Dossier articles from the past 3 months
The political instability seen before, the ethnic tensions both in the country and in the region, the collapse of the institutions in some of the neighbouring countries (first Mali then Burkina Faso) and other factors created the conditions for an increase of the terrorist risk in Ivory Coast Jihadist groups linked to Al Qaeda or…
Read more
A leading country in West Africa, Ivory Coast has weaknesses that could not only block economic development but also lead to turmoil. The consequences of two civil wars fought in the past decades are still felt and the leadership, who is responsible for these wars, has not yet implemented measures that could avoid the troubles…
Read more
The wounds caused by the two civil wars are still open since they have not yet been healed. The politicians, the soldiers and the militias that committed crimes against the population for the most part have not been put on trial. And there has not been a sort of Truth and Reconciliation Commission, like the…
Read more
The prolonged phase of unrest reduced the influence of Ivory Coast on the international scene. During the Houphouet-Boigny era the Ivorian president was a powerbroker in the region. He was considered a pillar of Francafrique, the network created by France to control her former colonies in Africa and therefore to play a prominent role on…
Read moreThe political instability that affected the country following the 1954 coup d’état reached its peak in the 1980s, in which the terrible extermination of the Mayan community by the army led by the dictator Efrain Rios Montt took place, who did not spare even the women and children or the elderly. On that occasion, the…
Read more
A past full of violence and abuse. Drug trafficking, corruption, weak or non-existent institutions. Meanwhile, next June, the country will go to the polls for the general elections. Guatemala constitutes the northern edge of the Central American area nestled between Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras with which it shares borders to the north and…
Read more
Among the many problems afflicting Guatemala, there is certainly also the migratory phenomenon. In fact, Guatemala, in addition to being the country of origin of large numbers of migrants heading to the USA, is also, due to its geographical position, a transit route for those leaving from other states both in Central America and in…
Read moreToday, Guatemala continues to deal with a highly precarious social situation that places the country in the last rank in Latin America as regards human development, where the rates of violence and that relating to child malnutrition remain high. These conditions affect almost the majority of the population which has about 17 million inhabitants. Of…
Read moreDrought, floods, abnormal heat waves. Today we are faced with a climate crisis that is unprecedented in human history, the consequences of which are there for all to see. It is primarily the inhabitants of the poorest and most vulnerable countries and, more generally, those belonging to the most disadvantaged social groups, especially women, who…
Read moreThe waves break gently on the shore. The crystal-clear water glistens invitingly under the rays of the sun. Eleanor sits on the shore and looks out to sea. Her palms shade her face. Eleanor is twelve years old and she can’t wait to be grown up. Some distance from the sea stands her wooden house.…
Read moreDespite the extraordinary progress made in the last 25 years, there are still 129 million girls who do not have access to education (32 million in primary, 97 million in secondary). Globally, primary and secondary school enrolment rates are approaching parity (90% male and 89% female). However, the gender gap widens if school completion rates,…
Read more
The terrible drought which – for the third year in a row – plagues the Horn of Africa region and the rise in food prices caused by the war in Ukraine, have led to an increase in child marriages in several countries of the region. The alarm was raised by UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s…
Read more
When asked how a farmer’s daughter who became a Catholic nun ended up as one of Brazil’s most influential refugee advocates, Sister Rosita Milesi, 79,…
Read more
Vusi was an honest man and a hard worker. He had cleared a large piece of moorland and turned it into a beautiful fertile field. He…
Read more
On 24 November, the Solemnity of Christ the King, on the occasion of World Youth Day in the Particular Churches, in St. Peter's Basilica the traditional…
Read more
