Citizens for Justice and Peace
Deaths of reporters in Afghanistan hit record numbers
21-Sep-2018
The number of journalists and media workers who have been killed in Afghanistan in 2018 is 14, AFP reported on September 21, saying that this makes “the country the deadliest in the world for the media.” 13 of these were journalists, which is “the highest number killed in Afghanistan in a single year” since the…
Five million children in Yemen at risk of famine: Save the Children
21-Sep-2018
International NGO Save the Children has cautioned that five million children in Yemen are under threat due to potential famine, CNN reported. According to UAE state media, on Tuesday, September 18, the Saudi-led coalition mounted a campaign to retake the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, that is held by the Houthi rebels. According to Save…
Brazil saw a record number of homicides in 2017
30-Aug-2018
New data shows that 63,880 people were killed in Brazil in 2017, a new record, and a 3% rise compared to 2016, the Guardian recently reported. The independent Brazilian Public Security Forum released data indicating that, on average, 14 people were killed by police officers daily, a figure that is 20% higher than 2016. Homicides…
Venezuela refugee exodus approaching “crisis moment”: IOM
30-Aug-2018
The United Nations migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), has cautioned that the mass exodus of Venezuelans from their country is approaching a “crisis” point. Al Jazeera reported. IOM spokesperson Joel Millman said on Friday, August 24, “This is building to a crisis moment that we’ve seen in other parts of the world,…
Thousands of Rohingya children at risk of becoming a “lost generation”: UN
30-Aug-2018
According to the United Nations, Rohingya refugee children who do not have access to proper education in refugee camps in Bangladesh are at risk of becoming a “lost generation,” the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. A recent report from UNICEF said that the “lives and futures of more than 380,000 children in refugee camps in Bangladesh…
New Zealand passes law providing paid leave to domestic violence survivors
06-Aug-2018
New Zealand has passed a law providing for paid leave to survivors of domestic violence, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported. The country’s parliament narrowly voted to pass the bill, 63 to 57. The law, which is set to go into force in April 2019, mandates that employers allow survivors up to ten days’ leave so…
New Cuban constitution sets up legalisation of gay marriage
06-Aug-2018
Cuba’s National Assembly recently unanimously approved a new constitution that defines marriage as “the consensual union of two people regardless of gender,” the Guardian reported, saying that this paved the way for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the country. There will be a referendum on the new constitution later in 2018. The current constitution…
Death of 10-year-old Somali girl triggers country’s first FGM prosecution
06-Aug-2018
Somalia’s Attorney General, Ahmed Ali Dahir, has announced the country’s first prosecution over FGM, after a 10-year-old girl haemorrhaged to death after undergoing a traditional cutting in mid-July 2018, the Guardian reported. At a conference on female genital mutilation (FGM) in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, Dahir said that a team of ten investigators had been dispatched…
The Occupied Palestinian Territory has the world’s highest unemployment
20-Jul-2018
According to a report released earlier this year, titled The situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories, the unemployment in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) has increased to the highest in the world, at 27.4% in 2017, the International Labour Organization (ILO) reported. The unemployment rates for Palestinian women are nearing 50%, with the…
Not educating girls costs nations trillions: World Bank
20-Jul-2018
A recently released World Bank report said that restricted educational opportunities for girls, and obstacles to finishing 12 years of education cost countries between $15 trillion and $30 trillion in lost lifetime productivity and earnings. According to the report, less than two-thirds of girls in low-income countries finish primary school, and just one in three…