Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Turning the World Downside Up
Migration & Refugees
U.N. Member States Accused of Cherry-Picking Human Rights
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has criticised member states for ‘cherry-picking’ human rights – advocating some and openly violating others – perhaps to suit their own national or political interests.
Syrian Conflict Has Underlying Links to Climate Change, Says Study
Was the four-year-old military conflict in Syria, which has claimed the lives of over 200,000 people, mostly civilians, triggered at least in part by climate change?
Sometimes a Single Tree Is More Effective than a Government
Every morning, Raj Kumari Chaudhari walks from her home to the other end of Padnaha village, located in the Bardiya district of mid-west Nepal, to a big mango tree to offer prayers.
Human Rights in Asia and the Pacific: A “Regressive” Trend, Says Amnesty International
The cradle of some of the world’s most ancient civilizations, home to four out of the planet’s six billion people, and a battleground for the earth’s remaining resources, Asia and the Pacific are poised to play a defining role in international affairs in the coming decade.
Better to Die at Sea, than Languish in Poverty
Weerasinghearachilage Ruwan Rangana had it all planned out last year in September: the big break that would change his life and those of his extended family had finally arrived.
UN at 70: Mega-Cities, Mortality and Migration
As the international community marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, one question worthy of some reflection is: Is world population better or worse off demographically since the establishment of the U.N.?
Syria’s “Barrel Bombs” Cause Human Devastation, Says Rights Group
The warring parties in the brutal four-year-old military conflict in Syria, which has claimed the lives of over 200,000 civilians and triggered “the greatest refugee crisis in modern times,” continue to break every single pledge held out to the United Nations.
At the Margins of a Hot War, Somalis Are ‘Hanging on by a Thread’
After twin suicide bombings at a popular Mogadishu hotel last week that killed 25 and wounded 40, news reporters were seen swarming through the city, spotlighting the victims, the assassins, the motives and the official response.
Can Nepal’s TRC Finally Bring Closure to its War Survivors?
The picture of Muktinath Adhikari, principal of Pandini Sanskrit Secondary School in the Lamjung district of west Nepal who was killed during the country’s decade-long civil conflict, became an iconic portrayal of the brutality of the bloody ‘People's War’.
OPINION: Can the Violence in Honduras Be Stopped?
Honduras is one of the most violent nations in the world. The situation in the country’s second largest city, San Pedro Sula, demonstrates the depth of the problem.
Negev Bedouin Resist Israeli Demolitions “To Show We Exist”
Lehavim Junction in the northern Negev in Israel has been the backdrop to protests against home demolitions in Bedouin localities for the past four and half years.
OPINION: U.S. and Middle East after the Islamic State
As the Congress ponders President Barack Obama’s request for an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to fight the Islamic State (ISIS or IS), U.S. policymakers must focus on the “morning after” before they embark on another potentially disastrous war in the Levant.
Latin American Migrants Suffer Prejudice in Their Own Region
In the movie “A Day Without a Mexican“, the mysterious disappearance of all Mexicans brings the state of California to a halt. Would the same thing happen in some Latin American countries if immigrants from neighbouring countries, who suffer the same kind of discrimination, went missing?
Mass Rapes Reported in Darfur as Conflict Escalates
More than 200 Darfurian women were reportedly raped by Sudanese troops in one brutal assault on a town in October 2014, with the conflict in war-torn Darfur escalating to new heights.
Conflict-Related Displacement: A Huge Development Challenge for India
The tarpaulin sheet, when stretched and tied to bamboo poles, is about the length and breadth of a large SUV. Yet, about 25 women and children have been sleeping beneath these makeshift shelters at several relief camps across Kokrajhar, a district in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam.Next Page »
Human migration is a matter of global concern. Flows of migrants and refugees influence and change the social, economic and political dynamics of their destinations -- and the places they have left behind. IPS covers crucial issues such as migrant and refugee rights, irregular or undocumented migration, human trafficking, remittances, displaced persons and forced labour. And the positive: in many cases migration creates a new dialogue among civilisations. Migrants themselves become the building blocks of bridges connecting different cultures.
