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10th December 2010 Chevening, UK
Human Rights Day 2010 – a view from Mexico
A blog from Angelina Montserrat Vidal Leon, L.L.M, University of Birmingham 2010-2011. As in many other countries, the role played by human rights defenders in Mexico has proved to be of fundamental importance for the implementation of human rights and consequently, the strengthening of democracy in the national context. Nevertheless, due to the complex reality […]
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10th December 2010 Chevening, UK
Human Rights Day 2010 – a view from Nigeria
My name is Francis Moneke, Chevening Scholar 2010. I have an LLM in International Human Rights Law from SOAS, University of London. As we celebrate this year’s international human rights day, I wish to call the attention of the international community to the massive economic discrimination going on in Nigeria. Increasingly, the poor and the […]
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10th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Walking 358km in the footsteps of Gandhi
On Thursday 18 November forty people gathered pre-dawn at one of India’s most historic sites, the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, where Mahatma Gandhi lived for many years. The occasion was the beginning of an India-UK Friendship Walk, which my wife Jill has organised with massive support from members of the Association of British Scholars in […]
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9th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Human rights in Ukraine
In the mid 1970s I flew from London to Johannesburg via Madrid in order to get the cheapest fare. During the stopover at Madrid airport I was waiting to buy a newspaper at a shop when I was elbowed out of the way by an immensely solid Guardia Civil officer in a shiny black hat […]
8th December 2010 Geneva, Switzerland
The 5 year review and a spot of eavesdropping
I hope you’re all keeping warm. Like some other places in Europe, winter arrived particularly early in Geneva this year and caught the usually well prepared Swiss road and rail and services off guard last week. I miss the lengthy conversations about the weather which I used to hear wherever I went back home in […]
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8th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A little help from my friends: part 2
The harrowing media pictures of Hungary’s red sludge disaster are the past. The clear-up is underway, but other people’s problems have displaced the red sludge from the headlines. So what is life in the affected villages like now? And how is remediation work progressing? I was hoping to join a field trip to the site […]
8th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A moment in history
A man and a woman, each bedecked with medals, stand at a window framed by blossoms. The title reads “My Parents, 1988”. Beneath is a another photo entitled “The Same Window”. It shows the woman, now elderly, with a young man, perhaps her son or grandson. The father is no longer there. I’m a big […]
7th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Gift of Life, Tolerance without Boundaries
I am just travelling slowly back to Budapest through driving snow, having spent the afternoon in the West Hungarian city of Győr. I had discussions with the Mayor (recently made Head of the Hungarian Olympic Committee); the Chairman of the County Council; the “Kisalfold” newspaper, a British investment (who also interviewed me for their next […]
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6th December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Where everywhere is home
This year, the UK is between Turkey (fabulous balloons) and Egypt (delicious traditional snacks). Yes, it’s the International Women’s Club of Kyiv (IWCK) annual seasonal charity bazaar. A brave band of embassy volunteers inspired by Olga, Caroline and Pippa has slaved to set up a spectacular-looking flag-draped stall with home-made jams, chutneys and Christmas puddings […]
2nd December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Transcarpathia: castles, skis and the mayor’s car
The walls of the castle rise sheer from the base of a deep, dry moat. Three different batteries of cannon face the west. To the east rise the Carpathians, dusted with snow. Welcome to Mukachevo, scenic setting of the world’s largest ski factory and as dense a melting pot of European cultures as one could […]
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