Getting an Education for Afghan Girls
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Via UN News Centre:

04-21-afghan-girls.jpg
Although over 6 million children returned to Afghanistan's classrooms a month ago at the start of a new school year, United Nations agencies said today that half of the war-torn country's young people are excluded from receiving an education, the bulk of them girls.

This is the case even though the enrolment of girls, who were barred from going to school under the repressive Taliban regime, has increased significantly in the past five years, according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

'We still have 1.2 million girls of school age who do not have access to schools,' said Catherine Mbengue, UNICEF Country Representative in Afghanistan. 'We have a lot of work to do to make sure all conditions are met so that schools are friendly to girls.'

UN agencies have been working with the government to build new schools, conduct teacher trainings (particularly female teachers), and talking to communities about the importance of education in attempts to fill this huge gap.

This week is actually Global Action Week for Education. Their "Education for All" goal has a large focus specifically on education for girls, whom are effected disproportionately throughout the world.

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July 24, 2008


A Good Week for International Law
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July has been a bad month for war criminals. On Monday, July 14, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court set in motion proceedings against Sudanese president Omar el Bashir for genocide. Exactly one week later Radovan Karadzic--wanted for genocide in the Balkans--was arrested in Belgrade.

What does one have to do with the other? To be precise: not much. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a separate institution from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. (ICTY). The latter is a temporary, ad hoc tribunal focused only on the Balkans. The former is a permanent institution with a global remit. Despite these differences, though, Karadzic's arrest may offer a glimpse into how Bashir may one day face justice. It also shows why international war crimes tribunals can be such useful institutions to have around.

More.

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