Homicide rates plummeted by an estimated 40 percent in El Salvador in 2012—a dramatic turn of events for a country that in 2011 had the second-highest homicide rates in the world. The decline followed a historic truce between the two largest street gangs there, MS-13 and Barrio 18, which will see its first anniversary this … Continue reading
“This modern humanitarian system is evolving towards something of a global welfare system,” said Jérémie Labbé, Senior Policy Analyst in charge of IPI’s Humanitarian Affairs program, in this interview. He said the system has “growing ambitions to be on all fronts: on the front of complex emergencies and conflicts; on the front of sudden onset … Continue reading
“’Big data’ is a term that has come into vogue only in the last couple of years, and it refers to the tremendous explosion in volume and velocity and variety of digital data that is being produced around the world,” said Robert Kirkpatrick, Director of UN Global Pulse. “The statistics are somewhat astonishing: there was … Continue reading
A 14-year old girl was shot in the head in Pakistan’s Swat Valley last week in retaliation for speaking out against the Taliban’s ban on girl’s education. It now seems Malala Yousafzai will survive, but the story of her attack provoked outrage around the world. How can such a despicable attack be condemned using the … Continue reading
When Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf tried to establish a community center with a mosque in it in lower Manhattan, he was attacked as a “militant Islamist” for trying to build a “ground zero mosque.” The Cordoba House project was intended to help heal the wounds of 9/11, promote interfaith understanding, and work against violent extremism, … Continue reading
Looking to the past and the future at Ground Zero. Continue reading
As momentum builds in the lead up to the Spanish general election on November 20th, neither the governing Socialist Party nor the conservative Partido Popular (PP) appears to be softening its stance on talks with the Basque separatist group ETA, which is widely considered to be a terrorist organization. In its election manifesto launched last … Continue reading
Bertie Ahern was Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland from 1997-2008 and participated in negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. Recently he was among a group of world leaders that called on the violent Basque separatist group ETA to permanently give up its armed struggle. On October 20th, ETA declared a “historic” … Continue reading
South African human rights lawyer Brian Currin is a leading figure in international efforts to find a negotiated solution to the Basque conflict. After initiating the 2010 Brussels Declaration that called on ETA, the armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization, to declare a ceasefire, which the group said was “permanent” last January, Currin established the … Continue reading
Heady days in Zucotti Park before the airy autumn cooled. Continue reading
