Jorge Tortós Barquero reports on the main ideas, arguments, and visions shared and discussed in the recent Regional Water Congress held in the City of Guápiles, Costa Rica.

This article discusses the potential of African mechanisms for peace, especially the African Union's Peace and Security Council, to prevent, manage, and resolve violent conflict on the continent, both within and between states. While various criticisms and challenges are discussed, the author ends on an optimistic note and makes a

This article, written during the author's internship with the Malaysian Human Rights Commission, presents an analysis of the Malaysian "Special Measures" Act (2012), which compromises the civil liberties of individuals, through such powers as identifying anonymous authors on the Internet and intercepting personal communications, in an effort to ensure the

Leon Mach shares his reflections after a study tour of the Narmada River Valley with Medha Patkar, a community organizer and tireless advocate of "people oriented development", illustrated by the beautiful photography of Kelsea Schumacher. Tags: Medha Patkar, Narma River, conservation, development, community, justice, livelihoods, ecosystem services, Sardar Sarovar Dam, globalization.

The "Ezulwini Consensus" has endorsed the Responsibility to protect (R2P) that recognizes the "right to intervene when a State is unwilling or unable to protect its populations" from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. In such situations, the Ezulwini Consensus emphasizes that regional organizations in areas of

This paper analyses the role of Afghanistan's regional neighbours in securing it's recovery and stability, as well as the wider implications of America's strategic policies in the region. Will things fall apart or hold together in Afghanistan after December 2014?

The Sixaola River Basin crosses the border between Costa Rica and Panama, and is home to Yorkín and Bribrí communities, raising legal and social challenges for equitable and secure water management. This paper outlines some of these challenges and makes recommendations for reducing human vulnerability to hazards (particularly floods) and

Kyi Kyi Seinn discusses ASEAN Vision 2020, and looks beneath the rhetoric of peace and harmony to reveal the tensions of economic exploitation and international migration. She argues that the significant power imbalances between the original ASEAN 6 countries and the newer, less developed member states (Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand,

With a view to promoting public discussion and debate about these agreements, we present here an analysis of the implications and scope of some of those that have already been signed. We also analyse the implications of some European Union documents, published over the last two years, that set out

The future is here, the world is changing, and the United Nations must as well. In view of that, the United Nations Intellectual History Project (UNIHP) nears completion. It identifies three types of challenges for the UN: Intellectual, participatory, and personnel. Louis Emmerij, co-director of the UNIHP, brings us this