The 144th Session of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. (Photo: HRBrief)

Over the last 30 years, more than 600 aboriginal woman and girls have been murdered or gone missing in Canada. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) addressed this issue for the first time following a petition by Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC), the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA, one of the focal points of Social Watch in that country) and the University of Miami’s Human Rights Clinic.

Members of Syrian security forces. (Photo: FreedomHouse2/Flickr/CC)

The use of military action is intensifying in Syria, and the human rights and humanitarian conditions are deteriorating, warned the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) and the World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS) in a joint statement. Despite the calls of Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Arab League and a UN special envoy, Syrian authorities have failed to halt the use of excessive force and violence, according to these organizations.

African ministers of mineral resources resolved, in a conference in Addis Ababa last December, to move into action to reform the sector to the benefit of the people. The action plan they approved includes amendments to the fiscal framework in order to optimize those benefits. “The days when mining in Africa was seen as rent-seeking activity are drawing to a close with the call by most of the countries to make mining a broad-based growth and development activity that is a key component of a diversified, vibrant and industrializing economy,” explains African Agenda, Third World Network-Africa’s bi-monthly magazine, in the editorial of its last edition.

Mohamed Idris. (Photo: CAP)

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP, a member of the Malaysian Social Watch coalition) is complaining on the lack of public consultation by the Penang state government regarding several mega projects that include the construction of a 6.5 km undersea tunnel, a 12 km road and two bypasses of more than 4.0 km.

With the release of its annual Alternative Federal Budget, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) urges the federal government to table a detailed budget that restores Canadians’ trust in the economy, public institutions, and democracy.

The proposal launched by the CCPA, one of the national focal points of Social Watch in the North American country, addresses the concerns of mainstream Canada by putting forward a public investment plan that promotes a better quality of life for all Canadians, not just an elite few.