Displaying items by tag: votes

A giant mosaic (20 metres high), made up of thousands of photos of ‘inspiring’ women, has been unveiled. Depicting Hilda Burkitt, a militant suffragette, it is now on show at Birmingham New Street station, where she threw a stone at the prime minister's train in 1909. Named Face of Suffrage, the artwork includes 3,724 photos from the public, who had responded to an appeal by artist Helen Marshall. Ms Marshall said: ‘The photo is the face of a smiling Edwardian lady, but her story is far from what we might expect.’ Jailed for breaking a window of Herbert Asquith's train, Burkitt went on hunger strike and was force-fed 292 times while at Birmingham's Winson Green prison. Ms Marshall said she chose Burkitt as the subject of her piece after people she spoke to ‘really seemed to connect’ with the picture the mosaic is based on. It will be on display until 14 December, marking 100 years since some British women were allowed to vote in a general election for the first time.

Last week UNHRC issued five resolutions against Israel, including accusations against its activities in the Golan Heights. The British ambassador to the UN said, ‘Israel has a population of eight million, in a world of seven billion. Yet since its foundation UNHRC has adopted 135 country-specific resolutions; 68 of them have been against Israel. Justice is blind and impartial. The selective focus on Israel is neither. So today we put the Human Rights Council on notice. If things do not change, in future we will adopt a policy of voting against all resolutions concerning Israel’s conduct in the occupied Syrian and Palestinian territories.’ He added, ‘Peace is built through trust and goodwill on all sides. Human rights violations break down that trust. By continuing an unacceptable pattern of bias, the Council discredits its voice and hardens positions on both sides.’