Q&A: CEDAW – Signed, Sealed and Largely Left on the Shelf

Mauritania formally adopted the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in 2001, but in the eight years since, it has had limited effect on the status of women.

RIGHTS-GAMBIA: Hydara Six Convicted on Sedition Charge

A high court judge in Gambia has convicted six Gambian journalists on charges of defamation and sedition.

HEALTH: Fighting AIDS in Conservative Mauritania

Campaigners against HIV/AIDS in Mauritania face an uphill task to put their messages across, especially those that deal with safer sex and condom use. Campaigners have to cut corners in order to avoid angering the country's powerful religious clerics.

POLITICS-MAURITANIA: Election Results Challenged

Coup leader-turned-politician General Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz has been declared winner of Saturday's presidential elections by Mauritania’s Interior Ministry.

MAURITANIA: First Steps for Women's Cooperatives

In December 2008, a group of young women staged a protest against the common practice of fattening women before marriage, intended to make them more attractive in the eyes of men. The protest did not immediately result in the end of the practice, but it was a landmark event showing a new assertiveness among Mauritanian women in a society where men use tradition and sharia law to maintain their dominance.

WATER-MAURITANIA: Govt Needs to Invest

Ndey Sall, a resident of Sixième, one of the poorest suburbs in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, spends the equivalent of a dollar a day on water. That's almost half of her income - not much left to pay for food, rent, or medicine if a family member falls sick.

RIGHTS-GAMBIA: What Has Govt Got To Hide?

Following a court appearance on Jul. 3, six of the seven Gambian journalists who were arrested and charged with sedition last month were again sent to Mile 2 Prison.

RIGHTS-GAMBIA: Who Killed Deyda Hydara?

Six of the seven Gambian Press Union (GPU) officials and journalists arrested last week have now been freed on bail. The journalists still face serious charges including "conspiracy to publish with seditious intention".

POLITICS-MAURITANIA: 'Justice and Equality for All'

As Mauritania prepares for presidential elections on June 6, women's groups have outlined a clear and compelling agenda for women. The trick will be getting the country's mostly male politicians to listen.

WATER-GUINEA BISSAU: Neglecting Infrastructure at the People’s Peril

The most recent cholera outbreak in Guinea-Bissau killed 225 people before it was brought under control in February; 14,000 people were infected by the water-borne disease, most of them in the capital, Bissau.