Old, emerging and lingering economic hurdles new administration in Colombia must wrestle with
In early May, a show of force – announced by Gaitanista Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AGC), after one of the group’s top leaders was extradited to the US – paralysed nearly a quarter of the country as the group forbade transport or economic activity for five days: a decree enforced...
They promise heaven, then serve hell: Why Kenyan youths have no appetite for August 9 elections
The number of young voters registered for Kenya’s August elections has dropped since the last poll five years ago, the election commission announced on Monday, pointing to apathy among a youth disenchanted by economic hardship and widespread corruption. This is despite the total number of people who have signed up...
Kenya elects new government in August, but polls body the youth have given the exercise a wide berth
On August 9, Kenyans head to the polls to elect their next president. The campaigns and manifestos of the four contenders still in the race have made the youth common denominator of their promises to the country. In spite of the youth agenda, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)...
How ‘Peace with Legality’ agreement is likely to impact new Colombia government domestic policies
Before the June 19 Colombian presidential election, candidates endorsed the 2016 peace deal and criticised the unpopular “Peace with Legality” plan of outgoing President Iván Duque Márquez government, which has involved deadly military operations, including the bombing of children at rebel camps. Defeated right-wing populist Rodolfo Hernandez, a right-of-centre political...
Civil war: Daunting humanitarian crisis Colombia’s newly elected president Gustova Petro faces
Helmut Ángulo lost his parents in 2000 at the height of the Colombian civil war, kidnapped and killed by rebel fighters. When the country signed a peace deal 16 years later, Ángulo vigorously opposed it. He wanted justice for his parents’ deaths, and he wanted to find their remains so...
Sally Hayden: When I started reporting on Libya detention camps UN staff admitted UN is used to whitewash brutal EU policy
Interview continued: The New Humanitarian recently spoke to journalist Sally Hayden, author of the book, “My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World’s Deadliest Migration Route”, published in March this year. Hayden raises questions the roles the European Union and United Nations, and sometimes other aid organisations are...
Journalist’s in-depth account exposes human rights abuses in Libyan detention camps ignored by UN and EU
In 2018, journalist Sally Hayden received a message on Facebook from a refugee in a Libyan detention centre. “We need your help. We are under bad condition in Libya prison. If you have time, I will tell you all the story,” the message read, seemingly sent out of the blue....
African scientists seek ways of sealing loopholes in global collaborations between West and Africa
Researchers at the seventh World Conference on Research Integrity, in Cape Town, South Africa, have been hammering out the equity issues plaguing science partnerships that span the global north-south divide. Several sessions at the event were dedicated to the design of a soon-to-be-published document called the Cape Town Statement on...
Presidential candidate with visual disability and gospel musician sues Kenya’s elections body for discrimination
A gospel singer who wants to be Kenya’s first disabled presidential candidate has filed a case in the country’s courts after being barred from the electoral race. Reuben Kigame, who is blind, filed the case against Kenya’s Electoral Commission (IEBC) this week on Tuesday, claiming he had been blocked from...
Funding disaster: UN emergency aid coordination agency has no classification for forgotten disasters
Bangladesh’s population is nearly 168 million – 99,000 of whom were displaced following 31 disasters in 2021. Nepal’s population is 30 million, meaning that proportionally almost exactly the same amount of displacement occurred. Azmat Ulla, head of Nepal’s delegation at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies...
