# Roundup: Women and violence, Syria, new Pope

> Muslim and Western nations overcame deep divisions to agree on a landmark United Nations code to combat violence against women and girls.

20 March 2013 · News

Canonical: https://insights1.uca.org.au/articles/roundup-women-and-violence-syria-new-pope/

## [Historic UN code adopted to combat violence against women](https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hBQYyVUVaIqO961efFkY48Be058g?docId=CNG.31f0f0079f76f2fc68946263093e0993.41)

Muslim and Western nations overcame deep divisions to agree on a landmark United Nations code to combat violence against women and girls.

## [New reports reveal true horror of Syrian civil war](https://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18184)

Two years after Syrians rose in peaceful protest against their government, the country is mired in a bloody conflict with both sides responsible for war crimes, Amnesty International found in two briefings released on 13 March 2013.

## [**Rebuild my church**](https://sojo.net/blogs/2013/03/14/rebuild-my-church/#comment-covenant)

I fervently hope and pray that a Global South pope who deliberately chooses his name from Francis of Assisi will be that agent of change. In the 12th century, the young Francis of Assisi heard a call that became his mission — “rebuild my Church” — straight from the voice of God. And today, the church needs rebuilding again — to be what the church was meant to be. But to make those changes, Pope Francis will need to address some very fundamental issues.

## [**New pope welcomed by Reformed churches**](https://www.wcrc.ch/node/972)

“We are touched by your humility. The name you have chosen is a sign for us that attention to the plight of the poor and justice for all people will be important for you.”