International News

Bring Women to the Table to Build Peace in Africa, Say Gender Experts

Nov 30, 2019 | Newsroom

Women bear the brunt of conflict and for peace building to be successful they must be involved in conflict resolution and reconstruction at every stage,…

Land: Dealing with Land Conflicts and Improving Land Governance for Peace and Stability in Africa at the Heart of a High-Level Dialogue in Abidjan

Nov 29, 2019 | UN Economic Commission for Africa

Friday in Abidjan, the conference on land policy in Africa, a high-level dialogue on ethnicity and land conflicts were held. As part of the 3rd…

FAO Stands with Generation Equality to Oppose Rape

Nov 25, 2019 | FAO

FAO is taking a stand against sexual and gender-based violence by participating in the UN Secretary-General’s campaign: UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women.

Syria: US Occupation of Syria’s Oil Fields Is ‘Legal’ under International Law: Envoy

Nov 24, 2019 | Al-Masdar News

Washington is not doing anything illegal by securing oil fields in Syria, US Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey told reporters on Friday. Jeffrey…

Vietnam: Strengthen Women’s Livelihoods and Participation for Greater Resilience to Disasters and Climate Change in Viet Nam

Nov 22, 2019 | Thao Hoang, UN Women

When Tran Thi My Linh, a 51-year-old rural woman first said that she would replace her rice fields with lotus fields, she raised many eyebrows.…

Can the US Take Syria’s Oil? [Audio]

Nov 21, 2019 | Shirin Jaafari, Public Radio International

Over the last few weeks, President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to keep American troops in Syria to “guard the oil” and that…

Democratic Republic of the Congo: How The Mining Business is Helping Women in Congo Escape Isolation

Nov 5, 2019 | Eleonora Vio, TRT World

Congolese women entered the mining sector in the late 90s and ever since they have been fighting discrimination, superstition and outdated customs, while they successfully…

Colombia: Colombia's Growing Sustainable Farming Movement

Nov 3, 2019 | Andrew J. Wight, Public Radio International

In the developed world, concerns around pesticides, herbicides, and industrial fertilizers are often framed around their impact on the environment, but for Carlos Osorio and…

Liberia: Court Rules in Nimba County Forest Saga

Nov 1, 2019 | Edward Genoway Jr., FrontPage Africa

The Circuit court in Sanniquellie, Nimba County has handed down its verdict in favor of Liberia Tree and Trading Company (LTTC) and its Chief Executive…

Iraq: How a Collective of Iraqi Women Is Bringing the Country Closer to Peace

Nov 1, 2019 | WLPF International

A delegation representing the Iraqi Women’s Network attended the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) session on the 20th…

Netherlands: How Fairphone's Social Mission Created Gender Balance ... Without Really Trying

Oct 30, 2019 | Oliver Balch

Eva Gouwens had heard that the tech industry was male-dominated, but it wasn’t until she attended the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona for the first…

India: Mother Earth’s Café Dares Climate Crises in India

Oct 29, 2019 | Manipadma Jena, Inter Press Service

The sun has barely risen when Phlida Kharshala shakes her 8-year-old grandson awake. He hoists an empty cone-shaped bamboo basket on his back, sets the…

Colombia: Colombia, Aún Lejos de Hacer las Paces con el Medioambiente (Colombia, Still Far from Making Peace with the Environment)

Oct 29, 2019 | Laura Betancur Alarcón, El Tiempo

En 2016, con la firma de los acuerdos de paz, los ojos de cientos de investigadores y ambientalistas estaban en Colombia. Había esperanza. Si este…

Myanmar: Govt: Cause of Polluted Water in Myanmar’s Karen State Still Unclear

Oct 29, 2019 | Thazin Hlaing, Irrawaddy

The Karen State government is still investigating why contaminated water is flowing into lakes that provide drinking water for villages near the state capital of…

Security Council Urges Recommitment to Women, Peace, Security Agenda, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2492 (2019)

Oct 29, 2019 | United Nations

The Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2492 (2019) today, urging States to recommit themselves to its women, peace and security agenda — now approaching its twentieth anniversary…

South Sudan: “Our Better Lives Do Not Lie In Machine Guns” – Women Call For Peace In Bor

Oct 29, 2019 | Mach Samuel, United Nations Missions in South Sudan

“Our better lives do not lie in machine guns.”

Those were the words of Rachael Amuor Pach, the Jonglei Minister for Gender, Child and Social Welfare,…

Colombia: People Choosing Peace: Women's Advocacy Group in Colombia Spread Hope With Quilt Project

Oct 29, 2019

Yolanda Perea Mosquera and other women’s rights advocates in Colombia are sewing a colorful quilt. They plan to spread it out over the central square…

The Power of Women Peacebuilders

Oct 28, 2019

Women do groundbreaking work for justice, peace and security. Yet, they continue to be sidelined in formal peace processes. As conflict continues to affect every…

Sudan/South Sudan: Bound by Oil: How Petroleum Is Bringing Sudan and South Sudan Closer Together

Oct 26, 2019 | Denis Scopas, MIddle East Eye

For the past eight years since South Sudan gained independence from Sudan, a legacy of violence has marred relations between the new state and its…

Colombia: Mothers of Colombia's Disappeared Seek Justice At War Tribunal

Oct 17, 2019 | Anastasia Moloney, Reuters

BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Mothers of young men and teenagers who say their sons were murdered by government soldiers during Colombia’s conflict begged a…

South Africa: South African Sisters Shine in Diamond Business Dominated by Men

Oct 17, 2019 | Sierra Leone Times

BEDFORDVIEW, SOUTH AFRICA - Mosibudi Jo Mathole and Khomotso Ramodipa are rare gems in the male-dominated diamond industry. The South African sisters run one of…

Lebanon/Syria: Blazes Spread through Parts of Lebanon, Syria

Oct 16, 2019 | Energy & Environment News

Wildfires spread through parts of Lebanon yesterday after forcing some residents to flee their homes in the middle of the night, while others were stuck…

Rural Women Reclaim Their Financial Independence

Oct 16, 2019 | Cristobal Baeza, BBVA

The foundation organized a round table discussion in commemoration of International Day of Rural Women to give visibility to their role as an economic and social engine.…

Colombia: Women in Colombia Defy Violence to Help Build Peace

Oct 16, 2019 | Shauna Bowers, The Irish Times

Although the Colombian peace accord was signed more than three years ago, domestic and gender-based violence remains all too familiar for women who attempt to…

Afghanistan: Drawing Forestry Lessons from Republic of Korea to Enhance Livelihoods in Afghanistan

Oct 15, 2019 | UN Environment

Afghanistan is an agrarian society, and close to 80 per cent of its population, including nearly 90 per cent of the rural poor, relies on…

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Pulled Dreamworks' 'Abominable' Movie because It Used a Map Staking China's Claim over the Disputed South China Sea

Oct 15, 2019 | Bill Bostock, Business Insider

Vietnam outlawed Dreamworks' new animation "Abominable" on Sunday because it showed a map acknowledging China's claim to a disputed part of the South China Sea.…

Colombia: Women Defenders of Land, Environment, at Risk in Colombia

Oct 15, 2019 | Oxfam

Women defenders of land rights and the environment in Colombia are being attacked at an alarming rate, according to Oxfam’s partners in the country.

The expansion…

Rural Women and Girls Are Key In Building Climate Resilience

Oct 15, 2019 | Humana People to People

‘Rural women represent the backbone of many communities, but they continue to face obstacles that prevent them from realizing their potential. The devastating impacts of…

Rural women a ‘powerful force’ for global climate action: UN Secretary-General

Oct 14, 2019 | UN News

 In a message to mark the International Day of Rural Women, observed annually on 15 October, the UN chief said that “listening to rural women and amplifying their voices…

Afghanistan: Hashish Replaces Poppy as Afghan Farmers' Illegal Crops

Oct 13, 2019 | Xinhua

Following the government's fight against poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, local farmers have mostly replaced the opium poppy with another profitable but illicit herb, the hashish,…