Care – Key contributor to peace and security

17.03.22

UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - In an oral intervention, MMM reasserted the need to recognize and support the essential yet often unpaid work of caring as an essential pillar of peace and prosperity.

We stand in solidarity and salute the courage of all people living in conflicts and war zones which, in too many parts of the world, are destroying lives. The brutality and devastation they bring about have profound and long-lasting effects on all, particularly children.

In Ukraine, many mothers are ripping themselves away from husbands and families to secure safety for their children in neighbouring countries. Many live in fear without knowing what the next day will bring. UNHCR estimates that about 4 million people will flee the war-torn country in the next few months, making it one of the largest refugee crisis in the world.

Still, what we all need most, both in war and in peace, when young and when old, is Care, a key element of peace and security.

We are therefore calling on governments:

  • To recognize Care as essential to peace and prosperity, and in particular, to recognize the work of mothers caring for and educating their children as a fundamental contribution to a peaceful society
  • To foster the development of a society where caring for each other is a priority and adequately supported
  • To use the wellbeing of both people and the planet as a measure of how well countries develop

MMM Oral Statement for download

Karen Thorsen, MMM Representative at the UN in Geneva, delivered this oral statement by video message at the occasion of the General Debate on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the 49th Session of the Human Rights Council.

 

Most read articles

In this together: Share the Care, Transform Tomorrow

02.07.22

UN New York, HLPF - Join us on July 11th for a discussion on how #SharingTheCare at every level - family, community, governments and private sector - is vital for

Lire plus

An almost Perfect Mother – New Podcast series with Isabelle Roskam

26.04.22

We are delighted to be launching our new podcast series An almost Perfect Mother featuring Isabelle Roskam, professor of development and parenting psychology at the University of Louvain, Belgium. Isa

Lire plus

Prioritising SDG 5 Target 5.4 to recognize the work of mothers and advance all the SDGs

09.05.22

UN New York, HLPF - In the Sustainable Development Goals, Target 5.4 calls for the recognition, reduction and redistribution of unpaid family care work, i.e. the domestic and care work

Lire plus
See all the articlesof the category

Latest News from MMM and its Network

200 million hours spent by women and girls fetching water every day

23.03.23

UN New York - On the occasion of the World Water Day and the UN Water Conference, MMM highlights the impact of the lack of access to safe and clean water on women's unpaid care work. This is a key barrier to th

Read more

MMM calls for the recognition of Care as a human right

19.03.23

UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - Framing Care as a Human Right at the UN level - right to care, right to be cared for, right to self-care - would unequivocally put obligations on all governments to provide ade

Read more

Why Maternal Mental Health Matters

14.03.23

Make Mothers Matter submitted its contribution to the Call for Evidence of the EU Commission on Mental Health.

Read more

Like nature’s vital resources, unpaid care work must not be taken for granted

10.03.23

UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - The dialog following the presentation of the report Women, girls and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment was the opportunity for MMM to reaffirm the urgen

Read more

Parents, key stakeholders for child rights in the digital environment

10.03.23

UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - At the annual day on the rights of the child, which focused on child rights in the digital environment, MMM reaffirmed the importance of considering parents as key stakeholders

Read more

Supporting families to meet children’s needs by making quality family support a right for children

07.03.23

Family is the primary social structure through which the needs and rights of children and young people are met and realized. The right to family life as set out by the UNCRC, is a key right for all children and

Read more