United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet told the U.N. Security Council that in 2020 her office verified 35 killings of women human rights defenders, journalists and trade union members in seven conflict-affected countries where data is available.

The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly elected Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces as its next president, making her only the fourth woman to lead the 193-member world body in its 73-year history. She defeated another woman — Honduras’ U.N. Ambassador Mary Elizabeth Flores Flake — by 128-62 with two abstentions in the secret-ballot vote. The current assembly president, Miroslav Lajcak of Slovakia, announced the results to loud applause, saying, “Frankly, 4 out of 73 is not a record to be proud of, but I’m glad we are getting ourselves on track.”

Since 2014, the American actress has helped put a global spotlight on the need for equality between women and men as an “Advocate for Political Participation and Leadership” for the women’s agency of the United Nations. In her role for UN Women, Markle spent time at the World Bank and with the team of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton learning more about the issue. She also visited Rwanda, which has the highest percentage of women in parliament and where she also met with female refugees.