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Accra, Ghana - About 700 participants mainly from civil society organisations (CSOs) gathered at the forum, “Civil Society Voices for Better Aid” during the Conference on Aid Effectiveness, held from 31 August to 1 September 2008 in Accra, Ghana.

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Despite the limited openness of governments in addressing LGBT concerns, progress has been made last July as the United Nations Economic and Social Council decided to grant NGO consultative status to two LGBT groups, COC Netherlands and State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transexuals and Bisexuals of Spain (FELGTB). With such accreditation, the two groups are given the opportunity to advise the UN General Assembly and participate in UN meetings.

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Taipei, Taiwan - Eleven years since the end of British governance and despite the aggressive economic growth in the mainland, Hong Kong remains an epitome of liberalism and modernity, making it an island desired by many mainland Chinese and other people in search of freedom and opportunities. But beneath the glistening skyline are telling stories of isolation, discrimination and violence, surfacing a Hong Kong that seems to regressing into the barbaric ages.

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Taipei, Taiwan - The recent victory of Anwar Ibrahim in the Tuesday’s elections has further heightened Malaysian solidarity for political reforms. While there are suspicions over Ibrahim’s capacity to unite the nation that has been divided based on religious and racial lines, optimism over the end of the ruling coalition prevails.

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Jose Ramos-Horta, president of Timor Leste spoke in the very hall where the first regional conference on Timor Leste's quest for freedom happened 15 years ago. As a speaker of the University of the Philippines Centennial Lecture Series, Ramos-Horta relived the darkest years of Timor Leste, when Indonesian forces reigned terror and the rest of the world led by the United States and the ASEAN watched in silence.

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by Sergia Galván
ALAI, América Latina en Movimiento

The events of September 11th 2001 were, for the majority of governments, the perfect excuse to immediately abandon the commitments made from August 31 to September 8, 2001, at the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, Africa.