How waste pickers in the global South are being sidelined by new policies
The world is producing more and more waste, with serious health and environmental consequences. In urban areas, domestic waste is accumulating fast and landfills fill […]
International
The Donetsk People’s Republic, a state under construction or a ghost state?
The huge administrative building gives a feeling of emptiness as you enter. Dressed in military fatigues, a soldier keeps the visitor’s register. “Passport!” he says […]
Can new trade rules help east Africa’s cross-border women traders secure a decent livelihood?
Lorna Okitoyi has been a cross-border trader based in Malaba, western Kenya for over 10 years. The 46-year-old mother-of-two sells food staples and kitchen utensils […]
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 […]
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 […]
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