Diversity
Please stop, stop now, Mister Piñera the destruction of Mapuche people
Open letter sent to the President of Chile: “New York, 14th.February 2013 Mr. Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile: We are individuals of different nationalities, cultures, and races. We are religious and nonreligious people,… »
Abusive Policing and Failures in Protection of Indigenous Women and Girls in Northern British Columbia, Canada
The 89-page report “Those Who Take Us Away” documents both ongoing police failures to protect indigenous women and girls in the north from violence and violent behaviour by police officers against women and girls. Police failures and abuses add to longstanding tensions between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and… »
Change of Pope must bring change of policies
Opportunity to reform Catholic doctrine on human rights issues By Peter Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation Pope Benedict XVI was notorious for his opposition to equality, especially for women and LGBT people. Will his successor be more sympathetic to gender and sexual orientation human rights?… »
Arab women’s virtual uprising goes physical
By India Stoughton In late 2011 four Arab women, inspired by the success of the Arab Spring demonstrations but horrified by the backlash against the women who had protested side-by-side with men in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Syria, decided to start their own Facebook group. They called it “… »
UK gay marriage vote: “A victory for love & equality”
Joy for tens of thousands of same-sex couples The culmination of a five-decade struggle for LGBT equality Ban on opposite-sex civil partnerships must also be repealed “This is a resounding, historic victory for love and equality. It has bought joy and hope to tens of thousands of same-sex couples… »
Ethnic Minority Women Face Double Exclusion in Workplace Due to Their Race, Gender
Ethnic minority women face double discrimination in the workplace because of their race and their gender. Many fail at the application stage simply because of their names’, says a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO). When university graduate Jorden Berkeley, 22, began applying for a job,… »
Mali: UN genocide adviser warns of reprisals against Tuareg and Arab populations
A senior United Nations official today warned of the risk of reprisal attacks against Tuareg and Arab civilians in various regions of northern Mali and urged the country’s military to protect all citizens regardless of their ethnic affiliation. “While the liberation of towns once under the control of the rebel… »
Rosa Parks, Now and Forever
On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger in Montgomery, Ala., thus launching the modern-day civil-rights movement. Monday, Feb. 4, is the 100th anniversary of her birth. After she died at the age of 92 in 2005, much… »
Spain must make fighting racism and xenophobia a priority – UN expert
Spanish authorities must show leadership in the fight against racism and xenophobia in the country, an independent United Nations expert said today, adding that, against a backdrop of pervasive unemployment, the Government must ensure vulnerable groups such as immigrants are not blamed for the nation’s economic woes. “It is crucial… »
UN rights chief praises groundbreaking report on violence against women in India
A new report proposing ways to tackle violence against women in India represents a groundbreaking basis for action, the United Nations human rights chief said today, urging the Government to follow through with its recommendations. The report was produced by the Verma Committee, which was named after former Chief… »