Languages
Sunday, April 19, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
G20
RIGHTS-NICARAGUA: An Ombudswoman for Sexual Diversity
At last, homosexuals in Nicaragua have someone to uphold their rights: an ombudswoman for sexual diversity has been appointed to defend the rights of the gay community, estimated to number half a million people.RIGHTS: U.N. Still to Accredit Its First U.S. LGBT Group
Sixty-one years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, sexual orientation and gender identity still pose a threat to the dignity and sovereignty of individuals around the world.RIGHTS-AFRICA: Judges Address How Law Can Assist HIV Response
In Ghana, because the stigmatisation against gay men is so great, many are forced to have sexual relationships with women to escape prejudice and homophobic violence.
RIGHTS-UGANDA: Anti-homosexuality Bill Means ‘Targeted Killings’
Uganda will be going back to the days of the Idi Amin regime if it passes a Bill which will arrest or kill people for being gay or lesbian and for repeatedly engaging in homosexual sex, say rights activists.
Q&A: Punitive Laws Problematic For HIV Response – UNAIDS
The East African Community is currently developing a law to guide the region's response to HIV/AIDS. The move comes ahead of the commencement of the East Africa common market protocol.WORLD AIDS DAY: Groups Urge Repeal of “Antiquated Colonial Laws”
On the heels of a new report by UNAIDS that the HIV virus is now infecting Caribbean men and women at an equal rate, activist groups are urging regional leaders to eliminate laws that further the stigmatisation associated with the deadly virus.
Q&A: Civil Society to Lose Major Supporter
Human rights and democracy are causes that are never completely won, which is why civil society needs the support of philanthropists.UGANDA: Helping Hand For Homophobia From U.S. Christians
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill under consideration in Uganda was sparked by a conference in Kampala earlier this year at which fundamentalist Christians from the U.S. identified homosexuality as a threat to "family values".
Q&A: Inclusive Sex Education Needed in African Schools
With the exception of South Africa, most African countries criminalise same-sex relationships with imprisonment, while incidents of violence against gay women and men are poorly investigated and rarely taken to court.
RIGHTS-UGANDA: “You Cannot Tell Me You Will Kill Me Because I’m Gay”
The Ugandan government will put to death gay citizens repeatedly caught having sex and throw into jail those who touch each other in a "gay" way, if a new proposed Bill becomes law.VENEZUELA: Homophobia Stalks the Streets – in Uniform
One Friday at around midnight, on Villaflor Street, a favourite spot for gays and lesbians in the Venezuelan capital, Yonatan Matheus and Omar Marques noticed two Caracas police patrol vans carrying about 20 detainees, most of them very young.RIGHTS-US: Gay Bar Raids Draw Community Outrage
Two recent police raids of gay bars in Atlanta, Georgia and Fort Worth, Texas have sparked mass protests in the two cities and led activists to question whether equality for persons of all sexual orientations in the U.S. has come as far as some would like to believe.DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Protests Surround New Constitution
The Dominican Republic passed the 38th version of its constitution Thursday evening, amending more than 40 articles that drew public protests and opposition from civil society groups and many average Dominicans.ARGENTINA: New Voice for Sexual Minorities
A monthly magazine published by an Argentine umbrella group of some thirty organisations of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trans (LGBTs) seeks to become a major communications channel for the community and an instrument for disseminating the actions that sexual minorities undertake to defend their rights.RIGHTS-EL SALVADOR: Anti-Gay Reform Fails in Congress
Constitutional reforms that would ban same-sex couples from marrying and adopting children in El Salvador failed to obtain the required number of votes in Congress.
SOUTH AFRICA: Law Failing Lesbians on “Corrective Rape”
"Women are getting killed in the Western Cape," says Ndumie Funda, who runs LulekiSizwe in her "cabin" in the township of Gugulethu near Cape Town.HEALTH-ARGENTINA: “Buddies” Ease Transgenders’ Hospital Visits
Keeping a hospital appointment in the Argentine capital is a far less fearsome ordeal for transgender persons, a sector of the population that according to doctors had "dramatic" statistics of illness, when they are accompanied by trained health promoters who, like them, have chosen a different gender identity.
MALAWI: High-Risk Sex Among Those Who “Do Not Exist”
A study on men having sex with men (MSM) in Malawi shows that, as elsewhere in the developing world, this vulnerable group is at greater risk of contracting HIV and AIDS than the general population. Moreover, their risk status is exacerbated as governments fail to target them for health services or information to stem HIV transmission.
RIGHTS: Outspoken Activists Defend Africa’s Sexual Diversity
The second World Outgames, held in the Danish capital, offered up a veritable smorgasbord of sport, politics and arts while celebrating sexual and gender diversity. But it also reminded participants that bigotry against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, sometimes culminating in violence, remains a scourge across the world.CUBA: Following the Trail of a Woman Who Lived as a Man
When Cuban historian and anthropologist Julio César González and his Spanish friend Alberto Góngora Sanz arrived at the birthplace of Swiss physician Enriqueta Favez, in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, their joy at finally reaching their destination was so great that they broke into tears and dropped to the ground in the square across the street from her house.
Q&A: "Every Work Form You Fill Asks Your Marital Status"
When a high court amended Article 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a colonial-era law which was used to criminalise consensual homosexual relationships, on Jul. 2, it was a "life-changing moment for me," says Lesley Esteves, a journalist and queer activist.« Previous Page — Next Page »
The world is in financial disarray, facing the danger of widespread protectionism, food crisis and unemployment. The G20 - comprising some of the world's major economies, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank - aims to seal firm agreements to put the global economy on the right track. The newly formed 27-member Global Governance Group (3G) is challenging the politically and economically powerful G20 not to marginalise the interests of small and medium-sized countries or undermine the United Nations in key decision-making. The G20, in its deliberations, should take into account the concerns and aspirations of non-G20 countries and different national and regional circumstances, according to the G3. Furthermore, decisions taken by the G20 should seek to protect the development gains made by these countries, particularly the most vulnerable. Will the G20 succeed? Are the voices of the most vulnerable, developing and poor countries being heard? What does the civil society say about it? The world is watching.
The Week with IPS
NEXT STOP - SDGs
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
