Human Rights

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India

No Sweet Consolation for Women Diabetics

The disease itself may not discriminate on the basis of gender, but when it comes to healthcare for patients with diabetes, women in India find themselves at a disadvantage compared to men.

Q&A: Crisis Escalates as International Community Fails Syria

By Apostolis Fotiadis

With no end in sight for the ongoing two-year war in Syria, the ensuing humanitarian crisis continues to escalate, with over 1 million refugees having fled to neighbouring countries and at least another 3 million displaced within Syria.

Explosives Shatter Lives in Kashmir

By Athar Parvaiz

Aadil Khan and his two siblings had been playing as usual behind their house in the village of Diver, 110 kilometres north of Kashmir’s capital, Srinagar, when they came across what they thought was a “plaything” laying on the ground. But no sooner had they picked the object up than it literally shattered their innocent lives into pieces.

Nuclear Iran Unlikely to Tilt Regional Power Balance – Report

By Jim Lobe and Joe Hitchon

A nuclear-armed Iran would not pose a fundamental threat to the United States and its regional allies like Israel and the Gulf Arab monarchies, according to a new report released here Friday by the Rand Corporation.

Videla Dies in Prison – a Victory Against Impunity

By Marcela Valente

Thirty-seven years after leading the coup d’etat that ushered in the most brutal dictatorship in the history of Argentina, former army commander Jorge Rafael Videla died in a common prison Friday.

U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arsenals Cling to Bygone Era

By George Gao

In the late 19^th century, Russian playwright Anton Chekhov famously touted one golden rule for dramatic productions: if you show your audience a loaded gun in the first act, that gun must go off by the last.

Film on Sexual Abuse Wins at Colombia-Venezuela Festival

By Humberto Márquez

A Venezuelan movie about a young deaf woman who is sexually abused by her stepfather, “Brecha en el silencio” (Breach in the Silence), took top prize at the second Colombia-Venezuela film festival.

Official Bullying Lurks Behind Prep for Olympics in Brazil

By Fabiola Ortiz

As Brazil prepares to host several sporting mega-events, human rights abuses and authoritarian interventions by the authorities are going on behind the scenes, favouring major urbanisation projects and stadium remodelling, a study says.

Civil Society Under Attack Around the World

By Mandeep S.Tiwana

In December 2011, 159 governments and major international organisations recognised the central role of civil society in development and promised to create an “enabling” operating environment for the non-profit sector.

Walking Tours Connect Palestinians to Their Past

By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours

A reddish-brown dome sits atop an ancient stone house, used hundreds of years ago for prayer. It peeks out from the surrounding trees as the rolling green valleys and hills of the central West Bank stretch out into the distance.

Pressure Mounting on U.S. over Congo Violence

By Joe Hitchon

With casualties in the long-running conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) now surpassing every conflict since World War II, U.S. policymakers and advocates are stepping up campaigns to raise awareness and push legislation aimed at encouraging new negotiations, assisting in government reforms, and pressuring the neighbouring countries that have propped up the DRC’s government.

Afghan Women Harassed into Unemployment

By Shelly Kittleson

While global attention is fixed on the scheduled pullout of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan in 2014, women here have a much more immediate concern: how will they survive another day at work?

Tribes Keep Uneasy Peace in Southern Libya

By Rebecca Murray

Kaltoum Saleh, 18, is elated to graduate from her overcrowded high school in the remote Saharan town of Ubari, near the Algerian border.

Ethiopia Playing at Being Good Neighbours

By William Lloyd-George

Despite comments by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn suggesting the pending withdrawal of his country’s troops from Somalia, many experts have voiced doubts that Ethiopia will pull out of Somalia before it is capable of handling its security without assistance.

Theatre with a Political Edge in Kazakhstan

By Joanna Lillis

A group of villagers is held in thrall by omnipotent rulers, who warn that misfortune will befall the inhabitants if they defy authorities. And then, one day, the emperor is revealed to have no clothes.