Is a world free of nuclear weapons achievable? North Korea is actively developing its nuclear programme, the fate of the Iran nuclear deal is in the balance, and the United States and Russia are both seeking to modernise their nuclear forces. With the Nobel Committee’s decision to honour the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons with the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, the Committee sent a powerful message of concern. In the same year, the General Assembly decided to convene a UN conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination.

Women’s rights are the rights claimed for women and girls worldwide, and formed the basis for the women’s rights and feminist movement. In some countries, these rights are institutionalized by law and local custom, whereas in other countries these rights are ignored and suppressed. Issues associated with women’s rights include the right: to bodily integrity and autonomy, to be free from sexual violence, to vote, to hold public office, to enter into legal contracts, to have equal rights in family law, to fair wages or equal pay, to have reproductive rights, and to education. Gender equality is achieved when women and men enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society and when the different behaviours, aspirations and needs of women and men are equally valued and favoured.