Five months ago, Nepal's fragile peace was on the brink of disintegrating. After ten years of civil war, a newly elected assembly was tasked with writing a constitution that would keep the peace, but was about to dissolve because the country's politicians could not agree on the terms of an extension. Women learned bitter lessons from their exclusion from the peace talks and mobilised.

Ten years after the Security Council issued its landmark resolution 1325, designed to address the "disproportionate and unique impact of war on women", U.N. officials and international human rights advocates say it is high time the principles it espouses move from paper to reality.

The current international focus on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which deals with women's roles in peace and security, makes it an ideal time to take more concrete action on the resolution, UN officials said here Thursday.

Modern war is often not about soldier against soldier, but a struggle to "break the will of civilians — women, girls, men and boys" by whatever means possible - including rape - the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) State of the World Population 2010 report published on 20 October states.

Rape as a weapon isn't just a gender issue but lies at the forefront of peace and reconciliation, the United Nations' top official on sexual violence said.

A U.N. human rights team found that more than 300 civilians were raped in the Congo by militants July 30-Aug. 2. The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the area deflected criticism that it ignored warnings that surfaced days before the rapes occurred some 20 miles from their base.

Fewer women are taking part in post-conflict recovery even though they bear the biggest brunt of war, the country representative for the UN Population Fund has said.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today reiterated his pledge to empower women, underlining the crucial role they play in peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding.

"Whether we are discussing sustainable development, public health or peace, women are at the core," he told participants at the Global Open Day on Women and Peace and Security held at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 20, 2010 (IPS) - As the United Nations commemorates the 10th anniversary of a landmark Security Council resolution (1325) on the protection of women in war zones, a new study details the successes and failures of a long-drawn-out effort to battle gender-based violence and provide women a key role in male-dominated peacekeeping and peace-building operations.

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Human rights abuses were causing a health crisis for women and children in eastern Burma, a recent report from an alliance of ethnic minority and health organisations said.

The 1990s were brutal years for women in war-torn countries.

In Bosnia and Kosovo, they were rounded up and systematically assaulted in rape centres. In Rwanda, they were raped, mutilated and slaughtered. In Liberia and Uganda they were tortured and forced into sexual slavery. And in East Timor they were kidnapped and raped as their husbands were executed.