More human and financial resources should be invested in the security sector reforms and disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration efforts to erect barriers against sexual violence in conflict situations all over the world, according to Pakistan's permanent representative to the United Nations.

Masood Khan was speaking during the Security Council's debate on “Women and Peace and Security”.

Today, 28 April, ninety-nine years ago, was the sixth day of the Second Battle of Ypres, one of the First World War's most futile and costly engagements. Chlorine gas, a new weapon of choice, was seeping over the trenches. The battle would end in stalemate, leaving 105,000 dead and wounded men.

Years of advocacy by women's rights groups including those monitoring justice for women with disabilities in northern Uganda pays off.

Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali in a letter to British Foreign Secretary William Hague conveyed the decision, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

The British Foreign Secretary and UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict jointly launched the “Global Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict” in September last year at the 68th UN General Assembly in New York.

On 27 March 2014, a historic first was achieved: a peace agreement led by a woman chief mediator was signed. The Filipino government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), putting an end to four decades of civil war and almost two decades of peace negotiations. This is, clearly, an historical event for the Philippines and the region.

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Zainab Maina has reiterated the commitment of the Present Administration to the entrenchment of appropriate mechanisms towards ensuring peace, security and the protection of lives and property in the country.

Rewind twenty years—Rwanda, 1994. One million people killed in 100 days, a slaughter by farmers, teachers, priests and others, directed by local officials.

Several women organizations and groups have been motivated to assist the security sector in consolidating the peace as the United Nations Missions draws down its troops from the country.

The recognition of women's participation in economic development is vital, says Pacific Islands News Association president Moses Stevens.

During the recent ADB Pacific Business Media Summit in Australia, Mr Stevens said this recognition would contribute to a country's "moving-forward process".

"Traditionally, women have always been the centre of life within the families and communities.

For more than 30 years, Afghans have been living in a state of war and yearn for stability and peace. With the presidential elections on 5th April, the number of attacks on government institutions has increased. After calling for a boycott of the elections, the Taliban have warned that they would do anything to prevent them from being carried out and block the arrival of international observers.