On World Press Freedom Day, the EU Must Rescue Media Independence in Hungary Before It’s Too Late

Censorship, smear campaigns and harassment. These are just some of the daily struggles that media professionals are facing in Hungary. And now the threat of jail time may be looming. In the context of World Press Freedom Day, there is little to celebrate in the Eastern Bloc region.

Ensuring Russia’s Sex Workers’ Rights Essential for Wider Gender Equality

Despite seeing a shift in attitudes towards them in recent years, Russian sex workers say they continue to struggle with marginalisation and criminalisation which poses a danger to them and the wider public.

Thandika Mkandawire, Pan-Africanist Par Excellence

Thandika Mkandawire (1940-2020) had a wicked sense of humour. But he was so considerate that he often made himself the butt of his jokes which typically had a moral. When others struggled to pronounce his surname, he would help them out, “Me kinda weary”.

Why Covid-19 Choices Are Critical for Children

Children may escape the worst symptoms of Covid-19 and suffer lower mortality rates, but for millions, the pandemic will have devastating effects.

Rohingya refugees stranded at sea show urgent need for regional response

The Bangladesh authorities should rescue and welcome Rohingya refugees currently stranded at sea, Amnesty International said today. Other governments must fulfil their shared responsibility to carry out search and rescue efforts, in line with their international obligations to protect life, and allow safe disembarkation of refugees and asylum seekers at sea.

A Global Crisis Like No Other Needs a Global Response Like No Other

I have been saying for a while that this is a ‘crisis like no other.’ It is:

• • More complex, with interlinked shocks to our health and our economies that have brought our way of life to an-almost complete stop;

 

• • More uncertain, as we are learning only gradually how to treat the novel virus, make containment most effective, and restart our economies; and

 

• Truly global. Pandemics don’t respect borders, neither do the economic shocks they cause.

Coronavirus, New Threat for Mexican Migrant Workers in the U.S.

As the high season for agricultural labour in the United States approaches, tens of thousands of migrant workers from Mexico are getting ready to head to the fields in their northern neighbour to carry out the work that ensures that food makes it to people's tables.

Covid-19: Brazil’s Bolsonaro trumps Trump

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro appointed medical entrepreneur Nelson Teich his new health minister on 17 April. The businessman quickly echoed his boss’ desire to resume business as usual regardless of its potentially lethal consequences.

Dying for a Better Life – How Rohingya Refugees Risk their Lives to Cross into Malaysia

Last week more than 396 starving Rohingyas were rescued off the coast of Bangladesh after being at sea for two months. At least 32 had died on the boat after it failed to reached Malaysia. While it was unclear at the time of the breaking news whether the refugees were from Myanmar, where they are originally from, or Bangladesh — where more than a million Rohingya Muslims live as refugees after fleeing violence in Myanmar in 2017 — the attempt to reach Malaysia is not a new one.

Addressing the rise in domestic violence during lockdown

While one-fourth of the world's population is under home-quarantine to contain the spread of the novel Covid-19 pandemic, another crisis is brewing behind closed doors—domestic violence.

As US Unemployment Hits a Staggering 22 Million, Will UN Layoffs Be Far Behind?

The deadly coronavirus COVID-19, which has shut down the UN secretariat in New York, along with 32 of its agencies globally, has forced over 37,500 UN staffers worldwide to work from their homes.

Concerns for the Nearly 400 Rohingya Refugees Rescued off the Coast of Bangladesh

Nearly 400 Rohingya refugees have been rescued in Bangladesh after being at sea for two months. 

Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, SDGs are Even More Relevant Today Than Ever Before

Our world today is dealing with a crisis of monumental proportions. The vicious, novel coronavirus is wreaking havoc across the globe, destroying lives and ruining livelihoods.

No Space for Social Distancing in Rohingya Refugee Camps

Nine-year-old Mohammad Rafique used to collect vegetables from Kutupalong Bazaar and sell them at a market inside Kutupalong camp, a camp of some 600,000 Rohingyas, in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar.

In His Fight Against WHO, Trump Plays Politics with Human Lives

President Donald Trump’s threat to abruptly cut all US funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) has been described as ‘reckless and deadly”—particularly at a time when the Geneva-based UN agency was engaged in an uphill battle against the spreading coronavirus.

The COVID-19 Cash Crisis: Will the UN Cease to Exist?

The coronavirus pandemic has set off an unprecedented institutional crisis at the United Nations – funds are drying up, key meetings are cancelled and the world body is fighting for its future.

India’s Liberal Abortion Law, Nullified by Social Stigma

Arti Zodpe is from the Tamasha (folk dance-drama) theatre in Sangli, in India’s Maharashtra state. After evening performances, some of the singers and dancers offer sex work services to the audience.

A Gender-equal Ethiopian Parliament can Improve the Lives of all Women

Recent gains by women in the Ethiopian political landscape offer a chance to improve gender equality around the country and put an end to long-standing societal iniquities. Since coming to power in 2018, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has reorganised the cabinet to ensure that 50 percent of the government’s top ministerial positions have been given to women.

Alive Amidst the Mayhem of COVID-19 – A Sex Worker’s Story

For a Bangladeshi woman, who has worked as a sex worker since childhood, her future post-COVID-19 looks hopeless. Shilpy, who works at Daulatdia, the largest brothel in the country, told IPS how she now also fears for the future of her two daughters.

Covid-19 & its Impact on the Work of Disarmament

Humanity has faced no challenge greater than COVID-19 since the Second World War. As this rapidly developing global health emergency places unprecedented strain on our medical, economic and social systems, we must work hard to prevent new risks for instability, unrest and conflict.

Killer of Slovak Journalist Sentenced as Rights Groups Await further Convictions

Journalists and rights activists have welcomed the jailing of a man for the murders of Slovak investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova, but say others involved in the killings must be convicted too if justice is to be fully served.