In 2020, a historic announcement emerged from the Global Trafficking in Persons Report, an annual assessment that evaluates human exploitation in 129 countries. For the first time, the world witnessed a 13% decrease in the number of victims. For those of us who fight against this heinous crime, it felt as if a door to paradise had opened—an Eden where no human being is for sale.
Renewable energy and climate change activists have challenged African heads of state to take a united stance to safeguard essential mineral resources, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and other parts of the continent, which are selfishly exploited by foreign miners with disregard for poverty-stricken local communities.
Of the approximately 280 million immigrants in the world, the country hosting the largest number is America, the land of immigration. One-fifth of the world’s international migrants reside in the US, with those migrants arriving from nearly every country in the world.
The climate crisis is severely endangering
human well-being. While the climate security nexus is omnipresent in
national security strategies and on international institutions’ agendas, political responses remain
insufficient and are often problematic. Among other issues, related policies often struggle with
siloization or a
focus on symptoms instead of root causes.
Many in the West, of the political right and left, now deny imperialism. For
Josef Schumpeter, empires were pre-capitalist atavisms that would not survive the spread of capitalism. But even the conservative
Economist notes President Trump’s revival of this US legacy.
Many Americans, especially the wealthy and successful, have discovered that the US is facing the scourge of an ageing elderly population that is seriously threatening the nation’s prosperity, economic growth and international standing.
In the past few years, the world economy has made significant strides in mitigating inflation, unemployment, and poverty. Despite this, global growth has yet to regain its pace from before the pandemic.
The southern Indian state of Telangana has always been home to exquisite cotton and silk weaves. But in recent years, lack of market access, expensive inputs, and government apathy have taken their toll on the weaving community. As a result, the younger generation is refraining from pursuing this traditional occupation and opting for more lucrative pursuits.
It's been a tumultuous year, and a tough one for struggles for human rights. Civil society’s work to seek social justice and hold the powerful to account has been tested at every turn. Civil society has kept holding the line, resisting power grabs and regressive legislation, calling out injustice and claiming some victories, often at great cost. And things aren’t about to get any easier, as key challenges identified in 2024 are likely to intensify in 2025.
It’s a bright winter day in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia in the southern Balkans. By lunchtime, the cafes are full. The atmosphere is busy and social, and it is not difficult to see why the city, home to one-third of the country’s population of 2 million, is the focus of hope for young jobseekers. But, for many, it is not an easy road.
Migration is growing as the planet gets even hotter. Climate change is fuelling a migration crisis and millions of people in vulnerable nations are continually being uprooted from their homes. The climate and migration nexus are undeniable and the global community has turned to the Baku climate talks for urgent and sustainable solutions.
The future of childhood will be fundamentally shaped by the interventions taken in the present that can determine how children’s rights are protected amid compounding issues. As a new report from UNICEF shows, global trends that are already influencing children’s welfare and development will continue to shape them and be a further reflection of overall global development.
Western financial policies have been squeezing economies worldwide. After being urged to borrow commercial finance heavily, developing countries now struggle with contractionary Western monetary policies.
CIVICUS discusses
Sudan’s civil war and its impact on women with Sulaima Elkhalifa, a Sudanese human rights defender and expert on gender-based violence.
It has been three years since the 2021 Taliban offensive and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan continues to grow more dire. Human rights violations are committed by the Taliban insurgent group on a frequent basis, with gender-based discrimination and violence being regular occurrences for millions of Afghan women. Gender inequalities are pervasive, with freedom of speech and mobility being significantly limited. The humanitarian crisis is exacerbated by widespread impunity enjoyed by members of the Taliban.
The small community of Ribeira stands out in the Northeast, the poorest region of Brazil. There is no unemployment here. One in five inhabitants make a living directly or indirectly from the Arteza Cooperative of Tanners and Leather Artisans.
Due to worsening political instability, escalating gang violence, and a lack of basic services, Haiti is in the midst of one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world. According to a 2024 ACAPS
report, gangs have seized 85 percent of the nation’s capital, Port-Au-Prince, resulting in over 700,000 displaced persons.
Critical levels of nationwide hunger in Sudan has only increased to critical levels since the start of the Sudanese civil war in April 2023. Escalated hostilities between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have led to limited mobility and repeated blockages of humanitarian aid. This, coupled with the volatile floods and droughts, have decimated crop fields which has only exacerbated famine levels greatly. All of these factors have left nearly 25 million people in Sudan in need of humanitarian assistance in 2024.
CIVICUS discusses Afghanistan’s system of
gender apartheid with Shaharzad Akbar, Executive Director of Rawadari, a human rights organisation founded by Afghans in exile.
Every morning before dawn, fishworkers along the shores of Kochi, Kerala, head out to sea, casting their nets in the shadow of the iconic Cheenavala—the Chinese fishing nets that have become a symbol of their community. I witnessed this time-honored tradition, once a reliable means of survival, now a daily gamble, a fight against unpredictable seas and shrinking fish populations.
After 2.5 years, US President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) is increasingly irrelevant due to its own limitations and broader US foreign policy shifts.