Full Coverage: Governance

16.05.2008 The California Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a law barring same-sex couples from getting married is unconstitutional, said a human rights monitor, welcoming the new law as an important precedent for equal rights around the world.
From: Human Rights Watch

16.05.2008 Both humanitarian aid and political aid is needed in Myanmar (formerly Burma) now, says a board member of a U.S. group active on Burmese issues.
From: U.S. Campaign for Burma

16.05.2008 The approximately 100,000 ethnic Nubians living in Kenya continue to demand official recognition -- notably citizenship -- although they face less political discrimination than in previous years.

16.05.2008 Floods in Bihar, a state in eastern India, have devastating impact on women, children, the landless and dalits. Waters Of Despair, a documentary film dives deep to reveal how administrative negligence is an even bigger culprit. It finds holes in disaster preparedness, relief distribution and beneficiary identification.

16.05.2008 South Asia has been a hotspot of the most stubborn conflicts. While many other societies have managed to resolve their discords, the conflicts in this region remain unresolved because of the inflexibility and dogmatism of the contending parties, says historian and columnist Ramachandra Guha.

15.05.2008 WASHINGTON, May 15 (OneWorld) - As UN estimates of the number of Burmese affected by Cyclone Nargis rose from 1.5 to 2.5 million and the United States and United Nations continued to wrangle with Myanmar's rulers over visas for aid workers, Atlanta-based CARE received a $1 million donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to deliver humanitarian relief in Myanmar.

15.05.2008 Selling excess rice held in Japan and imported from the United States would incite a rapid drop in the global price of rice but requires immediate action from Tokyo and Washington, write former editor of The Rice Trader, Tom Slayton, and policy analyst, Peter Timmer.

15.05.2008 Indigenous peoples in Nicaragua are increasingly threatened by climate change despite their minimal ecological footprint, writes a Nicaraguan advocate for indigenous peoples' autonomy and development.

15.05.2008 Ever since it was first introduced in 1984 by the Australian government, the concept of gender-sensitive budget has spread far and wide with more than 50 countries embracing it, including India and Bangladesh. Women’s groups now want it to be extended to more countries.

14.05.2008 Asian governments -- seen to have greater leverage with Myanmar authorities -- are being asked to increase the pressure on the military junta to effectively address the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Nargis.

14.05.2008 A South African High Court judge took "a brave step forward" when he recently ruled that the state's public water distribution system denies people their constitutional right to "a dignified life," blogs Rebecca Brown.

13.05.2008 WASHINGTON, May 13 (OneWorld) - What single silver bullet is simultaneously reducing air pollution and oil dependency, rolling back urban congestion, and fighting obesity?

13.05.2008 The Uzbek government continues to persecute people believed to have ties to the 2005 Andijan massacre, when state security forces killed hundreds in an attempt to quell anti-government protests, says a new report from a human rights monitor.

13.05.2008 Historically, the Cuban revolution was "a success," writes scholar Saul Landau. But can Cuba today overcome the economic hardships -- and the resulting social changes -- the country endured after the collapse of the Soviet Union?

12.05.2008 Immigrant Latinos in the United States are living under a "matrix of laws, social customs, economic institutions and symbolic systems" hauntingly similar to the Jim Crow laws that once institutionalized race segregation in parts of America, writes Roberto Lovato.
From: The Nation

08.05.2008 Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation is conducting a three-day conference on e-governance in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event will aim at harnessing ICTs for more efficient, inclusive and transparent governance in the Asia-Pacific region.

06.05.2008 Indian government has decided to table the contentious Women’s Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha on May 6. Earlier in an interview with OWSA, Dr Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research spoke on the whole gamut of issues concerning the need for women in governance.

06.05.2008 Initially introduced in 1996 and subsequently in lapse; snatched and torn up in 1999, the contentious Women’s Reservation Bill is finally set to be tabled in Rajya Sabha on May 6. The Bill seeks to provide 33% reservation for women in state assemblies and the parliament.

06.05.2008 Indian government has decided to table the contentious Women’s Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha on May 6. Earlier in an interview with OWSA, Dr Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research spoke on the whole gamut of issues concerning the need for women in governance.

03.05.2008 UNITED NATIONS, May 2 (OneWorld) - The global food crisis is likely to persist if speculative investment by the corporate world is not reined in soon, warned a top expert responsible for reporting to the United Nations on human rights violations.