Sexual violence against women was used as a weapon of war in most armed conflicts in 2009, researchers in Spain said.

Researchers at the School for a Culture of Peace of Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona said their report includes a Human Rights Index that measures the level of non-compliance of states -- including Myanmar, Sudan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Thailand, Russia, Somalia and India -- in their obligation to protect human rights.

A women's advocacy network recently highlighted Sudanese women's rights with a presentation to an African human rights commission. The rights group, called the Strategic Initiative on Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA), wants Sudan to amend the Criminal Law of 1991 and abolish the penalty of lashing.

During his campaign in Gazeera State in early April, President Bashir vowed to maintain the Public Order Regime when he returned to office. Furthermore, the Sudan public order police have formed new committees to develop and set criteria for acceptable women's dress and behaviour and to identify the types of violations with which women will be charged.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics says more than 7,000 Palestinians are currently held under life-threatening conditions in Israeli prisons.

In the run up to the Palestinian Prisoners Day, scheduled for Saturday, the office issued a statement in which it condemned the continued detention of 34 Palestinian women and 270 child prisoners.

The Philippines National Action Plan on Women, Peace & Security was officially launched on 25 March at Miriam College in Manila.

More than five hundred women leaders from five continents participated in the Fifth Meeting of Spanish and African Women for a Better World, hosted by the Government of Spain in Valencia on 27-28 March, with support from UNIFEM. The participants adopted a ten-point declaration, committing to move forward on improving gender equality and promoting women's economic and political capacities.

Four women from a rights group have been denied bail after staging an allegedly illegal demonstration and will remain in jail until Tuesday, the end of a two day holiday marking 30 years of independence in Zimbabwe, their group says.

The Philippines is the first Asian country to adopt a National Action Plan (NAP) on UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820. Thanks to the expertise of IANSA women such as Dr. Jasmin Nario-Galace of the Center for Peace Education & Sulong CARHRIHL, the NAP is the first ever to include a specific section dealing with small arms control in relation to violence against women.