Africa

Du 16 au 22 avril 2026

- Agenda / Macédoine du Nord, Dans les Balkans, France - Régions

Des religieux conservateurs se réunissent au Nigeria pour choisir un rival à la première femme archevêque de Canterbury.

Credit: UN Women/Marcela Erosa
 
From protection against gender-based violence to equal pay, women and girls remain unequal under the law, as impunity for violations of their rights persists worldwide, said UN Women.

By UN Women
NEW YORK, Mar 5 2026 (IPS)

On 8 March 2026, International Women’s Day, UN Women issues a global alert: justice systems meant to uphold rights and the rule of law are failing women and girls everywhere. Women globally hold just 64 per cent of the legal rights of men, exposing them to discrimination, violence, and exclusion at every stage of their lives.

This is one of the findings of the new United Nations Secretary-General’s report, “Ensuring and Strengthening Access to Justice for All Women and Girls”. The same report reveals that in over half of the world’s countries – 54 per cent – rape is still not defined on the basis of consent, meaning a woman can be raped and the law may not recognize it as a crime.

A girl can still be forced to marry, by national law, in nearly 3 out of 4 countries. And in 44 per cent of countries, the law does not mandate equal remuneration for work of equal value, meaning women can still legally be paid less for the same work.

“When women and girls are denied justice, the damage goes far beyond any single case. Public trust erodes, institutions lose legitimacy, and the rule of law itself is weakened. A justice system that fails half the population cannot claim to uphold justice at all,” said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.

As backlash against longstanding commitments on gender equality intensifies, violations of the rights of women and girls are accelerating, fueled by a global culture of impunity, spanning from courts to online spaces to conflict. Laws are being rewritten to restrict the freedoms of women and girls, silence their voices, and enable abuse without consequence.

As technology outpaces regulation, women and girls face growing digital violence in a climate of impunity where perpetrators are rarely held accountable. In conflicts, rape continues to be used as a weapon of war, with reported cases of sexual violence rising by 87 per cent in just two years.

The UN Secretary General’s report also shows that progress is possible: 87 per cent of countries have enacted domestic violence legislation, and more than 40 countries have strengthened constitutional protections for women and girls over the past decade. But laws alone are not enough.

Discriminatory social norms – stigma, victim-blaming, fear, and community pressure – continue to silence survivors and obstruct justice, allowing even the most extreme forms of violence, including femicide, to go unpunished.

Women’s access to justice is also prevented by everyday realities such as cost, time, language, and a deep lack of trust in the very institutions meant to protect them.

This International Women’s Day 2026, under the theme “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls,” UN Women calls for urgent and decisive action: end impunity, defend the rule of law, and deliver equality – in law, in practice, and in every sphere of life – for all women and girls.

This year’s 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) – the United Nations’ highest-level intergovernmental body that sets global standards for women’s rights and gender equality – is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reverse rollback of women’s rights and ensure justice.

“Now is the moment to stand up, show up, and speak up for rights, for justice, and for action – so that every woman and girl can live safely, speak freely, and live equally,” stressed Bahous.

International’s Women’s Day Commemoration and the opening of CSW70 will take place this year on the same day, back to back, on March 9 2026 in the UN General Assembly, starting at 9:00 a.m. EST and online.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Les frappes aériennes américaines et israéliennes contre l'Iran, ainsi que les représailles iraniennes, ont suscité un débat quant à leur conformité avec le droit international. Le BBC World Service s'est entretenu avec des experts juridiques afin d'évaluer ces actions.

Former Ghana international Laryea Kingston has called on the Black Stars to treat all their 2026 World Cup opponents with vigilance, highlighting Panama as a potential challenge despite their underdog status.

Former Ghana international Laryea Kingston has urged the Black Stars to aim beyond mere participation at the 2026 World Cup, insisting the team must at least progress beyond the group stage. Ghana, four-time African champions, will compete in the summer tournament, co-hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

Former Ghana international Laryea Kingston has urged Black Stars head coach Otto Addo to avoid introducing unfamiliar players into his squad ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Ghana rsquo;s qualification for the tournament has sparked renewed interest from several Ghanaian-born players in the diaspora who are considering switching their in .

Former Ghana international Laryea Kingston has stressed the importance of the Black Stars assembling their strongest possible squad for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. Ghana rsquo;s senior national team will return to the global showpiece later this year, with matches scheduled across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Former Samuel Inkoom believes the impressive form of Antoine Semenyo could play a decisive role in Ghana national football team rsquo;s quest for success at the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer. Semenyo, 26, completed a move to Manchester City from AFC Bournemouth during the January transfer window and has quickly made an impact at the Pre .

A strong supply of weapons and a history of long wars make Sudan's conflict particularly troubling.

By External Source
Mar 4 2026 (IPS)

 
Women and girls have never been closer to equality.

And never closer to losing it.

In 1995, 189 governments adopted the Beijing Declaration.

A global promise for the equal rights of all women and girls.

On 8 March 2026, the United Nations International Women’s Day theme is clear:

RIGHTS. JUSTICE. ACTION. FOR ALL WOMEN AND GIRLS.

The call is for equal rights, and equal justice, to enforce, exercise and enjoy those rights.

Because progress is still too slow.

At the current pace, closing legal protection gaps could take 286 years.

Rights written into law are not enough.

Justice means those rights must be enforced.

Yet almost 1 in 3 women has experienced physical or sexual violence.

Women hold only 27.2% of seats in national parliaments.

And just 22.9% of cabinet posts worldwide.

Too many women and girls are still denied protection.

Too many are still shut out of power.

Too many are still failed by the systems meant to protect them.

Aligned with CSW70, this year’s UN focus goes beyond symbolism.

It demands full participation in public life.

It demands the elimination of violence.

It demands equal justice.

 

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Finn Allen strikes an unbeaten century as New Zealand demolish 2024 runners-up South Africa by nine wickets to reach a second Men's T20 World Cup final

By Sania Farooqui
BENGALURU, India, Mar 4 2026 (IPS)

The ordinary sounds of Nahid Ali’s home in Khartoum were completely drowned out by the sound of war which began on April 15 2023. Her baby was just 21 days old. The morning started as any typical day for a mother who had just given birth to her baby and needed to nurse her newborn while she took care of her other children. The gunfire began to erupt. The fighting began when two groups started to battle each other in the streets. The fighting which began in her area developed into a destructive countrywide war in Sudan which spread to her street within moments.

Credit: Nahid Ali, Communications Manager, Plan International

Nahid states “I remember the sound of the war replacing the sound of my home.” Her children were shaking. It was the first time she had found herself at the center of live clashes. There was no time to gather documents, clothes, or memories. She grabbed her children and ran. Everything else was left behind. In that instant, Nahid stopped being only a humanitarian worker responding to crisis, she became one of its victims. Nahid Ali works as a Communications Manager at Plan International, where she helps women and children across Sudan through her work. Overnight, she joined the millions she had long served. She was now an internally displaced person who required home protection and humanitarian assistance. “It was confusing,” she says. “I needed to support my own family while also thinking about other families in need.”

As a mother, she could not protect her children from the sound of airstrikes or the fear of hunger. As a humanitarian, she felt the crisis in her bones. “I became one of the people I used to help,” she says. Now, when mothers describe fleeing under fire or struggling to feed their children, she does not simply empathize. She understands. The war which forced Nahid to leave her house has developed into one of worlds worst humanitarian crisis. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 30.4 million people which represents two-thirds of the global population now require humanitarian assistance, including 7 million internally displaced people. Cities have been shattered, communities have emptied, front lines shift, but civilians remain trapped in the wreakage created by this war.

Sudan’s health infrastructure has come crumbling down under the pressure of the conflict. Over 70 percent of the health facilities are not functioning. Hospitals have been bombed, looted, or occupied. Healthcare staff have either fled, not been paid, or have been killed. Disease is rampant in the crowded camps, and lack of medication is the new normal. What was once curable is now fatal.

The situation is being made worse by the effects of the climate change and the economic collapse. The purchasing power has been eroded by the high rates of inflation. The prices of food have skyrocketed. Water is now a luxury. People are not eating for days. The situation is affecting the women, children, elderly, and the displaced the most.

The situation has now spread beyond the borders of Sudan. The conflict has displaced over 2.9 million people into Chad, the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and South Sudan. These nations are already dealing with health challenges of their own.

The conflict started in April 2023, as tension between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces transformed into an armed conflict in Khartoum. The conflict has since spread across the Darfur region. What started as a political power struggle has now resulted in the displacement of populations, starvation, and genocide.

In a report released by the United Nations, an Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan established that the “evidence establishes the existence of at least three underlying acts of genocide in Darfur. These are the killing of members of the protected ethnic group, the causing of serious bodily and mental harm, and the deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the group in whole or in part.”

The report is based on the situation in El Fasher, the capital of the state of North Darfur, a town besieged for 18 months before the main attack. The report established the “scale, coordination, and public endorsement of the operation by senior RSF leadership demonstrate that the crimes committed in and around El Fasher were not random excesses of war,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the mission. “They formed part of a planned and organized operation that bears the defining characteristics of genocide.”

Children are at the eye of this storm.

According to UNICEF, there are an estimated 1.3 million children in areas where famine is already taking place. Over 770,000 children are expected to face severe acute malnutrition this year. Many of them will not survive. In the final six months of 2024 alone, there were over 900 grave violations against children reported, eighty percent of them were killings, mainly in Darfur, Khartoum, and Gezira Province. These are just a few of the reported cases, which humanitarian agencies say is just a small fraction of the true extent of the crisis.

The Integrated Food Security Phase classification (IPC) said the thresholds for acute malnutrition were surpassed in two new areas of North Darfur, Um Baru and Kernoi, following the fall of the regional capital, El Fasher, in October 2025 and a massive exodus. December assessments found acute malnutrition levels among children of 52.9 per cent in Um Baru, nearly twice the famine threshold and about 34 per cent in Kernoi.

It is a challenging job to deliver aid to the war-torn areas. The roads are either unsafe or impassable, bureaucratic delays are common too and the armed groups attack aid convoys as well. “Sometimes the assistance cannot even arrive,” Nahid says.

In these places of displacement, Nahid witnesses the toll taken on the human body by the numbers.

“Sexual violence is a tool of war. Many of the women we meet were attacked as they fled their homes. Some were forced to watch as their friends were attacked in front of family members. Some are pregnant, waiting for services that might never materialize.” The trauma these women face is compounded by shame and a total lack of services.

In some communities, the shame of rape leads to the forced marriage of the raped women to the rapist. This provides a context for the child born of rape, it’s a way to give the family a sense of honour. But the damage done by this violence cannot be overstated. The girls who were raped have yet to open up about the violence they experienced, psychosocial services for these women are scarce, safe havens are hard to find and their needs are overwhelming. Children come to the camps alone, separated, orphaned, lost. Some saw their families die. Some crossed through combat zones to escape.

Nahid recalls a six-year-old girl who is always scared, she describes how in Sudan, women wear a traditional attire called the tobe. Whenever the girl sees a woman wearing a tobe, she runs towards her crying, “My mother, my mother.” She hopes against all hopes that this woman is her real mom, Nahid says.

“We need the world not to forget Sudan.” She says this is what she hopes for: more solidarity from the world community, more funding, more pressure on governments.

What keeps her going is the strength she sees all around her. She sees women organizing community kitchens from scratch. She sees families sharing the little food they have. She sees women organizing their own support groups. Sudanese women inspire her most. Many have lost homes, livelihoods, and loved ones, and yet, they still care for children, advocate for services, and hold communities together.

“They have lost so much,” Nahid says. “But they are still standing.”

Sania Farooqui is an independent journalist, host of The Peace Brief, a platform dedicated to amplifying women’s voices in peacebuilding and human rights. Sania has previously worked with CNN, Al Jazeera and TIME.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
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NCPC say the measure is necessary to prioritise the "safety and comfort" of Nigerian pilgrims.

Voici le clown milliardaire qui crache du feu et marche sur des échasses : Guy Laliberté, cofondateur du Cirque du Soleil.

Certains scientifiques pensent qu'il existe un multivers et ils ont imaginé toutes sortes d'explications sur son fonctionnement.

The author's 21-month-old son died in January after complications during medical procedures at a private hospital in Lagos.

Az éppen 35 éve lezajlott Sivatagi Vihar (Desert Storm) hadművelet során a bevetéseket végrehajtó hajózószemélyzetekre nem csak az ellenséges légtérben leselkedett veszély – olykor a technika ördöge is kihívás elé állította a pilótákat. A pilótafülkében nekik kellett helytállni, de bizonyos helyzetekben, külső segítség nélkül nem lett volna esélyük a sikerre. Így történt az 1991-es öbölháború egyik napján, a USS Midway repülőgép-hordozó pilótájával és tengerészeivel is.

Az öbölháború idején az amerikai haditengerészet (US Navy) legrégebbi repülőgép-hordozója a USS Midway volt. Az építésekor új osztályt képviselő hajó, a második világháború idején készült, majd az ötvenes években végzett átépítés során szögfedélzetet kapott. A hetvenes években ismét modernizálták, a katapultok számát háromról kettőre csökkentették, és a repülőfedélzet méretét megnövelték. A hajó méretein az átépítéssel lényegesen nem lehetett változtatni. Szemben az újabb hordozók négyköteles rendszerével, a Midwayen három kötél volt és a fedélzet kis mérete miatt a pilótáknak minimális hibázási lehetőségük sem volt: egy kissé megsüllyedve a fedélzet végének ütközhettek, egy kissé magasan közelítve fékhorguk garantáltan elvétette a fékezőkötelek egyikét. Mindezek tetejébe Midway eredetileg cirkálónak készült, ahhoz optimalizált, 33 csomós (61 km/h) sebességet biztosító hajótesttel. Az átépítéskor erre a testre került a később még meg is növelt felületű repülőfedélzet, magasra helyezve a hajó súlypontját. Emiatt erősebb hullámzásnál a hordozó nagyon instabil lett, akár 20-25 fokra is megdőlhetett, ami erőteljes bólintó mozgással is párosult. Mindezek extra kihívás elé állították a Midway fedélzetén települő nyolc repülőszázad személyzetét. Az öbölháború során három F/A-18 Hornet vadászbombázó század, két A-6 Intruder közepes bombázószázad, egy-egy EA-6B Prowler elektronikai hadviselési és E-2C Hawkeye légtérellenőrző és korai előrejelző század valamint egy SH-3 Sea Kinggel repülő helikopterszázad, összesen hatvan repülőeszköz kapott helyet a fedélzeten. A korszak nagyjai közül az F-14 Tomcat az S-3 Viking üzemeltetésére a Midway nem volt alkalmas.

[...] Bővebben!

Mosiuoa Lekota was imprisoned with former South African President Nelson Mandela on Robben Island.

L'assassinat du guide suprême iranien, l'ayatollah Ali Khamenei, lors d'une frappe conjointe des États-Unis et d'Israël, a suscité de vives réactions dans de nombreuses régions d'Afrique.