Showing 1 - 10 of 26
A new political 'youthquake' takes hold
Oped, Published on 31/08/2024
» Six months ago, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's grip on power in Bangladesh appeared unbreakable. The ruling Awami League had just won a fourth term in an uncontested election, allowing it to stay in full control of the country's institutions. With journalists, human rights defenders, opposition members, and other critics facing politically motivated prosecution, prison, exile, and forced disappearance, a continued descent into authoritarianism seemed certain.
Bangladesh's youth uprising has Arab Spring echoes
News, Published on 27/07/2024
» In recent weeks, the Bangladeshi government has cracked down violently on students demanding equitable access to coveted government jobs amid an unemployment crisis. To contain the protests, authorities have shut down all educational institutions, imposed a strict curfew, and cut off internet access. Thousands of police officers and paramilitaries have been patrolling the streets, and more than 170 people have died.
Building a rights protection framework
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 10/11/2023
» The Asia-Pacific region is a vast conglomeration of large and small countries with a wealth of inter-generational wisdom. Yet, the region does not have a regional inter-governmental human rights protection system. What, then, are some possibilities for the future?
Asean, GCC meet amid Mideast crisis
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 24/10/2023
» The summit between the leaders of Asean and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Saudi Arabia last Friday was the first time the two regional organisations collaborated in what is developing into a divided and fast-changing global environment.
The whys and wherefores of expanding Brics
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 29/08/2023
» You can expand the curious organisation called the Brics, but you can't define it. In fact, it's hardly even an organisation: no headquarters, no secretariat. Even the (British) Commonwealth and la Francophonie have more substance: at least they share a former oppressor. Yet the Brics are expanding.
Syria: The rehabilitation of dictator Assad
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 17/05/2023
» There is no justice. Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator whose membership even the Arab League suspended 12 years ago, is off to Riyadh this week to celebrate his re-admission to the organisation. He will pay no price for his many crimes against humanity: the name of the game now is not retribution but 'rehabilitation'.
Honesty can advance the Middle East peace process
Oped, Published on 15/03/2023
» Too many people are dying every week in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, and millions are living in fear and hopelessness. The world's response has been characterised by too many statements and too little action. That must change. We in the European Union and the wider international community need to do more. We know that people around the world expect us to work for peace, justice, and international law everywhere. But to act successfully, we first must be honest with each other and ourselves.
An ugly side to the beautiful game
News, Published on 15/11/2022
» When the World Cup kicks off next weekend, a Western sense of fair play will be outraged that a country without any native tradition in the game has won the right to host the tournament through financial muscle. Insult is added to injury too -- due to Qatar's extreme temperatures, the World Cup isn't being staged during the usual summer break but in November, disrupting domestic soccer competitions in the northern hemisphere for six weeks. Fans and players just have to lump it.
Advocating for Afghan girls' education
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 20/10/2021
» Afghanistan is a rugged country of great beauty straddling Asia and Europe, and it has been the scene of warfare and contestation for decades. The Taliban, a group connected to extreme violence, especially in the late 1990s, emerged as the power in control of Afghanistan recently, due to the void left by outsiders. This is their second time in power and the world can remember all too well that from the mid-1990s until 2001, their rule at the time was harsh and brutal, especially in their clampdown on the rights of women and girls. The latter suffered immensely from a lack of access to school, while the former were also prevented from employment.
Palestinian reckoning as Arab states open to Israel
News, Published on 17/09/2020
» Israel's rapprochement with Gulf Arab states has left the Palestinians feeling abandoned by traditional allies and clutching an old playbook in a rapidly changing Middle East, analysts and critics say.