The European Parliament today by a large majority passed a Resolution in favour of substantially increasing European minimum standards for maternity and paternity leave provisions. In what supporters are lauding a great victory for the women and men living in Europe, the Parliament approved an increase of maternity leave provisions from 14 weeks to 20 weeks and the introduction of two weeks leave for new fathers, both fully paid.

‘This is an incredibly important victory for parents, both mothers and fathers, as it will for the first time shift the costs of maternity from individual women to society as a whole’, says Brigitte Triems, President of the European Women’s Lobby. 

The European Women’s Lobby expresses a deep concern at the absence of women in the current Czech government. The Czech Republic, like all other European Union (EU) countries is a signatory of international instruments on women’s rights and gender equality such as the UN Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action. As a member of the EU, the Czech Republic is also legally bound to the mission of promoting equality between women and men as enshrined in the EU Treaty. The nomination of a European government without a single woman is a curiosity in Europe.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women met on 11th of October 2010 with non-governmental organizations to discuss the situation of the rights of women in the Czech Republic, Malta and Uganda.

As part of its work, the Committee invites NGO's and national human rights institutions to provide information and documentation relevant to the Committee’s activities. This is the second of two meetings the Committee has held with civil society groups this session.

Three and a half years after the EWL seminar ‘Equal Rights. Equal Voices. Migrant women in the European Union’, migrant women's organisations are meeting again in Brussels on 18 June 2010 to officially launch the European Network of Migrant women.

The European Network of Migrant Women calls on the ministers attending the 4th Ministerial Conference on the Integration of Immigrants in Zaragoza, Spain on 15-16 April 2010 to look particularly at the situation of migrant women as key social and economic actors in the integration of immigrants.

The Czech Women's Lobby is inviting you to the conference “WOMEN IN ARMED CONFLICTS AND PEACE PROCESSES: Conference on the Implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and 1820 on Immediate Cessation of Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones”. It will take place on December 8th from 9:30am to 4:30pm at Kaunický Palace in Prague. One of the important speakers is a member of the Swedish organisation Kvinna till Kvinna Eva Zillén, and Rada Boric, Croatian academic and expert on violence on women in conflict.