Agence-France Press reports the Rwandan government may issue indictments against former French President Francois Mitterand and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin for their alleged role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. A recent Rwandan government investigation held approximately 20 French officials, including Mitterand and Villepin, responsible. At the same time, a Rwandan official has been arrested […]
Facebook is now graced with a Women and Foreign Policy fan page. So, if you are so inclined, show your undying devotion to the blog. Not to sound too cheesy, but we hope that the page will foster a sense of community and provide another way for you to give us the always appreciated feedback. […]
On the 20th of November we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and what better way to celebrate and bring attention to children's rights then to publish a children's version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We Are All Born Free is a picture book celebrating […]
The extreme toll that the fighting in the Congo has taken on children is only beginning to emerge. In all conflict children are the hardest hit, but the severity of the situation in the Congo highlights the country's ability to handle the capacity of those affected. Children who have either been orphaned or lost in […]
Faustin Chongombe is a journalist from eastern Congo. He is currently studying for his doctorate at Swansea University in Wales where I made his acquaintance. I have asked him, with his permission, to publish an email he wrote about the crisis in Congo. Dear friends, -I have been receiving hundreds of mails and phone calls […]
“The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children." – Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), German Lutheran Pastor who participated in German Resistance movement against Nazism. The inheritance of our morality is truly that of a child's, it is not merely leaving children the ruins of war, for […]
Amsterdam too easy on its poor The chair of Slotervaart local authority in Amsterdam, Ahmed Marcouch, says the Dutch city's anti-poverty policy is too non-committal and tends to make people more dependent. Marcouch made his remarks at a poverty conference in the Amsterdam district. He said the system of free services and food banks does […]
Western Sahara human rights activist Aminatou Haidar will be receiving the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award today at a ceremony in Washington D.C. "For me, as an individual, the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights award represents a great honor. As a Sahrawi human rights activist, I consider it recognition that the cause of the […]
In a report, Human Rights Agenda for the New Administration, issued this month Human Rights Watch (HRW) highlights four crucial initiatives that the new US president, Obama, should take once he takes office in January: 1. Ensure that US Counter-terrorism Efforts Comply with International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. 2. Make Human Rights a Central Pillar of US […]
I thought that John McCain gave a gracious and meaningful concession speech. What I didn't know was that Sarah Palin wanted to throw protocol to the wind and give a speech of her own. For more, here's a transcript of Palin's interview with NBC's Matt Lauer: LAUER: According to a recent article in Newsweek and […]
The November/December issue of Moment Magazine, where I practice my editorial magic, is out on newsstands. My five picks for the foreign policy crowd are: *In her first Moment column, Fania Oz-Salzberger, director of the Posen Research Forum for Political Thought at the University of Haifa (and yes, daughter of the Israeli novelist Amos Oz), […]
As you read through the United Nations Resolution 1514(XV) you begin to get a feel of its prose, of its ideals, and the people who put it to paper and for all those who benefit and have yet to benefit. This was in 1960, an era of European decolonization and where nations, particularly in Africa, […]
Today we honor our country's veterans, for it was in 1918, at the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, that the fighting ceased in World War I with the German signing of the Armistice. Initially the day was known as Armistice Day, for which it remains known in many European countries. […]
Why is the promotion of breastfeeding, and the work that organizations like Mercy Corps are doing, so important? The first two years in a child's life are vital to that of healthy development into adulthood. After the age of two much of a child's life is already permanently imprinted upon them. Children who spend their […]
It's the final day of the 34th EUCOCO conference and people are slowly filing into the conference hall at El Palau de la Musica in Valencia, Spain. It is an appropriate setting for this finale where the dramas of injustice, oppression, and conviction play out on the stage in its many halls. Except this time, […]