South Sudan Frees Hundreds of Child Fighters, Including 9-Year Old Girl

South Sudan’s Democratic Army Cobra Faction announced its third release of child soldiers as agreed in a pact with the government signed last May.

Winners Announced for Free Expression Prize

At home she was subjected to death threats for defending women in northeastern Kenya who are vulnerable to rape, female circumcision and murder. This month, Amran Abdundi Amram was cheered as a hero as she collected the 2015 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for Campaigning.

Gates Foundation Slammed for Plan to Privatise African Seed Markets

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) has been attacked by activists over alleged support of a plan to privatise African agricultural markets.

Guards at Australian-Managed Refugee Detention Centre on Nauru Traded Marijuana for Sexual Favours

Guards at a Nauru refugee detention centre managed by the Australian government traded marijuana for sexual favours from detainees, according to the latest damning report into the Australia’s beleaguered refugee policy.

‘Water Man of India’ Wins Stockholm Water Prize

A conservationist known as ‘The Water Man of India’ has been named Stockholm Water Prize Laureate for 2015.

U.N. Envoy Pushes for Safer Schools Worldwide

Speaking from the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Wednesday, the U.N. Special Envoy for Global Education, Gordon Brown, defined 2015 as the year to end violations of the rights of the children worldwide.

Nobel Peace Laureate Calls for Global Human Compassion to Combat Child Slavery

Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi has called for globalised human compassion to combat the global and persistent problems of child labour and child slavery.

Millions of Children Impacted by Ebola Outbreak

Nine million children live in areas affected by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, while thousands have lost parents to the virus, according to a new report from The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Pro-Democracy Activists at U.S. Event Jailed in DR Congo

Journalists, activists, hip hop artists and a United States diplomat were rounded up by police at a pro-democracy event on Sunday in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sponsored in part by the U.S. government. Security forces charged them with threatening stability, according to a government spokesperson.

Sparks Fly As Sierra Leone’s VP Is Expelled From Party

An internal war is roiling the administration of President Ernest Bai Koroma with the Vice President, Samuel Sam-Sumana, at dead center. The VP, expelled last week from the ruling All People’s Congress (APC), is said to be forming a rival political movement from his home district in Kono, the country’s raw diamond capital, and an election decider.

Women Walk for Peace in the Korean Peninsula

A group of international women peacemakers announced on Wednesday at the United Nations their intention to walk across the two mile De-Militarized Zone (DMZ), in a call for peace and reunification of Korea.

U.N. Audience Shocked by Sexual Health, Abortion Statistics

Audible gasps echoed through the United Nations' Trusteeship Council chamber on Tuesday, with audiences told the grim impacts of unsafe reproductive practices on women worldwide.

U.S. Honours 10 “Extraordinary Women” for Courage and Leadership

Speaking at a ceremony to honour 10 “extraordinary women” from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America for their exceptional courage and leadership in advocating peace, justice, human rights and gender empowerment, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom cited the former president of Malawi Dr. Joyce Banda, recognised at the United Nations as a relentless advocate for women’s rights.

Equality Is a Matter of Human Rights

Gender equality in political, economic and social arenas is a matter of human rights, said Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury on Monday to civil society organisations, ambassadors and activists in New York.

Desolate Sierra Leonean Living Rough in UK Spurs Fund Drive

The somber face of a young man from Sierra Leone has become the emblem of Ebola’s living survivors, suffering in silence without families, papers, or homes.

Wife of Former Ivorian President Gets 20 Years for Inciting Election Violence

The wife of former president Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast will serve jail time for inciting election violence in the 2011 post-election crisis.

Debt Balloons Off the Charts in Ghana, Angering Critics

The steady nation of Ghana could be heading for a painful train wreck as government borrowing raises the level of foreign debt to sky-high levels.

U.N. Says Maternal Mortality Rate Has Nearly Halved since 1990

The global rate of maternal deaths is reducing faster than any time in history, according to a new report presented to the United Nations on Tuesday.

An Italian and Tanzanian Partnership

20 years on from Beijing, gender inequality is still a priority at United Nations.

Guatemala Praised for Policies on Adolescent Girls

The government of Guatemala has been praised for a programme helping young women avoid unwanted pregnancies and finish their education.

200 Million Fewer Women than Men Online

Two hundred million fewer women have access to the internet than men, according to a report released Monday.