Those who use rape as a weapon of war in volatile regions across the world must be punished, says the United Nations, but activists say the global body must also end impunity of its own peacekeepers who are guilty of such crimes.

THE result of 2011 census of India is almost all heartening. Literacy is up; life expectancy is up; family size is stabilizing. But there is one grim exception- India's already skewed infant sex ratio is getting worse. India counted only 914 girls aged six and under for every 1,000 boys or 75.8m girls and 82.9m boys. This sex ratio is the worst in the recorded history of the modern Indian.

The most expedient way to engage more women at all levels of transnational and transatlantic security efforts, as well as to ensure the safety and security of women in post-conflict, is to move Resolution 1325 from rhetoric to action by enacting a quota-system during conflict resolution processes.

Join the United Nations and create an ad that says No to Violence against Women. Competition is open to all citizens and residents of the 48 European countries. Voting is open to everyone.

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As part of a new movement in social activism, the United States Association for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (USA for UNHCR) is calling on Americans to play a role in ending forest depletion around African refugee camps.

Political unrest across the Middle East has increased appetite in the wider world for comment from within the region, and some are turning to bloggers for insider views on the events unfolding on their television screens.

Pakistan has earmarked 750-million dollars to create jobs and alleviate poverty in its troubled border regions with Afghanistan where it's estimated that 70 percent of men are illiterate and unemployment runs at over 50 percent.

Join the United Nations and create an ad that says No to Violence against Women. Competition is open to all citizens and residents of the 48 European countries. Voting is open to everyone.

View contest details here.

During her visit to Panama 16-17 April, UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet will participate in the meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly. Ms. Bachelet will also meet with the President of Panama and Panamanian women's organizations.

Connecting Fearless Women Change Agents from the Middle East with American Women from the Streets of Manhattan to the Heartland of Minnesota