Human Rights

Cloud Lingers over Sierra Leone’s Election

By Andrew Firmin
People went to the polls in Sierra Leone on 24 June to pick a president, parliament and municipal representatives. Results were quickly announced and the president sworn in for a second term. But a cloud of doubt lingers.

Guatemala Clings to Democratic Promise

By Inés M. Pousadela
When Guatemalans went to the polls on 25 June, distrust and disillusionment were rife. First place in the presidential contest was claimed by none of the candidates: it went to invalid votes, at 17 per cent. Many didn’t bother, resulting in an abstention rate over 40 per cent.

Greener Pastures Not So Green for Zimbabweans in the Diaspora

By Jeffrey Moyo
They have high-paying jobs, a high standard of living, and almost everything they need, but for Zimbabweans abroad, all that glitters is not gold. Twenty-eight-year-old Gift Gonye, based in Germany, is one such Zimbabwean, and he is apparently not satisfied with his life abroad.

Recognising Human Rights Defenders as Remarkable Agents of Positive Change

By Olive Moore
In recent years, the global landscape for human rights defenders (HRDs) has become more difficult and complex, with both new and heightened challenges. With hundreds of defenders killed every year, the scale and magnitude of threats faced by HRDs is unprecedented.

How the Security Council can Better Pursue Accountability for International Crimes Against Children

By Janine Morna
All my life was wasted, said Anwar*, as he told me recently about his traumatic experiences living under the Islamic State (IS) armed group in Northeast Syria. Around 2018, when Anwar was 14 or 15 years old, his father, a member of IS, forced Anwar to train with the group as a young teenager. He even made Anwar watch as he inflicted brutal punishments on people who broke IS’ rules.

Questions Arise About Youth Commitment to Democracy After Nigerian Elections

By Abdullahi Jimoh
As Nigeria’s newly-elected president Bola Tinabu seems to be making his mark by undoing many of his predecessor’s policies - another battle is being waged in the courts between him and one of his rivals Peter Gregory Obi.

The Common Good, or Transactional Religion?

By Azza Karam
For the last 30 odd years, I have maintained that religions matter. I noted the reasons for why they matter, and always listed how they matter ---as social service providers, as first responders in humanitarian crisis; as mediators in tensions and conflicts, as upholders of common good and the values of humanity; as protectors of children and of the most vulnerable; and even as political actors.

Huge Increase in Transnational Crime in Asia’s ‘Golden Triangle’

By Baher Kamal
How come that in a world where technology is -or is about to be- able to detect an ant in a jungle, the traffickers of death continue to carry out their lucrative criminal activities everywhere and in all fields, from weapons to prostitution, enslavement and drugs, to deadly fake medicines, through oil, gas and poisoned food.

The USA’s Systemic Racism includes Its Wars

By Norman Solomon
A recent Justice Department report concluded that “systemic” racial bias in the Minneapolis Police Department “made what happened to George Floyd possible.”

Rohingya Camps Become Dengue Hotspots in Bangladesh

By Rafiqul Islam
With the monsoon in Bangladesh, Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar have emerged as a dengue hotspot, with the mosquito-borne disease continuing to spread among the stateless refugees. "A total of 1,066 dengue cases were reported in highly cramped refugee camps in Cox's Bazar up to May 23 this year, while the case tally was only 426 among the local community there," Dr Nazmul Islam, Director of Disease Control and Line of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said.

South Sudan President, Education Cannot Wait Jointly Announce Extended Multi-Year Education Response for Crises-Impacted Sudanese Children

By Joyce Chimbi
South Sudan is experiencing one of the most severe crises in the world today, causing fragility, instability, and economic stagnation. While a peace agreement was reached in 2018, sporadic intercommunal violence and climate-induced disasters continue to spur displacement. More than 2.2 million people are internally displaced. Another 2.3 million have fled to neighboring countries as refugees.

Forus Civil Society Network Urges that Respect for Human Rights, Climate Justice and Accountability should be at the core of the New Global Financing Pact

By Marianne Buenaventura
As the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact unfolds in Paris on 22-23 June, Forus, a global network representing over 22,000 civil society organisations across Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Pacific, calls for the respect of human rights and for meaningful inclusion of civil society in shaping financial systems and structures.

Ukraine: Environmental Crisis Compounds Humanitarian Disaster Following Dam Destruction

By Ed Holt
As well as creating a humanitarian crisis, the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in Ukraine has wrought enormous environmental damage which may never be undone, ecologists have said. The collapse of the dam in the Kherson region on June 6 put more than 40,000 people in immediate danger from flooding and left hundreds of thousands without access to drinking water, according to Ukrainian officials.

Myanmar: Military Junta Gets a Free Pass

By Andrew Firmin
The violence keeps coming in Myanmar, under military rule since February 2021. The junta stands accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, with evidence of systematic use of killings, rape, torture and other gross human rights violations in its attempt to suppress forces demanding a return to democracy.

Global Community Celebrates Medical Innovations and Milestones Since Defining Leprosy Discovery 150 Years Ago

By Joyce Chimbi
The 1873 discovery of Mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy by Norwegian doctor Gerhard Armauer Hansen, remains one of the greatest paradigm shifts in medical history, a true revolution.

Extremist Ideology Spreading Like an Oil Spill in Europe

By Baher Kamal
The abuse of human rights has sharply increased with the steady rise of the right and far-right parties in the wealthy industrialised countries, whose extremist ideology is now spreading faster than ever in Europe.

Pesticide Exposure Drives Environmental Injustice: Latino Farmworkers and People Living Near Farming Communities At High Risk of Developing Parkinson’s

By Miguel Leyva
The US agricultural industry has been one of the key sectors driving our country's continuous demographic and economic growth. Unfortunately, farmworkers are one of the least protected professional groups, with minority and migrant agricultural laborers suffering disproportionately higher health risks due to deeply-entrenched discriminatory policies and practices.

The Rotenberg Files: A Guide on How Russian Oligarchs Dodge Sanctions

By Matti Kohonen
The sanctions against Russian oligarchs who hold billions of dollars have mostly failed to have a real impact beyond freezing a few yachts and properties. So, what went wrong? Now we know.

If Current Trends Continue, World’s Poor may not Achieve a Single Development Goal by 2030

By Thalif Deen
When the 193-member General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development back in September 2015., it was aimed at transforming the world into an idealistic state of peace and economic prosperity. But eight years later, most of the world’s low-income countries (LICs) have been struggling to achieve even a single goal, including the two key targets: the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger by 2030.

Human Rights Defenders in Exile Safety Imperiled by Host Countries’ Declining Civil Rights

By Joyce Chimbi
While leaving one’s country and becoming a refugee is a last resort, it is a decision that many, like Steve Kitsa, have had to make. As conflict becomes increasingly protracted in many African countries, many others will take this step.

Addressing the Scandal of Invisibility in Asia & the Pacific

By Tanja Sejersen, Nicola Richards & Victoria Fan
Each year, the births of 64 million children under the age of five and deaths of 8.4 million people are invisible to governments in Asia and the Pacific. Most countries in the region are yet to achieve universal civil registration, leaving many people without a legal identity and, as a result, invisible to the State.
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