Burundi obstetric clinic slows maternal deaths The Burundi region of Kabezi has already met the Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality by 75% from 1990 rates thanks to an emergency obstetric care clinic run by Médecins sans Frontières, and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “You do not need state-of-the-art […]
Communities around the globe united over the weekend to spread awareness for World AIDS Day, which was held on Saturday, December 1st. In 1988, the U.N. General Assembly expressed deep concern over the pandemic proportions of the AIDS virus. Following the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of 1 December 1988 as World AIDS Day, the General Assembly […]
One of the classic debates within the development field is the interplay between rights and economic prosperity. On one side of the debate are those who argue that development should come first, even if it is at the cost of civil and political rights of the population. On the other side are those arguing that […]
Perhaps appropriately (as it contains ‘Black Friday’) this has been somewhat of a dark week. The Church of England decided against allowing women to become bishops, and Saudi Arabia (according to Al Arabiya/AFP) now sends husbands an SMS when their wives leave the country.
Friday, November 23, 2012 commemorated the fifth celebrated (but fourth annual) national Native American Heritage Day during the twenty-second celebrated National Native American Heritage Month (formerly National American Indian Heritage Month). The Bureau of Indian Affairs is touting the promising results of the “historic meeting” between the Hopi Nation, Navajo Nation, and Secretary of the […]
Every year, the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Committee on Freedom of Association releases a list of cases examined and their findings, placing a higher priority on some particularly egregious violations or lack of responsiveness on the part of governments. This year, situations in Argentina, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Fiji, and Peru were determined to be the most […]
Last month saw the first ever Day of the Girl – now it’s time to turn round and gaze in the other direction, to an older generation: grandmothers.
The U.N. headquarters in New York City shut down for an unprecedented three days after Hurricane Sandy tore through the eastern seaboard of the United States. Though global operations continued uninterrupted, the problems presented by the storm prompted Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, like many others, to reflect on the lessons learned from the storm. Obvious […]
As we quickly roll into November and the holiday season, we remember October for a number of reasons; however, one important one is often forgotten. October was Domestic Awareness Month in the United States, but the purple ribbons — representing courage, survival, honor and dedication to ending domestic violence — were over shadowed by the flood of pink for […]
For girls, Somali refugee camps are unsafe Violence against women and girls is rife in Somalia, especially in the refugee camps in and around the capital, Mogadishu, where many fear rape by armed bands. “The other night a bandit came into my house and raped my little girl. I tried to fight but I couldn’t, […]
In the difficult and often futile attempts by the human rights community to hierarchize rights for academic reasons or for the purpose of prioritizing implementation, free speech rights have always been given the highest priority. The content of expressive rights has been classified as “first-generation,” signaling a larger sense of fundamental importance than other rights […]
Image lifted from http://paknews.pk The first thing that struck me as I read reports on Malala’s shooting was the village name: Saidu Shareef. Living in Pakistan, we have been conditioned to hear of shootings, bombings and barbarity across the country and get on with our day; unless you know someone who lives where today’s incidents took […]
Today is the first ever International Day of the Girl. So, get out a pen and mark it in your calendar for next year already! My colleague Cassandra Clifford wrote a piece earlier today looking at the theme of this year’s Day of the Girl, child marriage. It’s just one of many issues activist, advocacy […]
Over half of the worlds population is female, yet they unjustly receive an unfair balance in life from conception. No society is spared from it’s second class treatment of the female population. No matter how long and hard the fight has been — and while some countries are clearly better than others — girls are […]
On October 1, Guy Ryder assumed his elected position as the new Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Ryder replaces Juan Somavía, who held the post since 1999, eighteen months ahead of schedule. The Director-General of the ILO is a key figure in promoting the human right to work and in addressing its realization […]