The Big Story: Black Lives Matter

In: New Internationalist, 2018, pp. 12-25

Originally published: March 2018

Introductory article by Amy Hall summarises the growth of BLM in the USA, discusses its global potential and spread to other countries, and notes the relevance of BLM in the UK.  Jamilah King comments on the US movement, both on its strengths and the divisions within it. Other articles examine how BLM relates to a history of  'a policy of black extermination' in Brazil, and to the struggle by Aboriginal people in Australia.

UN: ‘Machismo’ in Honduras driving epidemic of femicides

In: TeleSur, 2018

Provides recent data uncovered by the United Nations on femicide in Honduras. It also connects the occurrence of femicide, and the lack of effective measures to tackle it, to political and economic instability, which lead many people to flee the country.

To see the consequences of femicide in terms of the children made orphans in Honduras, have a look at this link https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Thousands-of-Children-Orphaned-in-Honduras-By-Femicides-Study-20180912-0010.html

Available online at:

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/UN-Machismo-in-Honduras-Driving-Epidemic-of-Femicides-20181128-0017.html

Sudan: The Generals Strike Back

In: The Economist, 2021, pp. 59-60

Provides a well informed summary of the context and nature of the October military coup.

See also: 'Sudan: Coup de Grace', The Economist, 27 November 2021, p. 55.

This analysis of the coup leaders' decision to reinstate Prime Minister Hamdok interprets this move as' the army tightening its grip on Sudan's political transition. 

Grassroots will drive North Africa women’s rights push

In: Oxford Analytica, 2020

The year 2019 has seen women’s rights movements come to the fore across the Maghreb, a region where previous initiatives have been driven by Western political pressure and from the top down by predominantly authoritarian leaders. This paper explores the unprecedented bottom-up activist movements that have begun advancing the agenda of women’s rights across the region.

Honduran President called ‘murderer’ at inauguration of UN anti-femicide initiative

In: TeleSur, 2019

Announces the launch of the ‘Spotlight Initiative’ in Honduras through a joint collaboration between the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) and the Honduras government to end femicide and impunity. By 2014, Honduras had the highest number of femicides in the world, according to the U.N. It is reported that 380 women were murdered in the country in 2018 and that 30 women were killed during the first 30 days of 2019. The impunity rate for this crime hovers at 95 per cent.

Available online at:

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Honduran-President-Called-Murderer-at-Inauguration-of-UN-Anti-Femicide-Initiative-20190214-0009.html

Women’s participation in Peace Processes

In: Council on Foreign Relations, 2019

A report tracking women’s participation in peace negotiations from 1990 to the present. It reveals that women comprise only two percent of mediators, five percent of witnesses and signatories, and eight percent of negotiators around the world.

See also https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/03AWomenPeaceNeg.pdf

Available online at:

https://www.cfr.org/interactive/womens-participation-in-peace-processes?utm_medium=earned&utm_source=redirect&utm_campaign=women-peace

The Race Issue. Black and White

In: National Geographic, 2018, pp. 79-149

Originally published: April 2018

In this special issue on race in the US, Michele Morris recounts how demographic changes across the US are challenging white Americans’ perception of their majority status. She also discusses attempts to re-create a narrative that could reflect more than white Christian ethnicity as the only identity framework of US history. Michael A. Fletcher reports the personal stories of people of colour who had suffered traumatic experiences of stop-and-search by police officers on the basis of their racial profile. Clint Smith examines two major and prestigious colleges that have experienced a recent surge in enrolment of black youth and the rise of new forms of Black activism. Finally, Maurice Bergers reports on the work by photographer Omar Victor Dopi on slave revolts, independence movements, social justice quests. The events represented range from 18th century’s Queen Nanny of the Maroons, known for her ability to lead Jamaican slaves to liberation from British colonialism, to 21st century’s 12 year-old Trayvon Martin, whose shooting by a white neighborhood watch volunteer inspired the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Mexico: Submission to the Committee On the Elimination of Violence Against Women

Amnesty International2018, pp. 13

This report sets out Amnesty International’s concerns about the Mexican state’s failure to comply with observations of the Committee (in the combined seventh and eighth periodic reports) on violence against women. Amnesty notes in particular the murder of women for gender-based motives, also known as “femicides”, the gender alert mechanism, disappearances of women, and the torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of women during detention, which is exacerbated in the context of a militarization of public security.

Extractivism In Latin America

Action Fund of Latin America2016, pp. 59

This report by the feminist civil society body, Urgent Action Fund of Latin America and the Caribbean, focuses on the role of women in protecting and defending nature, and warns of increasing risks to their lives and environment. The report discusses ‘the extractive model’ and the social-environmental conflicts it creates, and also the disturbing militarization and violations of women’s rights, including those defending their environment. The report outlines proposals made by women for defence of territory, and also stresses the diversity of the approaches, organizations and activities developed by Latin American women.

Protesters criticize AMLO’s plan for domestic violence’s shelters’

In: TeleSur, 2019

Human rights activists have opposed President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s plan to cut funding for women’s shelters in Mexico. The scheme is still not properly defined, but the money will instead be given directly to the victims of domestic violence. While the government’s decision does not intend to withdraw support for victims, human rights activists point out the risk of nullifying years of activism and initiatives led by civil society. In fact, they stress that giving money directly to victims can further expose them to violence.

Available online at:

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Protesters-Criticize-AMLOs-Plan-for-Domestic-Violence-Shelters-20190305-0007.html?fbclid=IwAR3-6VQ-3LlNLCE93hcx25nKmhk3mgXZANWfE027Z3bxHJBXJYu_WY8fRns

Hibakusha. Survivors Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki

Kōsei Publishing, Tokyo, 1986, pp. 206

First hand account of 25 hibakushas, survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. They include soldiers, doctors, nurses, students, housewives, small children, Koreans brought to Japan for forced labour, and victims who were yet unborn.

Back From the Brink: A call to prevent nuclear war

Grassroots movement aiming at preventing nuclear war.

2019

Official website of ‘Back From the Brink’, a grassroots movement that aims to involve local councils and Members of Congress in the U.S. and pressure them to change U.S. nuclear policies. Their demands are:

-       Renounce ‘first use’ option;

-       End the sole presidential authority to launch a nuclear attack;

-       Take U.S. nuclear weapons off ‘hair-trigger’ alert;

-       Cancel U.S. plan to replace its entire nuclear arsenal with enhanced weapons;

-       Pursue total abolition.

See also http://www.nuclearban.us/back-from-the-brink-a-call-to-prevent-nuclear-war/ and https://www.wagingpeace.org/.

Available online at:

https://www.preventnuclearwar.org/about

The Kremlin Emboldened

In: Journal of Democracy, Vol 28, No 4, 2017, pp. 60-116

This supplement contains a number of articles exploring the nature of 'Putinism', the degree of regime stability, the extent of genuine popular support, and the implications of Putin’s post 2014 international policy for Russia internally. Authors provide varied perspectives, including an assessment of increasing popular frustration, especially among young people.

¡Viva Nos Queremos! (Art)

Author(s): ' Mujeres Grabando Resistencia

In: NACLA Reports on the Americas, Vol 50, No 4, 2018, pp. 418-422

The initative of 14 women of capturing the feminist struggles through artistic production within the #VivaNosQueremos campaign. Many cities throughout the world joined the campaign and printmaking appeared in cities like Ciudad Juárez, Oaxaca, Mexico State, Puebla, New York, Chicago, Montreal and Barcelona as well as other countries like Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Italy.

Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Authority and Mystery

Author(s): ' Starhawk'

Harper Collins, San Francisco, 1988, pp. 384

Often cited exploration of issues from an eco-feminist perspective by activist drawing on experiences in 1980s peace movement affinity groups. Explores power along three axes – power-over, power-within and power-with, and provides materials on individual and group empowerment.

Webs of Power: Notes from the Global Uprising

Author(s): ' Starhawk'

New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island BC, 2003, pp. 288

Part 1: the author, an activist and ecofeminist, chronicles the global justice movement from Seattle to Genoa. Part 2 explores the future of the movement and debates between advocates of violent and nonviolent tactics.

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