Congo Promotes Ex-Rebel Leader to Top Position

Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi recently announced the launch of a long-awaited Disarmament, Demobilization, Community Recovery and Stabilization program, meant to encourage thousands of fighters from more than 100 armed groups to lay down their weapons. The country has needed an effective framework for decades, as removing

UN Takes on Global Racism

The United Nations Human Rights Council recently adopted a milestone UN resolution to create an independent mechanism, made up of three experts, to investigate the root causes of systemic racism and police violence. Brought forward by the Group of African States, the adopted resolution confronts the legacies of colonialism, enslavement,

Palestinian Rockets in May Killed Civilians in Israel, Gaza

(Jerusalem) – Palestinian armed groups’ rocket and mortar attacks during the May 2021 fighting in the Gaza Strip, which killed and injured civilians in Israel and Gaza, violated the laws of war and amount to war crimes, Human Rights Watch said today. Palestinian and Israeli authorities have a long track record

Niger: Surging Atrocities by Armed Islamist Groups

(Bamako) – Islamist armed groups have killed over 420 civilians and driven tens of thousands from their homes during attacks in western Niger since January 2021, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Alchemical Elements of Kelp

Alchemy – in its most plain terms – is “the process of taking something ordinary and turning it into something extraordinary”.

Psychedelics and Cannabis Therapeutics

Although it may not be obvious during these Trump-rattled times, we’re in the midst of a psychedelic revival.

Mozambique Government Retakes Key Town from Militants

Mozambican and Rwandan government forces have taken control of Mocimboa da Praia in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province.

Cambodia: China’s ‘Belt and Road’ Dam is a Rights Disaster

(Bangkok) – A large-scale, Chinese-financed hydroelectric dam in northeastern Cambodia, completed in 2018, has undermined the lives and livelihoods of thousands of Indigenous and ethnic minority people, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Lower Sesan 2 dam, one of Asia’s widest dams, flooded large areas upstream

Shackling of Women in the Name of Mental Health

“I’ve lived in chains for many years.It’s very uncomfortable.I was shackled around the waist and ankle – my stomach used to hurt with the weight of the chain; it was so heavy.

Burundi: Release lawyer Tony Germain Nkina

(Nairobi, August 10, 2021) – Burundian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release lawyer, Tony Germain Nkina, who was sentenced to five years in prison in June 2021 in all likelihood because of his past human rights work, six international human rights groups said today. The groups – Amnesty International, the Burundi Human

Sweden: Iran War Crimes Trial Opens

(Stockholm) – The opening of a landmark trial in Sweden on August 10, 2021 of an Iranian citizen accused of participating in the mass execution of political prisoners is an important moment for victims long denied recognition and justice. On July 27, Swedish prosecutors announced their decision to prosecute an Iranian

Refuse ALL fear narratives

Updated to – briefly – discuss the vexed ‘isolation question’ As this struggle for truth and freedom heats up we need to be careful of muddled messages and graded language that concedes important ground. We need to focus on a few crucial points in everything we put out there, whether to friends,

Supply Chain Laws to Fight Deforestation Must Back Indigenous Rights

Efforts to save the world’s forests could soon get a boost from proposed laws in the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States to restrict the import of agricultural commodities linked to deforestation. These three markets’ consumption of such products is a driver of a quarter of

Human Rights Watch Mourns Death of Sergei Kovalev

Sergei Kovalev, a prominent Soviet dissident and Russia’s first human rights ombudsman, died on August 9, 2021, at the age of 91.

Will the Year of the Cow End with a Mu?

If you ever thought of becoming a philosopher, now’s the time.