AJWS Blog
The AJWS community has a lot to say about what's happening in the world. Read our insights about the struggle for justice and human rights around the globe — and meet the activists on the frontlines of the fight to build a better world.
Activists on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 75
Seventy-five years ago today, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in response to the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust. The first document of its kind, developed by people from diverse backgrounds from around the world, declares that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity …
Bitter Sugar: Exposing the Harms of Sugarcane Production – and Demanding Change
Burned fields. Depleted and poisoned waterways. Widespread renal failure. These are just some of the high costs of growing sugarcane in El Salvador—from which the producers profit, and the surrounding communities and environment pay the price. The sugarcane industry in El Salvador is infamous for its propensity to use any means necessary to increase yield—and …
One barrio at a time, this AJWS grantee is transforming young people into community leaders in the Dominican Republic
“My neighborhood is known as the backyard — as in, the place where you throw the trash,” says Fernando Saint Hilaire of his barrio outside Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. “We are the other side of the tracks. But when you grow up living in poverty, you’re used to the misery. You don’t realize …