Worldwide

On 24 August, I took part in a human rights conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Days before it opened, the city legislature cancelled the intended venue after the Chinese ambassador complained to the Argentine government about the participation of prominent Uyghur human rights defenders, including Dolkun Isa, an activist exiled in Germany. Beijing has waged a campaign of mass detention and forced assimilation against the mostly Muslim Uyghur population for years. The organisers found another venue at the last minute, and the conference went ahead, but the episode was revealing. This was a small gathering, of no great consequence to […]

Read the full story, “Transnational Repression: A World Without Refuge”, on globalissues.org →

SRINAGAR, India, September 14 (IPS) – An international survey released by Earth4All has found a growing crisis of trust in governments, widespread anger over inequality, and strong public support for major economic reforms, suggesting that many people across the world believe current political and economic systems are failing to serve ordinary citizens.

Read the full story, “Global Survey Finds Deep Crisis of Trust as Majority Say Economic System Favours the Rich”, on globalissues.org →

KIGALI, September 14 (IPS) – When the African continent experiences erratic rains, crops fail, leaving millions of people facing hunger.

Read the full story, “Investment in Irrigation Systems Is Vital in Preparing for the Next Climate Shock”, on globalissues.org →

Ola Ishtiwi sits with her children in front of the remains of her home in the Al-Tuffah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City, a few metres away from a series of painted cement blocks Israel has placed to mark what has become known as the “yellow line”.

Read the full story, “‘Where do we go?’: How Israel’s ‘yellow line’ is closing in on Palestinians”, on globalissues.org →

TOKYO, Japan, September 11 (IPS) – Twenty years after five Central Asian states signed a landmark treaty banning nuclear weapons across their region, their foreign ministers have used the anniversary to warn that faltering arms-control agreements, nuclear modernization and deepening international mistrust are placing global security under growing strain.

Read the full story, “Central Asia Marks 20 Years of Its Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone With Renewed Call for Disarmament”, on globalissues.org →

CIVICUS discusses the implications of the Philippines’ proposed anti-disinformation bill with Josalee Deinla, Secretary-General of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, a civil society organisation that defends civil liberties in the Philippines.

Read the full story, “PHILIPPINES: ‘Responding to Disinformation Can’t Mean Giving the Government a Mandate to Police Truth’”, on globalissues.org →

UNITED NATIONS, September 11 (IPS) – When over 130 world leaders arrive in New York for the high-level segment of the General Assembly next week– it will be rare to hear hard-hitting, headline-grabbing political statements from the podium.

Read the full story, “The Lighter Side of Politics at the UN General Assembly”, on globalissues.org →

KABUL, September 10 (IPS) – Many wonder why men in Afghanistan do not protest when women’s rights are trampled upon. In reality, many are rebelling behind the scenes, for instance, by helping their daughters get an education.

Read the full story, “Afghan Men Quietly Resist Taliban Ban on Girls’ Education”, on globalissues.org →

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, September 10 (IPS) – During summer months there is a certain news drought. Nevertheless, this year social media has been crowded with news from wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, while customary tales about grisly murders have not been neglected. In Sweden it is election year and summer reporting has been supplemented by a debate about “hate speech against ethnic groups”. If individual tragedies connected with murders upset people, many seem to be indifferent to the fact that entire population groups are targeted by politicians. Swedish social media is overloaded with outcries about “Muslim” immigration and concerns about Sweden becoming “Islamized” and in danger of being transformed into a new Afghanistan.

Read the full story, “A Spectre is Haunting Europe — the Spectre of Ultra-Nationalism”, on globalissues.org →