News
UNIFEM-supported Foundation in Argentina Awarded for Fight against Corruption
Date: 11 June 2009
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United Nations, New York — The Permanent Assembly of Human Rights in Argentina has awarded its Dignity Prize to Monique Altschul, head of the Women and Equality Foundation, for her sustained achievements in the fight for women’s rights.
Altschul’s efforts to organize women against corruption have been supported in part by collaboration between the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF). The two organizations have provided assistance to the Women and Equality Foundation in its groundbreaking attempts to monitor election financing for male and female political candidates in Argentina. A mass public awareness campaign has highlighted the gender dimensions of corruption and called for greater access to public information.
The foundation has set up an innovative women’s network in eight provinces to track public spending and compliance with laws that affect gender equality. As a result, public officials have increased the sharing of information on the enforcement of laws to protect women’s working conditions and stop gender-based violence. One municipality recently adopted a new law on access to public information.
Altschul and her group organized the third Forum of Women against Corruption in late 2008, bringing together gender experts from around the world to debate and formulate public policy recommendations for fighting corruption.
Founded in 1975, the Permanent Assembly of Human Rights is one of the most prominent human rights organizations in Argentina. At the award ceremony in Buenos Aires in early June, Soledad García Muñoz of the CEDAW Project in Argentina called Altschul “a mirror in which all women who work in the defense of women’s rights would like to look into.” Legislator Diana Maffia described Altschul as a “pioneer in knowledge sharing.”
UNIFEM and the United Nations Democracy Fund work together to strengthen women’s participation in democratic governance. Grants provided by UNDEF and overseen by UNIFEM help women assert their leadership in elections, participate in peace negotiations and become active voices in the media.
