The UN's first global environmental conference occurred in 1972 in Stockholm, where negotiators agreed to a "Stockholm Declaration" that set forth concerns about the state of the environment and goals for improving it.
Today, the Declaration is an anachronism. With its attention focused on the "responsibilities of man," the document pays little attention to the other half of humanity. Since that time, it's become clear that not only do women make pretty good environmental stewards, but that they are more adversely affected by unsustainable growth, whether it means cooking indoors amid soot and toxic fumes, or lacking the right to own, inherit and pass on property. The women's UN group has asked negotiators to attend to those matters and has also requested an affirmation of sexual and reproductive health rights for women.
Women taking part in a cash-for-work program run by the French NGO, Action Against Hunger, near the village of Palboa, Burkino Faso.
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