On May 27, 2009, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva held a Special Session to analyse the human rights situation in Sri Lanka after the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). A Special Session is the prime method that the Human Rights Council has to attract attention to a country situation and to give its resolutions added weight as only one country is considered. Sri Lankan Refugees
Judy Bonds is the co-director for Coal River Mountain Watch in West Virginia. Bonds is a coal miner's daughter and granddaughter, has been fighting for justice in the Appalachian coalfields since 1998, and in 2003 won the Goldman Environmental Prize. In this interview she talks about coal mining devastation in her community and what you can do to help.July Bonds speaks at a rally
This month, Royal Dutch Shell goes to court on charges of involvement in the execution of the iconic Nigerian writer and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa fourteen years ago. His son, Ken Wiwa, Jr., and bestselling novelist Richard North Patterson discuss Saro-Wiwa's legacy, Nigeria now, and the upcoming landmark trial.
El Alto-based hip-hop artist Abraham Bojorquez died early in the morning on Wednesday, May 20 in El Alto, Bolivia. He was killed when a bus hit him as he walking home. Abraham, 26 years old, was a member of the popular hip-hop group Ukamau y Ké. His music blended ancient Andean folk styles and new hip-hop beats with lyrics about revolution and social change.Abraham Bojorquez
Fueled by Western Capitalism, China is on the rise, knocking down forests, displacing watersheds, and exhaling a toxic amalgam of gases and particulates along its way. China's economy, if it continues to grow, will result in tremendous environmental devastation.Factory Pollution in China
While the swine flu virus does not appear to be as potentially devastating as first imagined, environmentalists and some public health activists argue that it should be considered a wake-up call to the public about the conditions in which much of our food is being produced.
Copyright Toward Freedom 2019