VENEZUELA: Colombian Refugees in Undocumented Limbo

Peasants fleeing Colombia's armed conflict are still trickling into Venezuela, joining the multitude who in the last seven years have requested refugee status and an identity document to help them rebuild their lives in their new country.

NICARAGUA: A Month of Free Fun and Games for Poor Children

More than one million poor children in Nicaragua will enjoy a massive Christmas celebration this month, complete with recreational activities and presents, organised by the government of President Daniel Ortega. But the opposition is criticising the project as populist and eccentric.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Women Facing Increased Risk

Dominican organisations focused on the rights of women are bringing in assistance from all over Latin America to aid them in their fight against Article 30 in the recently approved constitution which states that the right to life is inviolable from conception until death.

BALKANS: Apologising to Sterilised Roma Women – Slovakia’s Turn

Rights activists are hoping a landmark announcement by the Czech government regretting forced sterilisation of Roma women in the past will push politicians in neighbouring Slovakia to follow suit.

PERU: IACHR Calls for Justice for Victims of Forced Sterilisation

The Peruvian government is once again being called on to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Voluntary Surgical Contraception (VSC) programme carried out by the Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) regime, under which tens of thousands of women were forcibly sterilised. This time, the demand comes from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

BRAZIL: ‘Quilombos’ Keep Black Cultural Identity Alive

A black community in the southern Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro is trying to maintain its cultural heritage on 287 hectares granted to it by the government in 1999 as part of reparations to the descendants of slaves.

LEBANON: Refugees Remain Sceptical of Nahr al-Bared Reconstruction

More than two years after their refugee camp was destroyed in a war between the Lebanese army and the Islamist militant group Fatah al-Islam, Nahr al-Bared refugees Wednesday witnessed the start of the camp’s reconstruction. Their relief is mixed with scepticism, however.

Q&A: Glass Half-full 15 Years After ICPD – Part 2

Fifteen years after the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the glass is half full, according to Purnima Mane, deputy executive director of the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA). And not much better for the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Violence Against Women (CEDAW) after 30 years.

Q&A: Impact of Crisis in Latin America Less Severe than in the Past

Thanks to effective social policies and measures that have strengthened the economy, most of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have managed to weather the impact of the global recession, although poverty has risen slightly for the first time since 2002.

DEVELOPMENT: Climate Change Likely to Increase African Hunger Woes

Africa, the continent already most affected by hunger and food scarcity, is likely to see its woes increased due to climate change and the changing rain patterns it provokes, experts and scientists say.

DEVELOPMENT: UNFPA Puts Human Face on Climate Blowback

A new U.N. report on the hazards of climate change brings a fresh human perspective to an ongoing wide-ranging debate that has focused primarily on energy efficiency and industrial carbon emissions.

CUBA: Fewer Storks Visiting Shiny Maternity Clinics

Women in Cuba cite a variety of reasons to explain their decision to have only one child, ranging from the housing shortage to the rising cost of living and the many work responsibilities they have to shoulder. But many say that if things were different they would have a bigger family.

MIDEAST: Gazans Brace for Cold, Bleak and Miserable Winter

Tens of thousands of Gazans living in tents and damaged homes face a wet, cold and miserable winter as Israel’s blockade of the coastal territory continues to prevent the importation of building and reconstruction material.

ARGENTINA: Child Benefits Expanded to Unemployed and Informal Workers

A new monthly family allowance of nearly 50 dollars per child that will be paid out as of December to parents who are unemployed or work in the informal economy in Argentina was heralded by experts as an extraordinary step forward in terms of social policy.

AGRICULTURE-SENEGAL: Groundnut Production in Freefall

Farmers are complaining about a lack of technical assistance and the poor quality of seeds they've planted this year in the Kaolack region, Senegal's groundnut-producing area, 200 kilometres south of the capital Dakar.

CHILE: Teen Pregnancy, a Problem That Won’t Go Away

Chile currently stands out for its spectacular progress in a number of health indicators, including maternal and child mortality and chronic malnutrition. But these successes obscure an acute social problem that refuses to yield: the steady rise in the number of teenage mothers.

MIDEAST: Israel Divided Over ‘Illegal’ Children

"Migrant workers bring with them a profusion of diseases - hepatitis, measles, tuberculosis, AIDS and drug addiction: Our critics can be as sanctimonious as they like, but unless we stop the wave of migrant workers, the whole character of the State of Israel, its Jewish character, will be under threat."

PHILIPPINES: Children Worst Hit by Economic Crisis

"I get an allowance of 50 pesos (about one U.S. dollar) a day, of which 20 pesos (40 U.S. cents) is for fare," says 17-year-old Dana Jane Estrada.

CLIMATE CHANGE: The Rising Tide of Environmental Refugees

Our early twenty-first century civilisation is being squeezed between advancing deserts and rising seas.

MIGRATION-BRAZIL: Gov’t Engages Three Million Far-Flung Citizens

Brazil, a major source of migrants since the 1980s, is now working at recognising and supporting the rights of the three million Brazilians who are scattered among over 100 countries.

DEVELOPMENT: Is It Time to Plan Another U.N. Population Meet?

When the United Nations commemorated the 15th anniversary of the 1994 landmark conference on population and development (ICPD) last week, one of the questions lingering in the minds of many seemed obvious: is it time to plan another major conference on population?