At a conference held in London on Thursday to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Arab International Women's Forum, politicians, academics and business leaders from the Middle East, Asia and Africa gathered to address the themes of ‘Emerging Economies and Leaderships.'

In Sierra Leone's highly patriarchal society, where institutionalised gender inequalities are exacerbated by discriminatory customs, one group is singing its way towards changing this.

A number of countries in Africa celebrated the 50th anniversary of their independence during the year while others prepared to do so soon.

Despite the celebrations, the hopes and aspirations of many people in Africa remained unfulfilled, because their human rights were not respected and protected.

Children and armed conflict – Report of the Secretary-General

This week in Istanbul 13 European countries signed a Council of Europe convention on combating violence against women. All 47 members were urged to comply. Turkey pushed hard for the convention, which calls for hotlines, shelters and legal aid for abused women.

In February 2003, the Tel Aviv-based Hotline for Migrant Workers (HMW) published a report titled, "Modern Slavery and Trafficking in Human Beings in Israel," saying:

Broad agreement emerged today during the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries concerning the responsibility of the world's poorest countries for their own development and the need for those recipient Governments to optimize international assistance, as the meeting continued into its third day.

Women supporters of the Iranian Green Movement - June 2009

While the Iranian authorities have effectively quashed all overt political organization for women's rights, today women are the most dynamic group in Iranian opposition politics.

The US Peace Corps has apologised for failing to respond adequately to the rapes of volunteers and the recent killing of another serving overseas.

Director Aaron Williams said the corps had "not always been sufficiently responsive, compassionate or sensitive to victims of crime".

The apology came as three rape victims testified to lawmakers that they were poorly trained to deal with attacks.