Azerbaijan recently held its 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in its capital city Baku where international leaders and members of the United Nations convened to discuss ways the Muslim-majority secular Republic can continue to strengthen its role as a model for other nations in the highly-volatile region to aspire to and to building a … Read more →
Ethiopia hosted the main celebration of 26th World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) in Addis Ababa. The celebration was special in that the host country is undergoing political change which included promotion of freedom of the press. Ethiopia, according to Reporters without Borders, ranked 110th in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index; however, it has improved … Read more →
Ethiopia is at a time when it has to pay the costs of past repression. Even though it is trying to reform politically, it is also facing the consequence of antagonising political relationship. A lot of positive political changes have happened since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was sworn in in 2018. Ethiopia has made peace … Read more →
The main celebration of World Press Freedom Day 2019 will take place in Ethiopia the 3rd of May. This is one of the biggest surprises for one who knows Ethiopia’s record in freedom of the press. What has motivated UNESCO to host the celebration in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia? Dead Ends of the Old Era According … Read more →
In December 2018, the Clooney Foundation for Justice, founded by George and Amal Clooney, announced a new project called TrialWatch, a global effort to monitor court trials and which aims to create a global justice index, rating countries on the fairness of their trial systems. Working with the Columbia University Law School and the American … Read more →
A widespread notion persists: that women, when compared with their male counterparts, are more naturally inclined towards peace. A woman is a full circle and within her is the power to create, nurture and transform. Over the years, there has been an increasing need for recognition of women’s efforts in conflict resolution by the international … Read more →
After the 1979 revolution in Iran, women have been forced to wear the hijab in public. Back then, more than 100,000 women and men took to the streets to protest against the law and opposition to it has never gone away. In 2018, 112 women were arrested in Iran for defending women’s rights, many for … Read more →
Image Credit: Kiki Machado As a human rights defender and spokesperson for the favela, Marielle Franco was a thorn in the side of the powerful. As a poor, black, lesbian, single mother, she was an affront to Brazil’s evangelical right wing. In life, she was a powerful voice for the oppressed that many reactionaries were … Read more →
The resignation of Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on 26 February has seen a number of events highlighting Iran’s ongoing poor human rights record leading up to and after the resignation. In an interview with BBC’s Lyse Ducet, Zarif apologised for any “shortcomings” during his time in government and said: “Iran saw human rights … Read more →
“The internet is changing the way that sex is sold, leading to fresh models of exploitation.” Gavin Shuker MP Chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade. The internet and digital technology are fuelling a worldwide growth in human sex trafficking. According to the ILO, 4.8 million individuals worldwide are victims of … Read more →
