"UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR WOMEN - UNIFEM"

One hundred Somali women --   dressed in Orange as part of the worldwide Unite to End Violence Against Women --  met in Mogadishu   to organize the local struggle to protect women. UNSOM

On the tenth anniversary of the landmark Security Council Resolution 1325, which links women, peace and security, and establishes a framework to guide the UN's actions and policies, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says that, "we must admit that we have failed to build sufficiently on these conceptual foundations." UNTV

At the opening of the 2010 High-level Segment of the Economic and Social Council, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says that "until women and girls are liberated from poverty and injustice" all UN development goals "stand in jeopardy." Academy Award-winning actress and women's rights advocate Geena Davis adds that "it is critical to engage all sides" in order to end violence against women and promote their economic empowerment. UNTV / FILE

Nearly 500 Sudanese female candidates are actively participating at different levels for various seats ahead of Sudan's April elections - a sign that the country may be gradually accepting the participation of women in leadership. UNMIS

As human rights advocates and government officials prepare to meet in New York to discuss women's rights, the UN says that the overall progress made in the area still remains uneven. FILE

Briefing by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, Inés Alberdi, Executive Director, UNIFEM, Mary Quinn, Senior Manager, Avon Foundation for Women, and Geena Davis, Academy Award-winning Actor and Founder, See Jane, on the occasion of the special event “Engaging philanthropy to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment”

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé talks about the state of the global AIDS epidemic and prospects for finding a vaccine. 1 December is World AIDS Day. UNAIDS / FILE

UNIFEM issues a call to action to tackle a "pandemic" of violence affecting almost three quarters of women at some point in their lives. International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is 25 November 2009. UNIFEM / UNTV / FILE

A new UN report says an estimated 50 million women in Asia who are either married or in long-term relationships with men who engage in high-risk sexual behaviors are at risk of becoming infected with HIV from their partners. FILE

The International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) opens in Bali, Indonesia on Sunday (9 August). Women are now getting infected faster than men in several Southeast Asian countries, where an estimated 1.6 million people are HIV-positive. UNIFEM