The International Criminal Law Review invites submissions for its 2010 special issue entitled “Women and International Criminal Law,” to be guest-edited by Diane Marie Amann, University of California, Davis, School of Law; Jaya Ramji-Nogales, Temple University Beasley School of Law; and Beth Van Schaack, University of Santa Clara School of Law.

On the 29th of December 2009 a lesbian woman and human rights activist, Thuli Rudd, also known as Thulani, was arrested on her way back home in Swaziland at the border from South Africa. She was charged with the murder of her partner, the late Pitseng Vilakati whose body had been found on Tuesday the 22nd of December 2009.

The candidate of the Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI) for the next presidential election, Henri Konan Bédié, has outlined his manifesto for the election saying he has identified '10 major challenges' likely to lead the country to prosperity.

Nigerians in the diaspora have written a letter to Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud on the continued absence of President Yar’Adua from the country, demanding true information on the state of his health.

China says it will give a $7m (£4.4m) grant to help fund infrastructure development projects in Kenya. The announcement came at the start of the Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi's latest Africa tour.

On January 6th, 2009, Sierra Leoneans commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Revolutionary United Front rebel invasion of Freetown, the capital. The invasion which attracted a long overdue international intervention in the civil war was one of the bloodiest and most destructive battles. For over a month, RUF rebels, ECOMOG peacekeepers and militia loyal to the government of Tijan Kabbah fought for the control of Freetown.

Gender Links, a Southern African NGO based in Johannesburg specialising in gender, media, women’s rights and governance, seeks the services of an experienced individual to serve as a field officer for its gender justice and local government programme in South Africa. The main task of the incumbent, who will be based in Johannesburg, will be to work with local councils, partners and stakeholders to develop gender and gender violence (GBV) action plans for local councils as well as providing backstopping and support to these councils.

Medhine is an Ethiopian Asylum seeker; she spent more than a year in the Egyptian Prison for illegal entry to Egypt. During her one year of detention, she lost her young daughter, who was suffering from severe diarrhea and vomiting. EFRR handled this case and tried to release her through submitting several cases to the office of the High General Prosecutor and National Council for Human Rights asking for her release.

Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) has launched a report on the state of education in Zimbabwe entitled ‘Looking back to look forward - education in Zimbabwe: a WOZA perspective’. The recommendations contained in the report form the basis of WOZA’s current campaign on education.

This latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines violent conflict that has claimed several thousand lives in 2009. Inter-tribal fighting, while not a new phenomenon, has taken on a new and dangerously politicised character, with the worst violence in and around the vast, often impassable state of Jonglei.

The acting chairman of the Guinea's junta, the National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD), General Sékouba Konaté, has vowed to create 'a new peaceful transition authority' that will soon set dates for elections.

Zimbabwe has halted a controversial sale of 300 000 carats of diamonds, but blamed bureaucratic hold-ups rather than a scandal over rights abuses by the military in the diamond fields.

Uganda is making global headlines again, this time with a proposed law to execute citizens found guilty of ‘aggravated homosexuality.’Nick young explores the broader gender implications.

This book attempts to scrutinize the relationship between criminal justice system and those of non-punitive approaches based on the principle of complementarity and discuss future ways in order to build a bridge across them. Dealing with atrocities many countries in the world have started to look more for mechanisms which deal with acknowledgment, forgiveness and reparation or/and reconciliation.

Index on Censorship is the UK’s leading organisation dedicated to the promotion of free expression worldwide. In March 2010, we will be holding our 10th Annual Freedom of Expression Awards and would like to invite you to submit nominations for the categories below. Please note that the deadline for nominations is 15th January 2010.

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is pleased to announce the organisation of an international conference on “Academic Freedom and the Social Responsibility of Academics and Researchers in Africa: What are the new challenges?”.

AwaaZ Issue 3/09 - Non Violence for Change

Cover Story: Is Non-cooperation a mattress against the bullet?

Madagascar’s government has said it will crack down on opposition leaders and their supporters, who reject plans for elections, if they provoke further civil unrest.

The government of Zimbabwe is aiming to increase the number of people on antiretroviral drug therapy for HI/AIDS to 300,000 this year from 180,000 at present, according to Health Minister Henry Madzorera.

Somali prominent journalists in Mogadishu have for the first time officially launched a new Press Freedom Group.Somali Foreign Correspondents Association (SOFCA), after meeting at Nasahablod hotel in Mogadishu.