Bi-weekly News and Opinion Roundup - April 7, 2022 |
|
C&SN’s Gabe Murphy argues that sanctions targeting the Russian economy are having serious impacts on Russian civil society. He also looks at the U.S. government’s signaling around the goals of sanctions and what it would take to lift them, calling for more clarity in order to support a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. Read his analysis here. (April 5).
|
|
The Alliance for Peacebuilding, Frameworks Institute and PartnersGlobal published a report offering “an evidence-based narrative around peacebuilding—how it works and why we need it—to help peacebuilding practitioners and their allies build public understanding.” Read the full report here. (April 1).
Amnesty International’s annual report, The State of the World’s Human Rights, looks at how “Governments suppressed independent and critical voices,” how “New and unresolved conflicts erupted or persisted,” and how “Those forced to flee were subjected to a litany of abuses, including pushbacks by countries in the Global North,” highlighting the impacts of these and other trends in 154 countries. Read the full report here. (March 29).
Aspen Institute published a brochure offering an introduction to recent e-filing requirements for nonprofits regarding Form 990. The brochure provides practical information for nonprofits about the new requirements and also points out how the new rules will provide greater transparency and public accountability to the sector. Read the brochure here. (March 2022).
|
|
Responding to criticism faced by the International Committee for the Red Cross following its president’s meeting with Russia’s foreign minister, Hajer Naili explained the need for humanitarian practitioners to engage with all parties to a conflict and remain neutral in their provision of aid. Read her analysis in Just Security. (March 28).
|
|
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch published a report on human rights abuses in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, saying these abuses amount to ethnic cleansing. The Guardian reports. (April 6).
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has joined the Ligue des droits de l’homme (LDH) and Salah Hammouri in filing a joint criminal complaint against NSO Group for infiltrating Mr. Hammouri’s phone, in violation of French law. Read the press release here. (April 5).
Kitana Ananda, the Racial Justice Editor for Nonprofit Quarterly, unpacks the racist dynamics at work in Western responses to the war in Ukraine, and argues that we need a new anti-war movement that supports “abolitionist racial justice efforts here and abroad.” Read her analysis in Nonprofit Quarterly. (March 31).
Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, explained how government agencies and state-affiliated armed groups in Libya have arbitrarily detained human rights defenders and civil society activists in recent months, and “subjected them to torture, verbal harassment and intimidation.” UN News reports. (March 25).
|
|
Responding to the White House’s announcement of priority countries (Haiti, Libya, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea) and a priority region (Coastal West Africa) under the Global Fragility Act (GFA), the GFA Coalition put out a statement welcoming this important step in the implementation of the GFA, arguing that “Successful implementation of the GFA and expansion beyond the initial priority countries and region remains imperative for the U.S. government’s policies and assistance to prevent and reduce violent conflict globally.” Read the GFA Coalition’s statement here. (April 1).
The Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) has put forward a list of actionable measures to “ensure robust funding to address the crisis in Ukraine,” to “rapidly and flexibly fund locally-led peacebuilding and protection and support nonviolent civil resisters,” to “support the Russian people and regional populations impacted by the conflict,” to “strengthen and mobilize multilateral institutions,” to “prevent and document war crimes and atrocities,” to “combat mis/disinformation and promote cybersecurity in Ukraine and globally,” to “mobilize the private sector,” and to “address the long-term impacts of the conflict in Ukraine.” Read AfP’s global call to action here. (March 24).
|
|
Jake Johnson reports on the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, highlighting a range of steps called for by humanitarian aid groups to address the impacts of sanctions and create a roadmap for the release of Afghanistan’s frozen funds. Read his reporting in Common Dreams. (March 30).
Russian citizens living abroad have encountered challenges in accessing their funds and setting up bank accounts due to their nationality in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the international sanctions imposed on Russia. One lawyer quoted in the story explained how he is “dealing with Russians who can't get out of hotels, students who have no money because credit cards are valueless.” Reuters reports. (March 30).
Esfandyar Batmanghelidj and Francisco Rodríguez argue that “Economic retaliation against Russia for its aggression in Ukraine could harm vulnerable people around the world and create lasting damage to the global economy if not crafted carefully.” Read their analysis in Neoma. (March 29).
Some family members of 9/11 victims are speaking out against the Biden administration’s decision to freeze Afghanistan’s foreign reserves with the intention of using half of the funds to benefit the Afghan people and making the other half available for families of 9/11 victims pending the results of litigation. The authors “implore the 9/11 families in these lawsuits to join us in urging Biden to amend his executive order to clarify that all the Afghan central bank funds belong to the Afghan people, and to take the necessary steps to get that money infused into Afghanistan’s economy without delay.” Read their take in New York Daily News. (March 25).
|
|
700 12th Street NW Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005
Phone Number: (202) 481-6927
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
