Indigenous Peoples: Key Trends that Affect their Development
(Part Two) Part One of this article provided an explanation of who indigenous peoples are, why they are considered a special legal category, and what rights they have as outlined in international law. In this piece, I explore how colonization has affected
Peacebuilding: Is It Cost Effective?
April 2017 marked one year since the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2282 (2016) and General Assembly resolution 70/262. These parallel resolutions holistically recognize that development, peace and security, and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. They demonstrate an
Lebanon: Stories of ‘invisible’ refugees tell us why building sustainable solutions is challenging
The Syrian crisis evokes images of refugee camps or those who take on the harsh challenges to cross into Europe. Perceptions about the victims of this war seem to be homogeneous. These refugees are poor. They need to be rescued.
Educate to Lead: Leaving No Girl or Woman Behind
Education is a patient investment, and we live in an impatient world. -Former Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard Along with other NGOs and civil society organizations, Soroptimist International (SI) participated in the consultative processes that led to the creation of the
The Circulars: On a Fast Track to the Future
Today, awash in an ever-rising ocean of plastics, we have just heard the ominous news that even our drinking water is polluted with plastic nano-particles. Battered by Harvey and Irma, and with a still unconfirmed death toll from the latter,
Conversation about conflicts and human rights with Marcus Bleasdale
Marcus Bleasdale is a photographer who has been documenting some of the world's most brutal wars over the past eighteen years. Marcus covered the wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Somalia, Chad and
The Physician and The Dying Process
The inevitable thing in life is that it ends. I never entertained the thought of death when I was younger — in fact, I avoided the notion and felt uncomfortable attending funerals or watching films that involved a dying person.
Integrating Peace, Justice and Stronger Institutions
Some Sustainable Development Goals were perfect fits, obvious roll-ons from the Millennium Development Goals. Strangely from some perspectives, Goal 16 on ‘peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence’ was more hotly debated and less popular,
IF WE WERE GODS, WOULD WE BE HAPPY?
Book Review and Interview with Author Adam Karni Cohen If We Were Gods by Adam Karni Cohen, published by The Endeavour Press, July 2017 When I started reading If We Were Gods, I was wondering how Adam Karni Cohen, the author of
Progress on the ‘Peace Goal’: Are We Truly Achieving It?
Editor's Note: This is the introduction to the SDG 16 Progress Report by the Institute of Economics and Peace. The full report may be found here. Sustainable Development Goal 16 is dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for
From Where I Stand: Assétou Touré
EDITOR’S NOTE: THIS PIECE IS AUTHORED BY UN WOMEN AS PART OF THE SERIES “FROM WHERE I STAND”, WHICH CAPTURES PEOPLES STORIES AND THEIR DAILY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES FROM AROUND THE WORLD. SEE THE FULL SERIES HERE. I was 6 years old when I
My Life, My Directive
“Do you have an Advance Directive?” asked the emergency nurse as she checked boxes to admit me to the hospital. “No, I’m not dying. I’m having a baby.” I replied between contraction, annoyed that I was being asked such trivial questions
