Commonwealth
Opinion
The Commonwealth at a crossroads
By Sue Onslow Director, Institute of Commonwealth Studies After a delay of two years, the Commonwealth heads of government are meeting in Kigali this week. The organisation itself is at a crossroads: leading Commonwealth civil society organisations have voiced their...
Is the Commonwealth getting its message out?
By Mischa Manderson Mills Like many international organisations, the Commonwealth Secretariat (ComSec) is undergoing a mid-life identity crisis. The world has changed radically since its formation some 60 years ago, and it is way past time for ComSec to look inwards...
Sri Lanka: Freedom of Expression in a Time of Crisis
By Rehab Mahamoor Sri Lanka is in the throes of its worst economic crises in history. With depleted foreign reserves making debt unserviceable and putting capital markets out of reach, Sri Lankans are bearing the brunt of heavy inflation, and a scarcity of essential...
Conservation and security – the question of militarisation of anti-poaching
By Keith Somerville The problem of how to combat poaching, conserve habitat and wildlife without abusing the human rights or destroying the livelihoods of local communities is a complex and highly controversial one. From David Sheldrick’s and Bill Woodley’s...
At “tipping point”: New report signals limited drive within the Home Office properly to address the Windrush scandal
By Juanita Cox, Eve Hayes de Kalaf In a much anticipated independent review published on the Windrush scandal last week, Wendy Williams warns that the Home Office is at “tipping point” and must maintain momentum to ensure systemic and cultural change. As early...
Commonwealth voices call on governments to end media repression and join open dialogue on democratic standards
The Commonwealth and media freedom: Where do we stand?, 27 April 2022 https://www.sas.ac.uk/videos-and-podcasts/digital/commonwealth-and-media-freedom-where-do-we-stand (with audio recording), Report on the Event, 3 May 2022 Ahead of the Commonwealth Peoples Forum...
Women journalists trolled and targeted: India
By Nupur Basu (Independent journalist, award winning documentary film maker, and educator from India.) On World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2022, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) came out with a numbing statistic on India. It ranked India at 150 out of 180 countries in...
Conservationists look for new ways of combating rhino poaching as South African poachers go back to work
By Keith Somerville In recent weeks three announcements have highlighted the continuing danger to South Africa’s black and white rhinos from poaching, and the search for means to fund rhino conservation. South Africa’s environment minister gave the annual poaching...
The hazards of journalism in Africa
By Martin Plaut Reporting in a war zone The war in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray, which erupted in November 2020, is probably the bloodiest current conflict in the world. It is also the least reported. Somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people have...
Where is the political leadership in the Commonwealth to reverse the assault on press freedom?
By William Horsley The decisive moment was to be a virtual meeting of Commonwealth Law Ministers in March to consider adopting a set of principles on ‘media and good governance’, with freedom of expression, the role of the media and journalists’ safety at their...
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