A special gathering of women held as part of the World Summit on Sustainable Development has called for a United Nations Convention on Corporate Accountability to monitor, address and sanction violations by corporations. The final declaration of the Women’s Action Tent, held between 26 and 30 August, demanded that UN conference outcomes should not be compromised in the process of building greater coherence with international finance and trade institutions.

Mukarwego Athanasie knows what it is like to be used as a weapon of war. “I am a victim of rape that was used as a weapon during the war in Rwanda,” she says. As part of their campaign of terror, HIV infected soldiers would rape whole villages of women to spread the virus amongst the civilian population.

This paper presents an initial framework on how to integrate a gender perspective into all levels of conflict early warning and preventative response systems. The author examines the links that can be made between gender and early warning and identifies areas where the integration of a gender perspective can improve existing models.

"Passport to Dignity," a human rights workbook, provides a comprehensive framework of the Beijing Platform for Action and recounts particular examples of women's initiatives throughout the world. It also has exercises that guide readers through a path of personal and group reflection on how to use human rights as a tool for systemic analysis, and social and economic transformation.

In a big win for women's right to reproductive health, the final World Summit declaration included language linking women's health services to human rights, rather than "cultural and religious values."

More than 10,000 girls drop out of school annually due to unwanted pregnancies, with those in day and mixed schools being the most affected. Some girls are said to opt for abortion to remain in school, risking their lives in the process.

South Africa is to set up an advisory group to ensure that women’s interests are adequately addressed in all spheres of science and technology policy, according to Bridgett Mabandla, deputy minister in the country’s Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST).

At the 8th International Women's World Conference in Uganda recently, delegates gathered to address the issues of violence against women in war and armed conflict. The Conference identified the need to raise the volume of women's voices in the peace movement, and build a critical mass of women to implement various UN resolutions at global, regional and national levels.

ICTs have enormous potential to benefit girls and women in terms of enhanced income-generation opportunities, employment, and improved quality of life, but because technologies are not gender neutral, it is important to advocate for ICT strategies to reduce and manage the potential for ICTs to create economic and social exclusion and reinforce existing social disparities.' -- gender activist, Gillian Marcelle, in her chapter, 'Getting Gender into African ICT Policy: A Strategic View' which appears in the book 'Gender and the Information Revolution in Africa' (IDRC, 2000)

As the food crisis gets worse in most parts of Swaziland, many people, particularly women, have resorted to prostitution and crime as the only means of survival in the face of the ravaging famine hitting Swaziland. A majority of families along the Lavumisa-Manzini highway are now giving away their female children, some as young as 12 years, to truck drivers who pay at least R50 for a round of sexual intercourse.

The African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies is seeking applicants for the fifth training course on "The Use of International Human Rights Procedures for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women in Africa." The training course will be held on October 7-12, 2002, in Banjul, The Gambia, and intends to build the capacities of young human rights activists, particularly women, on the use of regional and international instruments to promote and protect the rights of women in Africa. The course will be conducted in English and French.

Transport policy makers and providers have paid almost no attention to gender equity, and gender researchers in development have seldom examined the crucially important role which transport plays in women's lives.

This booklet aims to provide journalists with definitions and context for key terms that are commonly used in discussions about gender issues and the status and advancement of women.

Something is not quite right in the way women are made to feel inferior to the opposite sex even though they may be more intelligent, more determined, more serious and even more capable than the men who are born to assert dominance as their birthright.

President Yoweri Museveni made a speech during the Women's World 2002 conference held from July 21 to 26 and argued that pushing for women's empowerment would not make a difference unless Africa invests in economic development through increased market access to developed countries, such as the United States and countries in Europe.

The Women's Budget Initiative has a new report available:
'Rights, Roles and Resources: An Analysis of Women's Housing Rights - Implications of the Grootboom case.' The report examines the Grootboom case from the aspect of gender,rights, and budgets.

FEMNET and APC Africa Women will be hosting an e-mail discussion on African Women and NEPAD in both French and English. Various topics will be discussed.

Over the last 10 years, more and more West African women decided to stop waiting for their men to mail checks home from the United States and to join them and earn their own income.

Dr. Zaynab Alkali presented her paper titled "Rediscovering The Family and our Cultural Heritage: The role of women and Youth" and said "women are natural custodians of our cultures. They are cultural bearers and preservers who propagate culture very diligently, even when it comes to harmful traditional practices."

Many women in Nairobi did not take part in the voter registration exercise. The latest figures released by the Electoral Commission of Kenya show that the number of registered women voters in Nairobi is almost half that of men.