South Africa’s spaza shops: how regulatory avoidance harms informal workers
Small informal retailers are a ubiquitous feature of any developing country’s urban landscape. Known as spaza shops in South Africa, they are an important, even […]
International
Due diligence: has France really laid the foundations to end corporate impunity?
On 24 October 2013, the Rana Plaza disaster in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, triggered a huge outcry. Over a thousand people were killed when […]
What will it take for Canada to confront its femicide crisis?
As civil society, activists, governments and the United Nations hail 2020 a critical year for advancing women’s rights and gender equality, a femicide crisis in […]
How South African wineland workers used global networks to fight for their rights
Echoes of apartheid-style exploitation of workers have resurfaced in recent years in South Africa. Debates around these malpractices were given fresh impetus four years ago […]
Is there a glimmer of hope for Vietnamese workers?
Last November, the Vietnamese National Assembly took a long-awaited decision on a demand that came from both inside and outside the country: to authorise independent […]
Rome’s ‘invisible’ immigrants offer an alternative view of the Eternal City
For many people who live in Rome, the weekends are reserved for leisurely walks in the city centre and window shopping. But on a sunny […]
Will Turkey’s thirst for dam building add an element of combustibility to a regional water crisis?
As the Ilısu Dam, one of Turkey’s most controversial dam projects, gears up to begin producing energy this month, observers are describing it as yet […]
South Africa takes fresh steps to restrict rights of refugees
Recent changes to the law, and the promulgation of new regulations governing refugees in South Africa, have been heavily criticised by civil society organisations. The […]
Gender violence study in Brazilian garment factories provides a ‘wake-up call to action’
The vast majority of Brazilian textile and shoe factory workers who took part in a recent study say they have experienced some form of violence […]
Steps Nigeria is taking to prepare for cases of coronavirus
The number of reported cases and deaths of coronavirus is doubling every couple of days, and patients have now been reported from many Asian countries, […]
Can the European Union lead the world’s ecological transition?
The European Union is in a green state of mind. Last December, the new president of the European Commission placed the fight against climate change […]
In the Philippines, seaweed is giving former fishers a future
The beaches of Bula, a small fishing district in southern Philippines, are perpetually covered by a layer of seaweed several centimetres thick. But unlike tourist […]
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