme will take place in Kiev, Ukraine and will follow up on the plans of action formulated during phase one. Phase two is organised in cooperation with the Institute of International Relations (IIR), at the Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University.

The following countries are invited to apply for the programme:

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro (including Kosovo), Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan

Important information about the application process, please read before applying:

· Applications from other states than those mentioned above, will NOT be considered · There is a special application form that must be used when applying. You can download it from this site. (Only your CV will NOT be regarded as an application.) · Information brochures and application forms have been sent to Swedish Embassies/ Consulates in the invited countries · Application forms can be sent to the Raoul Wallenberg Institute either by fax, email or regular mail

More information

Website: http://www.rwi.lu.se/news/tempact/osshuwo05.shtml

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) has released a 2005 report titled, "Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2005 (Events of 2004)." 

The report contains individual country sections addressing a range of human rights issues, available as Word documents here: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo (Serbia and Montenegro), Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro (Serbia and Montenegro), Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia (Serbia and Montenegro), Sweden, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uzbekistan.  The table of contents for the entire report (with links) can be viewed here.

Compiled from: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, "Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2005 (Events of 2004)," 27 June 2005.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has released a report, "Data and Research on Human Trafficking: A Global Survey."  This report contains reviews of research on human trafficking by region, including a report on trafficking within and into Europe.  It also evaluates current research methods and makes suggestions for improvements in research on human trafficking.

The report is available here (PDF, 339 pgs).

Compiled from: International Organization for Migration, "IOM Publications Human trafficking, migration health, labor migration, information campaigns, humanitarian assistance."
International Organization for Migration, "Data and Research on Human Trafficking: A Global Survey," 2005.