Behind the foreign secretary's assurances that this will not be a war without end is the admission that defeating the Taliban is not realistic - hence the drive for reconciliation. While political solutions are welcome, many questions remain unanswered. Why would the British and others expect deals with the Taliban and other insurgents to stick? Why would they expect such people, if given positions of power, to respect the rights of Afghans, particularly women?
Cambodia is considered one of the few success stories in the global fight against AIDS. Yet, the positive achievements of government health authorities and their partners have been outmatched in the past year by the negative actions of the police, Ministry of Social Affairs and municipal authorities.
Speaking in Tokyo’s Suntory Hall on Saturday on the first leg of his visit to Asia, President Barack Obama stressed the importance of promoting human rights in the region.
When 15-year-old Wang Xiaomei made the long trip from Gansu province to Beijing last year, she hoped to find justice for her family. Instead, she met with abuse.
In January, Australians saw shocking photos of young, emaciated men washing up on the shores of Sumatra. Australian television showed these Rohingyas, members of a Muslim ethnic minority systematically mistreated by Burma’s military regime, describing how Thai authorities beat them and pushed them back out to sea. Video footage captured the Thai navy appearing to tow the men out to sea in their rickety boats. The world was horrified.
As Afghanistan's elections draw to a shambolic finale, it is time for President Obama to end his policy review and breathe hope into Afghanistan's bleak landscape.
Since taking office, President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton-both of whom mustered some criticism of China's rights record while they were candidates-have said that human rights shouldn't "interfere" with other issues in the U.S.-China relationship, knuckled preemptively under Chinese pressure not to meet the Dalai Lama, and generally behaved as if the United States has no power in the bilateral relationship.
Australia has an often overlooked key role to play in drawing military ruled Myanmar out of its isolation, and is well placed to play a prominent supporting position in international efforts to engage the SPDC.
In Copenhagen this month, Human Rights Watch presented its proposal for institutional reform to monitor host countries' compliance with international human rights norms. We also believe that the IOC should make host city contracts public.
I gave birth in the developing world, in South Africa, to be precise. South Africa was in the spotlight recently when a government-commissioned report showed a 20 per cent increase in the number of deaths from pregnancy-related causes between 2005 and 2007 over the previous three-year period. The report said that nearly 40 per cent of these deaths were avoidable.
Behind the foreign secretary's assurances that this will not be a war without end is the admission that defeating the Taliban is not realistic - hence the drive for reconciliation. While political solutions are welcome, many questions remain unanswered. Why would the British and others expect deals with the Taliban and other insurgents to stick? Why would they expect such people, if given positions of power, to respect the rights of Afghans, particularly women?
Cambodia is considered one of the few success stories in the global fight against AIDS. Yet, the positive achievements of government health authorities and their partners have been outmatched in the past year by the negative actions of the police, Ministry of Social Affairs and municipal authorities.
Speaking in Tokyo’s Suntory Hall on Saturday on the first leg of his visit to Asia, President Barack Obama stressed the importance of promoting human rights in the region.
When 15-year-old Wang Xiaomei made the long trip from Gansu province to Beijing last year, she hoped to find justice for her family. Instead, she met with abuse.
In January, Australians saw shocking photos of young, emaciated men washing up on the shores of Sumatra. Australian television showed these Rohingyas, members of a Muslim ethnic minority systematically mistreated by Burma’s military regime, describing how Thai authorities beat them and pushed them back out to sea. Video footage captured the Thai navy appearing to tow the men out to sea in their rickety boats. The world was horrified.
As Afghanistan's elections draw to a shambolic finale, it is time for President Obama to end his policy review and breathe hope into Afghanistan's bleak landscape.
Since taking office, President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton-both of whom mustered some criticism of China's rights record while they were candidates-have said that human rights shouldn't "interfere" with other issues in the U.S.-China relationship, knuckled preemptively under Chinese pressure not to meet the Dalai Lama, and generally behaved as if the United States has no power in the bilateral relationship.
Australia has an often overlooked key role to play in drawing military ruled Myanmar out of its isolation, and is well placed to play a prominent supporting position in international efforts to engage the SPDC.
In Copenhagen this month, Human Rights Watch presented its proposal for institutional reform to monitor host countries' compliance with international human rights norms. We also believe that the IOC should make host city contracts public.
I gave birth in the developing world, in South Africa, to be precise. South Africa was in the spotlight recently when a government-commissioned report showed a 20 per cent increase in the number of deaths from pregnancy-related causes between 2005 and 2007 over the previous three-year period. The report said that nearly 40 per cent of these deaths were avoidable.