Working in Ontario. (Photo: amber dawn pullin/Flickr/CC)

The ability of Canada’s young workers to find stable, well-paid, and meaningful work is increasingly under threat, warns a report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). They are more likely to be unemployed or precariously employed in non-permanent jobs, and regardless of whether they have post-secondary qualifications, these young workers will likely endure the negative effects of un- and underemployment for years to come.

Manifestation in memory of victims in violence, (Photo: S. Rougeaux/ASF)

Eight Tunisian human rights associations, headed by Avocats Sans Frontières, have categorized 7,454 cases of human rights violations and filed them into databases. A better knowledge of that information will contribute to the transitional justice process currently underway in the country that is the beacon of hope for the Arab Spring.

While global attention on the crisis focuses on Europe, the downturn continues to inflict devastating social consequences worldwide, especially to developing countries. The latest international data available, highlighted by the UNICEF’s Policy Division, warns about the alarming dangers posed by unaffordable food, pervasive unemployment and dwindling social support.

In terms of access to food, after two major international price spikes in 2007-08 and 2010-11, populations in nearly 60 developing countries are paying 80 percent more, on average, for local foodstuffs in 2012 compared to pre-crisis price levels, warns “A Recovery for All: Rethinking Socioeconomic Policies for Children and Poor Households,” edited by Isabel Ortiz and Matthew Cummins.

The meeting in Geneva. (Photo: UNCTAD)

Civil society was crucial for the success of the 13th Ministerial Meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XIII) this year, said the Secretary General of the agency Supachai Panitchpakdi to representatives of key non governmental organizations and networks. In their turn, they expressed their appreciation for the UNCTAD’s most recent annual report, which concludes that austerity measures did not lead to economic growth, and recommends supportive government policies to get over the crisis.

Arab governments are legally bound by the constitutions to respect basic economic and social rights, but they usually abandon their commitments in the practice as time goes by, according to the first Arab Watch Report, launched by civil society organizations of ten Middle East and North African countries.

The Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) launched this first regional report on economic and social rights – focused on the rights to work and to education – during a regional workshop held in Beirut, on 9 and 10 October.