Peace Processes - News

Civil society activists in India are hopeful the government led by Nawaz Sharif will work towards improving ties with India, said Delhi Policy Group, Director General Dr Randha Kumar, on Monday. The DPG is a think tank in India.

The first Didi Nirmala Deshpande South Asian Peace and Justice Award for 2013 has been conferred on Sunila Abeysekera, leading women and human rights' defender in Sri Lanka and South Asia, and a major player in the global women's movement.

SOCIO-POLITICAL and economic advancement of women could mostly be achieved in the shortest- possible time if the global community shows appreciation of the capacity of women. That, experts say, would widen the network of women and build their capacity to do great things.

“No Justice? No Peace!” Never has this chant, which I have heard so often at anti-war rallies, felt so real to me as during the last few months observing the ongoing peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas. The talks began in October of last year in Oslo, Norway and have continued in Havana ever since. “No Justice? No Peace!” Never has this belief been more real to women peace activists in Colombia, who, despite the fact that not a single woman is at the negotiating table in Havana, are insisting on justice for achieving real and lasting peace in Colombia. Women peace activists in Colombia are putting their demands for peace into action through grassroots justice initiatives.

Since the beginning of January 2012, an insurgent group has been fighting with the Mali government for the independence of northern Mali, an area known as Azawad. This group, formally known as National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and also referred to as Tuareg nationalists, joined forces with Islamist rebels. By using their combined forces, they gained control of northern Mali in the spring 2012.

This year's World Social Forum, a transnational gathering of social activists, took place in Tunis, a city bubbling with unrest as it struggles to shake off a legacy of authoritarian rule while navigating tensions over women's rights, labor and nationalism.

The President of the Republic and Secretary General of the Frente POLISARIO Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz described the recent aggression against a group of Saharawi women, who were peacefully demonstrating at occupied El Aaiun's streets, as the "shameful act" which does not honour Morocco nor its authentic people, in an open letter sent Saturday to the Moroccan King.

Several Libyan organisations fighting for women's rights held a demo on Thursday morning against deteriorating human rights situation of women in the country.

Hivos welcomes the establishment of the Syrian Women's Forum for Peace (SWFP), which aims to strengthen the role of Syrian women in forging peace in Syria and push Syrian and international public opinion to ensure that decision-makers adopt peaceful means in building a democratic state in Syria.

The Women's Initiative Network for Peace has urged President U Thein Sein and the Deputy Commander in Chief of the Kachin Independence Organization to include representatives of ethnic women's civil society groups in all aspects of peace processes.