Decades of armed conflict, ongoing violence and high unemployment have left millions of men and women in Iraq struggling to make ends meet and care for their families. Basic services such as health care, the supply of clean drinking water and sanitation remain largely inaccessible outside large population centres. In many places, very little funding and few services are available to help needy people.

In remarks commemorating the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took special note of the efforts the women in the Middle East have made on behalf of freedom and democracy:

At the 15th annual Women in the World conference, held in New York City last Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced her concern about the future of women's rights in the Middle East:

On the eve of President Obama's first trip to South America, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sang praises to the region, saying it had ushered in a period of steady economic growth while consolidating its transformation from dictatorships to democracy.

The United Nations human rights office and the national commission on caste-based discrimination in Nepal have urged the Government to fulfil its stated commitment to end all forms of discrimination, saying the problem was widespread and a cause of conflict in the Asian country.

The General Assembly today discussed the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission, which seeks to prevent post-conflict countries from lapsing back into bloodshed, with its outgoing chairman calling for greater support from the UN leadership and Member States.

Muslim women in Thailand's insurgency-plagued southern region face problems of discrimination under state and religious law, as well as cultural norms, that are exceedingly difficult to address, a prominent human rights activist told TrustLaw.

Rape and other sexual violence against women should be recognised as a crime throughout the EU, and its perpetrators prosecuted automatically, the European Parliament's Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee said this week in a resolution calling for an EU directive to combat gender-based violence.

Most North Korean women are exposed to brutal violence and sexual abuse in their home and workplace but they have no legal recourse in the reclusive country, according to Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights.

The civic group released a report on violence against women in North Korea Thursday titled “The battered wheel of the revolution,” which was organized by the Dutch and British embassies in Seoul.

he Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams is lending his support to a new church coalition working to end sexual violence against women.

The Silent No More coalition consists of the Anglican Communion, Lambeth Palace, Tearfund, Christian Aid and Restored.