The drop in remittances worldwide, due to the financial and economic crisis, may have devastating effects on long term human development. Careful consideration of the gender and social impacts of the crisis is urgently needed.  UN-INSTRAW, in coordination with UNDP and IOM, will therefore conduct a Global Consultation to generate dialogue on the crisis and its impact on international migration and remittances from a gender perspective.

En el 4to. Encuentro sobre Remesas y Desarrollo, organizado por “Tú, Mujer” en Santo Domingo el 4-5 Junio 2009, organismos gubernamentales, internacionales y de la sociedad civil se encontraron para discutir el desafío de transformar la comprensión del fenómeno migratorio en políticas públicas vinculantes entre las remesas, el desarrollo social, la equidad y los derechos humanos. Uno de los temas del evento, co-auspiciado por UN-INSTRAW, fue el efecto de la crisis financiera en las remesas.

 

The Meeting of Parliamentary Women, “Towards a Political Agenda for Gender Equality in Latin America and the Caribbean,” seeks to establish a space for dialogue, debate and proposals to create a common political agenda for gender equality. UN-INSTRAW will participate in the event on 15-16 June.

One of the outcomes of the 4th Meeting on Migration, Remittances and Development that was jointly organized by “Tú, Mujer” with governmental, international and civil society organizations, was the decision to open a new space to discuss gender issues in the area of migration and remittances in the Dominican Republic.

On the occasion of World Environment Day (5 June 2009) and in keeping with the “Greening the UN” initiative, UN-INSTRAW has implemented a series of reforms that aim to minimize our impact on the environment.

The UN-INSTRAW Gender, Migration and Development Programme will participate in the WIDE (Women in Development Europe) 2009 Annual Conference entitled “Feminist Responses to the Care Crisis” on 18 and 19 June of this year.

UN-INSTRAW will participate in a seminar on the financial crisis organized by the Universidad del País Vasco (University of the Basque Country), in which answers and alternatives from a feminist economic viewpoint will be discussed. The seminar, entitled “Solidarity Alternatives to the Financial Crisis,” aims to contribute to reflection and debate on the current financial crisis, as well presenting alternative approaches and practices.

Representatives from governmental institutions, the international community and civil society came together on 20-23 April in Cartagena, Colombia, to discuss the different aspects of armed violence in Central America.

Thirty-five Moroccan journalists, men and women, participated in two training sessions on women’s participation in politics as part of the UN-INSTRAW/CAWTAR project "Strengthening women’s leadership and participation in politics and decision-making in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia."

The present process of globalization and the feminization of migration presents a great challenge in the formulation and implementation of public policies. One of the conclusions of the seminar “Migrations, Gender and Development” held in Bolivia in March is that there is no automatic link between migration and development, but that it must be strengthened through the design and implementation of migratory policies for development with a gender perspective

More than 50 members of multilateral organizations, NGOs and governmental institutions attended the dialogue on “Women and Migration:  a view from the Caribbean,” at UN-INSTRAW headquarters on 22 April.  Speakers at the event highlighted the important role played by Caribbean women in the present migration processes.

The UN-INSTRAW Executive Board held its Sixth session in New York on 23 April to consider a report on the implementation of the Institute’s work and a proposal for institutional strengthening.