Q&A: Prevention Is the Best Cure for Gender Violence

As many as seven in 10 women in the world report experiencing physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime, leaving a devastating aftermath for individuals, communities and nations.

Q&A: How to Analyse a Budget’s Impact on Female Empowerment

Tools such as "gender markers", which screen budgets and resources dedicated to promoting gender equality, are proving critical to improving the effectiveness of monetary support that seeks to empower women and girls.

Q&A: “Social Unrest Can Be a Creative Force”

Social unrest and demands for change are not a negative thing during times of crisis like today, says Rubens Ricupero, a prominent Brazilian diplomat and intellectual.

Q&A: Needed: Common Caribbean Strategies Against Climate Change

Subject to the double impact of the global economic crisis and climate change, the Caribbean island nations are in need of adaptation strategies in which international cooperation and citizen participation play key roles, says Cuban expert Ramón Pichs.

No Magic Solutions for the Extinction of Species

The Earth's life support system, which generates the planet's air, water and food, is powered by 8.7 million living species, according to the latest best estimate. We know little about 99 percent of those unique species, except that far too many are rapidly going extinct.

Q&A: Where Abusing Women Is “An Accepted Norm”

Violence, torture and other forms of cruel treatment are on the rise for women in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Q&A: U.S. Women’s Commissions Under the Budget Axe

State and local Commissions on the Status of Women (CSW) are facing shrinking budgets and even total elimination at a time when women are some of the hardest hit by the financial crisis, says Susan Rose, vice chair of Human Rights Watch's Santa Barbara Committee.

Q&A: “The Environmental Crisis Is in Fact a Crisis in Democracy”

To meet the challenges of the 21st century, including climate change, feeding the world and eliminating poverty, we need to free ourselves from the "thought traps" that prevent us from seeing the world as it truly is and narrow our vision of how to respond.

RUSSIA: ‘Repression May Lead to Revolt’

The Russian opposition movement which has risen to prominence since the Dec. 4 parliamentary elections has not said its last word, says 35-year-old Sergey Udaltsov, one of its most visible figures.

Q&A: War Crimes Court Should Strengthen Victims’ Participation

Most of the cases brought before the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) include gender-based crimes, but advocates say the court is still falling short in ensuring that women play an active role in decision-making and outreach at the highest levels.