General Women, Peace and Security

The signing ceremony in Belgrade this Thursday officially launched a project dubbed “Support for Gender Mainstreaming in Security Sector Reform in the Western Balkans”, Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Šutanovac said.

Šutanovac said that today women have an important role in the armed forces, providing a new quality and capacity in response to security challenges and global threats.

South Sudan is the world's newest nation, born from the people's vote in January 2011 after 30 years of devastating conflict and proclaiming independence on 9 July last year. Today we celebrate the first International Women's Day in independent South Sudan and together we must look at how we can address the great challenges faced by women and girls in one of the world's least developed countries.

Stakeholders from the various sectors in the province gathered last March 19 at the Institute of Peace and Development in Mindanao Convergence Hall of the Mindanao State University to address women's rights in armed conflict situations.

The Commission on Human Rights in the region is set to lead a conference and workshop on March 23-24 in Marco Polo Hotel, this city to discuss on emerging challenges in conflict and emergency situation that gravely affect women.

Burundian society has long been accustomed to domestic and sexual violence. These forms of violence surged to devastating levels during the civil war that engulfed Burundi from 1993 to 2005 and much of the violence has continued in its wake. The war shattered the structure and balance of families. During the war, women and girls were raped and beaten by combating forces.

India has made remarkable progress in taking ahead women's political participation at the local level, an official from the UN body on gender empowerment said here on Saturday.

Three Pakistani policemen serving with the UN in Haiti will be sentenced to prison for sexual exploitation and abuse, the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) reports.

The decision follows the outcome of a military justice procedure conducted this month by Pakistani authorities in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.

PESHAWAR, March 17: Speakers at a seminar here on Saturday urged women to play their role in restoration of peace by educating the new generation and keeping watch on the routine activities of their children to save them from falling prey to the menace of terrorism.

As Afghan-U.S. relations continue to deteriorate, it's hard to imagine that the two nations can find political common ground. But the language of business is a common one. Stronger business (coupled with innovation) is a powerful driver for peace.

When the Pakistani director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy recently won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short for her film Saving Face on female acid attack survivors in Pakistan, I read several articles, blog posts and twitter and facebook statuses with lots of chatter and buzz.