With Vladimir Putin’s re-election for a six year term, and with him talking of helping himself to second-six year term after that, it is a good time to take stock of what Masha Gessen calls the “criminal tyranny” he has established in Russia. Gessen, the author of a an important new book about Putin published […]
The 56th session on the Commission on the Status of Women will begin on Feb. 27 at the United Nations headquarters. The theme – empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, sustainable development and current challenges – will be the driving force to bring a change to millions of women […]
According to a 2008 article by David Rothkopf, the world’s 1,100 richest people have almost twice the assets of the poorest 2.5 billion (Rothkopf, 2008). Aside from the obvious problem – that this global elite has their hands in everything from politics to financial institutions – it also shows the massive gap between the haves […]
This post originally appeared on August 20 on stephanbauman.com. Stephan Bauman, the author, is the CEO and President of World Relief. Tin, tungsten, and tantalum are at the heart of the loodshed that plagues Eastern Congo. Novelist Joseph Conrad referred to the exploitation of Congo’s minerals as “the vilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured […]
The following post is an edited version of an article that appeared in the Jerusalem Post earlier this month by Pinchas Landau, author of The Landau Report, a newsletter and consultancy service addressing the needs of foreign firms and financial institutions active in Israel and the Middle East. “Domestic fury, and fierce civil strife Shall […]
On Monday, August 22, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, appealed for the safety of refugees in Libya. He appealed for all parties involved in the conflict to ensure that the thousands of refugees currently trapped in Tripoli and other areas are “properly protected from harm,” according to a press release from the […]
After my most recent post (Drought and Social Enterprise) I received a number of emails from non-profits and NGOs about their work in Somalia and issues facing the Somali people. Although this post does not exactly fit within the parameters of “Ethics and Economics,” I wanted to share it with you. I had the opportunity to […]
According to International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell, it’s time to turn our attention to the drought in East Africa now, before it’s too late. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon agrees with that sentiment, saying that he is“extremely worried” about the potential famine and massive numbers of deaths. Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are facing one of […]
I wanted to share this with you all. What do you see as a solution to this, if any? I will post my own thoughts to that question this coming Friday.
The World Economic Forum spoke to over 500 companies from around the world May 4-6, 2011 about Africa’s huge economic growth potential. The forum opened with a call for Africa to rethink its global role. “You can no longer talk about the old Africa,” said South African President Jacob G. Zuma. “We need to develop […]
It seems that more and more people share a desire to become invested in the products they purchase. http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/05/16/iou.facebook.qr/index.html?hpt=C2 Artisans in undeveloped areas of the world are connecting to their purchasers via Facebook. They include images of the products and describe the journey it took to get to you. You can even take a picture […]
We are at war. Twelve new wars have broken out in the world since the dawn of the new millennium, including the United States’ war with Afghanistan, Iraq, and the even more recent civil wars in Libya and the Ivory Coast. So much global unrest is enough to make anyone uneasy, despite the recent death […]
Southeast Asia is a hub for human trafficking. Too often, young girls are lured by traffickers through promises of well paying jobs in the cities. If you have read Half the Sky, by Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl Wudunn, you will already be aware of the horrors endured by women and girls caught in the web of modern […]
Business relationships are often directly linked to human rights violations. A UN report, “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect, and Remedy” Framework,” will be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council during the June 2011 session. The report has three pillars (page 4, item 6): The State has […]