Human Rights

Afghanistan Turns a Political Corner

By Giuliano Battiston
The Afghanistan presidential election is turning out to be a tale of two narratives. The more positive and democratic one could be winning the day.

U.S. Tribe Looks to International Court for Justice

By Michelle Tullo
An indigenous community in the United States has filed a petition against the federal government, alleging that officials have repeatedly broken treaties and that the court system has failed to offer remedy.

Ending Modern Slavery Starts in the Boardroom

By Farangis Abdurazokzoda
Modern-day slavery can be eradicated from multinational supply chains, but only if global businesses contribute to greater transparency and collaboration, according to new recommendations by Sedex Global and Verite.

OP-ED: Beyond the Street Protests: Youth, Women and Democracy in Latin America

By Jessica Faieta
Women’s empowerment and political participation are not only crucial for women: they are essential for effective democratic governance, one which promotes human rights and equity.  The same can be said about the importance of boosting youth political participation.

Russian Law Corners Drug Users

By Pavol Stracansky
As local authorities prepare to put an end to opioid substitution treatment (OST) programmes in the newly annexed Crimean peninsula, drug users there say they are being forced to choose between a return to addiction and becoming refugees.

CEOs at Big U.S. Companies Paid 331 Times Average Worker

By Jim Lobe
In new data certain to fuel the growing public debate over economic inequality, a survey released Tuesday by the biggest U.S. trade-union federation found that the CEOs of top U.S. corporations were paid 331 times more money than the average U.S. worker in 2013.

Court Upholds Most of U.S. “Conflict Minerals” Law

By Carey L. Biron
The United States’ second-highest court has upheld most of a landmark U.S. law requiring companies to ascertain and publicly disclose whether proceeds from minerals used to manufacture their products may be funding conflict in central Africa.

Uzbekistan’s Dying Aral Sea Resurrected as Tourist Attraction

By Adriane Lochner
"I’m going for a swim," says Pelle Bendz, a 52-year-old Swede, as he rummages in the jeep for his bathing trunks. The other tourists look at him, bewildered. What’s left of the Aral Sea is reputed to be a toxic stew, contaminated by pesticides and other chemicals.

OP-ED: Egyptian-Saudi Coalition in Defence of Autocracy

By Emile Nakhleh
The Bahraini Arabic language newspaper al-Wasat reported on Wednesday Apr. 9 that a Cairo court began to consider a case brought by an Egyptian lawyer against Qatar accusing it of being soft on terrorism.

Is Puerto Rico Going the Way of Greece and Detroit?

By Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero
Puerto Rican society has been shaken to its foundations by the announcement in February by Standard & Poor's and Moody's credit rating agencies that they had downgraded the island's creditworthiness to junk status.

Conflict Fuels Child Labour in India

By Stella Paul
Early in the morning, 14-year-old Sumari Varda puts on her blue school uniform but heads for the village pond to fetch water. “I miss school. I wish I could go back,” she whispers, scared of being heard by her employer.

Russians Blend Loyalty to Nazarbayev with Pro-Kremlin Sentiments

By Joanna Lillis
On a hillside in northeastern Kazakhstan, south of the Russian border, a simple and stark slogan looms over the city of Oskemen: “Kazakhstan,” reads the message in giant white letters arrayed across the green slope.

Valparaíso Blaze Highlights the City’s Poverty

By Marianela Jarroud
The blaze that tore through the Chilean port city of Valparaíso revealed the dark side of one of the most important tourist destinations in this South American country, which hides in its hills high levels of poverty and inequality.

Yakama Nation Tells DOE to Clean Up Nuclear Waste

By Michelle Tolson
The Department of Energy (DOE), politicians and CEOs were discussing how to warn generations 125,000 years in the future about the radioactive waste at Hanford Nuclear Reservation, considered the most polluted site in the U.S., when Native American anti-nuclear activist Russell Jim interrupted their musings: “We’ll tell them.”

Emerging Nations Opt for Arms Spending Over Development

By Thalif Deen
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has relentlessly advocated drastic cuts in global military spending in favour of sustainable development, will be sorely disappointed by the latest findings in a report released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
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