Your task is to extract the thesis of an opinionated news article by selecting some of its text segments. The thesis is a summarization of what the author wants to persuade the reader of. Your answer should consist of segments of the given text. Note that you are not allowed to combine different sentences.

Q: We are the last generation that can fight climate change. We have a duty to act. This year the UN marks its 70th anniversary . Sadly, there is little time for reflection or celebration . More pressing are the competing demands and challenges fuelled by an upsurge in conflict, disease and human suffering . These compel the international community to step up and provide the leadership needed to tackle them . Ebola continues to plague west Africa . For some of the affected countries, struggling to overcome the effects of bitter civil war, the outbreak has been a major setback for development . We are beginning to see some improvements . During my visit to the region in December, I was deeply moved by the efforts of local Ebola responders and health workers from across Africa and the world . But rebuilding shattered lives and economies will require significantly more resources and long-term commitment . As conflicts raged and extremism rose , 2014 pushed the UN's humanitarian, peacekeeping and diplomatic efforts to the limit . More than 100 million people needed assistance . An unprecedented number of UN troops and police are deployed in highly volatile security environments . The elimination of Syria's chemical weapons programme was a major achievement , but the conflict continues to inflict immense suffering and will soon enter its fifth year . As bitter winter conditions set in , millions of refugees are in need of life-saving humanitarian assistance . The presence of thousands of foreign terrorist fighters there and in Iraq has added a further volatile dimension . Groups responsible for atrocities have capitalised on a legacy of atrocious governance towards disenfranchised populations . Our response to brutality and extremism cannot be limited to military action, important as it is . We must address the conditions that give rise to such poison in the first place . In the same vein, those conducting military actions against terrorists must be sure that such efforts fully observe human rights . As we have seen time and again , failure to do so can end up serving as a recruiting agent for terrorists . Elsewhere, the recent appalling terrorist attacks in Paris show how vulnerable any society can be . Countries in Europe and elsewhere have witnessed a deeply worrying escalation of tensions between communities and within societies . Giving in to hatred and sowing division only guarantees a spiral of violence- precisely what terrorists seek . We must not fall into that trap . Addressing discord in a manner that solves, rather than multiplies, the problem may be the greatest test our human family faces in the 21st century . There is a long list of other hot-spots- stretching from Nigeria to Yemen, from the rise in fighting in Darfur to the transition in Afghanistan . Conflict in Ukraine has endangered security and stability in Europe, and reanimated the ghosts of the cold war . Israelis and Palestinians must ease the explosive situation in Gaza and the West Bank, and move away from confrontation and towards a negotiated settlement . But in a year marked by turmoil, UN member states have also proposed an initial draft set of sustainable development goals that will guide anti- poverty efforts for the next generation . Further negotiations will begin this month and culminate at a special summit in New York in September with the adoption of a development agenda that can help tackle inequality, empower women and girls, and promote shared prosperity . Climate action took on significant momentum with major announcements by the EU, the US and China, and a successful climate conference in Lima, Peru , that kept complex negotiations on track . We must aim high: for the adoption of an ambitious and universal agreement in Paris in December to keep the rise in global temperatures below the dangerous threshold of 2C . Ours is the first generation that can end poverty, and the last that can take steps to avoid the worst impacts of climate change . In this 70th anniversary year in which we renew our commitment to the goals and principles of the UN charter, the international community must rise to the moment .

A: Ours is the first generation that can end poverty, and the last that can take steps to avoid the worst impacts of climate change
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Q: Welcome 2015: It may be two steps forward, one step back, but here's what matters. Today, January 1, 2015 is the very first day of a brand new year . And for many that means renewed efforts at a fresh start . New Year's resolutions, we call them . This is the year . It all starts now . We resolve to turn over a new leaf - and this time we're serious . This time we're really going to try , we're not going to quit . We promise ourselves that we're going to quit bad habits and start good ones . We're going to get in shape, eat better, be more content, more disciplined, more intentional . We're going to be better husbands, wives, fathers, mothers . We're going to work harder, serve more, plan more, give more, read more . We're going to finally be all that we can be . No more messing around . Well ... I say try . Seriously, try . You might make some great strides this year . I'm hoping to . There are a lot of improvements I'm hoping to make over the next 12 months . But don't be surprised a year from now when you realize that you've fallen short... again . For those who try and try, year after year, again and again, to get better and better, only to take three steps forward then two steps back, one step forward then three steps back... I have good news for you : you're in good company! Everybody I have ever talked to sounds just like me over the years . Try and fail . Fail then try . Try and succeed . Succeed then fail . Two steps forward. One step back. One step forward. Three steps back . Every year I get better at some things, worse at others . For example ,  this past year I've become more patient with my children -- more tolerant of their mishaps . Therefore ,  I've been enjoying them more and micromanaging them less (one step forward) . But ,  due to a lack of discipline on my part, I've also allowed myself to be stretched too thin this past year and as a result, those I love most have suffered (one step back) . Furthermore ,  no matter how hard I try--no matter how serious I am about resolving to change-- I still get frustrated by the same things that frustrated me 20 years ago: traffic jams, unexpected interruptions, long lines, feeling misunderstood, and so on and so forth . You get the idea . In some ways we get better . In some ways we get worse . And in other ways we basically stay the same . Whoever told us that the experience of life was one of escalating progress lied to us . Most of the time it feels rather static, doesn't it? New Year's Resolutions are a burdensome attempt to fix ourselves and make ourselves more lovable . But (and here's the good news), God loves us as we are, not as we should be . God's love for me, approval of me, and commitment to me does not ride on my resolve but on God's resolve for me . The good news that gets me through bad times is that God's devotion to me is not dependant on my devotion . Knowing that God always meets my messes with his mercy, my failures with his forgiveness, and my guilt with his grace, helps me survive my daily disappointments with me . The Gospel of Jesus Christ is good news to those who've been crushed by unmet expectations of life -- it announces that because Jesus won for you, you're free to lose ; because Jesus was strong for you, you're free to be weak ; because Jesus was extraordinary, you're free to be ordinary ; because Jesus succeeded for you, you're free to fail . So , as this new year gets under way, I'll still going to try and get better at things , but it's so much more restful to know that I live my life from love rather than for it . Thank God! Happy New Year!

A: For those who try and try, year after year, again and again, to get better and better, only to take three steps forward then two steps back, one step forward then three steps back... I have good news for you New Year's Resolutions are a burdensome attempt to fix ourselves and make ourselves more lovable
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Q: Where Afghan law fails women. Afghan women have come a long way since the dark days of the Taliban regime . Yet a key obstacle to this progress continues to be high levels of violence against women . The legal system has failed to protect women adequately when it comes to some of the most common crimes against them; rape, domestic violence, underage and forced marriages . That is why, in 2009, a number of prominent Afghan women's rights activists, members of civil society groups, and some lawmakers came together to draft a bill to better protect women through legal channels and to define crimes of violence against women . The bill, known as The Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) Law, was decreed into law through an Executive Order by the former Afghan President Hamid Karzaion, on July 20, 2009, while parliament was in recess . During such periods, the Afghan Constitution allows the president to issue decrees for emergency purposes , but the Constitution also requires such decrees to be forwarded to parliament for approval . Some women activists nonetheless suggested that it was not necessary to send the EVAW law to parliament . Political climate . Others, including myself, argued that although the Executive Order on EVAW was a significant step in the battle for the elimination of violence against women, the law remained vulnerable to being reversed by a new president . Indeed ,  presidential elections were just around the corner . As the drawdown of the international troops drew nearer, we feared that the political climate would make it increasingly difficult to get the law anchored in parliament . In addition ,  we feared that any peace talks with the Taliban could end up sacrificing EVAW in a bid to appease the militants . Securing parliamentary approval for the law would give us much stronger ammunition in protecting it against extremist attacks . In order to get an agreement on the EVAW law in parliament, we worked tirelessly for months, using three main strategies . Firstly, we started a lobbying campaign with those who opposed the law, mainly conservatives . Secondly, we went to visit them in their houses, explaining the law to them article by article to obtain their signature in support of the law . We also organised exchange visits for conservative MPs to other Muslim countries so they could explore how these countries had been enforcing similar legislation for decades . Finally we worked through the joint committee in parliament for more than two years to develop a consensus on the law and defuse the opposition of conservatives . In late 2009, there were only two issues left where conservative MPs did not agree . These were the law's punishment of relatives for underage marriage and for polygamy under certain conditions as well as the fact that women's rights advocates wanted to include "honour killings" as a specific crime in the law . At this point, however, MPs became increasingly preoccupied with the then- upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for Spring 2010 , thus the process lost momentum . Unfortunately, after the 2010 parliamentary elections, we ended up with a more conservative parliament . Contested election results left the new parliament paralysed for almost a year . As a consequence, discussions about the EVAW law only resumed in mid-2011 . At this time the draft was re-sent to the 18 parliamentary commissions . All but one of the commissions agreed with the text of the law or presented constructive suggestions . The final commission, the legislative (Taqnin) committee, headed by the foremost opponent of the EVAW law, submitted 34 pages of suggested amendments . Some of these suggestions were helpful and were duly included, such as a proposal to have specialised prosecution units in all of Afghanistan . As before, we rejected the proposals to leave underage marriage and the contraction of invalid polygamous marriages as non-punishable acts . We similarly rejected a new suggestion which was to close all women's shelters and arrange for the victims of violence to stay with relatives instead . Although the opponents were vocal , they did not outnumber the rest . What was damaging, however, was an unhealthy political rivalry that ensued among mostly female parliamentarians and supporters of EVAW . Some progressive women's rights activists, including some from international organisations, argued that the time was not right to pass the EVAW and that it should be left as a presidential decree . There were good reasons for seeking parliamentary approval . Yet some of my colleagues began accusing me of using the bill to further my own political career and gain support for my assumed ambitions for the 2014 presidential elections . Instead of supporting EVAW, many female MPs stood silent during the parliamentary debates on the bill and some even went as far as to lobby against it . As a result, when the law was presented to the plenary in May 2013, conservative MPs who were opposed to EVAW were further emboldened . The new Speaker of the House did not hold a lot a lot of influence and probably, for that reason, did not back the bill either . With the conservative MPs entrenched in their opposition to EVAW, a weak speaker and a lack of support from my fellow female MPs, the EVAW bill failed to pass . Those of us who saw the passing of EVAW to be beyond politics, and understood its importance for tackling violence against women, were left heartbroken . With the international community now gradually disengaging from Afghanistan, time is running out for Afghan women . We have made important gains since 2001 , but we need the force of the law behind us to sustain our achievements . We need to arm ourselves with solid laws like the EVAW law to fight the violence and other ills of our society which are destroying the souls of our sisters across the country . The fact that the EVAW law has not been approved by the parliament is the reason for its weak implementation rates ; many justice officials are questioning the law's status and therefore do not apply it . One promising thing on the horizon is that we now have a president and chief executive who both understand the multitude of challenges facing women . I would like to take this opportunity and call on President Ashraf Ghani and our Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah to declare their support for the passage of the EVAW bill . I also call on my female colleagues in parliament and all Afghan women rights activists and our international partners to set aside their differences and join us in support of the ratification of the bill . As the recent parliamentary approval of the BSA shows, when the government and others make something a priority, the conservative MPs can be isolated . Times may be difficult now for Afghanistan , differences may be wide and security challenges are growing , but failure to back the EVAW and allowing it to die will deal a severe blow to Afghan women's rights .

A:
Yet a key obstacle to this progress continues to be high levels of violence against women That is why, in 2009, a number of prominent Afghan women's rights activists, members of civil society groups, and some lawmakers came together to draft a bill to better protect women through legal channels and to define crimes of violence against women
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