Full coverage: Governance

31.03.2004 Public sector workers in Newfoundland and Labrador are primed to walk off the job when their contracts expire at midnight. The province's position throughout bargaining has been: accept a wage freeze or accept massive layoffs. And yesterday's provincial budget lurched ahead by announcing 4,000 job cuts over the next four years. Union leaders meet with Premier Danny Williams today in a last-ditch effort to break the deadlock.

31.03.2004 WASHINGTON, D.C., Mar 31 (OneWorld) - This week's outburst of apparently Islamist-related violence, which has killed more than 40 people in two major cities in Uzbekistan in the past three days, is spurring renewed attention to the strategically located Central Asian country's deplorable human rights record.

31.03.2004

© Amnesty International USA

This week students from around the country have joined Amnesty International in denouncing violence against women in Mexico, focusing on the cases of the hundreds of women killed in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua, for which not a single arrest has been made.

31.03.2004 At the end of a two-day meeting in Berlin, Afghan civil society groups concluded that the key to building lasting peace lies in the acronym DDR: Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration. "Without DDR there will be no security, and hence no environment for sustainable democracy in the country," they said, defining the steps they view as fundamental.

31.03.2004 «Reformat gjatë kësaj periudhe kanë qenë të kufizuara dhe përveç disa ecurive në fusha të veçanta, rekomandimet e raportit të vjetshëm nuk janë zbatuar siç duhet», shkruhet në raportin e sapo-publikuar të Komisionit Evropian. Pa asnjë ndryshim, e njëjta fjali si në raportin e një viti më parë dhe të njëjtat kritika dhe rekomandime nga Komisioni Evropian për Shqipërinë në përmbledhjen e raportit të këtij viti.

31.03.2004 En matèria de política exterior, el nou Govern espanyol ha de prendre decisions sobre la seva posició a l'Irac, l'apropament als seus veïns de la Unió Europea i les noves relacions amb els EUA. És l'opinió de Carlos Taibo, professor de Política de la UAM, que en el seu article també es pregunta si el PSOE trencarà amb les polítiques del passat o prendrà decisions massa complaents. Segons Taibo, l'esquerra ha de reforçar el paper dels moviments socials.

31.03.2004 En materia de política exterior, el nuevo Gobierno español debe tomar decisiones sobre su posición en Irak, el acercamiento a sus vecinos de la Unión Europea y las nuevas relaciones con EE UU. Es la opinión de Carlos Taibo, profesor de Política de la UAM, que en su artículo se pregunta también si el PSOE romperá con las políticas del pasado o tomará decisiones demasiado complacientes. Para Taibo, la izquierda debería reforzar el papel de los movimientos sociales.

31.03.2004 Amnesty International has criticised India for using excessive force during a protest march held by the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons in the north Indian city of Srinagar, located in Jammu and Kashmir.

31.03.2004 El cumplimiento de las peticiones planteadas por el movimiento campesino e indígena al Presidente Oscar Berger en la multitudinaria marcha realizada este martes, será una prueba de fuego que medirá la voluntad que posee el gobierno para resolver la crisis agraria, señaló el Obispo de San Marcos, Álvaro Ramazzini.

31.03.2004 Nous voilà à un autre tournant historique mais il nous semble que cette fois-ci, il constitue bien la dernière chance pour notre pays de prendre définitivement le chemin de la démocratie. La transition de 2004 ne pourra pas être une transition qui n'en finit pas et tous les observateurs s'accordent sur un fait : le gouvernement Alexandre /Latortue n'a d'autre choix que celui de réussir.

31.03.2004 Prosecuting human rights abusers is now a familiar phase in a society's passage from conflict to peaceful development. But punitive justice is only one side of transition. Just as important - to heal lives and mend societies - is reparative justice for victims. Policy options for reparations remain sketchy, however, and the need for supporting research is profound.

30.03.2004 Students across Canada will soon be celebrating the end of term. Students Against Missile Defence is calling on students to have "house parties for peace" - and to tell Prime Minister Martin to keep Canada out of a dangerous, ill-conceived and expensive U.S. missile defence program.

30.03.2004 En 2002 et en 2003, le Canada a été le seul des 53 pays membres de la Commission des droits de l'homme de l'ONU à voter contre la reconnaissance du droit humain à l'eau. Le 22 mars, quatre ONG canadiennes, dont le Conseil des Canadiens, se sont réunies sur la colline parlementaire à l'occasion de la Journée mondiale de l’eau afin de contester cette position du gouvernement canadien.

30.03.2004 Les médicaments de première ligne utilisés aujourd'hui pour traiter la tuberculose ont été mis au point entre les années 1940 et 1960. Les médecins soignant les patients atteints de TB sont contraints de recourir à des tests diagnostiques et des médicaments obsolètes. Cependant, l'industrie pharmaceutique semble peu disposée à développer et commercialiser un nouveau médicament contre la TB destiné à un marché constitué essentiellement de patients à faible pouvoir d'achat. MSF appelle donc les gouvernements et l'Organisation mondiale de la santé à intervenir.

30.03.2004 Gordon Campbell's BC Liberals campaigned on the promise of a "new era" for British Columbia - an end to the supposed excesses of the social democrats. And since "Slash Gordon" came to power, health care, welfare, education, legal aid and other services have suffered from his special attention. Now all 37 BC Women's Centres are on the chopping block.

30.03.2004

September 11 © Guardian Unlimited

National security analyst John Prados sifts through the testimony given to date at the 9-11 Commission hearings and concludes that the Bush administration gave short-shrift to warnings from Clinton-era predecessors that terrorism in general--and Al Qaeda in particular--required urgent action. But the new government was quick-on-the-draw to target Iraq.

30.03.2004 Last week's federal budget fails to address flaws in Canada's provincial equalization program, says a study released today. Often called confederation's "glue," equalization is the formula-based program of federal grants paid annually to provinces with below-average revenue capacity. Today's study says the formula's flaws - coupled with shrinking federal transfers overall - are now depriving have-not provinces to a degree that is unconstitutional.

30.03.2004 Mentre cresce l'allarme sui cambiamenti climatici mondiali, il governo italiano gioca ancora con le cifre e assume una posizione di retroguardia in Europa. "L’Italia invece di puntare sulle tecnologie pulite, vuole comprare all’estero crediti di emissione in una posizione di retroguardia in Europa rispetto all’esigenza di stabilire degli obiettivi di riduzione delle emissioni che provocano l’effetto serra. Il nostro Paese è sostanzialmente isolato in questo atteggiamento".

30.03.2004 El PSOE ha anunciat una reforma profunda de la Secretaria d'Estat per a la Cooperació Internacional i de l'Agència Espanyola de Cooperació Internacional amb l'objectiu de dotar-les d'eficàcia suficient per gestionar un volum d'Ajuda al Desenvolupament que assoleixi el 0,5% en aquesta legislatura i el 0,7% el 2012. També assegura que retornarà a la Coordinadora d'ONG la capacitat de designar els seus representants en el Consell de Cooperació al Desenvolupament, i ha confirmat l'aprovació de l'Estatut del Cooperant i la creació d'una oficina o agència d'Ajuda Humanitària d'Emergència.

30.03.2004 El PSOE ha anunciado una reforma profunda de la Secretaría de Estado para la Cooperación Internacional y de la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional con el objetivo de dotarlas de suficiente eficacia para gestionar un volumen de Ayuda al Desarrollo que alcance el 0,5% en esta legislatura y el 0,7% en 2012. También asegura que devolverá a la Coordinadora de ONG la capacidad de designar a sus representantes en el Consejo de Cooperación al Desarrollo, y ha confirmado la aprobación del Estatuto del Cooperante y la creación de una oficina o agencia de Ayuda Humanitaria de Emergencia.