Sunday, August 19, 2018
News and Views from the Global South
Human Rights
IPS Mourns the Passing of Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
Dear Nane Annan & Family,The IPS family would like to express our deepest condolences to you and your family on the passing of a husband, a father, a global statesman. As journalists, we find that few words can express our deep loss for a man who personalised and lived the vision and truth of a just and equal world.
Chairman of the Geneva Centre highlights the need to protect civilians in armed conflicts
On the occasion of the 2018 World Humanitarian Day – observed annually on 19 August -, the Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue Dr. Hanif Hassan Al Qassim calls for increased solidarity with civilians who are indiscriminately targeted by belligerents in armed conflicts.
Take Charge of Your Food: Your Health is Your Business
The minimum we expect from the government is to differentiate between right and wrong. But when it comes to regulating our food, it’s like asking for too much. Our latest investigation vouches for this. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)’s pollution monitoring laboratory tested 65 samples of processed food for presence of genetically modified (GM) ingredients.
A Detained Migrant, Nurse and Humanitarian: IOM Staff takes Inspiration from a Migrant he meets in Libyan Detention Centre
It has been two years since I started working with IOM and I would not even call it ‘work’. These have been two of the best years of my life – building great experiences and relationships with colleagues and migrants from many different cultures and backgrounds.
Stopping Ebola in its Tracks with Point of Entry Screening
The mighty Congo River both connects Kinshasa with Equateur Province where an Ebola epidemic began in May 2018 and separates the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from Congo-Brazzaville, hidden in the haze on the other bank.
Palestinian Children, the True Victims of the Conflict
Over 500 to 700 West Bank children were arrested and prosecuted each year by Israeli military forces. And Palestinian child rights organisation, Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP), says that between 2012 and 2017 the organisation represented more than 700 children, some 72 percent of whom endured violence after their arrest.
Roots in Diffa: Seeking Solace from Conflict
In 2015, the Boko Haram insurgency sweeping northern Nigeria reached the Diffa region of southern Niger, leading to the displacement of more than 250,000 people. However, even before 2015, Boko Haram had carried out some attacks in the region. In the wake of this crisis, people from across the border in Nigeria, and internally displaced people within Niger, sought refuge in Diffa town. What was, at first, an emergency slowly transitioned into a more permanent situation, and people have since made Diffa town their home.
Which Way Now for Zimbabwe as Constitutional Court Receives Petition Against Election Results?
Many in Zimbabwe are questioning whether the country can break with its horrid past or embrace a new future after a watershed election that saw Emmerson Mnangagwa win the presidential race by a narrow margin and the opposition lodge a formal petition challenging the results in the Constitutional Court.
Children and Women with Disabilities, More Likely to Face Discrimination
Children with disabilities are up to four times more likely to experience violence, with girls being the most at risk, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund.
Campaigns Promote Women’s Participation in Latin America
An alternative network in Brazil promotes women's participation in elected offices with media support. This campaign, like others in Latin America, seeks to reverse a political landscape where, despite being a majority of the population, women hold an average of just 29.8 percent of legislative posts.
IOM Voluntary Humanitarian Returns Continue in Libya as Number of Detained Migrants Soars
Between January and July 2018, IOM, the UN Migration Agency, safely returned 10,950 stranded migrants from Libya through its Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) Programme as the number of detainees in the country rose alarmingly. The majority of the migrants, 9,636, returned home to countries in Central and West Africa on IOM charter flights. A group of 325 people returned to East Africa and the Horn of Africa, and the remainder to North Africa and Asia.
Indigenous Peoples Least Responsible for the Climate Crisis
Indigenous peoples, who comprise less than five percent of the world’s population, have the world’s smallest carbon footprint, and are the least responsible for our climate crisis. Yet because their livelihoods and wellbeing are intimately bound with intact ecosystems, indigenous peoples disproportionately face the brunt of climate change, which is fast becoming a leading driver of human displacement.
States Must Act Now to Protect Indigenous Peoples During Migration
States around the world must take effective action to guarantee the human rights of indigenous peoples, says a group of UN experts. In a joint statement marking International day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the experts say it is crucial that the rights of indigenous peoples are realised when they migrate or are displaced from their lands:
Along with Peace, Eritreans Need Repression to End
“Military service was the only prospect on my horizon -- I didn’t want that,” a 20-year-old Eritrean who fled the country last year told me. “My dad had spent his whole life in military service.”
Beyond Boundaries – Cultural Literacy in Indiana & Rwanda
For ten years now, in special partnership with the community of Musanze, Rwanda, Indiana University (IU) has created meaningful programs and connections across the country. It is an unlikely partnership, one that formed over 10 years ago with a university alum recognizing an opportunity for not only cultural literacy but friendship.
Why the Flooding in Grenada is a Clear Reminder of its Vulnerability to Climate Change
Grenada is still tallying the damage after heavy rainfall last week resulted in “wide and extensive” flooding that once again highlights the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to climate change.
IOM: USD 45 Million Needed for 2018-2020 Migrant Response in Horn of Africa, Yemen
IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and its partners launched, on 6 August, a Regional Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) for the Horn of Africa and Yemen through which they are appealing to the international community for USD 45 million. The plan details support to migrants on the move in the Horn of Africa and Yemen from 2018 to 2020.
World Day for Indigenous Peoples
370 million self-identified indigenous peoples are spread across the world, but continue to face discrimination and marginalization.Dispossessed of their lands, territories and ancestral resources, these people have increasingly been forced to give up their way of life, and have been pushed into unfamiliar worlds to survive.
How the Yanadi, an Oppressed Indigenous People in India, are Reclaiming Their Rights One Village At a Time
Under the blazing midday sun, a tractor moves slowly along a dirt trail in Nacharwari Pallem, a village of the Yanadi indigenous people located some three hours from Chennai city in South India. Atop the tractor, women of the village – 36 in all – sit expectantly, ignoring the heat. Squeals of excitement fill the air as the tractor slowly halts near a stretch of rice fields.
Dispatch from Ghardaïa: Meeting Bintu at the ‘Door to the Desert’
The buses left Algiers almost a day ago. Although the buses are comfortable, it has been a long day on the road for everyone.
Farmer-Herder Conflicts on the Rise in Africa
Violent clashes between farmers and herders in Nigeria’s Middle Belt in June reminded me of a smelting hot afternoon a year ago. I was sitting in my living room watching a herder grazing his cows in my yard in the small town in southwestern Cameroon where I live.Next Page »
One world, one humanity, now one court to defend its rights. Another step towards universal human rights, but not remotely a step far enough. The United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights more than half a century ago, but that has done little to stop violations the world over, just as the Geneva Convention has not protected prisoners of war enough. Democracy itself and the freedom it presupposes has not been protective enough. This is the century to move from politicisation of human rights towards humanising political ways. IPS keeps an eye on that difficult path.
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Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
