GUINEA: EU Imposes Sanctions, Arms Embargo Against Junta Leaders

Guinea's military junta was hit with a European Union arms embargo and sanctions against its leaders on Tuesday, the bloc's Swedish presidency said.

"The council has decided to adopt measures targeting the members of the CNDD (junta) and individuals associated with them," according to council conclusions adopted at a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

WEST AFRICA: Guinea Rapes Test U.N.'s Stronger Promises to Women

Nine years ago tomorrow, the U.N. Security Council issued Resolution 1325, a turning point for women's rights in international law.

In a watershed moment, the Council said groups in armed conflict were obliged to protect women and girls from violence, and placed women on the peace and security agenda.

The Council also said female peace negotiators needed to be at the table during and after conflict.

LIBERIA: "Pray the Devil Back to Hell" Documentary Serves as Advocacy Tool in Post-conflict Zones

A study of contrasts, depicting human beings' ability to destroy and terrorize as much as they can rebuild and empower, the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell is serving as an advocacy tool across the world, according to its producer, Abigail Disney.

GUINEA: Mobile Phones Report Rapes in Guinea

On September 28, 2009, self-proclaimed president Captain Moussa Dadis Camara's troops raped and murdered at least 157 political demonstrators in Conakry, Guinea. Thousands of people had gathered in a public sports stadium to speak out against Camara's decision to stand again in upcoming presidential elections.

INTERNATIONAL: Women UN Peacekeepers - More Needed

A five-year campaign to boost the number of UN female peacekeepers is progressing steadily in police units, but "seems to be stuck" at a minuscule percentage in military contingents, Lt-Col Alejandro Alvarez of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), told IRIN.

LIBERIA: "The New War is Rape"

In Liberia rape survivors are increasingly speaking up and seeking help as awareness of rights increases, but social taboos persist and seeking justice does not always mean that justice is served.

SIERRA LEONE: Woman Breaking Traditional Walls in Chieftaincy Elections

A war is raging in the eastern part of the country, once the centre stage for battles during the 10-year civil war and the place where "blood diamonds" were once mined. But this time the war is not for diamonds, but about whether a woman has the right to stand for paramount chief in the local chieftaincy election.

GUINEA-BISSAU: At Least 100 Women Raped in Guinea Crackdown

Guinean soldiers raped at least 100 women during a crackdown on protesters in September, a human rights group said on Thursday.

The findings were released as United Nations experts began to investigate the repression, in which about 160 people were killed. The crackdown has drawn widespread condemnation and brought sanctions against the ruling military junta.

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