Nobel Women's Initiative

A staggering number of women around the world will experience rape or other violence in their lifetimes. The UN Secretary General says 1 out of every 3. That is one billion women.  Imagine One Billion Women Rising to end the violence! And a billion men rising with us.  

   

Organizations and individuals around the world have been working long and hard to stop rape and gender violence in conflict.  The International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict, spearheaded by the Nobel Women’s Initiative, is bringing them together to develop and carry out coordinated plans of action to help end this wanton scourge.

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--For immediate release--

The many hundreds of world citizens sailing on Freedom Flotilla II to Gaza at the end of June deserve our support and admiration, and I hope the International Community will demand that the Israeli Government do not carry out their threats to use violence against these 'unarmed' heroes but give them their right to safe passage to Gaza.

The 'brave hearts' on board some 10 boats, not only represent the 40 countries
of which they are citizens,  but they are the conscience of the world.   They are sailing to Gaza to let the people of Gaza know, they are not forgotten, and that the world abhors the actions of Apartheid Israel as it carries out, for almost 4 years, the immoral and illegal 'siege' of Gaza.  
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As women Nobel Peace Laureates, we are gravely concerned about the murder of human rights defender Marisela Escobedo Ortiz last 16 December 2010, while she protested the continued impunity in the homicide of her daughter Rubi Marisol Frayre Escobedo.

Rubi's boyfriend murdered the 16-year-old in August 2008. As demonstrated by numerous national and international reports, the authorities acted in the same manner as they have acted in the last 17 years in reaction to the murder of women: they did not investigate nor punish the assassin, even though her mother provided all proof and even presented the confessed assassin.
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November 30, 2010

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500


Dear President Obama,

As your fellow Nobel Peace Laureates, we are writing to urge the United States to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. We are pleased that a review of US policy on antipersonnel landmines is underway and trust that it will be guided by the humanitarian concerns that have already led 156 nations to ban the weapon, including nearly all U.S. military allies.

As you know, the Nobel Committee awarded the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and its then-coordinator Ms. Jody Williams for their work in support of the banning and clearing of antipersonnel mines. Several other Nobel Peace laureates have long expressed concern at the humanitarian impact of this weapon and have worked for its eradication.     Read more »

As six women Nobel Peace Laureates who honor our sister Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, we are disheartened by the recent elections in Burma.  Elections can be a genuine step towards democracy and a celebration of important and fundamental political change.  These elections were not.  The conditions under which they took place made clear that the elections were a means by which to entrench military rule and legitimize an undemocratic constitution.  Read more »

Letter from the Nobel Peace Laureates to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his 75th Birthday

July 06, 2010

We would like to personally express our gratitude and appreciation to you on the occasion of your birthday. You inspire us all with your unwavering commitment to peace, equality and respect for the dignity of every person. 

The leadership you have shown, teaching compassion and respect in the face of oppression, displacement, and exile is exemplary. We commend your effort to preserve Tibet's vibrant religion, language, and identity, and to protect a valuable part of our global cultural heritage. 

We wish you well on this occasion and as we discussed with you in Dharamsala last October, again today we reaffirm our support for your nonviolent efforts to attain meaningful autonomy for the Tibetan people. We continue to stand in solidarity with you and the Tibetan people, so that Tibet may be as you envision: a zone of peace, where fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms are honoured and the natural environment is restored and protected. 

Shirin Ebadi

Jody Williams

Rigoberta Menchú Tum

Mairead Maguire

Betty Williams

Wangari Maathai

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