Rapes Soar in Eastern Congo's Culture of Impunity
May 27, 2009 - (Women'seNews) Advocacy groups are calling for an end to the legal culture of impunity surrounding the mass rapes in the conflict zone of eastern Congo.

Africa: Akina Mama Wa Afrika Regional consultation
May 08, 2009 - (Pambazuka) A Regional Consultative Meeting convened by Akina Mama wa Afrika was held at Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort, in Kampala, Uganda on 28th 29th April 2009 on the theme “The Power Of Women’s Leadership And Movement Building: Gender Based Violence And Sexual And Reproductive Rights In Conflict And Post Conflict Africa’ . The consultation drew together a cross section of actors in the area of conflict and post conflict in Africa. The consultative meeting reflected on national, regional and continentals strategies, challenges, lessons learnt, emerging trends and experiences.

Rwanda: Accountability, Missing Link in Gender Equality
May 6, 2009 - (allAfrica) The missing link in the women's empowerment and gender equality drive has been accountability. For so long our governments and international bodies, have made high sounding proclamations on women's emancipation.

Africa: Akina Mama Wa Afrika Launches 3-Year Project
April 30, 2009 - (Pambazuka) On 29th April 2009, Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA), a Pan-African International non-governmental organization based in Kampala, Uganda will launch a 3-year project on “The Power of Women’s Leadership and Movement Building: Gender Based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Conflict and Post Conflict Africa”. This regional project will be implemented in Central Africa (Democratic Republic ofCongo) and Western Africa (Sierra Leone) and is supported by a grant from the MDG3 Fund, an initiative of the Netherlands Government.

DR-CONGO: Electronics Firms Urged to Boycott Blood Minerals
April 1, 2009 - (IPS) The world's mass consumption of cell phones laptops and other electronics fuels widespread sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) according to a new study released Wednesday by the non-profit Enough Project that echoes what many human rights activists and humanitarian workers have been saying for years.

DRC: Treating the sexually abused in South Kivu
March 5, 2009 - (IRIN) - In Bukavu, the main town in South Kivu Province of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Panzi referral hospital receives six to eight women daily who have experienced sexual violence.

Rwanda: Gender to Be Considered in National Budgeting
March 3, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Kigali — Once implemented it will improve accountability of government towards gender equality, women's rights and empowerment with international commitments.

Rwanda: Consultation On Gender Budgeting Timely
March 3, 2009 - (AllAfrica) One of the things Ban Ki-Moon, the UN boss first commended during his visit on Sunday was the country's attainment of gender parity at all levels.

Congo-Kinshasa: Ban Ki-Moon Meets President Joseph Kabila
March 2, 2009 -(AllAfrica) Kisangani — On Saturday 28 February 2009, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Kisangani, capital of Province Orientale. After the meeting, Mr. Ban told the assembled media that one of the main subjects of discussion was the "issue of sexual violence in the DRC, and the need to tackle the culture of impunity."

Uganda: Young Leaders Pledge to Improve Society
March 2, 2009 - (New Vision) Kampala — With her hands on the lap, Susan Kangumean environmental science student, sat pensively as she watched other students speak. She is one of the 100 students who were selected to from Ugandan universities to attend the Gilrs2leaders National Conference in January.

Ingabire – Scribe turned Women’s rights activist – all for the love of women and their rights!
February 28, 2009 - (NewVision) Immediately after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis, Ingabire Imaculee boldly made her way back to Rwanda as one of the first Rwandan returnees.

Congo-Kinshasa: Secretary-General Meets With Female Victims of Conflict
February 28, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited today with women and girls who have been victims of sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country that the United Nations says has witnessed some of the highest levels of such abuses in the world.

Rwanda: Country Prepares for Women's Day
February 25, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Kigali — As the world prepares to mark the International Women's Day (IWD) on March 8, Rwanda's preparations are already in full gear.

Picking a woman finance minister is timely
February 24, 2009 - (NewVision) Following the recent cabinet reshuffle, questions have cropped up. Within the women’s movement, the reshuffle has been received with both resentment and excitement.

Rwanda: Report - Mental Disorders Among Survivors Up Ahead of Genocide Week
February 18, 2009 - (AllAfrica) In the run up to the 15th commemoration of the 1994 genocide, a Rwandan association, dealing with post genocide trauma, has reported an increase of mental health disorders among survivors of 101-day slaughter.

Women Denied Land Rights
February 23, 2009 - (IWPR) Women languish in dismantled internal refugee camps after losing out in family land disputes.

Women left out of the land equation
February 22, 2009 - (TheNewVision) THE future of gender equity is at a pivotal point. Uganda is currently undergoing a transitional period in the way in which land is owned.

Rwanda: Medical Practitioners Step up Fight on GBV
February 19, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Kigali — The Rwanda Medical Association (RMA) has embarked on a programme to improve the services provided to victims of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in health facilities.

Emergency Relief Coordinator, in briefing to Security Council, stresses essential need for improved humanitarian aid in Democratic Republic of the Congo
February 17, 2009 - (ReliefWeb) Continuing and improved humanitarian assistance remained essential to relieve the suffering in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Orientale in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but more was needed to enable the people there to rebuild their lives on a durable basis, John Holmes, the top United Nations humanitarian official, said in a briefing to the Security Council this afternoon.

Rwanda: Working Together As Women for Women
February 12, 2009 - (AllAfrica) The Forum of Rwandan Women Parliamentarians (FFRP) last week held a retreat to strengthen the partnership between its members to develop gender empowerment on political level.

Rwanda: Gender Violence Law to Be Passed in Two Weeks
February 11, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Kigali — The long-awaited special law against Gender Based Violence (GBV) is expected to be published in the next two weeks, Cabinet Affairs Minister Charles Murigande revealed yesterday.

Congo-Kinshasa: Unicef Campaign Launches U.S. Tour to Highlight Rape Crisis
February 11, 2009 -(AllAfrica) The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is kicking off a five-city tour of the United States aimed at highlighting the horrors faced by thousands of Congolese rape victims, while calling for an end to impunity for the perpetrators of the worst kinds of sexual violence.

Rwanda: Kigali City Tops Gender Crime List
February 7, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Kigali — The three districts that make up Kigali City have been reported to have the highest reported figures of the gender-based violence (GBV).

Uganda: Tackle the Root Cause of FGM
February 5, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Kampala — Uganda today joins the rest of the world to commemorate the international day for the elimination of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This practice, which has no place in the modern world, is still endemic in many countries and locally in the districts of Kapchorwa, Bukwo and Nakapiripirit.

Uganda: Only Educating Girls Can Help Eradicate Female Circumcision
February 5, 2009 -(AllAfrica) Kampala — Sebei region is a mountainous area bordering my region, Bugisu, in the east. It has a population of about 300,000 people. I grew up with the Sabiny and shared common things with them, including the circumcision of boys to initiate them into adulthood.

Rwanda: Stopping Domestic Violence Through Theater
February 3, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Although Rwanda is striving to become a gender-equal nation, gender-based domestic violence is still widespread. A theater group has embarked on a crusade against the scourge.

Uganda: Educate a Woman, Educate a Nation
February 3, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Kampala — The O'level results released on Friday show a large disparity between the male and female performance levels. In all the districts except five, the boys performed better than the girls.

Rwanda: Women MPs Hold Retreat
February 3, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Kigali — The Forum for Rwanda Women Parliamentarians (FFRP) is scheduled to hold its first retreat today, says a statement released by the organisation.

Rwanda: Gender Equality Paramount for Development- Unifem
February 1, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Kigali — The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has called for gender equality for the establishment of lasting and sustainable peace and development.

Rwanda: UN-backed unit charged with pushing gender equality to fore
January 30, 2009 - (UN News Centre) Rwanda has appointed three officials to a new government body charged with putting gender equality at the forefront of Government planning and ensuring that necessary data is readily available to inform policy decisions, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) said today.

Congo-Kinshasa: Speak of the Real Authors of the War
January 15, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Cape Town — Terna Gyuse interviews AIMEE MWADI KADI and KATANA GEGE BUKURU, Congolese women's rights activists. Each episode of the Democratic Republic of Congo's long-running civil war has weighed particularly heavily on women, yet women have relatively little voice in the negotiations for peace.

Uganda: FGM Has Turned Women Into Objects
January 13, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Kampala — Female genital mutilation (FGM) poses a serious challenge to the Government and politicians, most especially women Members of Parliament, women lawyers and other women organisations in this country.

Cameroon: Armed Conflict Reporting Female Communicators in SchooL
January 16, 2009 - (AllAfrica) A three-day workshop grouping journalists from the CEMAC zone is currently taking place in Yaounde.In a bid to respond to specific communication needs in times of conflict, the Cameroon chapter of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television is currently organising a three-day workshop under the theme "the role and the status of female communicators within the framework of armed conflicts, international violence, and the support and promotion of peace operations in the CEMAC zone".

Girl Soldiers - The cost of survival in Northern Uganda
January 13, 2009 - (Women News Network) UGANDA - It had been 11 years since my feet had touched the dusty rust-colored soil of Uganda. My first visit had been particularly remarkable as it had been the first time the long, black barrel of a gun had been pointed within centimeters of my face.

Rwanda: Gender-Based Violence Has Dire Social Implications
January 10, 2009 - (AllAfrica) Despite the fact that Rwanda is one of the most gender-equal countries when it comes to official positions, gender-based violence is still a big problem. One of the most appalling statistics in this respect is that, according to a recent police report, every six hours a woman is raped.

CHAD: “They’re going to exterminate us”
January 8, 2009 - (IRIN) - Cécile Moutouba marched with a knife in one hand, a stick in the other. She said her husband has used both against her. Moutouba was among some 100 women who recently walked for more than 2km, their hands on their heads (a sign of mourning), in the Chadian town of Guelendeng, 153km from the capital N’djamena. In what some Chadians said was a rare public demonstration, the women marched to protest violent acts committed by men on their wives.

UN Special Rapporteurs Consult with Women from Africa's Horn and Great Lakes Region
January 9, 2009 - (AWID) Last month, women's human rights defenders from Africa's Horn and Great Lakes Region met in Nairobi for a consultation with Yakin Ertürk, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences, and Margaret Sekaggya, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. The countries represented at the consultation included Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, and Sudan. This is the most volatile region of the African continent. The fact that all these countries are either in or emerging from conflict, is extremely significant to the mandates of the Special Rapporteurs because, violence against women, already widespread in times of peace, is exacerbated in times of conflict.

2008

UN investigating alleged sexual misconduct of peacekeepers in DR of Congo
December 24, 2008 – (UN News Service) The United Nations is investigation allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by its peacekeepers stationed in the war-ravaged North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Security Council tells UN Mission in DR Congo to step up protection of civilians
December 22 2008 – (UN News Service) The Security Council today told United Nations peacekeepers in strife-torn eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to prioritize the protection of civilians, including humanitarian personnel, as the number of attacks on aid workers, some of them deadly, passed 100 since the start of 2008.

Congo peace talks threatened as rebels accuse army of breaking truce
December 21, 2008 – (Kenya Daily Nation) Nairobi-based peace talks surrounding the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo were at risk of stalling over the weekend, when rebel forces accused the government of secretly occupying truce zones. Meanwhile, regional ministers said they were willing to send troops to the contentious areas, while a Congolese civil society group on Sunday said women have been sidelined throughout the negotiations.

Domestic Violence discussed on FM Radio Talk Show
December 17, 2008 - (WOUGNET) The current rate of domestic violence in our community, has at long last hit ‘Talk Back’, a prime radio talk show on a prime FM radio station called Radio One. Radio One, is an FM radio station that largely targets people in Kampala. ‘Talk Back ’, is broadcast every morning from around 8.15 to 8.45 am. Most of the topics discussed on ‘Talk Back’, are a continuation of what transpired on the previous evening’s radio talk show called ‘Spectrum’.

DR Congo: concern for displaced grows as girls shot, woman raped near UN camp
December 12, 2008 - (UN News) Armed militia this morning shot two young girls who were sheltered at a United Nations camp in the conflict-ridden eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), from which the Organization’s refugee agency has been relocating thousands of displaced people due to concerns for their safety. The five-year-old girl died instantly and the seven-year-old was left critically injured and is fighting for her life in a local hospital.

Congo-Kinshasa: Activists Slam World's 'Grotesque Indifference'
December 3, 2008 - (AllAfrica) International lust for the enormous mineral and resource riches of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) abetted by international indifference has turned much of country into a colossal "rape mine" where more than 300,000 women and girls have been brutalised, say activists.

Rwanda: Men to Combat Gender-Based Violence
November 30, 2008 – (AllAfrica) "Seeking to engage men and boys in effective ways to reduce gender inequalities and violence and promote healthy well-being of women, men, and children." That, according to Rwamrec's chairperson Fidel Rutayisire, is in short the aim of Men Engage Network in Rwanda.

Women Run the Show In a Recovering Rwanda
October 27, 2008 – (Washington Post) On a continent that has been dominated by the rule of men, this tiny East African nation is trying something new. Here, women are not only driving the economy -- working on construction sites, in factories and as truck and taxi drivers -- they are also filling the ranks of government.

Rwanda: parliament led by female-majority
October 15, 2008 - (INSTRAW) Rwanda now holds the record for having the most women in parliament. This is the result of September’s peaceful elections, in which 44 women were elected in the lower house of the government. The Rwandan parliament has 80 seats.

Rwanda: Refugees Sensitised About Gender Based Violence
October 13, 2008 – (Allafrica) Congolese refugees living in Gihembe camp have been undergoing a sensitisation programme about gender based violence. The programme is being carried by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in partnership with the American Refugee Council (ARC).

Uganda: 46 Years on, Women Still Not Independent
October 8, 2008 – (AllAfrica) Today, Uganda will mark yet another independence anniversary. There will be a lot of fanfare and merrymaking, following gallant speeches by leaders at different levels. Independence marks the day the Uganda flag replaced the Union Jack when the British Colonialists let go of Uganda and its resources and left it in the hands of nationals. Today, I want to take a quick look at the real situation on ground in this area and what more needs to be done. I am taking an unusual view at this; national vs individual independence and my focus is on the independence of women in the face of the current HIV epidemic.

DRC: Mass Stigma Scars Congo's Rape Survivors
October 5, 2008 (WOMENSENEWS) Twenty-five-year-old Mywazo is the proud mother of two. But she doubts her husband can ever accept that about her. Not after what happened. For three and a half years, beginning in 2004, Mywazo was held hostage in the forests surrounding her village. There she was raped by men she identifies as Interhamwe, Hutu militias linked to Rwanda's genocide and implicated in rape-and-pillage attacks on villages in the border provinces of North and South Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

UGANDA: Radio Drama Strengthens Women's Voices
October 1, 2008 - (IPS) Fifteen-year-old Taboni's parents are in a bind. Their daughter has been raped by the commandant of the squalid internally-displaced persons camp they call home, and they do not know what to do. "The idea was to put into action the United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 about women's contribution to peace-building. We resolved to make a difference through a radio drama series."

DRC: MONUC meets with Congolese women
September 30, 2008 – (MONUC) The security and socio-political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo in general and the east in particular is a major concern for Congolese women. The Permanent Framework of Dialogue for Congolese Women (CAFCO) came in the name of Congolese women to meet MONUC, to discuss security questions and also the part which Congolese women can play in the prevention and settlement of conflict.

Rwanda: Police And Unifem in Fight Against Sexual Gender Based Violence
September 30, 2008 – (AllAfrica) The Rwanda National Police (RNP) together with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) over the week launched a joint advocacy against child abuse and Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) at the Police Headquarters in Kacyiru.

DRC: Thousands flee LRA attacks on northeastern villages
September 29, 2008 - (IRIN) At least 17,000 civilians have been displaced after attacks by the Ugandan rebel Lord Resistance Army (LRA) militia in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and cannot access humanitarian aid, according to a UN official.

DRC: Congolese warlords can be prosecuted -global court
September 26, 2008 - (Reuters) Prosecutors have enough evidence to send two Congolese warlords accused of war crimes to trial but not on all charges, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Friday.

Central Africa: The Impact of Small Arms on Women in Central Continent
September 19, 2008 – (AllAfrica) It is with much interest that the women's network of IANSA followed the different interventions presented since the beginning of this meeting. This is an opportunity to advance the application of the Program of Action for the control of small arms and light weapons, in all its aspects, including gender violence.

DRC: Congolese rape survivors break silence at UN-organized event
September 12, 2008 – (Unnews) Female survivors of rape and sexual abuse are sharing their stories today at an event organized by the United Nations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where rape has been used as a weapon of war and an estimated 200,000 women and girls have been assaulted over the past 12 years.

DRC: LRA accused of abuses in northeast as army moves in
September 10, 2008 (IRIN) - As the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) mounted a military operation against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in northeastern DRC, human rights activists released a list of abuses allegedly committed by the Ugandan rebels there over the last year.

DRC: French UN man in child rape trial
September 9, 2008 – (BBC) A Frenchman has gone on trial charged with raping around 20 young girls while working for UN peacekeeping missions in Africa along with more sexual offences.

Rwanda: Sustainable peace key to post-genocide reconciliation
August 26, 2008 (IRIN) - Almost a decade and a half since Rwanda's genocide, reconciliation efforts are using traditional cultural models to build trust between communities, despite reports of continued targeting of survivors and judges of the "Gacaca" justice system. Since June, the courts have also been given the authority to try cases involving rapists and those who killed or intended to kill and their accomplices. High level leaders and organisers of the genocide are tried in the conventional courts. It is expected thatthe cases involving rape and killings, estimated at more than 10,000, will end in 2009.

Africa: Women Make Peace in Conflict Areas
August 25, 2008 (Public Agenda) – In war torn countries, women do not enjoy many privileges. Life is so uncertain that one does not know if "you will wake up with a roof over your head the next morning or find your family intact." This is the lot of women in Africa countries like Uganda, Eritrea, Kenya and Sudan. For most of these women, the basic necessities of life such as food, clothing and shelter have become luxuries that they can barely afford.

Rwanda: Smart Politics - Country Geared for Parliamentary Female Domination
August 23, 2008 (The New Times) – Political developments in Rwanda as she prepares for legislative elections to be held next September could have an outcome with a profound impact on gender relations on the African continent, where women have lagged behind in political decision-making processes. In fact, Rwanda's Parliament will be the first female dominated one in the world; given that Rwanda currently has the world's highest female legislative presentation beating well to do countries with huge investments in gender equality spanning over decades.

DRC: Amnesty controversy grows
August 22, 2008 (IWPR) - As fighting in east of country continues to rage, observers question recent decision to offer rebels an amnesty. With the ceasefire being broken almost daily in North Kivu, many are asking whether an amnesty law should have been passed by the Congolese parliament last month.

DRC: UN mission trains police on sexual violence
August 21, 2008 – (UN News Center) The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is holding training sessions for the vast African nation’s police in a bid to ensure that victims and witnesses of sexual violence are better protected.

Rwanda: Women Députés More Concerned With Grassroot Issues
August 19, 2008 (Rwanda News Agency) - The high number of women Députés in the Rwandan Parliament has brought issues that affect the grassroot voter to the forefront of national policy - rendering the Députés a needed block in the House, a study by British experts says.

Uganda: Make Women Part of North Development, Government Advised
August 19, 2008 (The Monitor) – Women from different civil society organisations in Uganda have urged the government to involve people at grassroots when designing development plans for northern Uganda if they are to work out. "This is the time for us to react and act to government programmes, most times government looks at issues in a broader perspective they are now looking at guns going silent yet the problems of women are increasing and not addressed well," the Executive Director ISIS-WICCE, Ms Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng said.

Rights Activists Want Domestic Bill Passed
August 18, 2008 (New Vision) - Human rights activists have urged the Government to pass the Domestic Relations Bill to curb the increasing violence against women

Rwanda Defence Force Officially Launches Gender Desk
August 13, 2008 (UNIFEM) - Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) Chief of General Staff, General James Kabarebe, signed on to UNIFEM’s Say NO to Violence against Women campaign as he officially launched the Gender Desk within the Ministry of Defence on 11 August 2008. “The Rwanda Defence Force shall not spare any effort in as far as fighting gender-based violence and violence against women is concerned,” said General Kabarebe.

Ban ‘deeply troubled’ by evidence of abuse by blue helmets in DR Congo
August 12, 2008 (UN News) – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he was “deeply troubled” by the outcome of a probe that has revealed prima facie evidence that a number of Indian peacekeepers, previously assigned to one of the units with the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), may have engaged in sexual exploitation and abuse.

Rwanda: Country Commended On Domestic Laws
August 7, 2008 (AllAfrica) – African countries should follow Rwanda's example and come out clearly on domestic and other family related bills. The call was made by members of Club de Madrid and European Women Parliamentarians who are currently on tour in the Great Lakes Region.

Congo groups 're-arming' in east
August 1, 2008 - (BBC News) Government forces and rebel troops are rearming and recruiting for conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the BBC has learned.

DR Congo: UN mission helps investigation into assaults and sexual violence
July 19, 2008 – (UN News) A human rights team with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has travelled with Congolese officials and doctors to investigate reports of mass rapes, looting and torture carried out by a group of Maï Maï militiamen last year.

Rights groups condemn DR Congo violence
July 29, 2008 (AFP) - Civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to face widespread attacks, sexual violence, looting and forced labour six months after the signing of a ceasefire agreement, human rights groups said Tuesday. The Congo Advocacy Coalition (CAC) called on the international community to put pressure on armed groups in the DRC to adhere to peace agreements signed in January and protect civilian populations.

Over 2,000 raped last month in Congo's east: report
July 29, 2008 – (Reuters) More than 2,000 rape cases were recorded last month alone in Democratic Republic of Congo's violent North Kivu province, a new report said on Tuesday, highlighting the failure of a U.N.-backed deal to deliver peace. Many more women and girls were raped but did not report it, the document added, saying that, since the signing of a January 23 deal between rebels, militia and government, 150,000 civilians had fled their homes amid continuing "horrendous violence."

DR Congo: Peace Process Fragile, Civilians at Risk
July 29, 2008 – (AlertNet) Six months since the signing of a peace agreement, horrendous violence continues to plague eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a coalition of 64 aid agencies and human rights groups said today. The new Congo Advocacy Coalition was created in July 2008 to focus attention on the protection of civilians as part of the peace process in eastern Congo. It called on the international community to put further pressure on armed groups and the Congolese government to make real their promises to protect civilians.

Uganda: Harrowing Tales of Women's War Woes
July 28, 2008 (The Monitor) – Participants at a Femrite seminar in Kampala could not hold back the tears as they listened to shocking tales of women's suffering in the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) war. This was at a seminar organised by the Uganda Female Writers Association (Femrite) in Kampala recently. The German ambassador, Mr Reinhard Buchholz, was chief guest.

I too accuse him of crimes against humanity
By Stephen Lewis
July 28, 2008 (Globe and Mail) – According to Stephen Lewis, Darfur is not the only killing field for Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the indicted President of Sudan. Lewis writes that when he was deputy executive director at UNICEF, one problem transcended all others: the abduction of thousands of children from their homes and boarding schools in Northern Uganda by the lunatic rebel group (still extant) called the Lord's Resistance Army, and the forced transport of the children to what amounted to prison camps in Sudan, where the girls were routinely raped and the boys were trained to become child soldiers. Lewis contends that this entire operation was sustained by an unholy pact between Mr. al-Bashir and Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army.

Great Lakes: African Great Lakes Officials At UN Gathering On Women's Rights Research Centre
July 24, 2008 (UN News Service) - Women's rights ministers from 11 countries across Africa's Great Lakes region are gathering today in Kinshasa for a United Nations-organized conference to take steps to set up a regional research and documentation centre on women's rights which would have a particular focus on the role of women in the reconstruction of countries emerging from conflict, which has plagued the region.

Burundi: Human rights record "shows no improvement"
July 23, 2008 (IRIN) - At least 400 people were killed in the first quarter of 2008, which indicates that Burundi's human rights record has failed to improve this year, according to Iteka, a rights group. Iteka also deplored the fact that sexual violence remained rampant and was on the increase because perpetrators were not punished sufficiently.

Burundi: Mixed Signals from Peace Process while Human Rights Records Worsen
July 21, 2008 (ReliefWeb) – In an important step towards sustainable peace, 2,000 combatants of the last remaining armed rebel group in Burundi, the National Forces of Liberation (also known as Palipehutu-FNL), assembled at a demobilisation centre on 21 July.
The FNL spokesmen, Pasteur Habima, stated that it was up to the government to make the next move, adding that the war was over. According to Ligue ITEKA, a Burundian human rights group, there has been a deterioration in the human rights situation since last year, including an increase in sexual violence, whereby some 455 women and girls were victims of rape, the majority younger than 12.

Murder, rape ongoing in DRCongo despite peace: HRW
July 21, 2008 (AFP) -"While the parties to the peace agreement attend talks in Goma, their troops continue to kill, rape, and loot civilians," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, HRW senior Africa researcher, in a statement.

East Congo peace deal "meaningless" -rights group
July 21, 2008 (Reuters) - The deal included a ceasefire and a pledge by all groups to respect international human rights law and protect civilians. However, United Nations' officials have documented some 200 ceasefire violations over the past six months.

DRC: UNHCR-backed programme helps women victims of war in South Kivu
July 17, 2008 – (UNHCR) Generose, who was brutally raped two years ago and saw her brother murdered, is one of around 2,400 women victims of conflict – many of them survivors of sex attacks – who have benefitted in South Kivu from a UN refugee agency programme aimed at making them self-sufficient.

Congo's "culture of rape" is corroding society
July 11, 2008 - (Reuters) Justine Masika had long been interested in the well-being of poor rural women in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo when, in 1996, they began to come to her with reports of a new kind of horror. Out in their fields, they had become prey to men, who attacked and sexually abused them.

CAR: LRA rebel threat haunts Central African Republic
July 8, 2008 – (Mail & Guardian Online) Abducted, robbed and raped this year by raiding Ugandan rebels, Henriette and other villagers in a remote south-east corner of the Central African Republic (CAR) live in daily fear their attackers will return.

DRC: Gender - Training of Trainers for National Action Plan On UN Resolution 1325
July 4, 2008 (AllAfrica.com) With the support of MONUC's Gender Office, the DRC Gender, Family and Children Ministry from 28 June to 1 July 2008 trained the heads of the provincial Gender ministries and civil society activists from all the DRC's 11 provinces on resolution 1325, which relates to the impact of war and conflict on women.

ICC charges DR Congo 'warlords'
June 27, 2008 (BBC News) - Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in the Hague have charged two Congolese militia leaders with war crimes. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui are accused of planning and ordering an attack, in which more than 200 villagers were allegedly killed. Reports say some of the victims were burned to death, and many women were forced to become sex slaves. This is only the second case to be launched by the court, set up in 2002.

Uganda: UN Chief Urges Ugandan Rebels to Release Women, Children
June 25, 2008 – (AFP) UN chief Ban Ki-moon has urged the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army rebel group to release women and children amid allegations that it is recruiting people in neighbouring countries.

DRC: Mass sexual violence as a tactic of war
June 24, 2008 (MEDIAGLOBAL) - Officially, the Congo war ended five years ago. But the numbers tell a different story – the rates of death before and after the civil war’s supposed end are virtually indistinguishable (...) In the chaos, who is fighting whom and why gets blurry, and even UN peacekeepers have been implicated in the sole, unifying constant – sexual violence against women and children.

Central African Republic: rebels sign peace pact
June 22, 2008 - (Reuters) Central African Republic's government has signed a peace accord with rebel groups that seeks to end several years of bush guerrilla war in the poor former French colony that borders with Sudan and Chad. The violence in CAR stemmed from Bozize's 2003 overthrow of President Ange-Felix Patasse, following bloody fighting that included the systematic rape of hundreds of women. Many rapes were carried out by rebel fighters from Democratic Republic of Congo who backed Patasse.

DR Congo: UN mission begins sensitization training for Government troops
June 20, 2008 (UN News Center) – Government forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are being given a week-long training course in child protection, human rights, sexual violence and military justice by the United Nations mission in the country (MONUC).

High-level Consultation in Goma calls for Eradication of Sexual Violence and Ending Impunity in the Great Lakes Region
June 18, 2008 (UNIFEM) - “Rape as a weapon of war has become a defining characteristic of the armed conflicts in the Great Lakes Region and the Democratic Republic of Congo in particular,” said Ambassador Liberata Mulamula at the opening of a high level consultation on Eradicating Sexual Violence and Ending Impunity in the Great Lakes region in Goma, DRC.

Uganda: Margaret Awoi, "Falling into rebel hands five times within eight months was the easier part"
June 18, 2008 - (IRIN) Widow and mother of four, Margaret Awoi, 48, has been abducted five times by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.

DRC: UN looks to combat sexual violence in Africa’s Great Lakes Region
June 16, 2008 – (United Nations) Government representatives, military officials, key community representatives and women’s rights defenders from across Africa’s Great Lakes region have gathered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for a three-day conference focusing on eradicating sexual violence.

Great lakes region: Girls Trafficked for Sex Trade
June 15, 2008 – (New Vision) Children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi are reportedly trafficked into Uganda for sexual exploitation, commercial and agricultural labour, according to a United States report.

DRC: Sexual abuse widespread among fresh wave deportees from Angola
June 11, 2008 (IRIN) - Most women arriving in parts of the province of Kasai Occidental in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) among a new wave of some 27,000 deportees from Angola, have been sexually abused, a local health official said.

Uganda: Women Activists Hold Demo
June 10, 2008 – (New Vision) Women activists have petitioned Parliament demanding that the Government passes all pending Bills that address violence against women and girls. Activists assert that violence against women and girls should be addressed as a community issue, warning that if left unattended, it would create a public health and human rights crisis. The Domestic Violence, Sexual Offences, Domestic Relations and Women Trafficking Bills would help curb the increasing cases of rape and defilement.

BURUNDI: Grappling with widespread sexual abuse
June 4, 2008 (IRIN) - Throughout the 15 years of conflict in Burundi, violence against women, especially sexual abuse and rape, has been a widespread phenomenon. The war may have largely ended, but rape continues to be a major problem, according to aid workers.

DRC: Outcry Over ICC’s Scrapping of Rape Charges, Victims of sexual violence in DRC angered by court’s controversial move
June 3, 2008 - (IWPR) Congolese women who’ve fallen victim to rape and related crimes say they feel badly let down by the decision of the International Criminal Court, ICC, to drop all sexual violence charges relating to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.

Uganda: The Trials of a Karimojong Woman
June 2, 2008 – (The New Vision) The Baptist Mission on Development and the Karamoja Development Partnership are empowering women and helping communities to survive. Traditionally, Karamoja women own nothing. Those who try to get out of this mould face numerous obstacles. But things are changing. Women are organising themselves and teaching each other their rights, potential and abilities. Recently, Outreach Relief organised a two-week skills workshop for women leaders. During the workshop, women identified reasons for their lack of impact in decision making.

Uganda says rebel Kony has last chance to talk
June 2, 2008 (Reuters) - Uganda will launch a fresh military campaign with U.S. support against fugitive rebel leader Joseph Kony unless he agrees to return to peace talks, a government official said on Monday. Kony, the elusive commander of the Lord's Resistance Army, is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for multiple war crimes including massacres, rapes and kidnapping.

Treaty in Uganda Snags on 'African Values'
June 2, 2008 - (Women E-News) Uganda signed the Maputo Protocol - a key women's rights treaty in Africa - in 2003. Since then the landmark treaty has run into religious arguments against Western influence and abortion.

Uganda: Interview with Margaret Sekaggya
May 31, 2008 – (Daily Monitor) A champion in the fight for human rights, Margaret Sekaggya, the chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, is known for her zeal and determination. In this interview, she talks about her work and women's rights in Uganda.

DRC: Sexual Violence Charges for DRC Cases Scrapped - Human rights groups warn controversial move could lead to a culture of impunity
May 29, 2008 - (IWPR) International Criminal Court, ICC, prosecutors have dropped all sexual violence charges in relation to conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, because of an internal dispute over witness protection.

CAR-CHAD: U.N. official to assess child recruitment
May 27, 2008 - (UPI) U.N. secretary-general special representative for children and armed conflict will report on "cross-border recruitment of children; the safety of humanitarian workers; the security of camps for refugees and internally displaced persons; the increase of rapes and other sexual violence; and the culture of impunity that is widespread in the region."

Central African Republic: ICC Probes Central African Sex Crimes
May 22, 2008 – (Afrol News) The International Criminal Court in (ICC) The Hague is set to open investigation into sexual crimes committed during a 2002 coup led by General François Bozizé against the former Central African Republic President, Ange-Félix Patassé. According to ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, "The information we have now suggests that the rape of civilians was committed in numbers that cannot be ignored under international law," he said, adding, "this is the first time the Prosecutor is opening an investigation in which allegations of sexual crimes far outnumber alleged killings."

Women Rise in Rwanda's Economic Revival
May 16, 2008 - (Washington Post) Sun-kissed plantations ring this village, renowned in recent years for growing the rich arabica beans brewed and served in some of the world's finest coffee houses. But the secret to success here has had far less to do with the idyllic climate and volcanic soil than with a group of people who have emerged as Maraba's -- and Rwanda's -- most potent economic force: women.

DRC- Launch of an Awareness Campaign Against Sexual Violence
May 5, 2008 – (MONUC) The Public Information Section/ARU, in cooperation with the Gender Office, the "Forum des Mamans d'Aru" (ARU Women's Forum) and many NGOs that deal with the sexual violence issue, launched an awareness campaign on 2 May 2008.

DRC: Tortured women struggle for justice
April 17, 2008 - (The Toronto Star) For women, the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is the heart of darkness: a territory where they are sexually attacked, mutilated and killed in ways so vicious that the United Nations calls it unprecedented.

DRC : Congo's rape and sexual violence: UN's delinquency
April 15, 2008 - (Pambazuka News) Stephen Lewis argues that the level of rape and sexual violence in the Congo is an act of criminal international misogyny, sustained by the indifference of nation states and the delinquency of the United Nations.

UNICEF teams up with V-Day campaign to stop rape in DR Congo
April 14, 2008 – (UN News) The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the global movement to end violence against women and girls known as V-Day have launched a new partnership to end rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and ensure justice for the victims of this heinous crime.

DRC/US: Senate Committee Hearing on Rape as a Weapon of War
April 3, 2008 - (Feminist Daily News Wire) On Tuesday, United States Senator Dick Durbin chaired the first-ever Congressional hearing on the use of rape as a weapon of war. The Subcommittee on Human Rights and Law discussed the need to hold perpetrators accountable for sexual violence against women. The focus of the hearing was sexual violence as a weapon of war in Democratic Republic of the Congo, with testimonies from Lisa F. Jackson, Karin Wachter, Dr. Kelly Dawn Askin, and Dr. Denis Mukwege.

CAR: Struggling to undo the damage of sexual violence
April 1, 2008 - (IRIN) The Monam group of rape survivors in the northern town of Bossangoa in the Central African Republic (CAR) does what it can to keep going, but morale is low and money tight. Monam, which means "common good" in the Sango language, was set up in 2006 to bring together female survivors of sexual violence committed in 2001 and 2002 amid the mayhem leading up to the most recent of CAR's numerous coups d'etat that brought Francois Bozize to power in March 2003.

One day workshop held on the promotion of new sexual violence law in the DRC
April 1, 2008 - (MONUC) As part of the month of the woman this March, a one day workshop on the promotion of the new sexual violence law in the DRC was held on Monday 31 March 2008 in Kinshasa, under the aegis of the International NGO Network for Development (RIOD).

UN Population Fund joins in Congolese campaign against sexual violence
March 19, 2008 – (UN News) The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has joined forces with civil society groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to launch a nationwide public awareness campaign aimed at reducing the country’s appalling levels of sexual violence.

Launch of the national campaign against sexual violence in the DRC
March 19, 2008 - (MONUC) The Ministry of Gender, Family and Child, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and members of the “Initiative Conjointe de lutte contre les violences sexuelles” (the joint initiative to fight against sexual violence) officially launched on 18 March 2008 in Kinshasa, the national awareness campaign and plea about sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

DRC: "Majority of rapists go unpunished"
March 18, 2008 - (IRIN) Sexual violence against women is rampant in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but the majority of perpetrators, especially in "no-law" zones, go unpunished, according to a UN independent human rights expert.

Central African Republic: Thousands Fall Victim to Sexual Violence
February 22, 2008 - (UN News Service ) Over 15 per cent of women and girls in the violence-ridden north of the Central African Republic (CAR) are victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today.

Congolese officials receive UN-backed training on sex crime investigation
February 8, 2008 – More than 40 military and justice officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have benefited from a United Nations-sponsored training workshop on investigating sex crimes, which are rampant in the vast African nation.

burundi: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN BURUNDI: THE UN CONFIRMS CONCERNS OF OMCT AND ACAT
February 7, 2008 - (World Organisation Against Torture) PRESS RELEASE: On 1st February 2008, as its 40th session came to an end, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) adopted its concluding observations, having examined the combined second, third and fourth periodic report of Burundi regarding the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

UN expert urges action to help women victims of violence in DR Congo
January 25, 2008 – An independent United Nations expert today called for international action to help women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who have been victimized by violence, including sexual abuse and rape, perpetrated by both militia and Government troops and fostered by a culture of impunity.

DRC: "The rapists roam the streets"
January 21, 2008 (IRIN) - Rape and other forms of sexual violence remain prevalent in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), despite the cessation of military activities and the disarmament of militias in the region, according to aid workers. Before, this was mainly attributed to men in uniform, but now civilians comprise a significant number of the perpetrators.

DRC: War Against Women
January 13, 2008 - (CBS) Right now there's a war taking place in the heart of Africa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and more people have died there than in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Darfur combined. It is, in fact, a war against women, and the weapon used to destroy them, their families and whole communities, is rape.

Uganda: NGO Pleads for Inclusion of Women in Juba Peace Talks
January 11, 2008 – (The Monitor) The government and the Lords Resistance Army have been asked to increase the number of women participating in the South Sudan mediated peace talks, an international NGO has appealed.