RIGHTS: Failure To Renew DRC Expert’s Mandate Draws Criticism

The decision of the United Nations Human Rights Council not to renew the mandate of its independent expert on human rights for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has met with fierce criticism from a leading human rights organisation.

HEALTH-ASIA: Report Faults Gov’t Complacency on AIDS

Some 10 million Asian women sell sex, and at least 75 million men buy it regularly, while male-to-male sex and drug injecting add another 20 million or so to the number of those at high risk of HIV infection, says the first report by the Commission on AIDS in Asia.

CUBA: Women Talk to Women about HIV/AIDS Prevention

Prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, the AIDS virus, has become the centre of the lives of a small group of women in the province of Pinar del Río, in the west of Cuba.

RIGHTS-ANGOLA: Free Rein for Human Traffickers

There is little awareness on the problem of trafficking in persons, mainly women and children, in Angola, and no laws for cracking down on the growing phenomenon.

CUBA: Transvestites and Crossdressers Key Workers Against AIDS

Activism against AIDS is uniting a group of transvestites and crossdressers in western Cuba in a project that is going beyond peer education and making inroads into the world of culture.

RIGHTS: Fund to Fight Gender Violence Puts Donors to the Test

The U.N. "Trust Fund to End Violence against Women" has risen significantly over the last year: from 3.5 million dollars in 2006 to over 15 million dollars in 2007.

DEVELOPMENT: A Humanitarian Disaster Unfolds in Eastern DRC

In a mist-shrouded valley between the Mount Nyiragongo volcano and a pair of its dormant cousins looming in Rwanda to the east, nearly 3,000 souls wait in limbo, having fled a conflict that has succeeded in making this lush corner in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) nothing less than hell on earth for its people.

HEALTH-US: Rare Consensus Behind 50-Billion-Dollar AIDS Plan

In an increasingly unusual display of bipartisanship, both the White House and the Republican and Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives have agreed on a bill that, if passed, would provide 50 billion dollars to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis over the next five years.

RIGHTS: U.N. Takes Lead on Ending Gender Violence

The United Nations has launched a multi-year global campaign to intensify its efforts to help eliminate violence against women, which has long remained hidden in a "culture of silence".

RIGHTS: Gender Equality Gets a Drop of the Funding Bucket

The United Nations has never run out of statistics to reinforce its arguments against one of the most troubling issues the world over: gender discrimination.

RWANDA: Cutting Edge HIV/AIDS Prevention Presents Challenges

Certain medical workers in Rwanda have expressed concern about the country's campaign to promote male circumcision as a means of curbing the spread of HIV. They fear that in a country with low levels of knowledge about sexual health, people could mistakenly believe the procedure offers complete protection against the virus.

RIGHTS: U.N. Budgeting Bypasses Women

When the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) holds a two-week session beginning next Monday, one of the lingering issues high on the agenda will be the continued under-funding of women’s activities at the United Nations.

LATIN AMERICA: Gender Stereotypes Still Firmly Entrenched, Despite Progress

Constructing gender equality in Latin American societies remains an apparently arduous task. The issue is still confined to the ivory towers of academia, far away from the media, and is seldom included in the debates that really capture people’s attention.

SCIENCE-US: Top Scientists Want Research Free From Politics

Leading U.S. scientists called on Congress Thursday to make sure the next president does not do what they say the George W. Bush Administration has done: censor, suppress and falsify important environmental and health research.

RIGHTS: Widows Face a Life of Quiet Destitution

Many years ago, as Dr. Mohini Giri was walking down a street in Vrindavan, India - known as the "City of Widows" - she noticed the body of a woman who had passed away on the road. Animals were feasting on the corpse, and no one had tried to move her or cremate her.

RIGHTS: U.N. Sees Progress in Ending Female Genital Mutilation

After nearly 30 years of intense campaigning against female genital mutilation (FGM), the United Nations says that several countries, including Canada, Belgium, Spain and Italy, have passed legislation criminalising the practice, prevalent mostly among immigrant communities.

RIGHTS-AFRICA: No Sex, Please – You&#39re HIV-Positive

HIV/AIDS policies and programmes disregard the sexual needs of people living with the virus, claim a number of HIV-positive women who attended the third Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights - held this week in Nigeria.

GERMANY: Dating Agency for Disabled Shows Love Has No Barriers

"Living as a couple is the best dream come true," Volker Lauer told IPS, referring to his five-year relationship with Monika, who he met through a unique German dating agency for the disabled.

MEDIA-ARGENTINA: Transvestites Find a Voice

With the support of one of Argentina’s leading public universities, a group of transvestites have launched a magazine aimed at reaffirming their identity and giving them a voice, as they tend to be ignored or given stereotypical coverage by the mainstream press.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Sudanese Women Meet at AU Summit

Pressure the Sudanese government to resolve the Darfur conflict and monitor United Nations troops for sexual offences, a delegation of Sudanese women told leaders at the African Union (AU) Summit here.

RIGHTS: Ignoring Girls&#39 Welfare Carries High Price

Investing in young women and girls in developing regions must be a top priority for governments, multilateral agencies and the private sector, say the authors of a report released here this week.