Women, Peace, and Security News: west Africa
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Regional News Index

WEST AFRICA INITIATIVES, ORGANIZATIONS & RESOURCES & UNIFEM WEB PORTAL
Côte d'Ivoire | Ghana | Guinea-Bassau | Liberia| Nigeria | Sierra Leone

2008

Women Are Key to Peace
May 7, 2008 - (The News- Monrovia) Vice President Joseph N. Boakai says women are key to the sustainability of peace and development in Liberia, and as such, they must be allowed to play their role.

WOMEN AND THE 2008 GHANA ELECTIONS
May 5, 2008 - (Pambazuka News) A look at the ways in which women are being locked out of the democratic processes in Ghana and argues that societies "cannot claim to be committed to the principles and ideals of democracy and the universal values of equality" if groups within are marginalized.

Liberia: UN-backed anti-rape campaign reaches country’s north
April 16, 2008 - (UN News) A United Nations-backed campaign to stamp out rape in Liberia, the highest reported crime in the West African country as it recovers from a devastating civil war, has been extended to the north with a senior UN official calling for full implementation of the law.

Sierra Leone: UN raises awareness of laws to curb violence against women
March 27, 2008 – (UN News) Two United Nations agencies have joined forces with a local non-governmental organization (NGO) in Sierra Leone to heighten awareness of three new gender laws, passed by the West African nation’s Parliament, in a bid to reduce the level of violence and abuse against women.

LIBERIA: Special court for sexual violence underway
March 21, 2008 - (IRIN) The Liberian government has created a special court to deal with not only rising rape cases, but also other forms of violence against women, Liberia’s Information Minister Laurence Bropleh told IRIN.

Liberia: Rape Highest Reported Crime in Country
March 18, 2008 - (The News) The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Rule of Law, Ms. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu says rape continues to be the highest reported crime in Liberia despite efforts by the Liberian government, the UN and other partners to stop it.

Liberia: Women Press for War Crimes Court
February 28, 2008 - (The News) A conglomeration of women groups under the banner of the Grand Kru County Women has stressed the need for the establishment of a war crime court to prosecute perpetrators of the Liberian armed conflict on ground that fighters forced them into prostitution and sexual slavery.

NIGERIA:NGO Calls for More Women in Governance
February 20, 2008 - (Leadership) ActionAid International (Nigeria) has called for more women in governance to add more impetus to the fight for gender equality.

Liberia: Women Re-Awaken 30 Percent Participation in Gov't
February 20, 2008 - (The News) The struggle for women to participate in government on par with their male counterparts has again come to the fore as more than 60 Liberian women gathered at the Ministry of Gender and Development yesterday to discuss their participation in political dispensation.

Liberia: IRC Trains Women to Report GBV Cases
February 19, 2008 - (The News) As part of its gender based violence program, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has completed the training of 150 women from various communities in Monrovia to report on Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases.

Nigeria: Women Seek Strategy to Address Gender ConcernS
January 29, 2008 Lagos (This Day) The Federal Government has been enjoined to establish and strengthen gender units or gender focal points at all levels in all ministries to ensure that gender concerns are mainstreamed into policy making and budgetary processes.