The Congolese soldiers march through the night, but not towards battle. In the dark, they are hunting for women who have fled their homes in Minova to hide in the bushes. The women know that if they are seen, they will be raped and maybe killed.

The army has been ordered to retreat to the town, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Its young soldiers, 2,000 of them, fire gunshots in the air.

I have met survivors of rape, ranging from babies a few months old to elderly women: in my country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, we suffer the daily reality of sexual violence in conflict. But in addition to the inhuman cruelty they have suffered, these people all have something else in common – they have had no justice.

The United States government has recognised Bougainville women for their contribution to peace building before, during and after the Crisis.

EM TV reports that a two year $US1.5 million, 'Women's Peace Building Initiative Project' is to be implemented in the autonomous Papua New Guinea province, to support more inclusive, sustainable and transparent economic growth.

Women from around the region are in Fiji to learn how to influence social change, and to take that influence beyond the community level.
Women from Bougainville, West Papua, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Kenya are attending the training course hosted by the Pacific Centre for Peacebuilding

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The centre's executive director, Koila Costello-Olsson, says there is a need for more women in influential positions.

The Government in partnership with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday inaugurated a multi-functional building constructed for refugees in Nyabiheke refugee camp, Gatsibo District.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo there have been more than two decades of armed conflict, sexual violence against women and widespread impunity for their abusers in the DRC. The Survivors Speak OUT! Network, a group of torture survivors, calls upon the United Nations to encourage the DRC government to respect the human rights conventions.

Pressure on the Sudanese government to release Meriam Ibrahim stepped up on Monday with a formal complaint against authorities in Khartoum brought by four African organisations alleging multiple violations of fundamental rights.

The death sentence imposed on the Sudanese mother, who has been in prison since February, should be suspended, and she and her two children immediately released, they say.

The five days transformational leadership and character education for peaceful co-existence training ended successfully on Friday.

Held at the Mendana Hotel, the training which was dominated by rural women ended with awarding of certificates.

The government of The Gambia through the Office of the Vice President and Ministry of Women Affairs on Friday launched The Gambia National Action Plan on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR) on Women, Peace and Security at the fringes of the just concluded first ever high-level women conference in Banjul as part of celebrations marking the 2014 International Women's Day.