Thomson Reuters Foundation’s survey on the 10 most dangerous countries for women in 2018

Thomson Reuters Foundation2018

The survey reports on the worst countries in the world for women in terms of health (e.g. maternal mortality, lack of access to health care facilities, lack of control over reproductive rights); discrimination (e.g. over land rights, job rights, property or inheritance); culture and religion (e.g. acid attacks, FGM, forced marriages); sexual violence (e.g. Rape, rape as a weapon of war, domestic rape or by a stranger); non-sexual violence (e.g. domestic violence); and human trafficking (including domestic servitude, forced labour, sexual slavery and forced marriage). The methodology is outlined and each listed country is fully described in each of the categories explored by the survey.

Available online at:

http://poll2018.trust.org/

Thousands protest in South Africa over rising violence against women

In: The Guardian, 2019

In response to the rising murder and rape of women in South Africa (41,000 rapes and 2,700 murders between March 2018 and March 2019), and the rape and killing of university student Uyinene Mrwetyana by a Cape Town post office employee, women all over the country responded by blocking the entrance to the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, launching the #AmINext movement and the #SandtonShutdown (or #TheTotalShutDown) protest. They rallied outside Johnnesburg Stock Exchange on 13 September 2019, forcing South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa to cancel a trip to the UN world leaders’ gathering.

See also https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-09-13/south-african-leader-drops-un-visit-as-women-protest-attacks, https://www.africanews.com/2019/09/13/south-africa-activists-protest-gender-based-violence// and https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/protest-against-gender-based-violence-emerge-in-sa/

Available online at:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/05/thousands-protest-in-south-africa-over-rising-violence-against-women

Protecting the 'Lungs of West Africa', Conversation with Alfred Brownell, Liberian environmental lawyers recorded by Veronique Mistiaen

In: New Internationalist, 2019, pp. 54-56

Brownell has been involved in a seven year campaign which succeeded in protecting half a million acres of Liberia's tropical rainforest from the Southeast Asia-based Golden Veroleum company, which had been granted t the right by the government to clear and use the land to grow palm oil. He took up the cause of the indigenous community in Sinoe County whose forests and cultural sites were being destroyed by the company. The article outlines how the campaign succeeded and Brownell's wider role in creating the Alliance for Rural Democracy throughout Liberia to work for environmental justice. He had been forced by death threats to move with his family to the USA.

All Those/times the Anti-Fracking Campaign Rocked

In: Greenpeace, 2019

Celebrates UK government decision to halt fracking because of size of seismic shocks caused by drilling, but stresses role of nearly a decade of campaigning, especially at the Cuadrilla fracking site in Sussex, where local residents from the village of Balcombe were joined by activists in resistance, and at the Cuadrilla site in Lancashire.

See also: McWhirter, Kathryn, Frack Free Balcombe Residents' Association, 'The biggest thing since the arrival of the railway', pp. 85-90 in Rodriguez, Global Resistance to Fracking (listed below)

See also: ‘How summer fracking protest unfolded in Sussex village’, BBC, 17 April 2014. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-26765926

Detailed account of the the protests in Balcombe that centred on oil company Cuadrilla's attempt to drill a 3,000ft (900m) vertical well to test for oil.

See also: Vaughan, Adam, ‘Fracking firm gets green light to test for oil at Balcombe … again’,The Guardian, 9 January 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/09/fracking-firm-gets-green-light-to-drill-for-oil-at-balcombe-again

See also Perraudin, Frances and Helen Pidd, Anger and blockades as fracking starts in UK for first time since 2011’, The Guardian, 15 October 2018 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/15/fracking-protesters-blockade-cuadrilla-site-where-uk-work-due-to-restart

Reports on Reclaim the Power campaign’s against fracking in Lancashire.

Available online at:

https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/all-those-times-the-anti-fracking-campaign-rocked/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwpNr4BRDYARIsAADIx9ymOebf4YnPuZayrQJI_2XntX2rTYR4KS7JoSWK_Z8SPe0iBLNfYLEaAmjUEALw_wcB

Environmental NGOs at a Crossroads?

In: Environmental Politics, Vol 27, No 6, 2018

This issue is focused on the roles of long established environmental NGOs (ENGOs), which often act as lobbying and advocacy groups seeking to influence government policy, and the potential of more radical campaigning groups. The introduction examines the implications of both approaches, as well as possible relations between ENGOs and protest movements. Other articles explore the role, strength and weaknesses of specific organizations, such as Friends of the Earth, and the problems as well as the benefits of transnational mobilization (as at the 2015 Paris Climate Summit). Topics covered include: an assessment of the effectiveness of transferring the US model of using the law to promote public interest environmental concerns to a European setting; the expansion of ENGOs in France; and a discussion of how to avoid conflicts of interest between indigenous peoples (concerned about economic opportunities) and environmental activists in Australia. 

After the Arab Spring

In: Journal of Democracy, Vol 26, 2015

This issue of the Journal published six articles assessing the regional uprisings.  Michele Dunne 'After the Arab Spring: Caught in History's Crosswinds' suggests that despite difficulties in understanding the failures of the 'Spring' some lessons can be drawn; Michael Robbins 'After the Arab Spring: People Still Want Democracy' argues that data from the Arab Barometer suggested most Arabs still want democratic government; Marc Lynch, 'After the Arab Spring: How the Media Trashed the Transitions examines how the media that supported deposing dictators 'can make it harder to build democracy'; Charles Kurxzman and Didem Turkoglu 'After the Arab Spring: Do Muslims Vote Islamic Now?' assess whether Islamic parties have become more popular than they were before 2011, and Mieczslaw P. Boduszynski, Kristin Fabbe and Christopher Lamont, 'After the Arab Spring : Are Secular Parties the Answer?' examine sceptically whether the existing secular parties are equipped to play a positive role.  (The sixth article on Tunisia is listed under E.V.B.b.2. Tunisia.)

A European Green Deal: Striving to be the first climate-neutral continent

European Commission , Brussels, 2019

The EU Commission presented its plan for updating its targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in December 2019. The goal of net zero emissions by 2050 was to be given legal force by a climate law in 2020, and its target for 2030 was a 50-55" cut (lifting its previous 40" target). The plan links these targets to a call for a new growth strategy, decoupled from resource use, and sets out a time line and more detailed aims.

See also: Simon, Frederic, 'The EU releases its Green Deal. Here are the key points' 12 Dec. 2019:  https://www.climatechangenews.com/2019/12/12/eu-releases-green-deal-key-...

Available online at:

https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en

'Habitable Earth': The Big Story, Climate Justice

May-June 2019

In: New Internationalist, 2019, pp. 15-37

Examines a range of technical issues relating to reaching carbon zero emissions targets, but focuses primarily on different forms of campaigning.  These include Buddhist temples disinvesting from fossil fuels in Japan, and the often effective use of the law in Latin America, as well as examples of direct action. There is also a brief account of the Costa Rican government's programme to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Iran: More than 100 protesters Believed to be Killed as Top Officials Give Green Light to Crush Protests

Amnesty International2019

Amnesty issued this early condemnation of regime violence against 'verified video footage', eyewitness reports and other information on the 'excessive and often lethal force' used to crush largely peaceful protests in over 100 cities. Amnesty also notes the role of security forces in seizing the bodies of the dead, or compelling relatives to bury protesters without an autopsy, as well as the internet shutdown imposed by the regime.

See also: Human Rights Watch, 'Iran: No Justice for Bloody Clampdown', 25 February, 2020, pp. 18.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/02/25/iran-no-justice-bloody-crackdown

This lengthy report, written after the mass demonstrations had been crushed, provides information about protests, and the authorities' response, in different provinces. It also indicates the difficulty of getting precise figures for deaths (estimated at a minimum of 304) and imprisonments (about 7,000 according to one member of parliament), given the closing down of the internet and regime threats to families.

Available online at:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/11/iran-more-than-100-protesters-believed-to-be-killed-as-top-officials-give-green-light-to-crush-protests/

Ukrainian Pacifist Movement: Bill No 3553 of Zelensky's Military Dictatorship should be withdrawn

War Resisters International2020

Full statement by the WRI affiliate Ukrainian Pacifist Movement condemning  the bill introducing 'intolerable elements of military dictatorship'. The bill required mandatory military registration for employment and draconian fines and imprisonment for COs and those showing solidarity with them.  It also empowered police to hunt for draftees on the streets and transfer them forcibly to army recruiting centres.

See also: 'The Brutality of Military Commissariats in Ukraine: Reaction of  UN and MPs', Truth Seeker, 23 September 2019

This article explores the practice of arbitrary detention of conscripts in Ukraine.  It includes footage (in Russian) of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement that opposes compulsory military service.

See also: Harding, Luke, 'Ukraine reintroduces conscription to counter threat of pro-Russian separatists', The Guardian, 1 May 2014.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/01/ukraine-military-conscript...

Available online at:

https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2020/statement-ukrainian-pacifist-movement-bill-no-3553-zelenskys-military-dictatorship

Feminicide: A Global Phenomenon. From Brussels to El Salvador

Heinrich Böll Stiftung Report, Brussels, 2015, pp. 39

Edited every two years on the occasion of the European Union and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (EU-CELAC) Summit, this fifth edition of the series ‘Feminicide: A Global Phenomenon’ addresses the chapter on gender from the Action Plan, and points to other initiatives aiming at eradicating feminicide/femicide, and also inspiring the implementation of the Action Plan EU-CELAC on this matter.

The ZAD and No TAV: Territorial Struggles and the making of a New Political Intelligence

Translated from the French by Kristin Ross

Mauvaise Troupe Collective2018, pp. 240

Account of two major struggles by local people in conjunction with a wide range of external activists to defend their local territory: 1. against building a new airport near Nantes in France by ZAD (Zones a Defendre) and 2. against a high-speeed rail line (Treno ad Alta Velocita) in northern Italy by No TAV. The resistance has developed into alternative forms of social and economic organization within the defended territories. The book discusses the role of different strategies and tactics, and how to maintain alliances between diverse groups through dialogue.

See also: Jordan, John, 'Battle of the ZAD', Red Pepper, Jun-Jul 2018, pp. 24-29

Educating Girls: The Path to Gender Equality

Global Partnership for Education, Washington, D.C., 2019, pp. 11

Outlines the challenges faced by girls seeking an education, and provides data related to most of the African countries, alongside Afghanistan, Yemen, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.

Dalit rights activists break new grounds in South Asia

UN Women

2018

Brief account of the initiative of Moni Rani Das, a Dalit woman living in Dhaka, Bangladesh, who started advocating for nearly 3 million Dalit women living in the country and became the first Dalit woman sitting on the National Human Rights Commission in Bangladesh. Her activism is a source of empowerment for 120 million women altogether that live in South Asia and contributed to the transnational activism of FEDO, Feminist Dalit Organisation based in Nepal, which formed connection with the UN’s Women Fund for Gender Equality; more local organisations such as Nagorik Uddyog in Bangladesh, Swadhikar and Asia Dalit Rights Forum in India; and the Human Development Organization (HDO) in Sri Lanka. By predominantly promoting women’s economic rights, FEDO’s activity constitutes a protection against gender-based violence against Dalit women.

CO Update

War Resisters' International 2020

This hundredth issue of CO Update (which brings together a number of news items already published by WRI in June 2020 as separate stories) begins by noting that the annual International Conscientious Objection Day on 15 May 2020 was celebrated round the world mostly by actions online. This issue includes the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement's condemnation of the new draconian bill designed to enforce conscription (referenced above), and the Council of Europe's reiterated appeal to Turkey to recognize conscientious objection (noted in the Introduction).  It also covers court cases to oppose EU financing of Eritrean development projects that employing conscript labour; the Azerbaijan government's parliamentary announcement about a prospective Alternative Service Law (promised to the Council of Europe in 2003 but not delivered); the suspicious death of a Turkish air force conscript; and two opposing bills in the US Congress: to extend draft registration to women, or to end draft registration. 

See also other monthly issues of CO update for detailed news from around the world.

Available online at:

https://wri-irg.org/en/publication/co-update/100/co-update

World Facing ‘Moment of Opportunity’ to End Violence against Women, Third Committee Hears amid Calls for Gender Equality in Politics

UN General Assembly Report2018

The Third Committee’s (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) report on the advancement of women worldwide. The Third Committee had before it the report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (document A/73/38). Also before the Committee were reports of the Secretary-General on Trafficking in women and girls (document A/73/263); intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation (document A/73/266); intensifying efforts to end obstetric fistula within a generation (document A/73/285) and intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls (document A/73/294). The Committee also had before it a report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences on violence against women in politics (document A/73/301).

Available online at:

https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/gashc4229.doc.htm

Nigerian women protest against Abuja police raid and rape

In: African Feminism, 2019

Narrates the background of the #AbujaPoliceraidOnWomen campaign, in response to the violent arrest of 70 women in two clubs on the accusation of prostitution. The police allegedly raped those women who couldn’t afford the bail.

See also the interview on this campaign with Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, founder of the Stand To End Rape (STER) initiative  http://africanfeminism.com/police-brutality-against-nigerian-women-an-interview-with-oluwaseun-ayodeji-osowobi/ and http://africanfeminism.com/protests-arent-tea-parties-dont-expect-women-to-be-civil/

Available online at:

http://africanfeminism.com/nigerian-women-protest-against-abuja-police-raid-and-rape/

Murdered women can’t celebrate International Women’s Day

In: Foreign Policy, 2019

Looks at the expansion of political and legal rights on gender-related issues in Latin America. The article also discusses the overall progress of women in education; their role in the labour market; and women’s access to health-care and social security. Emphasises the predominance of gender-based violence and lack of reproductive rights in the region.

Available online at:

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/03/07/murdered-women-cant-celebrate-international-womens-day/

Glasgow's Festival of Climate Resistance

In: Peace News, No 2657, 2022, pp. 7-7

Provides brief examples of protests and related activities in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November 2021 during the COP 26 Conference. Almost all the events were organized by the COP 26 Coalition, a UK-based coalition of groups committed to climate justice, which also assisted activists from abroad.

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