Media advisory: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women official commemoration at UN Headquarters

Media Enquiries: media.team[at]unwomen.org

The official commemoration of the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November) will take place on Monday, 25 November 2019, at the ECOSOC Chamber, United Nations Headquarters, New York, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Under the leadership of the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, the UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women campaign (UNiTE campaign) will mark the 16 Days of Activism this year under the theme: “Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands against Rape!”, running from 25 November until 10 December, Human Rights Day.

In recent years, the voices of survivors and activists, through campaigns such as #MeToo, #TimesUp, #Niunamenos, #NotOneMore, #BalanceTonPorc, and others, have put the spotlight on the issue of sexual violence and have reached a crescendo that cannot be silenced or ignored anymore. Yet, violence against women and girls continue in every country, impacting one in three worldwide.

Event Agenda

10  – 10.30 a.m. Welcome and Opening, Official Programme

Moderator: Melissa Fleming, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications

Keynote Speakers:

• Maria Luiza Riberio Viotti, United Nations Chef de Cabinet
• Pramila Patten, Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict
• Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director
• Ajna Jusic, President of the Association “Forgotten Children of War”, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Chinyere Eyoh, Executive Director of Sexual Offences Awareness and Victims Rehabilitation Initiative (SOAR), Nigeria – and a UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UNTF) grantee

10.30 – 10.45 Performance by United Nations International School Senior Chorus

10.45 – 12 Panel Discussion moderated by Deborah Charles, Managing News Editor, Devex

Panelists:

• Susannah Grant, Academy Award nominated Writer, Producer and Director /Showrunner of Netflix’s limited series “Unbelievable”
• Jonathan Torgovnik, award-winning photographer, Emmy nominated filmmaker, and educator; photojournalist and creator of Intended Consequences: Rwandan Children Born of Rape
• Karen Naimer, Deputy Director of Programs and Director of the Program on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) – a UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UNTF) grantee
• Chinyere Eyoh, Executive Director of Sexual Offences Awareness and Victims Rehabilitation Initiative (SOAR), Nigeria – and a UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UNTF) grantee
• Ajna Jusic, President of the Association “Forgotten Children of War”, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Dress Code: As one of the official colours of the UNiTE Campaign, the colour orange symbolizes a brighter future and a world free from violence against women and girls. We invite you to wear a touch of orange at the event to show your support to end violence against women and girls.

RSVP INFO FOR MEDIA:

The UN commemoration event is open to the media.

• UN accredited media are welcome to attend the event without RSVP confirmation.
• Non-UN accredited media who wish to attend and do not have an official UN ID, must RSVP via this link by 18^th November, Monday 12 p.m. EST to obtain tickets.
• Non-UN accredited media who wish to attend the event and film it using large recording equipment must obtain UN press accreditation. More information at: https://www.un.org/en/media/accreditation/

Live Webcast of the event will be available on UN Women’s website and UN Web TV. Follow the online conversation using the hashtags #orangetheworld and #16days and follow @SayNO_UNiTE and @UN_Women on Twitter.

For voices of survivors, stories of change, videos, and interactives, check out the 16 Days editorial content at https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/end-violence-against-women [new content will be live on Monday, 18 November. Until then, this page features 2018 content]