Equal Times

18 March 2024

In North Macedonia, textile workers mobilise in the face of impunity for employers and the violation of their rights

“In North Macedonia, hundreds of factories make clothes and shoes for Europe’s big brands. It is no secret how harsh the working conditions are in these factories, but the widespread violations of the labour law have long gone unchallenged.”Read the full article

In the name of security, France plans to monitor crowds using AI and algorithms during the Paris Olympics

14 June 2023

Human rights

In the name of security, France plans to monitor crowds using AI and algorithms during the Paris Olympics

Many fear that France’s planned use of algorithmic video surveillance (AVS) for the 2024 Paris Olympics will infringe on civil liberties and lead to widespread mass surveillance beyond the event.Read the full article

As Sudan's latest conflict intensifies, artisanal gold miners are caught in the crosshairs

24 May 2023

Human rights

As Sudan’s latest conflict intensifies, artisanal gold miners are caught in the crosshairs

“As long as this war goes on, the military will keep coming after us. We are living in danger.”Read the full article

In Argentina, and elsewhere in Latin America, the fight against corruption almost exclusively targets the left

30 March 2023

Politics & economy

In Argentina, and elsewhere in Latin America, the fight against corruption almost exclusively targets the left

María Ana Skotadi: In Argentina and throughout the region, the fight against corruption shows signs of systematic bias against left-wing leaders. Their political opponents have weaponised the media and the justice system and resisted the progressive will of [...]Read the full article

How a poorly paid and multi-employed police force is driving private security initiatives in Lebanon

27 March 2023

Development

How a poorly paid and multi-employed police force is driving private security initiatives in Lebanon

The disintegration of Lebanon’s police force is undermining law and order in a country ravaged by crisis after crisis. Many of the non-governmental initiatives emerging to restore a sense of security on the streets are reminiscent of some of the dark chapters of the Lebanese civil [...]Read the full article

The stifling gag on civil society in Morocco

10 February 2023

Human rights

The stifling gag on civil society in Morocco

The announcement that Morocco allegedly bribed prominent figures in the European Parliament to defend its interests in Brussels has led to increased scrutiny of human rights violations in Morocco. The resulting picture is not a flattering [...]Read the full article

Romania's civil society wanted to protect whistleblowers; instead, they got “a slap in the face”

25 January 2023

Human rights

Romania’s civil society wanted to protect whistleblowers; instead, they got “a slap in the face”

According to an EU Directive, every state must bring its whistleblower legislation up to date. Romania, a country that benefitted from the strong protection of whistleblowers, understood the assignment differently and stripped them of their [...]Read the full article

Zambia's anti-corruption drive is seeing stolen assets returned in exchange for a get-out-of-jail card

9 November 2022

Politics & economy

Zambia’s anti-corruption drive is seeing stolen assets returned in exchange for a get-out-of-jail card

Hichilema’s government is not following the traditional ‘arrest, prosecute, convict’ anti-graft playbook. Instead, it is embracing a hybrid approach of prosecution for some offenders and a policy of ‘no jail but surrender the assets’ for [...]Read the full article

Pushing back against China's debt-trap deniers

20 October 2022

Politics & economy

Pushing back against China’s debt-trap deniers

Paulo Casaca : Although China did not invent the concept of the ‘debt-trap’, as the world’s most important source of international development finance, China is currently the main international player of this centuries-old debt power game.Read the full article

In Egypt, ambitious redevelopment projects are forcing thousands of residents from their homes

26 July 2022

Human rights

In Egypt, ambitious redevelopment projects are forcing thousands of residents from their homes

After labelling their neighbourhood a ‘slum,’ the government evicted its residents to make way for luxury housing developments in the so-called ‘Maspero Triangle’, located two kilometres from Tahrir Square in the Boulaq district. These new flats are aimed at more affluent [...]Read the full article

23 June 2022

Human rights

The Sri Lankan state is using violence to unleash fury on its citizens, as its political and economic crisis deepens

Niro Kandasamy: Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence, and the responses of the state indicate it is incapable of protecting its citizens.Read the full article

Commodification of EU citizenship: will the EU ban ‘golden passports'?

13 May 2022

Politics & economy

Commodification of EU citizenship: will the EU ban ‘golden passports’?

Sanctions on Russia are accelerating the European drive to end the ‘golden passport’ trade and to regulate ‘golden visas’. According to critical observers, the main beneficiaries of residency and citizenship by investment schemes have been Chinese and Russian [...]Read the full article

Is physical money destined to disappear?

17 March 2022

Politics & economy

Is physical money destined to disappear?

Fundación Alternativas: Attempts to implement top-down mechanisms, such as the single digital payment, that leave out a significant percentage of the world’s population will only result in poverty and exclusion. Virtual money already coexists seamlessly with physical money. But paper banknotes still have a lot of use [...]Read the full article

Putin is the product of a corrupt economic system that we must now reform

4 March 2022

Politics & economy

Putin is the product of a corrupt economic system that we must now reform

Mary Kaldor: The courageous Ukrainian resistance and the anti-war movement in Russia are a civic, not ethnic, reaction to the invasion. And their civic stance has global support.Read the full article

Kazakhstan: a breach of the social contract and the end of a political cycle

10 February 2022

Politics & economy

Kazakhstan: a breach of the social contract and the end of a political cycle

The Conversation: Since the beginning of January 2022, Kazakhstan has found itself in the throes of a social and political crisis of unprecedented proportions. Popular demonstrations, armed riots and an attempted coup d’état have shaken Central Asia’s largest and richest [...]Read the full article

Commodity trading: the shadowy industry destroying the planet

29 July 2021

Politics & economy

Commodity trading: the shadowy industry destroying the planet

Joseph Baines: Commodity traders wreak havoc on global markets and profit from ecological and social devastation. Can they be stopped?Read the full article

On the banks of Thailand's Mun River, villages are struggling to survive in the shadow of the dams

29 January 2021

Development

On the banks of Thailand’s Mun River, villages are struggling to survive in the shadow of the dams

The construction of the Rasi Salai dam across the Mun River in the mid-1990s caused the flooding of 16,000 hectares of land and brought an abrupt end to a three-century-old way of life. Today, thousands of families are still fighting for compensation for the loss of their land, ecological [...]Read the full article

21 January 2021

Development

Illicit financial flows hinder development in Africa – the UN must rise to the challenge of ending this

Chloé Maurel: Every year, US$88.6 billion leaves Africa in the form of illicit capital flight, according to the UN. Africa is affected more than all other continents, making it a net creditor to the rest of the world, contrary to the popular belief of an Africa aided by the countries of the [...]Read the full article

Why it's time to blow the whistle on Amazon

24 November 2020

Labour

Why it’s time to blow the whistle on Amazon

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in soaring profits for US tech giant Amazon, but around the world, workers, small businesses, local communities and national economies are all paying the price.Read the full article

Eight years after the Ali Enterprises factory fire in Pakistan, victims and their families are still fighting for justice

19 October 2020

Labour

Eight years after the Ali Enterprises factory fire in Pakistan, victims and their families are still fighting for justice

“Workplaces in Pakistan are still unsafe as the government, the factory owners and the international brands have learnt nothing since the Ali Enterprises factory fire.”Read the full article

1 October 2020

Politics & economy

The future is digital, but we should keep digital chapters out of our trade deals

Duncan McCann: “We must ensure that, as we enter a new phase in the digital disruption of the economy, we do not shackle our democratic institutions from regulating the digital sphere.”Read the full article

El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua: so far from God, so close to the United States

3 September 2020

Labour

El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua: so far from God, so close to the United States

Luis Linares: The socioeconomic policies in CA-4 countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) are geared towards protecting business interests rather than building welfare states. The lack of opportunities leaves young people with only one way out: migration to the United [...]Read the full article

As it finances extraction and construction projects around the world, China is exporting its labour model and standards

19 August 2020

Politics & economy

As it finances extraction and construction projects around the world, China is exporting its labour model and standards

The single factor that most damages China’s reputation abroad is undoubtedly the treatment of workers in its investment projects.Read the full article

The technology used to facilitate human trafficking can also be used to fight it

30 July 2020

Human rights

The technology used to facilitate human trafficking can also be used to fight it

“The technology to combat human trafficking is there,” says Cucos. What we need to do now, as he underlines in the report, is “to move beyond the cycle of developing and piloting new initiatives, and toward expanding the coverage of those existing initiatives that are showing [...]Read the full article

Transparency and corruption

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