Belarus Woman

Reading through the Sagas, I even found a new heroine - Gudridur, whogrew up in Iceland at the dawn of the last millennium and who, as ayoung woman, sailed off to America in one of those open Viking ships,one of the very first expeditions. She gave birth to the first knownEuropean child in North America, returned to Iceland and decided totake a journey to see the Pope in Rome, which she did. She returned toIceland, where she lived to be a wise old age and where she became avery important personage and the mother of many who still live here inIceland. ... [Read More]

Europe and Eurasia

In May, U.S. funding through IOM helped create the Special Division for Combating Kidnapping, Trafficking in Persons and Racketeering under the Combating Organized Crime Department of the Ministry of Interior. The Division has dedicated five officers solely to the investigation of TIP cases. Since the establishment of this division, fourteen cases of human trafficking have been investigated and criminal proceeding instituted, as compared with none in previous years (when trafficking was prosecuted under different crimes). This funding is also linked to the successful prosecution in September of Tajikistan's first TIP trial, involving a woman who adopted a girl solely for the purpose of trafficking her to the UAE and Turkey for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The girl escaped, and the woman was charged with exploitation for prostitution, trafficking in under-aged people, organization of rape, pandering, and document fraud and sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment and property confis ... [Read More]

Office of Academic Exchange Programs: European Programs Branch – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs – U.S. Department of State

- International Women's Day: Roundtable, "Woman in the Work Place/Gender Aspects," March 24th (Minsk) ... [Read More]

Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human Rights Week, 2004

Freedom and dignity are God's gift to each man and woman in the world. During this observance, we encourage all nations to continue working towards freedom, peace, and security, which can be achieved only through democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law. ... [Read More]

Briefing on the Release of the Trafficking in Persons Report

I believe that this is a function, to a large extent, of information and public awareness, that as public awareness increases in these countries, you see more action.  For example, just for example, in Saudi Arabia, a recent case involving an Indonesian young woman tortured, beaten, dumped at a hospital -- domestic servitude case has gotten publicity.  A human rights lawyer in Saudi Arabia has protested there and I don't know how it's all going to come out, but they're -- apparently in the last month, there was an arrest made.  ... [Read More]

Belarus

The law requires equal wages for equal work; however, it was not enforced always in practice. Women have significantly fewer opportunities for advancement to the upper ranks of management. According to the Belarusian Helsinki Committee in March, women made up a large percentage of those being trained for future employment in education (75 percent of those being trained), textile and light industry (84 percent), the food industry (79 percent), economics (69 percent) and medicine (69 percent), while relatively few women are being trained in radio technology (6 percent), automation production (12 percent) or computer technology (19 percent). Women reported that managers frequently considered whether a woman has children when examining job candidates. ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Text: Bush Proclaims December 10 Human Rights Day

Bush called on nations such as Burma, Belarus, Zimbabwe, Cuba and North Korea to strive for democracy saying, "freedom is the right of mankind and the future of every nation." He continued, "It is not America's gift to the world; It is God's gift to every man and woman who lives in this world." ...

Freedom is the right of mankind and the future of every nation. It is not America's gift to the world; it is God's gift to every man and woman who lives in this world. ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Equatorial Guinea is a transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation, involuntary domestic servitude, and other forced labor. Women and children are trafficked to Equatorial Guinea from West and Central Africa, principally Cameroon, Nigeria, and Benin. Women are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation in Malabo, where demand is high due to the booming oil sector. Cameroonian and Beninese children are trafficked to Malabo for exploitation as street and market hawkers; Nigerian boys are trafficked to Rio Muni (the mainland) for exploitation as agricultural workers. The Government of Equatorial Guinea does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Over the past year the government has made a number of efforts that attest ... [Read More]

Belarus

On October 21, the Ministry of Justice refused to register the Belarusian Democratic Party, founded by Valentina Polevikova, former Chairwoman of the Belarusian Women's Party, ostensibly on the grounds that the party would not be able to fulfill its party program of securing the interests of families and women. The Ministry of Justice noted that the presence of 237 men among the 1,070 members of the party prevented the party from being able to achieve its goals. ... [Read More]

2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Belarus

The law requires equal wages for equal work; however, it was not always enforced in practice. Women had significantly fewer opportunities for advancement to the upper ranks of management or government. Women held only four high level government positions and one CEO position in a major company. Women reported that managers frequently considered whether a woman had children when examining job candidates. ...

Of the 110 deputies in the newly elected lower house of parliament, 32 were women, while 18 of the 56 elected members of the upper house of parliament were women. With the exception of the judiciary, social barriers against women were strong, and men held virtually all of the leadership positions. The Ministers of Social Security and Health were the only female members of the Council of Ministers. The head of the Government's Central Election Committee was a woman. At a July 20 news conference, President Lukashenko directed that women should make up between 30 and 40 percent of the new legislature. ... [Read More]