Past Crimes Haunt Afghan Progress

As Afghanistan heads for presidential elections Apr. 5, people are asking if the country’s massive legacy of human rights violations will be swept under the carpet yet again by the new government.

Ukraine Gropes for Unity

Amidst rising tensions within Ukraine, between its government and Russia, and even more between Russia and the West, many are now beginning to fear the beginning of a new Cold War. Talk of sanctions is finding new supporters, and there are proposals to freeze plans for a G8 summit scheduled in Russia later this year.

UN Rights Rapporteur Forced to Grade Iran from Afar

Following the release Friday of his report to the Human Rights Council on the situation in Iran, U.N. Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed urged Tehran to engage with U.N. mandates - firstly by permitting him to enter the country.

Small Argentine Town Becoming Waste Dumping Ground

While the magnificent samba schools of Brazil were getting ready for the grand carnival in Rio de Janeiro, a modest carnival troupe toured a small Argentine town to draw attention to an urban problem that has brought the central province of Córdoba to the brink of environmental disaster: garbage.

For Parents of Sick Children, It’s Move or Break the Law

Beth Collins recently picked up and moved from Virginia to Colorado, but it wasn't for the typical reasons: new job, better schools, nicer weather. Collins' 14-year-old daughter, Jennifer, has intractable epilepsy. Medical cannibis eases her frequent seizures. But it's illegal in their home state.

Russian Repression Sweeps Crimea

Crimea is facing a violent wave of human rights abuses, activists warn, with kidnappings of journalists and rights campaigners, harassment of non-Russian minorities and reports of growing persecution of anyone thought to be sympathising with the pro-European Kiev government.

OP-ED: Participation Is Key to Women’s Equality and Empowerment

The largest annual gathering with special focus on issues which impact on women and thereby humanity as a whole is now taking place in New York.

Anti-Gay Law Will be Overturned Say Uganda’s Campaigners

Human rights campaigners who filed a recent legal petition against Uganda’s draconian anti-gay law believe that they have a compelling case for its nullification. 

Swiss Step Up Arms Exports, Peacefully

Switzerland has eased its restrictions on arms exports - in order to save a few thousand workplaces. Critics fear that Switzerland's credibility as an international peace broker will now suffer.

Legislators Seek Rightful Place at U.N. Talkfests

When the United Nations hosts one of its mega conferences - whether on population, human rights, food security or sustainable development - there is always a demand for full and active participation of often-marginalised groups, including women, civil society, indigenous peoples and youth.

Koreans Embrace Some Old Ways

Old family bonds still seem to run deep in the South Korea of today. For evidence, one need only look at the yearning of the elderly to meet their long separated kin in North Korea during last month’s historic family reunions.

The Rich Complain That we do not Love Them

F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said “The rich are different from you or me”, yet in his days, in the early years of the 20^th century, the rich were not subject to public scrutiny, and were generally an object of envy, not resentment.

Italy Closes Its Eyes to Sealed Mouths

“We walk inside an area that is 128 steps long and seven-and-a-half steps wide. This is the path they made for us: two metres of bars over our heads, and upon the bars, two metres of plexiglas. We are like canaries in a cage, like birds of different races all in one cage.”

Mars Latest to Announce “No Deforestation” Palm Oil Pledge

The multinational food giant Mars, Inc. unveiled Monday a new set of guidelines aimed at ensuring that its palm oil supply lines are completely traceable and sustainable by next year.

Sea Swallows the Stories of Africans Drowned at Ceuta

“Who will speak for them now? Who will tell their stories to their families in Cameroon or Ivory Coast?” asked Edmund Okeke, a Nigerian, about the 15 migrants who died while trying to swim to the shore of the Spanish city of Ceuta from Morocco.

Stateless in Nepal

Around 4.3 million of Nepal’s 27 million population lack citizenship documents, rendering them stateless, says a report by the Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD), which works to promote and protect the interests of Nepali women.

A Matter of Life and Death

If you or some family members or friends suffer from cancer, hepatitis, AIDS, asthma or other serious ailments, it’s worth your while to follow the negotiations on the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and other similar bilateral trade agreements.

Women Turn Potatoes into Gold in Zimbabwe’s Cities

Shyline Chipfika, 26, is one of thousands of Zimbabwean women in urban centres who have struck gold by growing potatoes. And a lot of their success has to do with an import ban.

Gazans Find Tuneful Resistance

Like almost everyone else in Gaza, these six are angry about the Israeli-imposed blockade and the resulting misery. Except that they are expressing their anger through music – without the music itself sounding angry.

Pakistani Women Hit Hurdles in Medical Profession

On one of her many visits to Pakistan recently, Sarah Peck, director of the US-Pakistan Women’s Council, spent some time talking to young women medical students in Pakistan. She was struck by their passion and commitment -- and by the hurdles they face.

Congress Pressured on Multinational Corporate Accountability

Advocacy and accountability groups are urging the U.S. Congress to enact new mechanisms that would allow it to hold multinational corporations accountable for rights infringements abroad.