In the wake of the murders of staff from the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, it's imperative to re-assert the indispensable function of a humour which contributes so much to civility in societies. Sydney Morning Herald cartoonist Sally Wilcox made
The death of a 23 year old asylum seeker and injuries to over sixty others on Manus Island are the inevitable consequences of a policy of violence based on bullying and brute force to arrest, detain and humiliate vulnerable and
An Australian professor is at the heart of a Middle East peace conference that has gone largely unreported in the west, writes Nikki Barrowclough. One evening in Doha, in December: Sydney University’s Professor Stuart Rees is standing in the middle of
The Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies and Sydney Peace Foundation remember and honour the life and contribution of Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, who died peacefully at his home on 5 December 2013. We join South Africans everywhere
Burma's most famous medical doctor, Dr Cynthia Maung, travelled to Australia to receive the 2013 Sydney Peace Prize and tell her story in the first week of November. Thousands of Australians listened to Dr Cynthia Maung speak about the important
With AusAID withdrawing its funding from a clinic serving Burmese refugees, where will they go now to get the treatment they need? PhD scholar at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy at ANU College of Asia & the Pacific Belinda
Refugees who are thankful for small mercies have a lot they can teach to those in a lucky country who might regard them as a threat to their well being, writes Professor Stuart Rees. In spite of the Rudd resurrection, the
By Professor Stuart Rees "ANTI-SEMITE!" "Racist!" "Despicable values!" "Should be sacked!" I received these comments and accusations following an article by Christian Kerr in The Australian on May 14. He correctly quoted me saying Liberal MP Christopher Pyne's support for the London
By Professor Stuart Rees In answer to the comment 'Stand up for Human Rights in Sri Lanka', a young man wearing a sombrero and an Australian flag draped around his shoulders, responded, 'Fuck human rights.' It was 10:05 am on Thursday January
Joint statement from Senator Sekai Holland, 2012 Sydney Peace Prize recipient and Co Minister for Reconciliation, Healing & Integration in the Government of Zimbabwe, and Professor Stuart Rees AM Chair of the Sydney Peace Foundation. We make this statement in terms
By Lucy Fiske, Curtin University Last week Australia’s politicians determined to “do something” to stop people risking their lives at sea on asylum boats headed for Australia. The government wanted a bill from independent MP Rob Oakeshott to pass because its ministers
The Sydney Peace Foundation supports the recent recommendations of a senior UN official that the Australian Government refer its proposals – the Stronger Futures Bill – for an extension of the federal intervention into Northern Territory Aboriginal lands to a
Dr Vandana Shiva was the 2010 Sydney Peace Prize Recipient. She an international voice for sustainable development and social justice. She's a physicist, scholar, social activist, and feminist. She is director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource
KERRY O'BRIEN: Outspoken former Irish president Mary Robinson would not have been mourned in either Washington or Canberra when she left her job as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights two months ago. She had put the spotlight on both America