General Women, Peace and Security

The United Nations is making progress in its efforts to incorporate women into its conflict mediation activities – but much more still needs to be done.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Michael W. Cotter recently announced the formation and inaugural meeting of the Violence Against Women Federal and Tribal Prosecution Task Force.

"We know too well that tribal communities face unique law enforcement challenges and are struggling to reverse unacceptable rates of violence against women and children," Holder said.

There is a lot of room for improvement: The women of South Sudan are among the poorest and most marginalized people on earth.

More than two women die from complications of pregnancy or delivery for every 100 live births, making Sudan the most dangerous place in the world to give life. Girls are more likely to die in childbirth than to finish primary school.

When the punishment, 100 whip lashes, was postponed because she was pregnant Ms Anab Mussa thought she was the luckiest woman in the world. She had misread the Al-Shabaab-backed court.

The court in Wanlaweyn town, some 100 kilometres west of Mogadishu, had convicted Anab for having sexual relations out of wedlock.

Discusses Situation of the Rights of Women in Israel, Kenya, Lichtenstein and South Africa.

The majority of civilian casualties in conflicts are women and children, and sexual violence is increasingly used as a method of war. The death rate of women after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was at least three times higher than that of men in some communities. Women experience a heavy burden during and after disasters because they are often responsible for providing food and water for their families.

On December 25, a female suicide bomber, not more than 18 years of age, blew herself up killing at least 47 people and injuring 105 others.

The target of what is believed to be the first suicide bombing by a woman in Pakistan was a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) food distribution centre in Khar, a tribal region of Bajaur, near the Afghan border.

UN Women conducted two workshops in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, and Monrovia in Montserrado County.

The three day GRB workshop in Monrovia brought together 14 representatives of local civil society organizations (CSOs) that focus on advancing good governance. The training was held to sensitize CSOs to the significance of tracking the national budget and its focus on gender sensitivity in development projects.

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) announced today that its initiative on gender and peacebuilding is now become a full programmatic center, naming Kathleen Kuehnast as director. Kuehnast, a socio-cultural anthropologist, joined USIP in 2008 following a 15-year career in international development and post-conflict.

UN Women, the UN organisation dedicated to gender equality and women empowerment, today said its creation would not curtail the responsibility of any other UN organisation working for gender equality.

Created by the UN General Assembly in July 2010 to accelerate progress in meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide, UN Women has been fully operational from January 1.