The Week with IPS 5/15

	Pregnancy and Childbirth Still Kill Too Many Women in Latin America Fabiana Frayssinet In spite of strides in social progress, Latin America’s maternal mortality rates remain unacceptable, and many of the deaths are avoidable, occurring partly because of neglect of the prescriptions provided by experts: preventive action and health promotion. Juan Reichenbach, a regionally ... MORE > >
	NGOs Urge Post-2015 Declaration Include Water, Sanitation as Basic Human Rights Thalif Deen Virtually every major international conference concludes with a “programme of action” (PoA) – described in U.N. jargon as “an outcome document” – preceded by a political declaration where 193 member states religiously pledge to honour their commitments. But over 620 non-governmental ... MORE > >
	The Definition of ‘Rape’ Cannot Change with a Marriage Certificate Neeta Lal "I was brutally raped thrice by my husband. He kept me under surveillance in his Dubai house while I suffered from severe malnutrition and depression. When I tried to flee from this hellhole, he confiscated my passport, deprived me of money and beat me up," recalls Anna Marie Lopes, 28, a rape ... MORE > >
	Reviving Dignity: The Remarkable Perseverance of Myanmar’s Displaced Rob Jarvis and Kim Jolliffe In Myanmar’s Western Rakhine State, over a hundred thousand people displaced by inter communal violence that broke out nearly three years ago remain interned in camps on torrid plains and coastal marshes, struggling to survive. In the face of unimaginable hardship, many have found ways to cope ... MORE > >
	The U.N. at 70: Risk Averse, Unsafe and Too Old Ian Richards On Apr. 20, this year, four of my colleagues tragically lost their lives in Northern Somalia, when an explosive device ripped through their minibus as they travelled back to their guesthouse. Ian Richards. Credit: George Younes It wasn’t the first, nor unfortunately will it be the last time ... MORE > >
	IACHR Tackles Violence Against Native Peoples in Costa Rica Diego Arguedas Ortiz After years of violence against two indigenous groups in Costa Rica, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) demanded that the government adopt measures by May 15 to protect the life and physical integrity of the members of the two communities. The IACHR granted precautionary ... MORE > >
	Farmers Fight Real Estate Developers for Kenya’s Most Prized Asset: Land Miriam Gathigah Vegetables grown in the lush soil of this quiet agricultural community in central Kenya’s fertile wetlands not only feed the farmers who tend the crops, but also make their way into the marketplaces of Nairobi, the country’s capital, some 150 km south. Spinach, carrots, kale, cabbages, tomatoes, ... MORE > >
	Migrants Between Scylla and Charybdis Silvia Giannelli Not even a month has passed since over 700 hundred migrants lost their lives in their attempt to reaching the shores of Italy and the media spotlights have already faded on the island of Sicily, Italy’s southern region and main gateway to Europe. Yet, the migration flows have not ... MORE > >
	Analysis: Global Politics at a Turning Point – Part 2 Prem Shankar Jha In the following months, reports of the use of chemical weapons by Syrian forces multiplied. The most serious was an allegation that the Syrian army had used sarin gas on Mar. 19, 2013 at Khan al Assal, north of Aleppo, and in a suburb of Damascus against its opponents. This was followed by two ... MORE > >
	Analysis: Global Politics at a Turning Point – Part 1 Prem Shankar Jha President Barack Obama’s Nowroz greeting to the Iranian people earlier this year was the first clear indication to the world that the United States and Iran were very close to agreement on the contents of the nuclear agreement they had been working towards for the previous 16 months. In contrast ... MORE > >
	Latin America’s Social Policies Have Given Women a Boost Fabiana Frayssinet Although they do not specifically target women, social policies like family allowances and pensions have improved the lives of women in Latin America, the region that has made the biggest strides so far this century in terms of gender equality, although there is still a long way to go. Luiza ... MORE > >
	The Biggest Lessons Nepal Will Take Away From This Tragedy Amantha Perera There has never been any doubt that Nepal is sitting on one of the most seismically active areas in South Asia. The fact that, when the big one struck, damages and deaths would be catastrophic has been known for years. Indeed, when this correspondent visited Nepal several years ago, and found ... MORE > >