Violence affects more people than ever before in Africa’s Sahel
Dakar, SenegalThomson Reuters Foundation Violence in West Africa’s Sahel region has never spread so fast nor affected so many people, the United Nations said on Thursday, warning of an “unprecedented” humanitarian crisis. The number of people uprooted in Burkina Faso, Mali and western Niger has increased five-fold since last year, said the UN humanitarian agency […]
World Council of Churches calls for people to join in making a tapestry in a statement of commitment to end gender-based violence
Communities and individuals around the world have been invited to contribute to the making of a World Council of Churches’ tapestry which the WCC say will make a “powerful” international statement of their commitment to end rape and violence. The quilted tapestry, which will reflect a waterfall with messages and images from around the world, […]
Iran expected to scrap ban on women passing nationality to children
The Hague, The NetherlandsThomson Reuters Foundation Iran plans to scrap a law banning women from passing their nationality to their children, which human rights experts said could help thousands of children living in legal limbo by letting them acquire citizenship. Iran is one of 25 countries that do not permit women married to foreigners to […]
Festival or refugee camp? Music events test emergency aid
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation When inventor Virginia Gardiner wanted to test-drive a toilet aimed at providing safe sanitation in the developing world, she knew just where to turn – a British music festival. Her firm Loowatt, which turns waste into fertiliser and energy, is among a growing number of organisations using revellers at European summer festivals […]
Where are the world’s stateless people?
The Hague, The NetherlandsThomson Reuters Foundation An estimated 10 to 15 million people are not recognised as nationals by any country, often depriving them of basic rights most of the world takes for granted such as education, healthcare, housing and jobs. An international conference opening in The Hague on Wednesday will assess progress on a […]
CIVIL RIGHTS: AS CLIMATE PROTESTS MOUNT, GOVERNMENTS URGED TO RESPECT CIVIL RIGHTS
MEGAN ROWLING, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, speaks with Philip Alston, an Australian academic and the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights…
Rio de Janeiro expands unpaid prison labour program
Rio de Janeiro, BrazilThomson Reuters Foundation The government of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state has expanded an unpaid work scheme for prisoners that human rights experts have denounced as illegal, official documents obtained exclusively by the Thomson Reuters Foundation show. Brazil’s penal system has long relied on cheap prison labour to maintain its facilities, with […]
ESSAY: THOUSANDS OF RECENTLY DISCOVERED PHOTOGRAPHS DOCUMENT LIFE IN UGANDA DURING IDI AMIN’S REIGN
In an article first published on The Conversation, DEREK R PETERSON and RICHARD VOKES look at what thousands of recently discovered photographs taken during Idi Amin’s rule of Uganda reveal about life under his regime…
POSTCARDS: DOING THE “I-TURN” JAPAN TAPS TOURISM TO LURE CITY DWELLERS TO EMPTYING VILLAGES
RINA CHANDRAN, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Slavery history still affects blacks, half of practicing Christians say in survey
RNS Fifty per cent of practicing Christians say the history of American slavery continues to significantly affect the African American community today, a Barna study shows. A slightly smaller percentage of the general population of US adults surveyed (46 per cent) agrees that, almost 400 years after slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia, there remains […]