Category: Human Rights

“Accountability has, until now, been largely missing in action throughout the 52-year-old occupation,” said Michael Lynk, the Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967. On 20 December, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced that she was “satisfied that there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation into the situation in Palestine”.… Read More

As a boy, Zack Martin’s school teacher told him, he couldn’t get paid for staring out of a window, but the former marine says he proved the teacher wrong by becoming a truck driver and building a successful heavy-load trucking business, Crawler Haulers, in the city of Lafayette in Louisiana.  “I joined the US Marines when I was a young kid and it really made me who I am, as… Read More

Ghassan Salamé, head of the UN Support Mission in the country, UNSMIL, called for greater civilian protection following the incidents, which occurred in three locations in the west. “We have said it loud and clear that indiscriminate attacks against civilians not only constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law, but also further escalate the conflict… Read More

Tucker Friedman is known in the Louisiana swampland as the alligator whisperer. He set up his tour company Atchafalaya Basin Landing Airboat Tours 20 years ago and introduces visitors from around the world to the unique ecosystem of the swamps in the Mississippi River flood plain.  He entertains his customers by calling to the alligators in Cajun French, a Louisiana vernacular, and then tickles them on the chin.  “People call me Captain… Read More

Clarence Martin, the son of a crop-sharer and carpenter, opened Martin Accordions in Lafayette, Louisiana after giving up working as a building site contractor. The company, where his son and daughter also work, makes, repairs and tunes accordions.  ILO Photo/John Isaac Clarence Martin (left) talks to a customer whose accordion he has repaired. “I used to be a residential contractor and cabinet maker,… Read More

It’s 7pm at Swirl wine bar in the Faubourg St John neighborhood of New Orleans a wine tasting is underway.  Some 300 different wines from all over the world, but with an emphasis on Italy and France, are stacked in wooden racks around the small but bustling wine bar-cum store. The Swirl staff circulate and discuss grape types, vintages and… Read More

The country this month amended its Code on Marriage and Family to allow universal birth registration for all children regardless of the legal status of their parents.  We have seen tremendous progress halfway through our 10-year #IBelong campaign to end statelessness. But millions remain without a nationality and millions are still at risk of being stateless. pic.twitter.com/AUHDSWbkNb — UNHCR Central Asia… Read More

Beth Ribblett is the owner of Swirl Wine Bar and Market in the New Orleans’ neighbourhood of Faubourg St. John. At college she studied costume design, and subsequently exercise physiology, but then decided she wanted to open a wine bar. Her business is now almost 14 years old and is focused on serving the local community.  “Swirl Wine Bar and Market is really a post-Hurricane Katrina story. I was interested in wine for a long time and it was in my 5-year plan to… Read More

Kai Bussant is a fashion designer and milliner in New Orleans. She refurbishes hats at the Goorin Bros store. She has multiple jobs including styling and tailoring, and is about to launch her own fashion brand. She sold her first piece of clothing when she was at elementary school.   “I became a designer as I understand and am very comfortable with materials, and let them lead me. There are not many… Read More