As the trial of Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba gets under way, political analysts will go into overdrive about what the case means for the fragile peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

In addition, many will see this as a crucial test of the International Criminal Court's (ICC's) ability to deliver justice in a region where politics is inextricably linked to bloodshed and instability.

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf said the educating and empowering of women in Liberia was a guaranteed way of ensuring that Liberia never returns to the dark days of conflict and chaos.

She made the assertion when she made keynote remarks last Friday during the Graduation Ceremony of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Project held at the Samuel K. Doe Sports Complex.

In solidarity with thousands of women who have been sexually assaulted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, five Mennonite Congolese women joined an international rally of women calling for peace, demilitarization and the end of violence against women.

The second week of the war crimes trial of former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba has seen an expert on gender crimes and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as a victim of rape by Mr. Bemba's soldiers, take the witness stand.

"Tackling violence against women would address the gender dimensions of the Development Goals," says UN expert on violence against women

The following statement was issued by the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Rashida Manjoo, in the course of the campaign “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence”

“Violence against women and girls, one of the most pervasive human rights violations throughout the world, is deeply rooted in discriminatory attitudes, practices and systems.

4 women have been killed in protests/for participating in the resistance: Wendy Avila and Olga Osiris Ucles were both killed by tear gas soon after President Zelaya's entry into the Brazilian Embassy.
In February 2010, Vanesa Zepeda, a vocal unionist and participant in the anti-coup movement has recently been killed and dumped on the street dead, leaving young children.

The government is formulating two action plans with an objective to address the woes of those women and children who were externally and internally displaced during the decade-long armed conflict.

The action plans are National Plan of Action for Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Conflict Affected Children, and NPA on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and 1820 on women peace and security.

Twenty-five years ago an Afghan girl with green eyes haunted the cover of National Geographic. She became the iconic image of Afghanistan's plight, a young refugee fleeing the war between the Soviet-backed communists and the American-backed mujahideen. Today the iconic image of Afghanistan is again a young woman—Bibi Aisha, whose husband slashed off her nose and ears as punishment for running away from him and his family.

ABOUT 75% of Ugandans have access to safe water, compared to only 53% 10 years ago, according to a report released by the Ministry of Finance yesterday.

The report showed that Uganda had made significant progress towards many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The September 2010 report noted that progress had been made, especially in reducing the number of people in absolute poverty and those facing food shortage.