Resisting the Dakota Access Pipeline: “This Is Not The End”  

Resistance towards the controversial Dakota Access pipeline continues after a federal court rejected requests to halt construction on Monday.

Few Families Overcome Forced Displacement by Hydropower Plants in Brazil

The construction of mega-hydropower plants in Brazil has been a tragedy for thousands of families that have been displaced, and a nightmare for the companies that have to relocate them as required by local law.

Life Goes On, Barely, After 50 Years of Occupation

Over almost five decades of Israeli occupation, the number of Palestinian refugees has grown with every generation, saturating basic services in the 19 camps that are home to about 200,000 people in the West Bank run by the United Nations.

Prime Minister of Thailand visits Group of 77 Suite of Offices at UN Headquarters

General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand visited the suite of offices of the Group of 77 on September 21 during the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.

Low Food Prices: Good for Your Pocket, Bad for Small Farmers

What would be your reaction if you were told that food prices are steadily declining worldwide? Good, very good news, you may say. But do the 600 million small, family farmers, those who produce up to 80 per cent of food in some regions, think the same way? Definitely not at all.

Gang Violence Drives Internal Displacement in El Salvador

A basketball court in this small town in western El Salvador was turned overnight into a shelter for some two dozen families forced to flee their homes after a recent escalation of gang violence.

UN Security Council’s “Perilous Interventions” in War Zones

When the UN Security Council last week discussed the “deliberate” attacks on medical facilities in war-ravaged Syria and Yemen, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon implicitly criticized some of the warring nations lamenting that “even a slaughterhouse is more humane” than the ongoing indiscriminate killings of civilians in the two devastating conflicts.

Development Without Democracy Isn’t a Happy Solution

Persistent indigestion may point to the cancer of esophagus, throat or stomach. This prognosis is a sufficient hint for the wise to understand why development without democracy isn't good for a nation. It's no solace for people to know that highways and bridges are being built unless they also feel connected to their country, because it altogether misses the point. A free country is desirable so that people can enjoy, not the freedom of luxury, but the luxury of freedom.

Teachers and Minimum Wage

Rizwana completed her Intermediate and then, having no other opportunities for jobs that her family would allow her to do, started teaching at a private school near her home. She enjoys teaching. Her family can do with the income she brings, and they felt that this was a good way of keeping her occupied until marriage.

Reject Abusers from UN Human Rights Council: Advocacy Groups

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and the UN Watch have called on UN member states to oppose the bids of some of the major human rights abusing governments from joining the Human Rights Council (HRC).

Developing Countries Share Sustainable Development Philosophies

Countries of the Global South, also known as developing countries, share many principles in common when it comes to implementing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

An Original Sin

A recent report by a UN-affiliated group refuels the long-standing debate over reparations for African-Americans. The group of experts which includes leading human rights lawyers from around the world presented its findings to the UN Human Rights Council recently, showing a link between the present and past injustices against the black people in the United States. The history of slavery in the US justifies reparations, they argued.

Jailed for Destroying Heritage

Last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) sentenced Ahmad al-Mahdi of Mali to nine years’ imprisonment for his part in the destruction of heritage monuments in Timbuktu about four years ago.

Unexpected Eritrean Journalistic Voice Rises in Ethiopia

It took Eritrean journalist Estifo* seven years to save up enough money to pay a fixer to get him and his family from the capital, Asmara, to the shared border with Ethiopia. After they crossed the border by foot, they turned themselves in to the Ethiopian authorities and claimed asylum as refugees.

Antonio Guterres Selected as Next UN Secretary-General Faces Tremendous Challenges

The 15 members of the UN Security Council jointly announced Wednesday their decision to select Antonio Guterres of Portugal as the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Coffee Producers in Costa Rica Use Science to Tackle Climate Change

“Our coffee production per hectare has dropped due to early ripening of the fruit and diseases,” Maritza Cal[related_articles][related_articles] coffee farmer in the mountains in southern Costa Rica, told IPS.

Better options for justice

It is a sad but inescapable truth that millions of Bangladeshis have limited access to a functioning, fair and transparent justice system. Despite recent improvement, the country's courts remain overburdened with huge numbers of long pending cases. Petty corruption and expense deter many people from attempting to resolve their cases through the formal legal system, while deeply-ingrained prejudices prevent access to justice for many women, poor people and those from minority ethnic or religious backgrounds.

Mentally Ill Convict

Imagine being on death row, facing your imminent execution. You are a murderer, convicted of killing an innocent man; the Supreme Court has rejected your lawyers’ appeal for clemency and a weeklong reprieve they gave you is now up. Your execution date is to be set any day now. Perhaps by the time this column is printed, you will already have been hanged.

Wage and Fiscal Policies for Economic Recovery

The new US census data released in late September show that 3.5 million people in the US climbed out of poverty, as the tepid economic recovery continues. Employers are finally creating more jobs and paying higher wages than seven years after the Great Recession started following the 2008 financial crisis.

Cherish Not Vilify Indian Civil Society

Civil society has been described as the oxygen of democracy by no less than UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon. As the world’s largest democracy, India has a proud history of inspiring people’s movements and non-profit organisations looked up to by social change advocates across the globe.

Attack on Civilian Ship Is in Clear violation of int’l Charters and Threatens Freedom of Navigation: UAE Foreign Ministry

(WAM) --- The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has stressed that the civilian ship (Swift) which was targeted by the Houthi and Saleh militias off the coast of Mocha, Yemen, was carrying assistance, wounded Yemenis and passengers.