The President of Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo has signed a pardon decree to free about 100 female prisoners in the West African country.

The governor of the MACA prison in Abidjan told ‘Notre Voie', a daily closed to the ruling FPI party that this decision should be regarded as a strategy for demarcations and a way to prevent crime among female inmates, resulting from over population.

Since the onset of violence in Casamance back in 1982, the Senegalese government and the Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) have not been able to negotiate a lasting peace. Periods of relative calm have been regularly punctuated by violent flare-ups that lead to fresh negotiations. In recent months, the region has once again been plunged into violent conflict.

Women and girls in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are experiencing increasingly brutal sexual assaults and the UN peacekeeping mission, mandated to protect them, is not doing an adequate job, says the International Rescue Committee, a leading aid group assisting thousands of rape survivors in Congo.

Mouctar Diallo, vice-president of Guinea's national human rights commission, was arrested on 26 November. Amnesty International discovered that Diallo is being detained in military Camp Alpha Yaya, for "endangering the security of the state".

The President of Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo has signed a pardon decree to free about 100 female prisoners in the West African country.

The governor of the MACA prison in Abidjan told ‘Notre Voie', a daily closed to the ruling FPI party that this decision should be regarded as a strategy for demarcations and a way to prevent crime among female inmates, resulting from over population.

Gender Based Violence (GBV) in all its manifestations remains a critical concern in Uganda. Gender Based Violence implies violating the fundamental rights of an individual largely because of his/her gender.

Since the onset of violence in Casamance back in 1982, the Senegalese government and the Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) have not been able to negotiate a lasting peace. Periods of relative calm have been regularly punctuated by violent flare-ups that lead to fresh negotiations. In recent months, the region has once again been plunged into violent conflict.

Gambia's Assistant Superintendent of Police Yahya Fadera on Wednesday declared there will be zero tolerance for gender-based violence, in particular rape and sexual assault against women and girls, warning that perpetrators will have no place to hide.

Fadera made the declaration in Banjul on Wednesday at the opening of a training workshop for law enforcement officers on violence against women and children.

A women's umbrella group, the Federation of Feminine Associations and NGOs for the Elections in Cote-Ivoire (FFAOECI), on Monday staged a demonstration in Abidjan in front of the headquarters of the Independent Election Committee (IEC) to press demands for adherence to the election schedule.

The head of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), Ellen Margrethe Løj, has applauded the commitment of Nigeria to involve more women in peacekeeping, saying it is an “important contribution to ensure better results on the ground, in fulfillment of Security Council Resolution 1325 on women and security.” She made the remarks at a colourful ceremony in Liberia's central city of Gbarnga at which she decorated 120 membe