Executive Director undertakes first mission to Brazil

On occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women celebrated annually on 25 November, and the global call to take part in the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, UN Under-Secretary General and UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka will undertake her first official mission to Brazil from 18-19 November 2015.

In Brasilia, the Executive Director will participate in the Black Women's March against Racism and Violence. She will meet with the civil society organizers of the rally, leaders of the feminist movement and women’s groups to discuss the challenges to gender equality within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

On the night of 18 November, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka will witness the lighting of public buildings in orange, kicking off the global “Orange the World” events—using the colour designated by the UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign to symbolize a more hopeful future without violence—which will galvanize more than 450 public mobilization efforts around the this year.

The mission will also include a visit to the “House of Brazilian Women” which provides specialized services for women survivors of violence, in addition to meetings with the President of the Republic, Dilma Rousseff; the Minister of Women, Racial Equality and Human Rights, Nilma Gomes; and the Minister of the Secretariat of Policies for Women, Eleonora Menicucci. Discussions will include Brazil’s presidency of the 60th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, to be held in March 2016 in New York.