PeaceWomen- Working to monitor and advocate for the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: From Suva to Kup: Finding Inspiration in the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Highlands
September 30, 2008 (wunrn) Kup, in the Simbu province of the highlands of Papua New Guinea, is a long, long way from Suva City. It’s a remote and mountainous region, where it gets chilly enough to grow broccoli and the history of tribal warfare is very, very recent. On the way up, which involved a couple of planes and a long and bumpy truck ride, I kept thinking about the number of times I had talked about this trip - about how the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM) would collaborate with Kup Women for Peace (KWP) to begin groundbreaking leadership training for Kup’s young women.

Solomon Islands: Women and peace in Bougainville
September 26, 2008 – (AWID) Bougainville - situated at the far western tip of the Solomon Islands archipelago in the Pacific - is a powerful example of how women can knit communities together and facilitate peace in the midst of armed conflict. In this article, AWID looks back at Bougainville’s conflict and the role of women as catalysts for peace.

BUrma: Women’s League of Burma: Call for the immediate release of Burmese democracy activist Nilar Thein
September 22, 2008 – (BurmanetNews) Nilar Thein, a woman human rights defender and leading pro-democracy activist was arrested on 10 September 2008 and is currently being held at the Aung Tha Pyay Detention Centre in Rangoon, where she is at risk of torture and ill-treatment. WLB urgently appeals for her release and demands that the SPDC treat her humanely.

CAMBODIA: Khmer Rouge Trials Bare Sexual Abuse
September 8, 2008 – (IPS) In a move that could break the silence around sexual violence under the Khmer Rouge, a 68 year-old transgender woman has became the first person to submit a complaint about gender-related abuse to the international tribunal during the group’s brief but bloody reign.

Philippines: Women to GRP, MILF: stop the violence
September 7, 2008 – (Minda News) The Mothers for Peace and other women from Mindanao have banded together in calling on the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to stop the violence by declaring a ceasefire and returning to the negotiating table.

Philippines: Peace in this holy month?
September 2, 2008 – (Inquirer) Peace advocates, relief workers and church organizations have already called for not just a ceasefire, but also for more humane and fair treatment of the protagonists, especially innocent civilians and in particular the women and children displaced by the fighting, whether Christian, Muslim or “lumad” [indigenous people]. At the same time, there is an on-line petition to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to intervene and bring back both the government and the MILF to the negotiating table and call a halt to the armed conflict.

Asia-Pacific & East Asia: RM laureate wants Japan to face truth of war atrocities
August 31, 2008 – (Philippine Daily Inquirer) Lamenting the “culture of silence” that has made Japan ignore its "stigmatized communities” and keep a stony silence about the atrocities it committed in East Asia during the Second World War, Japanese book publisher Akio Ishii, the 2008 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts, wants to compel his countrymen to face “the truth of history.”

Thailand: Women Power Anti-Gov't Protests
August 30, 2008 - (IPS) In fact this army of middle-aged women, who come dressed in yellow as a mark of loyalty to the colour identified with the country’s monarch, whom the PAD claims it is defending, are not recent participants. They have been the mainstay of the PAD’s street protests that began in late May, when it took over a street near a United Nations building here, and have run non-stop, round-the-clock rallies, infused with rants against the government and music.

Philippines: Amnesty Int'l to govt: Break chain of impunity
August 29, 2008 – (GMANews.TV) According to the CWR [Center for Women’s Resources], a disappeared person becomes “totally defenseless" in the hands of his or her abductors and that women-victims are “doubly jeopardized" because of their being a woman. The CWR likewise said that women are “more vulnerable" to sexual abuses and rape.

Burma: Global, Asean Intervention Needed on Suu Kyi Case: AIPMC
August 27, 2008 – (The Irrawaddy) Influential international and regional leaders should act immediately to help detained Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi get her message out to the world, according to a leading rights group.

Asia-Pacific: A MEDIA TOOLKIT TO LINK PACIFIC PEACEBUILDERS AND PACIFIC ISLANDS MEDIA
August 26, 2008 – (Islands Business) A media toolkit for the International Day of Peace has been produced in partnership with the Pacific Islands News Association, to assist in the promotion of the 2008 International Day of Peace (IDP) – Sunday 21 September.

Burma: Reign of Terror in Burma Requires Genuine U.N. Action - Not Just Official Visits
August 25, 2008 – (The Cutting Edge) Since 1990, there have been 37 visits by UN envoys to Burma – yet the crisis in the country has worsened in that time. More than 30 resolutions have been passed by the UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly, and the Security Council has held past two presidential statements, with little effect. Vague, timeless requests to the junta to engage in dialogue with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi have led nowhere. She has spent more than 12 years under house arrest, and her detention has been extended again. Earlier this year the regime said she deserved to be “flogged”. The Generals are not people who are persuaded at cocktail parties.

Fiji: Women suggest more research
August 25, 2008 – (The Fiji Times) THE Fiji Association of Women Graduates believes there needs to be more research on formulating and resolving long term problems in Fiji.

Fiji: Women win international award
August 24, 2008 – (The Fiji Times) Soroptimist International is a worldwide organisation for women in management and professions working together through service projects to raise the status of women, advance human rights for all and promote equality, development and peace.

Burma: Sending a Message to the UN
August 22, 2008 – (The Irrawaddy) Has Aung San Suu Kyi started playing a new game? If so, the latest visit of UN Special Envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari could mark the beginning of a subtle but significant shift in the pro-democracy leader’s tactics, which have remained almost unchanged for the past 20 years.

Philippines: Baguio now has all-women SWAT team
August 20, 2008 – (GMANEWS.TV) The Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) now has an all-women Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, with 17 policewomen graduating from a 45-day course on Wednesday.

Philippines: Women's group appeal for sobriety in Mindanao
August 15, 2008 – (GMANEWS.TV) A women’s organization on Thursday expressed concern over the fragile security situation in Mindanao, saying women and children are most adversely affected by the hostilities.

Burma: Burma Campaign UK- 15 year-old schoolgirl gang-raped and mutilated by Burmese Soldiers
August 15, 2008 – (BurmaNet) Rape is systematically used as a weapon of war again ethnic minorities in Burma, more than a thousand cases have been documented. There is also a culture of impunity, where no action is taken against soldiers who rape. In early 2007 four schoolgirls in Kachin state were arrested, charged with prostitution and imprisoned after being gang-raped by Burmese Army soldiers. After the case received international attention the regime said it would take action against the soldiers involved, but at least one of the rapists remains in the army and at liberty.

Philippines: Filipino women seek Japan's apology for WWII rapes
August 15, 2008 – (AP) Two dozen elderly Filipino women and their supporters protested outside the Japanese Embassy in Manila on Friday demanding a clear-cut apology and compensation from Tokyo for wartime sexual slavery.

Burma: Is Suu Kyi Trying to Get the Message Out?
August 19, 2008 – (The Irrawaddy) Neighbors of the democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said a new message appeared last month on a large outdoor signboard in her compound, saying, “All martyrs must finish their mission.”

Burma: “Courage in Journalism” Award for Burmese Woman
August 13, 2008 – (The Irrawaddy) A Burmese woman journalist, Aye Aye Win, has been awarded the International Women’s Media Foundation “Courage in Journalism” prize for 2008.

Tibet: Chinese troops suspected of shooting two Tibetan women
August 12, 2008 – (Phayul) Free Tibet Campaign has received reports from a highly reliable source about the shooting of two Tibetan women on 9 August in Ngaba town in Ngaba (Ch: ABA) county.

Philippines: Humanitarian crisis looms in Philippines as fighting continues
August 12, 2008 - (AFP) The United Nations has begun airlifting food to the southern Philippines to try to avert a major humanitarian crisis as thousands flee fighting between Muslim rebels and troops, officials said Tuesday.

Burma: Suu Kyi Discusses Detention with her Lawyer
August 11, 2008 – (The Irrawaddy) Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has had a rare meeting with her lawyer to discuss her continuing house arrest, a National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman reported on Monday.

Burma: Laura Bush's Myanmar crusade
August 9, 2008 – (Asia Times) United States First Lady Laura Bush's visit to the Thai-Myanmar border on Thursday made for good photo opportunities but is unlikely to translate into real change in Myanmar.

Philippines: NGO members slam pols for stopping MOA-AD signing
August 8, 2008 – (ABS-CBN News) Members of Bangsamoro People Solidarity for Peace (BPSP) belonging to civil society, religious, youth and women's sectors have come together to condemn the suspension of the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Burma: Remembering 88: Voices of a new generation
August 8, 2008 - (DVB)? The 88 Generation is a group proud of its accomplishments in the uprising on 8 August 1988, and equally proud of the backing it enjoys from a nation's people.

Burma: Increase in Kachin women trafficking to China- KWAT
August 5, 2008 – (Kachin News) The economic slump in Burma coupled with human rights violations by the Burmese military regime has led to Burmese women being trafficked to neighbouring countries like China. The trafficking is increasing by the year, said a Kachin women’s group.

Burma: Freedom in a Cage
August 5, 2008 – (The Irrawaddy) The American actress and activist, Mia Farrow, visited Thailand recently where she met with Burmese refugees and activists. She discussed her visit with The Irrawaddy in early August.

Philippines: Group to NoCot execs: Stop 'demonizing' peace process with MILF
August 5, 2008 – (GMANews.TV) A group attending to women’s plight in Mindanao on Tuesday asked the local officials of North Cotabato province and Iligan and Zamoanga cities to stop “demonizing” the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Burma: KWAT- Women enslaved due to economic hardships
August 5, 2008 – (Mizzima News) Economic hardship and poverty have caused several young women in Burma, particularly in regions where ethnic minorities are residing, to be an easy prey of human trafficking, an ethnic Kachin women group said in a new report.

Burma: Time for Stalling on Human Rights Over
August 4, 2008 – (Irrawaddy) The United Nations Human Rights Council sent a special rapporteur, Tomas Ojea Quintana, to Burma this week to seek improvements on the human rights situation in Burma.

Burma: Myanmar Muslims stay put despite Bangladesh misery
August 3, 2008 - (AFP) In the early 1990s, more than 250,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh. Since then, more than 230,000 have been repatriated, with almost 28,000 living in two official refugee camps in southern Bangladesh, where the United Nations provides medical care.

Burma: An Interview with Jodi Williams
July 28, 2008 – (The Irrawaddy) Jody Williams, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, spoke to The Irrawaddy on a wide range of issues including the role of the United Nations in Burma, the humanitarian crisis and targeted economic sanctions. She was in Bangkok in late July with US actress and activist Mia Farrow as part of a Nobel Woman’s Initiative Delegation tour of trouble areas in the world.

BURMA: UN Missions Draw Derision
July 25, 2008 - (IPS) A letter sent to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday mirrors the lack of faith that victims of the junta in Burma have in U.N. political missions. It comes on the eve of twin events: the Security Council taking up Burma, or Myanmar, for discussion later this month, and Gambari’s next visit to the country in mid-August.

Burma: Offer to Release Suu Kyi a Ploy?
July 22, 2008 - (IPS) Reacting to growing international pressure Burma’s military regime has said it will consider releasing the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest in six months.

Burma: Nobel Laureate Doubts Suu Kyi Will Be Released
July 22, 2008 – (The Irrawaddy Magazine) Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams has condemned a decision by Burma’s junta to extend the house arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in May, and expressed strong doubts about a statement by the regime’s foreign minister suggesting that she could be released within six months.

Burma: Myanmar ratifies ASEAN charter
July 20, 2008 - (AP) Myanmar has ratified a proposed international charter that includes controversial human rights provisions, officials said Monday, a day after regional powers slammed the nation's ruling junta for extending opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's detention.

Thailand: Stop Forced Returns of Karen Refugees to Burma
July 18, 2008 – (HRW) Thai security forces should immediately stop forcing Karen refugees and asylum seekers to return to Burma from refugee camps in Thailand, Human Rights Watch said today.

Indonesia: Indonesian government accepts charges of East Timor brutality
July 15, 2008 – (Los Angeles Times) Indonesia's president formally accepted today a commission report that blames his country's security forces for supporting militias in a frenzy of murder, rape and other crimes against humanity in East Timor nine years ago.

Timor-Leste: In a ‘Wise” Move Timorese Women Venture into Business after Decades of Conflict
July 14, 2008 – (UNDP) When Timor-Leste descended into a political crisis in April/May 2006, just five years after the restoration of independence from Indonesia, Mrs. Joaquina Da Silva, a 33 year-old mother of four was among the first group of women displaced from the capital, Dili. She then fled to the safe havens of Baucau which is her ancestral homeland.

Burma: Cyclone-affected homemakers struggle to get by
July 8, 2008 - (IRIN) Since Nargis, the buying power of local residents has reduced, while the price of food and other basic commodities has gone up. Although prices have stabilised recently, many commodity prices remain significantly higher than before the cyclone, or the same as in Yangon, the country’s largest city and former capital.

Burma: Women in the Movement
July 2008 – (The Irrawaddy Magazine) A handful of prominent female activists have made a significant mark on Burmese dissident politics, but true equality of the sexes remains elusive.

Asia-Pacific: fem'TALK June 2008 Enews
June 2008 - (femLINKPACIFIC) femTALK is a monthly enews bulletin of femLINKPACIFIC: MEDIA INITIATIVES FOR WOMEN in collaboration with members of the Regional Women’s Media Network on UN Security Council resolution 1325.

Burma: Rights activist says state-sanctioned rape widespread in Burma
June 27, 2008 – (VOA News) A Burmese human rights activist says Burma’s military government continues to use rape as a weapon to subdue ethnic minorities. She urges Burma’s neighbors to put pressure on the military to stop sexual violence against women. Claudia Blume reports from Hong Kong.

Burma: Activists welcome UN pledge to end rape in conflict
June 23, 2008 – (Democratic Voice of Burma) Following the adoption last week of a United Nations Security Council resolution on sexual violence as a weapon of war, women’s rights activists hope it can afford some protection to women in Burma.

Burma: In the Wake of Security Council Resolution on Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict the Security Council Should Refer the Situation in Burma to the International Criminal Court
June 20, 2008 – (Global Justice Center) PRESS RELEASE: The United Nation's Security Council took a historic step with the passage of Resolution 1820 on Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict. Resolution 1820 recognizes the importance of full implementation of Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security and reaffirms the Security Council's commitment to end sexual violence as a weapon of war and a means to terrorize populations and destroy communities. For this commitment to be meaningful, the Security Council must provide justice for victims of sexual violence in armed conflict even when it is not politically convenient.

Burma: Rice Discusses Burma with Ban
June 20, 2008 - (Irrawaddy) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday to discuss the current humanitarian crisis in Burma and the UN-led international efforts for restoration of democracy in the country.

Burma: Burmese exiles call for Suu Kyi’s release on her birthday
June 20, 2008 - (Shan Herald Agency for News) Various Burmese NGOs based in Chiang Mai celebrated Suu Kyi’s birthday at Chiang Mai University calling for not only the release of Suu Kyi but also demanding the Burmese military junta to allow the international aid into the country to help 2.4 million victims of Cyclone Nargis. They also called on the junta to hold genuine dialogue with Suu Kyi to solve the political problem in Burma.

Burma: Renew Focus on Burma
June 17, 2008 - (Irrawaddy) As Aung San Suu Kyi quietly spends another birthday under house arrest on Thursday, the UN Security Council will sit down to a debate on women’s rights, while the European Council is scheduled to examine the role of the European Union (EU) in international affairs. Perhaps the conjunction of events on June 19 will mark a perfect date to start refocusing on Burma’s political crisis.

Australia: $2m boost for women activists
June 15, 2008 – (The Sydney Morning Herald) A FEMALE anti-war body and Christian and Muslim groups will share in $2 million in grants to be announced today.

Burma: Underwear a powerful protest
June 11, 2008 - (Leader-Post) Fighting injustice and oppression is as easy as dropping a pair of panties into an envelope and mailing it to the Burmese Embassy in Ottawa. It's all part of a campaign called Panties for Peace which was started among Burmese women in exile in Thailand last October in response to violence aimed at monks and civilians engaged in a peaceful protest in Yangon.

Bougainville: Bougainville women call for regional awareness of developing tensions
June 6, 2008 - (Radio of New Zealand International) A women’s leader from the autonomous Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville is calling on Pacific Island nations to be mindful of the tensions developing over a controversial deal made by the Joseph Kabui led Government.

Laos: MAG Lao Female Team Leader makes her mark
June 3, 2008 - (Reuters) A MAG Lao PDR staff member has become only the second woman in the country to pass a Team Leader training course run by UXO Lao, the national clearance agency. Vilaphanh Soukvilay, of MAG's All-Female Team in Khammouane province, has become one of the most highly qualified women in the country's UXO (unexploded ordnance) sector. She passed the course with a score of 97%.

Burma: A Case for Crimes against Humanity
June 2, 2008 – (Irrawaddy) The Burmese military regime’s failure to respond effectively to Cyclone Nargis, its refusal to allow foreign relief workers access to the affected areas and its forcible eviction of refugees from shelters and health facilities amounts to crimes against humanity, according to Burma’s opposition and several prominent international figures.

Burma: Women’s underwear needed in fight for democracy in Myanmar
May 28, 2008 – (Associated Press) Women are being asked to volunteer their undergarments in an international effort to shame Myanmar’s ruling junta into giving citizens greater access to humanitarian aid and human rights.

Burma: Detention of Burmese Democracy Activist Extended
May 27, 2008 – (The Washington Post) Burma's military junta on Tuesday extended the house arrest of Nobel Peace Prize-winning democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi for another year, drawing softer criticism than usual from foreign governments that are now focused on aiding survivors of Tropical Cyclone Nargis.

Burma: Activists say Myanmar forcing voters and neglecting aid
May 10, 2008 - (AlertNet) While international aid workers wait for visas to get into Myanmar, a week after a Cyclone Nargis killed tens of thousands and left a million homeless, rights activists criticise the military junta for harrying people to vote in a referendum aimed at cementing its grip on power.

Fiji: Women to be represented in national peace and security matters
May 6, 2008 – (Fiji Government) The representation of women in all aspects of national peace and security matters is critical. In view of this, Cabinet has agreed that the Minister responsible for women, gender and development, be part of the National Security Council.

Burma: Military offensive affecting Karen children: KHRG - Saw
May 2, 2008 – (Irrawaddy) According to a 174-page report titled Growing up under Militarisation: Abuse and agency of children in Karen State, released on April 30 by Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), an estimated 15,000 Karen children are among the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living makeshift in the malaria-ridden jungles of eastern Burma.

Philippines: Congress urged to hasten passage of bill empowering women
May 2, 2008 - (GMA News) A government body for women’s advancement on Friday urged Congress to expedite the passage of a bill that aims to address gender biases and promote women’s empowerment in the country.

Malaysia: Gender Equality Group Presents MPs With Kits
May 1, 2008 – (The Star) THE Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) presented folder kits to the 222 MPs, asking them to look into the urgent reforms which needed to be addressed relating to gender equality.

Burma: Forgotten Burma
May 1, 2008 – (New Statesman) Pra Preecha is a refugee from Shan State in eastern Burma. Last September, when his fellow monks led 50,000 street protesters against the military government in Rangoon, the international media heralded a "saffron revolution". It seemed that one of the world's most brutal and insular regimes was about to crumble. But the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) clamped down hard on protesters and sympathisers - "scores, perhaps hundreds, of monks were abducted, tortured and killed", says Pra Preecha - and the moment for change passed.

Asia: The Economics of Violence
May 1, 2008 - (The Morung Express) The story looks good till you notice the underbelly of economic growth: unprecedented levels of inequality, violence, epidemics, congested roads, teeming slums, polluted rivers and failing democracies. The story looks good till you begin to hear the stories of dalits, tribals, ethnic minorities, women from the hinterlands of rural deprivation.

Philippines: A toast to Filipino women who did it 71 years ago today
April 30, 2008 - (Philippine Daily Inquirer) For 71 years ago, your right to participate in public and political affairs was given full recognition for the first time. It was the day when, through your firmness and determination to fight for your right and break the bondage of discrimination, you proved that there “exists a fundamental equality before the law between women and men.”

Burma: Two Burmese Activists Receive International Award
April 8, 2008 – (Irrawaddy) Burmese human rights advocates Charm Tong and Khin Ohmar were honored on Monday by Vital Voices Global Partnership, a nonprofit group dedicated to the empowerment and advancement of women around the world.

Thailand: Kayan 'Giraffe Women' trapped in Thailand by tourist trade
April 8, 2008 – (The Times) Mu Lon was born into war, grew up in poverty and deprivation, and so the offer, when it came, was like the chance for a second life. She is Burmese, one of hundreds of thousands of people to have fled the 58-year-long civil war for exile in neighbouring Thailand. From the age of 5 she had lived as a stateless refugee, without hope or prospects. Then came an undreamt of opportunity — a fresh start in New Zealand, with education, housing, full citizenship and, above all, peace.

Burma: Girls threatened, asked to support draft constitution
April 7, 2008 – (Kaladan News) Local military junta authorities in Maungdaw Township , Arakan State are ordering Rohingya girls over 18 to support the new constitutional referendum in May. The directive comes with threats not to cast a ‘no’ vote, said a local schoolteacher.

CAMBODIA: Property Boom Forces Evictions of Urban Poor
April 4, 2008 - (IPS) Sitting in a wooden house in the urban poor community of Dei Krohome, Touch Ratha recounted a tale of intimidation, secrecy and the blurred line between police, government officials and the private company that she says has been trying to evict her and her neighbours.

Burma: Asia Tribune- 25 per cent of Burma’s Karenni State internally displaced
April 2, 2008 – (BurmaNet) Higher percentage of population displaced than in Sudan, Iraq, Uganda, Colombia or the Democratic Republic of Congo. Over one quarter of the Karenni population of eastern Burma has been forced from their homes due to years of military oppression, a figure expected to increase as militarisation of the state continues unabated, according to a new report from Burma Issues.

Burma: Daughter raped, mother beaten, villagers robbed
March 28, 2008 - (S.H.A.N) A Burma Army patrol had last week robbed villagers in Southern Shan State, where a girl was raped and her mother was beaten, according to local sources.

Malaysia: Hundreds of Burmese Migrants Rounded Up in Malaysia
March 24, 2008 – (Irrawaddy) The Burma Workers’ Rights Protection Committee (BWRPC) said the Burmese, who included individuals recognized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), were among more than 500 undocumented migrants arrested in a RELA crackdown. They included some 200 Rohingya refugees, pregnant women and about 50 children who were participating in basic education classes organized by the UNHCR.

Burma: Off the radar
March 18, 2008 – (Guardian Unlimited) The generals also want to make people forget how little regard they have for human life. Burma remains among the worst violators of the international prohibition against child soldiers. In the border areas where armed conflict with ethnic groups continues, the army commits widespread summary executions and rapes and uses forced labour.

PHILIPPINES: Conflict IDPs in Mindanao face shortages
March 18, 2008 - (IRIN) Baikongan Ismail sits in a small airless schoolroom in Datu Piang, a mountain of plastic chairs piled behind her. The classroom has been home to her family of six for three months, ever since renewed armed hostilities between competing local clans, backed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), forced them to evacuate their farm in Barangay Pandi in mid-December 2007.

Malaysia: Citizens Denied a Fair Vote
March 5, 2008 – (Human Rights Watch) Government restraints on expression, assembly and access to state media will deny Malaysians a fair vote in the March 8 general elections, Human Rights Watch said today

THAILAND: STOP FORCED RETURNS TO LAOS
March 5, 2008 – (Human Rights Watch) The Thai government should stop forcibly returning Hmong asylum seekers to Laos without independent monitoring or refugee screening, Human Rights Watch said today.

Burma: In Exile, Shah Paung Writes of Burma Struggle
February 29, 2008 - (WOMENSENEWS) Shah Paung, a reporter for a magazine that is the leading source of news about Burma, first remembers Burmese troops attacking her village when she was 5 years old.

Burma: Police Arrest 31 burmese illegal migrants
February 14, 2008 - (Irrawaddy) Thirty-one Burmese illegal migrants—including three children and 18 women—were arrested by Thai police on Feb 12 after smugglers transported them to Ranong Province in Thailand.

Burma: A mother of three raped and killed by Burmese soldier
February 13, 2008 - (Kachin News Group) A Kachin mother of three children was raped and killed over a month ago in Hukawng Valley in Kachin State of Northern Burma by Burma Army soldiers, said local sources.

Vietnam: Woman Writer Released, but Crackdown Continues
February 1, 2008 – (Human Rights Watch) The Vietnamese government released the award-winning writer Tran Khai Thanh Thuy from prison yesterday, but continues to hold dozens of other peaceful activists in prison or under house arrest, Human Rights Watch said today.

FIJI ISLANDS: A RESPONSE TO THE LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF BUILDING A BETTER FIJI TODAY
January 16, 2008 - (femLINKPACIFIC) The Interim Prime Minister / Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces’ willingness to consider establishing a specific working group to review the role of the military in Fiji as part of the process of the People’s Charter is a welcome move, and a positive indication of addressing and curbing the coup cycle culture in Fiji. It will also be an opportunity to review the security sector in Fiji and contribute to the desired conflict transformation process in Fiji says femLINKPACIFIC Coordinator, Sharon Bhagwan Rolls

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: HIGH RATE OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
January 16, 2008 - (The National) Studies conducted by the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) reveal an alarming rate of gender-based violence (GBV) cases.

Philippines: WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN THE PHILIPPINES TODAY
January 10, 2008 - (Philippines Human Rights Reporting Project) This report on the human rights situation of 44 million Filipino women will attempt to show the status of women and judge the Philippine government’s success in enacting national laws enacted to protect women, as well as implementing those international instruments it has ratified towards gender equality and gender justice.

The framework of analysis will be based on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which the Philippines ratified in 1981. In August 2006, the Philippines reported to the CEDAW Committee and its Concluding Comments revealed the gaps in the fulfillment of women’s rights. Alongside CEDAW, the status of Filipino women will also be marked against the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and its time-bound benchmarks.