Human Rights

2010 will surely be known as the year that disaster struck Haiti, as the impoverished nation was rocked to it’s knees on January 12th.  However while all eyes continue to be focused on Haiti’s aftermath, Somalia continues to cry out.  In July last year in July I published, Will we remember Somalia?, at the time […]

As Iran marks the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that brought the current system of government to power, there are two topics dominating headlines on Iran: their less than always transparent nuclear program and their human rights record. And both are the target of possible economic sanctions in the coming days and weeks. The […]

That is a heart-wrenching statistic. Specifically, one in four suffer from some form of physical violence while at least 10% are sexually abused. To address the problem, the EU is considering a common European-wide single telephone number for victims. The European Parliament today decided that the full physical and sexual autonomy of women is a […]

All eyes are on Sarah Palin’s left hand—you might even call it a vast left-wing conspiracy—after it doubled as a cheat sheet during a Q&A at the National Tea Party Convention. For those wondering, the words/talking points she had written on her palm were: “energy,” “tax” and “lift American spirits.” Palin did something I’ve always […]

The Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court declined to confirm charges of War Crimes against Abu Garda today, less than a week after the Appeals Chamber reversed the decision to exclude the charge of Genocide against Omar Al-Bashir.  The Court stressed that the incident related to the charges – an attack on African […]

Masarrat Misbah is a woman who brought hope, who inspired many around the world to contribute to her foundation, Depilex Smile Again.  Depilex Smile Again was set up to help women disfigured by acid burns.  It would find them a new life and help pay for expensive reconstructive surgery.  Her foundation captured the imagination. The […]

Many of us fail to think that in today’s modern society there is truly a caste system and that populations, including children, would be deemed ‘untouchable’. For me what first comes to mind is the Biblical references to the Lepers, or how our society once condemned most with mental or learning disabilities to a life […]

Haiti housing concerns mounting Haitian authorities and aid groups are in a race against time to ensure earthquake survivors have shelter before the rainy season begins in March. Aid groups are hoping to encourage the use of transitional shelters that can later be reinforced into more permanent structures over tents. Some food aid sold via […]

Following Nicolas Sarkozy’s statement last summer that burqas are “not welcome” in France, the French Parliament recommended a partial ban last week on any veil that covers the face. For now, that ban would only cover public transportation and public buildings such as school and hospitals, not women generally on the streets. It also only […]

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, which was held in Beijing, China in 1995.  With one hundred and eighty-nine Member States adopting the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which laid out a comprehensive agenda for women’s political and economic empowerment and the foundations for gender mainstreaming.  The […]

January 2nd was the National Annual Journalism Awards Day.  But for many Iranian journalists, it was just another day behind bars.  Aidan White, secretary-general of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), said at a press conference at the European Parliament in Brussels that three board members of the Association of Iranian Journalists (AoIJ) had been […]

Larissa Douglass Recently, one of my friends told me that the anglosphere is dead and the future lies in Asia. Beyond the condition of the world economy that this fashionable attitude reflects, the fashion is actually typical of the anglosphere itself. The term “anglosphere” became briefly popular in conservative circles around 2003-2004, reviving Churchillian values […]