Active Citizens

Obama Walks Fine Line in Kenya on LGBTI Rights

By Aruna Dutt
U.S. President Barack Obama spoke in Nairobi at the end of a two-day visit Saturday, focusing on Kenya's economy and the fight against terrorism, but also briefly touching on gay rights and discrimination.

Multilingualism Opens Doors to the World

By Nora Happel
On Friday, 67 student essay winners from 42 different countries convened at the United Nations General Assembly to present their essays at the Many Languages, One World Global Youth Forum.

Faith Leaders Issue Global “Call to Conscience” on Climate

By A. D. McKenzie
“We received a garden as our home, and we must not turn it into a wilderness for our children.”

Opinion: Addis Outcome Will Impact Heavily on Post-2015 Agenda – Part 2

By Bhumika Muchhala
The United Nations is the only universal forum that connects systemic issues to the global partnership for development. The latter recognises North-South cooperation based on historical responsibility and varying levels of development and capacity among member states of the U.N.

U.N. Remains Barred from Visiting U.S. Prisons Amid Abuse Charges

By Thalif Deen
When U.S. President Barack Obama visited the El Reno Correctional Facility in Oklahoma last week to check on living conditions of prisoners incarcerated there, no one in authority could prevent him from visiting the prison.

Opinion: Third FfD Conference Fails to Finance Development – Part One

By Bhumika Muchhala
The third Financing for Development (FfD) conference in Addis Ababa concluded last Thursday, July 16, in bad faith as developed countries rejected a proposal for a global tax body and dismissed developing countries’ compromise proposal to strengthen the existing U.N. committee of tax experts.

Calls Mount for “Bold” Climate Deal in Paris

By Kitty Stapp
A diverse coalition of 24 leading British scientific institutions has issued a communique urging strong and immediate government action at the U.N. climate change conference set for Paris in December.

Young Hondurans Lead Unprecedented Anti-Corruption Movement

By Thelma Mejía
A Honduran spring is happening, led by young people mobilising over the social networks, who are flooding the streets with weekly torch marches against corruption and impunity.

Papua New Guinea’s Unemployed Youth Say the Future They Want Begins With Them

By Catherine Wilson
Zibie Wari, a former teacher and founder of the Tropical Gems grassroots youth group in the town of Madang on the north coast of Papua New Guinea, has seen the hopes of many young people for a decent future quashed by the impacts of corruption and unfulfilled promises of development.

Sahrawi Women Take to the Streets

By Karlos Zurutuza
Ten women are gathered to discuss how to transmit Sahrawi culture and tradition to the younger generations. As usual, it´s a secret meeting. There is no other way in the capital of Western Sahara.

Kashmiri Women Suffering a Surge in Gender-Based Violence

By Athar Parvaiz
Rizwana* had hoped and expected that justice would be served – that the man who raped her would be sufficiently punished for his crime. Months after she suffered at his hands, however, the perpetrator remains at large.

Opinion: Homosexuality Will Never Be Eliminated. How About Eliminating Homophobia?

By Neela Ghoshal
A report published in June by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), in collaboration with the Uganda National Academy of Sciences, could help reshape understandings of human sexuality – if African policymakers take the time to consider the report’s findings.

New Convention Will Help Protect Latin America’s Elderly

By Emilio Godoy
“Our rights are only partially respected; in some places we are given special attention, but in others it is quite the opposite. There is a lack of education and respect for people my age,” Hilda Téllez, a 70-year-old Mexican woman, told IPS.

Indigenous People in Brazil’s Amazon – Crushed by the Belo Monte Dam?

By Mario Osava
Ethnocide, the new accusation leveled against the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, brings to light deeper underlying aspects of the conflicts and controversies unleashed by megaprojects in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.

Opinion: Unrestrained ‘Privatisation of Poverty-Reduction’ Puts Human Rights at Risk

By Savio Carvalho
Corporate lobbyists are unusual guests at development meetings, but when the United Nations held its Financing for Development conference in Addis Ababa this week to decide who pays for its new “Sustainable Development Goals”, some governments laid out the red carpet for the private sector.

Civil Society Sceptical Over “Action Agenda” to Finance Development

By Thalif Deen
Despite high expectations, the third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) ended on a predictable note: the United Nations proclaimed it a roaring success while most civil society organisations (CSOs) expressed scepticism over the final outcome.

Fear Stalks Students in Northern Pakistan

By Ashfaq Yusufzai and Kanya D'Almeida
It has been seven months since a group of gunmen raided the Army Public School in Pakistan’s northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, killing 145 people, including 132 students.

Latin America Has Beaten Down, but not Beaten, HIV/AIDS

By Álvaro Queiruga
The countries of Latin America have partially met the Millennium Development Goal referring to the fight against HIV/AIDS, according to the UNAIDS report on the global epidemic released Tuesday.

Children Increasingly Becoming the Spoils of War

By Beatriz Ciordia
Whether in Palestine, Ukraine or Somalia, wars result in millions of children threatened by the brutality of armed conflict.

Female Commandos Ready to Take on the Taliban

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
For years, Robina Shah has dreamed of joining the police force. Ever since her father, a police constable, was killed in a 2013 Taliban suicide attack in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan’s northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, she has longed to carry on his legacy.

Opinion: Why Women Peacemakers Marched in Korea

By Mairead Maguire
The year 2015 marked the 62nd anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War. The temporary ceasefire has never been replaced with a peace treaty and the demilitarised zone (DMZ) continues to divide the country.
« Previous Page — Next Page »
*#*