Asia

Permanent Representative of the UAE to the United Nations pledges UAE's continued financial and psychological support to affected Syrians in refugee camps.

Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali in a letter to British Foreign Secretary William Hague conveyed the decision, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

The British Foreign Secretary and UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict jointly launched the “Global Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict” in September last year at the 68th UN General Assembly in New York.

On 27 March 2014, a historic first was achieved: a peace agreement led by a woman chief mediator was signed. The Filipino government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), putting an end to four decades of civil war and almost two decades of peace negotiations. This is, clearly, an historical event for the Philippines and the region.

The recognition of women's participation in economic development is vital, says Pacific Islands News Association president Moses Stevens.

During the recent ADB Pacific Business Media Summit in Australia, Mr Stevens said this recognition would contribute to a country's "moving-forward process".

"Traditionally, women have always been the centre of life within the families and communities.

For more than 30 years, Afghans have been living in a state of war and yearn for stability and peace. With the presidential elections on 5th April, the number of attacks on government institutions has increased. After calling for a boycott of the elections, the Taliban have warned that they would do anything to prevent them from being carried out and block the arrival of international observers.

A number of alleged domestic violence killings in the past year in Lebanon have fueled a renewed attention on women's rights in the country, as victims' families and activists speak out.

Rights groups said two women lost their lives in tragic circumstances last month.

Manal Assi died after her husband reportedly beat her with a pressure cooker and Christelle Abu Shaqra died after her husband allegedly poisoned her.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday withheld his signature and instead asked for revisions to a new law that rights activists had widely denounced as an obstacle to prosecuting crimes of violence against women.

Women's empowerment is possible only if state administrators implement the policies framed by the central government, K.G. Balakrishnan, National Human Rights Commission chairperson said Tuesday.

"Though the policies framed by the central government aims at empowering women, the delay and sometimes the non-implementation of the policies in states becomes a barrier in their empowerment," he said.

BEIRUT — Palestinian women in Lebanon who are long-term refugees understand the problems faced by women who have fled the Syrian civil war - they share similar hardships and also contend with domestic abuse as well as sexual exploitation.

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O'Neil has completed his historic state visit to the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

And while Mr O'Neil has extended the olive branch, the women of Bougainville are angry they weren't included in the reconciliation ceremony involving the Prime Minister and local leaders.