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.

Our Duty to Reject Despair: How Young Cambodians Are Changing Their Country

“Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair.” This soaring call to action from Elie Wiesel, the writer, Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate, keeps ringing in my ears this week. I am holding both despair and hope as we dive into the difficult history of Cambodia, the corruption of its current government and the resilience of its human rights activists.

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The legal battle to overturn Section 377: an historic step for LGBT rights in India

Earlier this week, LGBTI and allied activists in India rejoiced over a historic step from the Supreme Court. “Today’s judgment reinstates our hope that another world is possible. A world where everyone’s human rights are affirmed and everyone can live with equal rights and privileges,” declared Geeta Misra, Executive Director of Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA), a Delhi-based feminist human rights organization and an AJWS grantee.

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What I Learned in Cambodia

Land grabbing. Deforestation. Poverty. Corruption.

These words were forefront in my mind when I flew into Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last month with some of my colleagues from AJWS. Together, we met with ten local, grassroots organizations, supported by AJWS, working tirelessly to advance civil and political rights and natural resource rights in their communities.

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