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28th June 2018
Following a vote earlier today the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is now authorised not only to investigate chemical attacks but also -- crucially -- to identify whoever was responsible.
The decision came from a special session of states parties to the Chemical Weapons… Read more
27th June 2018
American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claimed yesterday there is no evidence that the Assad regime has been using chlorine as a chemical weapon.
Numerous chlorine attacks have been documented in Syria and according to OPCW investigators the chemical has been used "systematically and… Read more
25th June 2018
A three-day conference on "upholding the global ban against chemical weapons use" is due to take place in The Hague this week. The conference, officially a special session of states parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, has been called at the request of 11 countries – Australia, Bulgaria,… Read more
20th June 2018
In the midst of a furore over the Trump administration's policy of separating the children of detained migrants from their parents, the United States has announced that it is pulling out of the UN Human Rights Council.
While these two developments are not directly connected many people will see an… Read more
13th June 2018
In Yemen, the long-expected military assault on the port city of Hodeidah began this morning. Hodeida is currently held by the Houthis who control much of northern Yemen. According to local reports it is being attacked from the south by the Amaliqa ("Giants") Brigades – a surviving section of… Read more
8th June 2018
Growing up in Lebanon during the civil war, Karl Sharro had a happy childhood and, he says, especially enjoyed "the long absences from school because of the fighting".
He must have learned something, though, because he went on to university and became an architect. But perhaps it was the absences… Read more
3rd June 2018
Jordan has had 12 prime ministers since King Abdullah came to the throne in 1999. Their average survival time in office is one year and seven months but the current prime minister, Hani al-Mulki, has fared rather better. Last week he passed the two-year mark though his future is now uncertain; a… Read more
25th May 2018
Qatar has finally joined two of the key international treaties on human rights: the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).
It is the third Arab Gulf state to join, following Kuwait (which did so more than 20 years ago) and… Read more
23rd May 2018
News from Saudi Arabia about the arrests of ten or more rights activists has been viewed with a mixture of shock and surprise in western media. Just a few years ago, though, no one would have been surprised: it was simply the way the Saudi regime behaved.
But that was before Mohammed bin Salman… Read more
22nd May 2018
In a recent post on Twitter, British member of parliament Chris Williamson urged anyone interested in "proper journalism" to watch what he described as an "excellent" programme on RT, the Russian propaganda channel.
The programme was a 25-minute interview with veteran Australian journalist John… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
