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The World Food Summit, which took place in Rome, ended on Wednesday with what Oxfam called "crumbs" for commitments.  The Summit was another failed effort for countries to set targets or deadlines on action to help end world hunger by 2025.  Undernourishment affects almost a billion people globally.

Next week the regional chapter of the UN-led campaign "Unite to put an End to Violence against Women” will launch in Guatemala. The campaign urges state governments to allocate resources to implement laws protecting women from violence and to provide services to women victims.  MADRE partner Sandra Gonzalez of the Women Workers' Committee in Guatemala will be participating in this event, to speak about violence against women maquila (sweatshop) workers.

Humanitarian groups published a study, The Cost of War, that documents the stories of 700 Afghans. The study shows that the vast majority of those interviewed blame the continuation of conflict in their country on poverty and corruption.

Women will bear a disproportionate burden of the hardships caused by climate change, according to a report by the United Nations Population Fund. Women in developing nations will be affected differently than men because women do a larger share of agriculture work and have less access to other employment opportunities, the report noted.

The new European Union president was announced this week.  EU leaders named Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as the bloc's first president.  The EU leaders also named the new EU foreign affairs chief, Baroness Catherine Ashton of Britain.  Both are virtually unknown outside of their respective countries, but were voted in unanimously.

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In response to international pressure, Guinean military leader Capt. Moussa Camara has agreed to set up an independent commission to probe the attacks by his solders on participants of a pro-democracy rally last month. Human rights groups say 157 were killed, and women were especially targeted in the violence.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had stern words for Kenyan leaders following his three-day assessment of the country's political leadership. Annan said he expects the International Criminal Court to prosecute those responsible for the post-election violence that began in December 2007 and left 1,000 dead. 

Blogger and author Judith Warner discusses findings from a new Census Bureau report showing that the more choices a mother has, the more likely she is to want to work outside the home. Full-time stay-at-home moms are disproportionately low-income and without college degrees. The high cost of child care makes staying home the only "choice" for many of these women. 

Wednesday marked the official eighth anniversary of U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan. The New York Times has an interesting interactive graphic showing the buildup of troops there. (More reading: a blog post from Diana on women's rights in Afghanistan, plus a video with commentary from Robert Greenwald, the filmmaker behind Rethink Afghanistan.)

More than 2 million babies and mothers die each year from complications in childbirth, according to a study released by the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics world congress this week. Many of these deaths could be avoided with basic improvements in health care and training for care providers.

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Under pressure from the Obama Administration, Palestinian leaders suddenly dropped their support of the UN report that faulted both Israel and Palestinian forces for war crimes. Israel’s PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, said endorsement of the report "would strike a fatal blow to the peace process." The UN Human Rights Council might vote next year on whether to forward the report to the Security Council.

A BBC report says Iraq's acting minister for women's affairs, Narmeen Othman, now believes there may be as many as 2 million widows in a country that's been ravaged by almost three decades of warfare. In February, The New York Times put the number at 740,000. The support system offered to widows by the state and nongovernmental organizations continues to decline since the U.S. invasion.

Twenty-five million more children will go hungry in 2050 if global warming progresses unchecked, according to a report prepared for the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank by the International Food Policy Research Institute. The report predicts soaring prices for rice, wheat, maize and soya beans and anticipates that South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa will suffer the most.

On Wednesday NATO-led forces killed civilians, including women and children, during an airstrike targeting militants in southern Afghanistan. Local villagers said no militants and 11 civilians were killed.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) mid-year report found a 20 percent increase in civilian deaths compared to last year, bringing the number of dead civilians to more than 1,500 since January. Three times as many civilian deaths are attributed to anti-government elements than to pro-government forces as the Taliban increasingly use roadside bombs to attack foreign forces.

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The top commander in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, said in a report leaked to the Washington Post that he needs more troops or the war will "likely result in failure." But as pressure to end the war builds, President Obama appears reluctant to commit to raising troop levels and is reportedly exploring other options.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, ousted June 28, returned his country Monday and took up residence with some supporters at the Brazilian Embassy in the capital. Roberto Micheletti, who has occupied the presidency since the military coup, declared a round-the-clock curfew.

A new agreement expected to be announced today at the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh will make the G-20 the new permanent council on international economic cooperation, replacing the G8.  This move highlights the growing economic importance of countries in Asia and Latin America.

The 64th session of the UN General Assembly saw 192 leaders from all over the world come together this week.  Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon highlighted the need for global cooperation and the global threat of climate change.  President Obama spoke for the first time at the Assembly, stating that the "world must move in a new direction". MADRE Executive Director Vivian Stromberg responded with an open letter to President Obama, stating that the success of his policies hinge on the integration of women's human rights.

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Afghanistan is beginning to prepare for a run-off election following widespread accusations of voter fraud in the Aug. 20 presidential elections. If the new election, likely between incumbent Hamid Karzai his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah, is not scheduled before early November, it might have to be postponed until spring.

A UN fact-finding team has released a report saying both the Israel military and Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes during the three-week war in Gaza last winter. Richard Goldstone, who led the investigation, defends the findings after Israel condemns the report as biased.

An ongoing food shortage in Guatemala prompts President Alvaro Colom to declare it "a state of public calamity." The World Food Programme plans to distribute 20 tons of nutritional cookies.

The devastating Kenyan drought, said to be the worst drought in nine years, forces millions to seek food aid. But a shortage in donations may force the World Food Programme to decrease monthly rations. Depleted resources contribute to a spike in cattle rustling, most recently an attack that killed 32, including women and children.

The overuse and contamination of Gaza's underground water system is compromising the safety of drinking water for its 1.5 million people. Only 5 to 10 percent of the water is safe for human consumption, and instance of kidney disease has increased. The International Committee of the Red Cross warns that outbreaks of other diseases could be imminent.

A new UN agency will allow the body to engage in “more robust promotion” of women’s rights worldwide by combining four existing agencies under the same umbrella. The new body is set to be operational in early 2010. For more MADRE reaction, click here.

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Three stories show that securing women's rights transforms lives.

Malalai Joya uncovers the lie that US occupation has liberated women, citing her expulsion from the Afghan Parliament for expressing her opinion and the naming of two warlords as running mates in the upcoming presidential election as evidence.

Policies by Haiti's Ministry of Women's Affairs and Women's Rights and MINUSTAH try to make women in Haiti feel "more protected" when reporting sexual violence.

Kenyan cabinet officials are to discuss how to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of post-election violence. A bill that will eliminate presidential immunity from prosecution if passed was discussed this Monday.

The Afghan parliament has been working on a bill to "criminalize discrimination against women" for the past several years. It will be among the first pieces of legislation discussed once Afghan parliamentarians return this week from summer recess.

A report shows that, in Latin America, women bear the brunt of household chores, child-raising and care of the elderly. While the number of women active in the labor market has risen dramatically within the past few decades, "There has been no significant shift, in the dominant view of social reproduction as a woman’s responsibility, rather than a societal need."

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In Uganda, sixty eight percent of women have experienced some form of domestic violence. Women's rights activists are pushing for this to change, and while there is no legislation targeting domestic violence presently on the books, a draft bill is currently before parliament.

Kenya's cabinet has finally adopted a draft National Land Policy. Women's rights activists are following the process closely, advocating for major changes to dramatically shift a legal framework that has denied women access to land and property rights.

Due to Peru's failing Health Service Lottery, hundreds of poor, rural, and Indigenous pregnant women are dying because they are being denied health services, Amnesty International has found in a new report.

A military review has called for reforming the practices at the Bagram US Air Base in Afghanistan. Abuses by US soldiers have already led to the deaths of two detainees in 2002, who were beaten and hung from the ceiling of their cells by their arms.

Humanitarian aid groups in Afghanistan have been forced to increase their security due to escalating attacks. Purchasing protective equipment and personnel has made this work much more expensive and difficult.

Overcrowding in Kenyan camp housing Somali refugees has led to the rapid spread of disease. There have already been 35 cases of measles.

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The cancellation of Haiti’s $1.2 billion debt is a significant victory for the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. The debt was officially cancelled after Haiti became the 26^th country to reach the completion point in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.

Stephen de Tarczynski interviews a vocal and courageous women's rights activist in Afghanistan, Malalai Joya. Joya discusses the myth of Afghan human rights having stemmed from American intervention, recognizes other brave female activists in her country, and urges people to take action.

Marginalized groups in Kenya, such as commercial sex workers, demand that the government create specific programs responsive to their needs in the fight against HIV.

After receiving much condemnation from governments worldwide concerning Afghanistan’s controversial marriage law that appeared to legalize marital rape, President Hamid Karzai suspended its implementation. Afghanistan’s government recently drafted a revision to the law, changing the section involving a woman’s duty to have sex with her husband every four days as well as the section that stated a woman must ask her husband’s permission to leave the house.  However, the law still allows a man to deny food to his wife if she refuses sex.

Although the International Court of Justice found Israel’s building of a barrier in the occupied Palestinian territory to be illegal five years ago, Israel has yet to make improvements in the situation, says the UN. Israel claims the barrier is a temporary security measure, though the International Court of Justice says the route they have chosen is unnecessary to achieve its security objectives.

The East African Community is working on a campaign for an East African Declaration on Gender Equality, promoting gender equality laws and implementation in Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and Kenya. Legal experts from all five states are expected to start drafting the gender declaration this month.

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International donations come up short for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The organization only presently has thirty-eight percent of the money needed for their operation to help Iraqis.

The US State Department reports that Israel is still a significant site for human trafficking. The largest trafficking gang in Israel was discovered in March 2009, a gang responsible for trafficking over 2,000 women. Though the Israeli government has taken some steps such as increasing law enforcement and providing shelter and aid to victims, there is much more work needed to be done.

A festival was held in Kenya dedicated to spreading the idea of gender equality. A participating organization called Men for Gender Equality Now (MEGEN), believes in changing social attitudes about gender from an early age, and stresses the importance of men getting involved in erasing discrimination.

Women and girls represent a disturbing majority of the world’s poor. The theme of World Population Day (July 11) will therefore focus primarily on investing in women’s health, education, and financial sustainability.

Fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia, has left 278,000 people displaced. Aid agencies are having difficulty accessing the location of the displaced people, but women’s groups have been able to help.

Malalai Joya, the youngest member of Afghanistan’s parliament and fearless women’s rights activist, writes about her fight against the warlord leaders of her country and the risks she has taken to stand up for what she believes in.

Just 13 days after the Indigenous protests in Peru, the Peruvian government has approved the oil company Perenco for drilling in Amazonian territories populated by 2 uncontacted Indigenous Peoples. Although Survival International has reported both Peruvian and Ecuadorian governments, local Indigenous organizations, and many other experts have recognized the presence of isolated Indigenous groups in the area, Perenco denies their existence.

Despite women in Lebanon gaining the right to vote and participate in national elections in 1952, 19 years before Switzerland, political participation by Lebanese women at the national level remains dismal. Some believe that the male dominated society and family affiliated culture is to blame.

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Namibian women living with HIV who were sterilized without their consent have taken legal action. Many of these women not given full, if any, information about the sterilization procedure. Many of the consent forms were not written in the women's native language. There are 20 known cases so far, but it is believed that many other women have been affected.

New Delhi's LGBTI community speaks out in Queer Pride Parade against legal discrimination. According to the Indian Penal Code, Article 377, homosexuality is a crime punishable by life imprisonment or fines.  Protesters showed that this criminalization of sexual orientation is a violation of the human rights guaranteed under India's Constitution, and that human rights should take priority.

Some people have seemed surprised by Iranian women leading the crowds of protesters against the contested re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But it was Iranian women who began protests during the last presidential election in 2005.

Women's access to land and natural resources is necessary to eradicate hunger and rural poverty. Land is critical for improving women's, social security, livelihoods and their social status. In this year's African Union Summit, with the official theme of "Investing in agriculture for economic growth and development," this article argues that women's rights will be at the forefront of discussions.

Conditions in Pakistan's displaced persons camps are becoming increasingly unlivable, as US aerial bombardments are on the rise all over the country, forcing more and more people to leave their homes and seek shelter in these camps. The unmanned aircraft, also known as drones, that are used by the US military to perform these attacks, are operated by military personnel stationed in Nevada, thousands of miles away.

Rona Tareen, director of the Women's Association of Kandahar, believes working for women's rights in Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous jobs in Kandahar. Both her predecessor and a woman who worked below Tareen have been assassinated by the Taliban. Such attacks are not isolated incidents.

This week, women in 28 countries launched the first international campaign to end the threat of armed domestic violence. The campaign seeks to disable men who have histories of domestic violence from obtaining firearms. Firearms licensing has already been integrated into domestic violence laws in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago - with impressive results.