After two weeks of talks and intensive negotiations, the Commission on the Status of Women was concluded on 23 March and the agreed conclusions adopted. On the agenda were women’s and girls’ rights, with a focus on women in rural areas, which was the theme of this year’s meeting. Despite a tougher world climate, progress has been made. The final document now contains important formulations on the fight against violence and sexual harassment, protection of women human rights defenders, and sexuality education in schools, as well as the right of women to own land.

It took the Iraqi army three years to break Daesh/ISIL’s territorial hold of Iraq, which at one point amounted to a third of the country. The war against Daesh/ISIL resulted in large-scale destruction and humanitarian needs on a massive scale. At its peak, over 5 million Iraqis fled their homes and just under half are still waiting to go back.
Many of the major cities formerly held by Daesh/ISIL were completely destroyed as a result of the conflict. One example is Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, renowned for its rich cultural and historical heritage. Following the liberation of the city in July 2017, the focus is now on rebuilding basic infrastructure so that internally displaced persons can go back to their homes and resume some form of normality. However, the challenges of doing so are turning out to be a lot greater than anyone had expected. The Embassy visited Mosul to observe the work of the UN in the area and to see the challenges of stabilisation in the aftermath of war.

Award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and human rights counsellor Colin Gonsalves are some of the 500 gender equality actors who will participate in the Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality on 15–17 April. The global forum is about strengthening women’s and girls’ rights, representation and access to resources.

The whole world helped to fill Wikipedia with articles on prominent women on International Women’s Day. The WikiGap campaign has already been established in over fifty countries, and the hope is that it will be long-lasting.

Here, Björn Andersson describes his many years of working for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), gender equality and women’s rights. He is head of the UNFPA’s operations in Asia and the Pacific.

Malin Herwig works as an adviser on conflict prevention at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Hub for the Arab States, based in Amman. She mostly works on preventive measures against violent extremism. Read her story about her work to support peace.

Stina Eriksson currently works for UNDP Sri Lanka, monitoring and evaluating peacebuilding projects. She and her colleagues work to implement resolution 1325 in the Sri Lankan peace process. Read her story about her work to support women peacebuilders.

In December, the City of Gothenburg handed over to Peru 51 well-preserved textiles from the more than 2 000-year-old Paracas textile collection. The textiles, purchased by Sweden’s Honorary Consul in Lima Sven Karell from the Nazca and Paracas cultures, were brought to Sweden in 1935.
“It feels wonderful to return them to Peru,” says Gunilla Bökmark, the City of Gothenburg’s Director of International Relations.

On 11 December, the Swedish Embassy in Mexico hosted a seminar on how the gender perspective could be enhanced in the analysis and protective measures offered by the Mexican government to protect journalists and human rights defenders. The event took place in connection with International Human Rights Day, which this year particularly focused on freedom of expression, and the two-week campaign to highlight and combat violence against women.