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Please note that all external links are provided for informational purposes only. Oxfam Australia takes no responsibility for the content of such sites, nor do links to such sites imply endorsement of the views expressed by the organisations or individuals responsible for them, unless explicitly stated.

General information and directories

WIDNET
Women in Development NETwork (WIDNET) extensive bilingual (English/French) online database, with thematic, resource and statistical indexes.
Women's Human Rights Net
WhrNET is a collaborative Information and Communication Technology (ICT) project developed by an international coalition of women's organisations.
Women's Issues in Third World Countries at About.com
This specialist area of About.com features a huge library of web links about women's issues, divided into a couple of dozen categories (statistics, terms, issues, women's culture, information by country and more) and updated weekly.
Women's Human Rights Resources
Part of the DIANA international human rights database. The WHRR website contains articles, documents, and links pertaining to all aspects of women's rights.
Women, Ink
A project of the International Women's Tribune Centre to market and distribute books on women and development worldwide. Includes 250+ titles from publishers all over the world, and exclusive distribution of publications from the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
Oneworld
Searchable site of over 350 leading global justice organisations, including women's organisations.
Womankind Worldwide
Supports local women's groups in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe and campaigns on international women's human rights.
Women's International Net (WIN) Magazine
The WIN Magazine is a free international online magazine for women, publishing articles by new as well as experienced writers from all over the world on the lives of women in different countries.

United Nations

WomenWatch
The major UN internet gateway on the Advancement and Empowerment of Women, which gives information on UN treaties, policies and activities related to gender.
UNIFEM (UN Development Fund for Women)
UNIFEM promotes the economic and political empowerment of women. Regional offices all around the world. Site includes information on UNIFEM's activities (e.g. governance and leadership) and online publications.
INSTRAW (UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women)
Through its research and training, INSTRAW aims to make women's contribution to development more visible.
United Nations Development Program Gender
UNDP Gender advises, supports and facilitates United Nations Development Program (UNDP) activities related to gender This site provides extensive range of on-line resources, including the newsletter UNDP Gender Beat and case studies of best practice and capacity building.
Beijing+5
UNIFEM's website on the General Assembly Special Session Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century. Contains first of a series of biennial reports on "Progress of the World's Women". This report investigates women's status in the context of globalisation from the mid 1980s.
United Nations Children's Find (UNICEF)
A major goal of UNICEF is to promote girls' school participation worldwide.
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture OrganiSation promotes equal access for men and women to opportunities and resources. This is its gender site.
Inter-parliamentary Union
The Union focuses on world-wide parliamentary dialogue emphasises the importance of balances in the participation of men and women in political life

International Non-Government Organisations

International Women's Tribune Centre
A major information, education, communication, networking, technical assistance and training resource for women worldwide.
WEDO
WEDO is an international advocacy organisation that seeks to increase the power of women worldwide as policy makers at all levels in governments, institutions and forums.
KIT (The Royal Tropical Institute)
KIT is an international knowledge institute based in the Netherlands, specializing in international cooperation and multicultural exchange. KIT develops methodologies in the fields of organisation and management, culture, health and agriculture. Site has extensive library resources and further links.
International Women's Rights Action Watch
Monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (the CEDAW Convention). Practical information how NGOs working on the status of women can get involved in the country review process.
IGC Women's Net
The Institute for Global Communications (IGC) aims to advance the work of progressive organizations and individuals for peace, justice, economic opportunity, human rights, democracy and environmental sustainability through strategic use of online technologies. Excellent features and links on women's rights.
Idealist
Lists 22,000 nonprofit and community organisations in 150 countries and thousands of volunteer opportunities, jobs and internships.
Sisterhood Is Global Institute
SIGI works toward empowering women and developing leadership through human rights education. Site contains valuable resources, including extensive bibliographies on human rights and violence against women.
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
Guide to international human rights mechanism for non-heterosexual people.
Center for Women's Global Leadership
The Center for Women's Global Leadership (Global Center) develops and facilitates women's leadership for women's human rights and social justice worldwide.
The Global Fund for Women
An international organization that makes grants to seed, support, and strengthen women's rights groups around the world. It supports issues as diverse as literacy, domestic violence, economic autonomy, and the international trafficking of women.
Equality Now
Equality Now uses both traditional and 'high-tech' action techniques to mobilize action on behalf of individual women whose rights are being violated and to promote women's human rights generally.
The Network of East-West Women (NEWW)
NEWW links women across national and regional boundaries to share resources, knowledge and skills. It aims to empower women and girls through dialogue, networking, campaigns, and educational and informational exchanges, and supports action and joint projects inspired by feminist principles.
Human Rights Watch
An NGO that monitors and documents human rights conditions across the globe. The site offers overviews of the advocacy work done in geographic subdivision around the world, lists of published reports on countries covered by the organisation, and summaries of selected missions and reports. There is a special section on women's rights.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is a worldwide campaigning movement that works to promote all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards.

International institutions

International Labour Organisation (ILO)
The ILO Gender Web Site. Has resources and information on its work towards women's equality and links other gender and work related sites
OECD/DAC
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development/ Development Assistance Committee. Under 'free documents' and 'gender equality' you will find full on-line versions of their gender equality guidelines book and gender equality source book.
World Bank Gendernet
Information on the World Bank's activities, policies, documents and research related to gender

International law

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
Soon after the UN was formed in 1945, representatives discussed the idea of an international bill of human rights. A special committee, was formed, out of which came three documents that are now referred to as the International Bill on Human Rights: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The UDHR was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
The ICCPR entered into force 23 March 1976, ratified by 126 countries as of 1994.
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
This convention was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, and is often described as an international bill of rights for women. It defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for action by nations to end such discrimination. Other declarations have been made, along with optional protocols to protect specific rights or allow for individuals to make complaints on the basis that their rights have been violated.
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (DEVAW)
Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Convention on the Nationality of Women
Signed by the governments represented at the seventh International Conference of American States in Montevideo, Uruguay, December 3-26, 1933.
Convention on the Political Rights of Women
A convention protecting the rights of women to participate in all aspects of political life, including voting and the holding of public office, entry into force 7 July 1954.
The Women's Caucus for Gender Justice
Formed in l997, the Caucus recognises that women's rights are human rights, and calls for accountability for violations against women and integration of gender concerns throughout the UN human rights system. The Caucus was successful in incorporating a broad range of gender concerns in the statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which was adopted at the Rome Treaty Conference in July 1998.
Women, Law and Development International
This women's human rights organisation is in consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council. It advocates for women's rights locally and globally through forums, independent regional women's rights organisations and research on issues such as violence against women, legal literacy and economic rights. Site contains strategy frameworks, "how-to" guides, case studies, fact sheets and other tools for advocacy, including 'A Women's Rights Agenda for the 90's and Beyond' and 'Women's Human Rights - Step By Step: A Practical Guide to Using International Human Rights Law and Mechanisms to Defend Women's Human Rights'.

Information by region

Australia

AusAID
Ausaid, the Australian Agency for International Development, is responsible for the management of the official Australian Government Overseas Aid Program. They have a section on gender and development
International Women's Development Agency
An Australian NGO that undertakes projects in partnership with women from around the world, giving priority to working with women who suffer poverty and oppression.
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC)
A national independent statutory government body responsible for investigating discrimination on the grounds of race,colour or ethnic origin , racial vilification , sex, sexual harassment, marital status, pregnancy, or disability.
Key Centre for Women's Health in Society
This Melbourne-based institution is one of five centres worldwide designated to provide training on gender and reproductive health as part of a World Health Organisation (WHO) initiative. The Centre has a particular commitment to women's health in the Asia-Pacific. Staff research a range of issues affecting Anglo-Australian, Indigenous and immigrant women

United Kingdom

Oxfam Great Britain
Our British counterpart, and the first Oxfam agency, Oxfam Great Britain, has an excellent online resource on gender and development which includes their gender policy, and on-line issues of their gender newsletter 'Links'.
Womens Resource Centre
The WRC is a coordinating and support organisation for voluntary and community projects that work for and with women. WRC is a national organisation with a London focus, providing information, training, development support, networking opportunities and policy consultation within the non-profit sector.

Pacific

Pacific Women's Research Bureau
Research Institute on a range of issues affecting women in the Pacific.
Fiji Women's Crisis Centre
Information on Pacific women's organisations working on violence against women.

Africa

Women'sNet (South Africa)
Women'sNet is a networking support program designed to enable South African women to use the Internet to find the people, issues, resources and tools needed for women's social activism.
Kabissa
Kabissa is a space on the Internet for the African non-profit sector. Kabissa supports African non-profits in their efforts to take fuller advantage of the opportunities the Internet has to offer in terms of research, communication and networking.
African Gender Institute, South Africa
The AGI's Vision is of Africa as a continent liberated from the legacies of colonial and patriarchal domination, and transformed into a powerful and united region in which women and men are respected as equals, and social justice is a reality for all its peoples. The AGI's African resource site is dedicated to strengthening and advancing the work of intellectuals, researchers, policy-makers and practitioners committed to the attainment of gender equity.
African Development Bank
Information on activities and news section covering events both within and outside the bank.

Asia/Pacific

Isis International/Philippines
A feminist NGO dedicated to women's information and communication needs in Asia and the Pacific.
Asian Women's Resource Exchange (AWORC)
Women's information service and network in Asia, aiming to develop cooperative approaches and partnerships in increasing access and exploring applications of new information and communication technologies for women's empowerment.
Asian Development bank
Information on the Asian Development Bank site is sorted by countries and development themes, such as gender and development.

Latin America

Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO)
The Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales: a Chilean site for Spanish-speakers (their newsletter is available in English)
Agencia Latinoamericana de Informacion (ALAI)
A web community of social movements, including Latin American women's organisations: provides information in English, French and Spanish.

Europe

Women in Development Europe (WIDE)
WIDE is a network of women active in Non-Governmental Development Organisations (NGDO's) and research institutes which does research, documentation, information dissemination, economic empowerment, capacity building and advocacy, networking and conferences.

North America

Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)
AWID's aims to connect, inform and mobilise people and organisations committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women's human rights.
Interaction
InterAction is a diverse coalition of more than 165 US-based relief, development, environmental and refugee agencies working in more than 100 countries around the world.
The Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women
CRIAW is a national, not-for-profit organisation committed to advancing women's equality through research.
WomenConnect USA
US Women Connect was established after the 1995 UN Fourth World Conference on Women. It aims to connects US women and girls working for rights and empowerment and links them with the global women's movement.