高薪女性性別薪酬差距攀升

宮頸癌指南成為“可預防”死亡的救命稻草

Cervical cancer kills more than 270，000 women a year but a medical strategy's been unveiled that could change that， the UN health agency has said.

Announcing the development Wednesday， World Health Organization （WHO） doctors say their new guidelines could be \"the difference between life and death for girls and women worldwide\".

One of the new recommendations is the use of new screening kits for middle and low-income countries.

It's in these countries that 85 per cent of deaths from cervical cancer happen， according to WHO.

The agency's guidelines also call for a speedier vaccination programme for 9 to 13 year-old girls to prevent the cancer-causing human papillomavirus in the first place.

WHO's Dr. Nathalie Broutet said the cancer is one of the leading killers among women but also one of the most preventable.

http：//www.unmultimedia.org/radio/chinese/archives/219320/#.VIFN1apxmLM

Lifesaving Cervical Cancer Guidelines to Turn Tide on \"Preventable\" Deaths

Kyrgyzstan： UN Rights Experts Urge Parliament to Withdraw Anti-Gay Bill

吉爾吉斯斯坦：聯合國權利專家敦促議會收回反同性戀法令

26 November 2014 -- A group of United Nations human rights experts have urged the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan to reject a bill that would introduce criminal and administrative sanctions for acts aimed at forming “a positive attitude towards non-traditional sexual orientation，” warning that the proposed law would go against the country’s human rights obligations and commitments.

The draft law， which passed its first reading in the Parliament this past month， must be voted on twice more before going to the President for signature， the experts noted in a press release issued by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights （OHCHR）.

“Instead of adopting legislation which de facto condemns lesbian， gay， bisexual and transgender （LGBT） communities to silence， the authorities should be fighting against all forms of violence and discrimination in Kyrgyzstan，” the experts said.

“The UN has already documented violence and discrimination against LGBT people in Kyrgyzstan and shown how similar laws in other countries have led to targeted abuse and violence against LGBT persons，” they added.

The group of independent experts recalled two recent Human Rights Council resolutions condemning acts of violence and discrimination， in all regions of the world， committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. As such， adopting new laws banning any expression on LGBT issues “is certainly not the response needed to ensure better support and protection for the human rights of this group， which is often stigmatized and at risk，” according to the experts.

http：//www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp？NewsID=49452#.VIarZtKl-0Q

Paraguay： UN Expert Concerned over Indigenous Peoples’ Rights to Land， Resources

巴拉圭：聯合國專家關心原住民的土地和資源權利

1 December 2014 -- The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples identified a number of ongoing challenges remaining in Paraguay as she ended an eight-day official visit to the country on Friday.

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz raised concerns about Paraguayan indigenous people’s land and resource rights and their access to social services and the judiciary， as well as inequality， discrimination and lack of consultation.

“In my view， discrimination and racism are at the bottom of many of the problems faced by indigenous peoples，” Ms. Tauli-Corpuz said.

“Nearly half of the indigenous communities do not have lands，” she pointed out， noting that in her conversations with representatives of indigenous communities， “their foremost concern remains the security of their rights to their lands， territories， and resources.”

“Even when the lands have been titled to the communities， land security is not ensured. Members of the communities reported encroachment by agro-businesses， logging companies， cattle ranchers， among others， sometimes forcing them into displacement.”

Despite “phenomenal economic growth” in Paraguay in recent years， growth occurred at the expense of “massive destruction of ecosystems such as forests and rivers which are essential for indigenous peoples’ food security and livelihoods.”

The Special Rapporteur， who is mandated to examine ways and means of overcoming existing obstacles to the full and effective protection of the rights of indigenous peoples， noted that Paraguay had ratified all the core international and regional human rights treaties and had codified indigenous rights in its Constitution.

There had been positive developments in some areas， such as the recent law on indigenous education， but others remain of great concern -- almost 90 per cent of indigenous persons did not have access to health services.

More work was also needed to boost consultation and participation of indigenous peoples， she said， calling on the Government to develop an adequate legal framework for consultation and to upgrade the main Government institution for indigenous affairs （INDI） to a full-fledged ministry.

The Special Rapporteur， who is independent from any Government or organization and serves in her individual capacity， met with national and departmental government authorities， and indigenous peoples， organizations and individuals around the country. She will present her assessment and recommendations in a report to the Human Rights Council in September 2015.

http：//www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp？NewsID=49482#.VIatoNKl-0Q

Trafficking in Children on the Rise， Says New UN Report

聯合國新報告稱兒童販運活動日漸增多

24 November 2014 -- One in three known victims of human trafficking is a child， and girls and women are particularly targeted and forced into “modern slavery，” according to the 2014 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons， released today by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime （UNODC） in Vienna.

“Unfortunately， the report shows there is no place in the world where children， women and men are safe from human trafficking，” said UNODC Executive Director， Yury Fedotov.

“Official data reported to UNODC by national authorities represent only what has been detected. It is very clear that the scale of modern-day slavery is far worse，” he added.

The situation is particularly bad for girls and women. According to the report report， girls make up 2 out of every 3 child victims. And together with women， they account for 70 per cent of overall trafficking victims worldwide.

In some regions -- such as Africa and the Middle East -- child trafficking is a major concern， with children constituting 62 per cent of victims.

Trafficking for forced labour – including in the manufacturing and construction sectors， domestic work and textile production -- has also increased steadily in the past five years. About 35 per cent of the detected victims of trafficking for forced labour are female.

However， no country is immune -- there are at least 152 countries of origin and 124 countries of destination affected by trafficking in persons， and over 510 trafficking flows criss-crossing the world.

“This needs to change，” Mr. Fedotov stressed.

“Every country needs to adopt the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and the protocol and commit themselves to the full implementation of their provisions，” he added.

Often times， however， trafficking mostly occurs within national borders or within the same region， with transcontinental trafficking mainly affecting rich countries.

“Even if most countries criminalize trafficking， many people live in countries with laws which are not in compliance with international standards that would afford them full protection， such as the Trafficking in Persons Protocol.” Mr. Fedotov said.

There are， however， regional variations as to why people are trafficked in the first place. For example， victims in Europe and Central Asia are mostly trafficked for sexual exploitation， whereas in East Asia and the Pacific forced labour drives the market. In the Americas， the two types are detected in almost equal measure.

The report found that most trafficking flows are interregional， and more than 6 out of 10 victims have been trafficked across at least one national border. The vast majority of convicted traffickers -- 72 per cent -- are male and citizens of the country in which they operate.

The report also highlighted that impunity remains a serious problem： 40 per cent of countries recorded few or no convictions， and over the past 10 years there has been no discernible increase in the global criminal justice response to this crime， leaving a significant portion of the population vulnerable to offenders.

http：//www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp？NewsID=49423#.VIaqEdKl-0Q

Gender Pay Gap Rises for

Higher-Earning Women

高薪女性性別薪酬差距攀升

Women's average wages are between 4 to 36 per cent less than men's but the gap widens in absolute terms for higher-earning women， according to the ILO's Global Wage Report 2014/15.

For example， in Europe in 2010， the bottom 10 per cent of women workers earned about 100 euros per month less than the bottom 10 per cent of men. Conversely， the top 10 per cent of high earning women earned close to 700 euros per month less than the top 10 per cent of men. A similar trend is observed in nearly all 38 countries analysed in the report.

The report points out that the gender pay gap arises for complex reasons， and that the reasons differ to some degree from one country to another.

The actual wage gap can be divided into an \"explained\" part -- which is accounted for by observable characteristics， such as an individual's level of education， that are expected to influence remuneration -- and an \"unexplained\" part which captures what remains after adjusting for these observable characteristics and therefore suggests discrimination in the labour market.

The report shows that if this \"unexplained\" wage penalty were erased， the gap would actually be reversed in nearly half of the 38 countries and women would earn more than men based on work-related characteristics. Some of the countries where this is observed include Sweden， Lithuania， Slovenia， Brazil and the Russian Federation.

The \"motherhood wage gap\" -- which measures the pay gap between mothers and non-mothers -- is also considered in the report. It points to motherhood as one of the underlying reasons for the overall gender pay gap. For example， in Mexico， mothers earn about 33 per cent less than non-mothers while in the Russian Federation it is about 2 per cent.

http：//www.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/html1/news/international/1412/595-1.htm