Blog

Azerbaijan recently held its 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in its capital city Baku where international leaders and members of the United Nations convened to discuss ways the Muslim-majority secular Republic can continue to strengthen its role as a model for other nations in the highly-volatile region to aspire to and to building a counter-narrative to violent extremism throughout the world. I was invited to attend this important forum, … Read more →

Ethiopia hosted the main celebration of 26th World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) in Addis Ababa. The celebration was special in that the host country is undergoing political change which included promotion of freedom of the press. Ethiopia, according to Reporters without Borders, ranked 110th in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index; however, it has improved 40 ranks since 2018. The celebration was jointly organised by UNESCO, the African Union Commission … Read more →

Ethiopia is at a time when it has to pay the costs of past repression. Even though it is trying to reform politically, it is also facing the consequence of antagonising political relationship. A lot of positive political changes have happened since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was sworn in in 2018. Ethiopia has made peace with Eritrea, which was its foe for almost two decades. The ruling party has also … Read more →

The main celebration of World Press Freedom Day 2019 will take place in Ethiopia the 3rd of May. This is one of the biggest surprises for one who knows Ethiopia’s record in freedom of the press. What has motivated UNESCO to host the celebration in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia? Dead Ends of the Old Era According to the annual prison census of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in 2016, Ethiopia … Read more →

In December 2018, the Clooney Foundation for Justice, founded by George and Amal Clooney, announced a new project called TrialWatch, a global effort to monitor court trials and which aims to create a global justice index, rating countries on the fairness of their trial systems. Working with the Columbia University Law School and the American Bar Association, the TrialWatch initiative will be formally launched on 25 April at Columbia Law … Read more →

A widespread notion persists: that women, when compared with their male counterparts, are more naturally inclined towards peace. A woman is a full circle and within her is the power to create, nurture and transform. Over the years, there has been an increasing need for recognition of women’s efforts in conflict resolution by the international community, which resulted to a call for the incorporation of women in peace processes and … Read more →