Archive for October 7th, 2011

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07/10/2011

The Unmet Women Needs – 1 in 4 World’s People Will Be African

Human Wrongs Watch

By Nichole Zlatunich* – Think Africa Press 

Currently, about one in seven (15%) of the world’s people live in Africa. By 2050, it will be closer to 1 in 4 (24%). Most of this growth will occur in sub-Saharan Africa, due to a current annual increase in population of 2.6%. Population growth is high because the average woman in sub-Saharan Africa has more than five children.

UN-backed Millennium Villages project in Africa | Credit: UN

With reductions in overall mortality rates through improvements in sanitation, immunisation, and improved access to modern health care, death rates have dropped. Yet birth rates have remained high, resulting in high population growth, with a large proportion of children dependent upon working-age adults.

In 39 African countries, 40% or more of the population is under 15 years of age.

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Posted in Africa, Mother Earth, The Peoples | Leave a Comment »

07/10/2011

‘Because I Am Girl – So, What about Boys’?

Human Wrongs Watch

‘In too many societies girls still face the double discrimination of being young and being female. They are pulled out of school, married early, and are more likely to be subject to violence.’

Teenage girl from Mauritania. Image: Ferdinand Reus | Wikimedia Commons

“This is not only unjust; it is also short-sighted.The 500 million adolescent girls and young women in developing countries are potentially a major force in driving economic progress,” says this year’s report ‘Because I am Girl’ published by Plan, which assesses the state of the world’s girls.

While women and children are recognised in policy and planning, girls’ particular needs and rights are often ignored, says Plan, an international NGO founded 70 years ago working in 50 developing countries to promote child rights.

“But the challenge of gender equality cannot be tackled by girls and women alone – which brings us back to boys and men. Fathers, husbands, brothers and boyfriends all have their part to play, and this year’s report will demonstrate how and why men and boys can, and should, contribute to creating a more equal society.”

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Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Middle East, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples | 2 Comments »

07/10/2011

Syria: Bullets, Fists and Electric Cables against Protestors

Human Wrongs Watch

Beirut, 6 Oct., 2011 – Six months into pro-democracy protests in Syria, allegations of human rights abuses perpetrated by supporters of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime proliferate.The latest UN figures talk about 2.900 deaths.

Image: Syriana2011 | Wikimedia Commons

Human rights organizations documented numerous cases of torture in the six months since the start of the uprising. Amnesty International has documented 10 cases of children dying in custody, some of them mutilated either before or after death; while another global campaigning organization, Avaaz, reports that 16 children died in detention after they suffered severe torture.

A UN-backed rights commission has urged Syria to let it into the country to investigate reports of killings and torture, including of children, according to IRIN, humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs*. “We have received many scary reports about the situation of children during the conflict,” said Paulo Pinheiro, a Brazilian human rights expert heading the commission of inquiry.

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Posted in Middle East, The Peoples | Leave a Comment »

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