Photo: Alex E. Proimos (CC/Flickr)

Peru has made progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, but not enough to reach all the goals or to guarantee their sustainability. This is the conclusion of the Peruvian Social Watch coalition in its evaluation of public policies and international commitments for the Social Watch Report 2013.

Professor Cherif Bassiouni, chairperson of the BICI, handed the report to the Bahraini regime a year ago. (Photo: BNA)

“Bahrain stands still with its record of grave human rights violations” in spite of the warnings issued almost 365 days ago by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) appointed by the regime itself, stated twelve national, regional and global civil society organizations and networks, among them the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS), Social Watch, the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) and the Egyptian Association for the Enhancement of Civic Participation (EACPE).

The European Union (EU) and African government must "seriously pursue alternatives” to the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) currently under negotiation, urged this week civil society organizations from both continents. The groups convened in Nairobi by the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Ngombe na Mahindi Foundation (NGOMA) and Ecofair Trade Dialog stated their “firm position” that trade must “serve sustainable development”, “uphold human rights”, and “cater for small-scale producers that form the backbone of African economies.”

The concentration of power in the corporate sector is perpetuating income inequality trends in Canada, according to a report published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA, a member organization of Social Watch). The study, “A Shrinking Universe: How Concentrated Corporate Power is Shaping Income Inequality in Canada”, links the rise of the richest Canadians with a shift toward more concentrated power within the country’s largest firms.

International activists and women’s organizations have issued a statement expressing grave concern over the health and wellbeing of ten female prisoners of conscience who started hunger strikes to protest illegal and inappropriate treatment in prison. Hanaa Edwar and several other collaborators of the Iraqi Al-Amal Association, member organization of Social Watch, appear among the 275 activists from 35 countries who signed the call so far.