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The article discusses the high levels of harassment endured by women in South-East and Eastern Europe, revealed in a 2019 OSCE survey, and the difficulty of speaking out. It gives the example Marija Lukic, who accused the former president of a  municipality in Serbia and was insulted by 50 of his supporters when she went to court. The author also comments very briefly on short but ultimately unsuccessful social media MeToo campaigns in Poland and Romania and suggests that in Hungary the response has been confined to 'liberal and cultural circles'. She records that the Council of Europe's 2011 Istanbul Convention on preventing violence against women was ratified by Serbia in November 2017 and Croatia in 2018, but has not been ratified by the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Moldova, Ukraine or Russia.   

The author, who was a member of the Mexican government delegation throughout the negotiations for the Treaty, explains the significance of detailed provisions of the Treaty, and its overall importance as a multilateral arms control treaty. He also notes the close links between the Mexican and US delegations during the talks.

This article by a professor of sociology, written a month after the outbreak of the revolution on 22 February, stresses that the 'gigantic rallies are peaceful and socially mixed'. The article  traces the background of the uprising since 1988, claimed by many Algerians as their 'Arab Spring', since it ended one party rule. Addi explains why this democratic experiment failed and led to a decade of civil war - the context in which Boutifleka came to power in 1999 promising to bring peace

Reports on how Yazidi women in refugee camps in Iraqi Kurdistan are finding ‘a way to fight back’ through learning how to box, after the trauma they endured under ISIS. Illustrated by striking photographs of the ‘Boxing Sisters.’

Klein discusses involvement of women within the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (Zapatista Army of National Liberation, EZLN). The movement is now engaged in activities such as peaceful mobilizations, dialogue with civil society, and structures of political, economic, and cultural autonomy even though it was previously known as a military movement demanding justice and democracy for Indigenous peasants in Southern Mexico. Women’s activism in fighting patriarchy, discrimination and violence across the Zapatista territory is crucial.

Compares protests in Iraq and Lebanon after seven weeks, noting the youth of demonstrators and their demands: for jobs and housing, investigation of corruption and the resignation of their governments. Jenkins also observes that so far the movements have bridged religious divides.  But he is cautious about prospects for success and notes the brutal repression of protesters in both countries.

Covers the demonstrations by school children and students in an estimated 185 countries with a photo of a protest in Nairobi, Kenya, and an overview of the protests in their environmental and political context. Coverage also includes brief statements from young activists in Australia, Thailand, India, Afghanistan, South Africa, Ireland and the US; the speech by Greta Thunberg to the UN Climate Action summit in New York; and 10 charts explaining the climate crisis.

See also: Milman, Oliver, 'Crowds Welcome Thunberg to New York after Atlantic Crossing ', The Guardian, 29 Aug. 2019, p.3.

Reports on Thunberg's arrival in New York where she was to address the UN Climate Action summit on reaching zero carbon emissions.

Copnall notes that the revolt against President Omar-al-Bash ir is not the first in Sudan's history, but it is the first since Africa's former largest country split in two, when South Sudan became independent in 2011. He summarizes the events leading to the fall of Bashir. He also discusses the long term tensions between the Arab Islamist northern elite, who dominated politics, and the great variety of African peoples and cultures, a conflict revealed by the bloody suppression of unrest in Darfur from 2003. 

This report in a Catholic newspaper stresses the role of Catholic and Christian bodies in this 'The Time is Now' mass lobby of the Westminster Parliament organized by the Climate Coalition (coordinating 132 environmental, social and religious bodies in the UK with a focus on lobbying). Teague reports: 'the whole day event started with a walk of witness down Whitehall, with Columbian missionaries, Jesuit Mission, Salesians, Arocha, Pax Christi and more'. About 12,000 took part, and over 350 MPs were lobbied.

See also: www.theclimatecoalition.org   

This blog post received criticisms for the failure to include the voices of migrants, people of colour, trans and non-binary people in the Irish referendum campaign. The original blog post is preserved for transparency and accountability. It includes, however, a more recent response acknowledging the criticisms that have been made against it.  It is a good source of information for activists on how to establish a more inclusive type of communication on issues related to abortion rights.

In El Salvador, hundreds of women marched in the capital San Salvador on this day, to protest for reproductive rights, against violence, and in celebration of the release of three women jailed on abortion charges. The article also discusses the Trump administration’s cut of funding towards programs that support women and the initiative to tackle violence against women that exists in El Salvador.

In El Salvador, hundreds of women marched in the capital San Salvador on this day, to protest for reproductive rights, against violence, and in celebration of the release of three women jailed on abortion charges. The article also discusses the Trump administration’s cut of funding towards programs that support women and the initiative to tackle violence against women that exists in El Salvador.