Togo and the United States launched on Tuesday a FCFA 1.376 billion (US $2 million) initiative against child trafficking. Officials said the project would help attract and retain children in schools.

Lack of progress in talks between Togo's opposition and presidential bloc has prompted the withdrawal of funding for facilitation of dialogue between the two sides, and heightened fears of a worsening political climate in the West African nation.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the increased persecution of and threats against Togolese journalists.

Togo's office of the International Catholic Child Bureau, using a US $343,000 contribution from the French government, has launched a three-year project to combat child labour across the country.

A few days after "La Tribune du peuple", two weekly newspapers were seized for publishing "false statements".

Amnesty International has expressed concern about "consistent reports of restrictions to freedom of expression and assembly, violence against members of political parties, inhuman and cruel prison conditions, and widespread impunity" in Togo.

Traditional chiefs in Togo, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the government, have agreed to support efforts against violence on girls through a 'national league' -in commemoration of the International Day of the Child that was celebrated on 20 November.

The World Association of Newspapers today welcomed the release from prison of three Togolese journalists, bringing to four the number freed in the past two weeks.

The mayor of the Togolese capital, Lome, has been arrested on charges of corruption.

Erosion along much of the Togolese coast has caused former beaches to be cemented by calcite into a crest of sedimentary rock called beachrock, Adote Blivi of Togo's Centre de Gestion Integree du Littoral et de l'Environnement (Centre for the Integrated Management of the Coast and the Environment) told IRIN.

Togo has hit the news for systematic human rights violations in terms of torture and extrajudicial killings. Now, the UN Committee on Human Rights (UNHCHR) also criticises the country for not taking women's rights and social and economic rights seriously. Togo has not been willing to provide information.

A group of NGOs including Amnesty have called on the international community to "turn principles into practice", as Mary Robinson highlighted in her opening statement to the UN Commission on Human Rights. The case of Togo, which has systematically violated international human rights standards, will be a test case for whether the Commission on Human Rights can put effective action before
political interests.