BULLETIN NO. 12

THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN

The UN High Commission for Refugees reports that of the 22 million refugees in the world, 17 million are women and children.

Wars and migration in Latin America and the Caribbean have increased the number of homes with a woman at the head of the household. In Mexico and in Trinidad and Tobago, this number reaches 20% of all homes (CIMAC, 1998).

Twenty-five percent of the refugee population in South America is made up of women. All of them are urban refugees and most live in the capital cities. (CIMAC, 1998).

In Colombia, according to a study by the Bishops Conference, of the 600,000 displaced persons caused by the war, 58.2 percent are women and girls. Homes headed by women make up 24.6% of the total and most of these women were made widows by the violence in Colombia. (Vidas sin violencia. Nuevas Voces Nuevos Desafíos, Isis Internacional, 1998).

For more information, contact Aparna Mehrotra, UN Development Fund, Tel: (212) 906-6025 Fax: (212) 906-6663

Página Web: http://www.undp.org/rblac/gender/campaignspanish/fiftyyears.htm