Active Citizens

Police Killings Challenge U.S. “Exceptionalism”

By Kitty Stapp
Since being roundly chastised last fall by the U.N. Committee Against Torture for excessive use of force by its law enforcement agencies, the United States hasn't exactly managed to repair its international reputation.

Falling Oil Prices Trigger Initial Economic Gains for Pacific Islanders

By Catherine Wilson
The recent dramatic fall in world oil prices, with Brent crude plummeting from a high of 115 dollars per barrel in June last year to around 47 dollars in January 2015, is beginning to benefit Pacific Islanders who are seeing lower prices for fuel and energy.

Urban Slums a Death Trap for Poor Children

By Valentina Ieri
It’s called the urban survival gap – fuelled by the growing inequality between rich and poor in both developing and developed countries – and it literally determines whether millions of infants will live or die before their fifth birthday.

Families in Quake-Hit Nepal Desperate to Get on With Their Lives

By Naresh Newar
Just over a week after a dreadful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Nepal, displaced families are gradually – but cautiously – resuming their normal lives, though most are still badly shaken by the disaster and the proceeding aftershocks that devastated the country.

Popular Nigerian Writer Headlines at Blockbuster World Voices Fest

By Lisa Vives
Prize-winning writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is hoping to break down some stereotypes at the upcoming World Voices Festival sponsored by the PEN America free expression group.

In India, a Broken System Leaves a ‘Broken’ People Powerless

By Neeta Lal
As India paid glowing tributes to Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the architect of its constitution and a champion of the downtrodden, on his 124nd birth anniversary last month, public attention also swivelled to the glaring social and economic discrimination that plagues the lives of lower-caste or ‘casteless’ communities – who comprise over 16 percent of the country's 1.2 billion people.

In India, a Broken Systems Leaves a Broken People Powerless

By Neeta Lal
As India paid glowing tributes to Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the architect of its constitution and a champion of the downtrodden, on his 124nd birth anniversary last month, public attention also swivelled to the glaring social and economic discrimination that plagues the lives of lower-caste or ‘casteless’ communities – who comprise over 16 percent of the country’s 1.2 billion people.

Q&A: “People Need to Be at the Centre of Development”

By Sandra Siagian
In a populous archipelago nation like Indonesia, where 250 million live spread across some 17,500 islands, speaking over 300 languages, the question of development is a tricky one.

Draconian Ban on Abortion in El Salvador Targeted by Global Campaign

By Edgardo Ayala
International and local human rights groups are carrying out an intense global campaign to get El Salvador to modify its draconian law that criminalises abortion and provides for prison terms for women.

In Nicaragua Marriage Is Only for ‘Him’ and ‘Her’

By José Adán Silva
A new Family Code that went into effect in Nicaragua this month represents an overall improvement in terms of the rights of Nicaraguans. However, it has one major gap: it fails to recognise same-sex marriage, and as a result it closes the doors to adoption by gay couples.

Deadline Looms for NGOs to Apply for ECOSOC Status

By Valentina Ieri
The NGO Branch of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations is calling on non-governmental organisations to apply for Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) consultative status in order to be considered by the 2016 NGO Committee.

Q&A: Comprehensive Ban on Nuclear Testing, a ‘Stepping Stone’ to a Nuke-Free World

By Kanya D'Almeida
With the four-week-long review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) underway at the United Nations, hopes and frustrations are running equally high, as a binding political agreement on the biggest threat to humanity hangs in the balance.

Campaign Against Glyphosate Steps Up in Latin America

By Fabiana Frayssinet
After the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared glyphosate a probable carcinogen, the campaign has intensified in Latin America to ban the herbicide, which is employed on a massive scale on transgenic crops.

Opinion: Continuing the Centennial Work of Women and Citizen Diplomacy in Korea

By Christine Ahn
A century ago, the suffragist Jane Addams boarded a ship with other American women peace activists to participate in a Congress of Women in The Hague.

Anti-Foreigner Discrimination ‘Fostered in South African Schools’

By Lisa Vives
A practice of denying admission to South African public schools of children without visas or whose parents are refugees from other African countries is creating a foundation for the current rash of xenophobia, critics of the practice say.

Expo 2015 Host City Promotes Urban Food Policy Pact

By Maurizio Baruffi
How can we provide healthy food for everyone, without threatening the survival of our planet? This is the fundamental issue at the centre of Expo 2015 – which has ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’ as its central theme – and a huge challenge for cities. 

Chaos Grows in Burundi as President Defies Advice to Step Down

By Lisa Vives
Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, overriding objections to an ill-advised third term, now faces a growing popular movement to oust him after his term ends this coming June.

Moving Indigenous Land Rights from Paper to Reality

By Valentina Ieri
Frustrated with decades of marginalisation, and of seeing their rights respected only on paper, Indigenous peoples are calling for major recognition from the international community.

As Nuke Talks Begin, U.N. Chief Warns of Dangerous Return to Cold War Mentalities

By Thalif Deen
Against the backdrop of a new Cold War between the United States and Russia, two of the world’s major nuclear powers, the United Nations is once again playing host to a four-week-long international review conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Opinion: Progress of the World’s Women 2015-2016: Transforming Economies, Realising Rights

By Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Our world is out of balance. It is both wealthier and more unequal today than at any time since the Second World War.

Want to Help Nepal Recover from the Quake? Cancel its Debt, Says Rights Group

By Kanya D'Almeida
The death toll has now passed 3,300, and there is no telling how much farther it will climb. Search and rescue operations in Nepal entered their third day Monday, as the government and international aid agencies scramble to cope with the aftermath of a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck this South Asian nation on Apr. 25.
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