Working with others to make a difference

After many years of violent conflict, the men and women in Burundi are moving forward with their lives.

Still, the country's social fabric was torn apart, livelihoods have been reduced to survival, and mistrust that cropped up among citizens and lead to widespread fear are barriers to peace and prosperity.

UN independent experts have urged Sudan to end flogging punishments for women accused of so called moral crimes, stressing that the practice amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment that goes against international law.

The top United Nations human rights official warned today that the deteriorating violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) may spin out of control, further destabilizing the country.

Giving women access to and control of natural resources such as land, water, forests and minerals is essential to ensure war-torn countries can achieve long-term peace, according to a United Nations report released today.

A coalition of 30 Israeli feminist groups released "A Comprehensive Action Plan for the Application of United Security Council (UNSCR) Resolution 1325" at a public conference in Jaffa on Thursday. They called on the government to include women from all sectors of Israeli society in peace-negotiation teams and other decision- and policy-making bodies.

The government needs to do more to protect migrant workers, ensure that women have access to legal aid, bring cases of violence against women to court and draft an anti-discrimination law, the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw) said in a new report.

A group of women journalists has investigated for five months the attitude of the Israeli media toward women in politics, focusing on the 2013 Knesset elections. The investigation — so it was defined — tracked expressions of sexism, racism or both, in various media. The material was gathered mostly from newspapers, TV, radio talk shows and social networks.

Fighting to make Bosnia-Herzegovina's constitution acknowledge women

For several years, Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitution has been under political discussions for reform. Now, for the first time, women's organisations from both of the country's entities, have joined forces to make sure that gender equality isn't forgotten this time around.

An excerpt from the Amnesty International report, "CAR: Human rights crisis spiralling out of control":

Amnesty International has received numerous reports from victims, witnesses and human rights defenders in the CAR of Seleka soldiers raping women and girls and targeting them for other forms of sexual violence.

Two Indonesian women peace activists have won the 2013 N-Peace Awards for their efforts to promote women's equality and protection of women against discrimination.

“The N-Peace Awards for Indonesia this year is awarded to Bapak Suprayoga Hadi and Ibu Valentina Sagala,” United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Communication Associate, Tina Kardjono, in a press statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Monday.