Human Rights

Free Speech is a right unless you are a whistleblower like Julian Assange revealing uncomfortable truths. The rising power of the Media, “The Fourth Estate”, has seen a class of politicians increasingly trying to get on the good side of the…

By Daniela Pastrana Each scarf represents a life cut short. Each stitch, a tear. Each thread, a cry of frustration about death and impunity.The Mexican hands embroidering for peace belong to mothers searching for missing sons and daughters, people demanding…

By Marcela Valente A wide-ranging reform of Argentina’s civil code is looking to replace traditional concepts of parental authority and control with one of parental responsibility, while expressly prohibiting corporal punishment for children and adolescents. “The changes are pursuing a…

Millions of women and girls around the world are assaulted, beaten, raped, mutilated or even murdered in what constitutes appalling violations of their human rights. 25 November Secretary-General’s Message for 2012 Millions of women and girls around the world are…

The International Peace Bureau is delighted to announce its decision to award the 2012 Sean MacBride Peace Prize to two Arab women: Lina Ben Mhenni from Tunisia and Nawal El-Sadaawi from Egypt. They have both shown great courage and made…

Homophobic persecution and discrimination is rife in large parts of the world, and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are still not recognised or protected by international law. Nonetheless, progress towards equality is being made thanks to…

The collective efforts of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) organizations in Turkey paid off and the UN (United Nations) Human Rights Committee issued its concluding observation on Turkey, covering discrimination against LGBT people. The reports are a compliance review of…

We report here on little known facts about Malala Yousufzai, the courageous teenager shot by the Taliban for promoting women’s education. Craig Murray, former UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan, now committed Human Rights campaigner, has been doing some research. When Malala…

By IRIN*, Athens – Three police officers in body armour surround two dark-skinned men on a busy street in Athens, Greece’s increasingly restive capital. It is a scene that has been playing out across the city since the launch of a…

Cairo – It’s been nearly two years since the mass uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, but Egypt’s film makers are still plagued by censorship they say is stifling their creativity. Religion and sex remain high on the censors’ list of “taboo issues” as…