H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit
President of the Republic of South Sudan, Commander in Chief of the SPLA

Your Excellency, President Kiir,

The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), 1994 in Cairo was a landmark, resulting in an impressive and ambitious set of goals for improving sexual health and reproductive rights all over the world. The broad issues of and interrelationships between population, sustained economic growth, health, education, economic status and empowerment of women, adolescents and youth were brought to the fore.

World Pulse believes that your stories, recommendations, and collective rising leadership can—and will—bring an end to gender-based violence. We are channeling your voices to major media outlets, advocacy groups, and policy makers to ensure that your perspectives are heard in the halls of power.

http://worldpulse.com/campaigns/evaw

The head of the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, known by the acronym UNAMID, has called for an end to the latest round of violence – reportedly leading to several casualties – to affect a town in the Sudanese state of North Darfur.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon until 31 August 2013, while urging all parties to abide scrupulously by their obligation to respect the safety of the world body's staff.

United Nations, New York—The ruling made by the International Criminal Court this week regarding reparations to victims in the case of convicted former Congolese militia commander Thomas Lubanga reflects a growing recognition in international law that justice must go beyond mere prosecutions and a focus on perpetrators to include an equal focus on victims' rights to redress and reparation.

The U.S. is set to withdraw the bulk of its forces from Afghanistan by 2014. This transition period is fraught with risk for Afghan women, many of whom have benefited during 10 years of improved access to education, health care, and political participation.

October 10 and 11, 2012

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The Afghan Women's Network is a non-partisan network of women and women's groups working to empower Afghan women and ensure their equal participation in Afghan society. This post summarizes the Network's presentation at the NATO Summit in Chicago in May 2012.

Rigoberta Menchú Tum, the first Indigenous woman and the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, will deliver the UNESCO Chair & Institute of Comparative Human Rights Lecture at UConn on Tuesday, Sept. 11, at 4 p.m. in the Student Union Theatre.