Last week, in an effort to improve its public image, the Colombian political party formerly known as FARC rebranded itself as the Comunes or the Common People’s Party. This name change signals an attempt to distance itself from both the ex-guerrilla group’s polarizing past and the dissident groups currently at
How the potential for profit and influence is overshadowing the Arctic’s climate crisis By now, it is common knowledge that the polar ice caps are melting at an increased rate due to the rising temperatures linked with climate change. However, what is less commonly considered within the public sphere is
On October 13th, Russia, China, and Cuba were among those elected for a three-year term on the United Nations Human Rights Council (U.N.H.R.C.). These countries, with human rights abuse on their own records, are unfit to act as members of the council. The U.N.’s decision to elect them to the
In response to weeks of protest, President Muhammadu Buhari has announced the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Force (SARS) with immediate effect, to be replaced with a new force, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT). However, Nigerians remain unconvinced that this will lead to tangible change in strained police-civilian relations and
Since 2009, British military courts have been able to try rape and other sexual abuse cases. However, recent studies suggest that victims of sexual harassment and abuse within the military receive a substandard level of expertise, independence and ultimately, justice, from the army’s current judicial system – from the primary
On Thursday, Ethiopian government authorities announced that 2,000 people have been charged in relation to the violence that followed the killing of popstar Hachalu Hundessa in June. For many Ethiopians this event, along with other recent actions, has disturbing resonances with past, oppressive regimes and cast doubt over President Abiy
On September 10 at the National Food Security Council, Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, praised the federal government’s actions for having successfully averted a food crisis during the Coronavirus pandemic. Calling for more efforts to increase domestic food production and self-sufficiency, he assured that the government would continue to promote policies
In its latest attempt to terminate an inquiry into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan, the Trump administration has imposed economic sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) officials. Announcing the sanctions in a press conference on September 2, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced the ICC as a “thoroughly
According to the Global Conflict tracker, the number of drug-related homicides in Mexico rose to 33,341 in 2018, a 15 percent increase from 2017. In 2019, Al Jazeera reported a record 35,000 people murdered in the country. These numbers hardly scratch the surface of the escalation in violence that Mexico
The Mexican drug syndicate, Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), are using weaponized drones in gang warfare, Forbes reported last week. This is only the latest in an escalation in impunity, militarization and violence shown by the CJNG over the recent months. Facing increasing pressure from the US government, President Andrés
This month, fires are once again blazing across the Amazon rain-forest in Brazil, destroying one of the world’s most valuable defences against climate change and endangering the safety and security of the region’s inhabitants and ecosystems. Meanwhile, Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro, continues to insist that there are, in fact, no
Over the past two weeks, Bolivian demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest repeated delays to the rerun of last October’s election in which the former socialist president, Evo Morales, was ousted from his 14-year-long presidential incumbency. Citing sanitary measures due to COVID-19, the interim government has postponed the
A peaceful protest against police brutality that was due to take place on the 30th June in Havana, Cuba’s capital, was effectively suppressed by government authorities. This was achieved through the use of harassment and intimidation methods that violated the would-be protestors’ human rights, Human Rights Watch reports. The
