As countries around the world grapple with the COVID-19 health crisis, the downstream economic and social impacts are particularly devastating for populations that already exist within the margins of society, including those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI). In many countries, the pandemic has amplified the stigma, discrimination, violence, and deprivation…
Globally, new momentum is building for the private sector’s participation in alleviating migration crises worldwide and supporting migrants’ and refugees’ integration. From investing in migrant-owned businesses to engaging a migrant workforce or securing resources for optimal basic service delivery for migrants and host communities, private sector engagement offers unique avenues for helping to solve migration…
Nearly half of Latin American countries rank among the nations with the highest impunity scores worldwide, suggesting that criminal justice systems lack resources to prosecute and try crimes effectively in a context of widespread crime and violence. Yet, Latin America has the partners, the resources, and the interest to tap one promising solution to the…
Ariana Szepesi-Colmenares, a citizen security and governance specialist with 13 years of international development experience, serves as Chemonics’ Director for New Business Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, overseeing business development across a wide array of technical sectors, including rule of law, citizen security, environmental conservation, economic growth, youth and women empowerment. Previously, Ariana…
For the past decade, Mexico has faced a serious human rights crisis. More than 35,000 people have gone missing since 2006, their whereabouts still unknown. The National Commission of Human Rights has documented several alarming, unlawful killings of civilians by Mexican security forces without any authorities being charged. And torture continues to be a common…
Garrett Dorer is a former managing director, transitions unit. He served as chief of party of five major initiatives and led global training efforts for Chemonics’ staff worldwide.
Christina Schultz serves as a Senior Advisor for programming and new business.
On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a bold manifesto: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document enshrined a series of principles that would be the birthright of every human on Earth and would change the way our global society thinks about human interaction. In the years since the…
With the signing of Colombia’s peace accord in 2016, new challenges have emerged regarding the country’s human rights agenda. The 2016 United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights annual report highlighted an increasing concern regarding the killings and attacks on Colombian human rights defenders and other social leaders. According to the Colombian NGO Somos Defensores, in…
Improving the effectiveness of a program, policy, product, or organization requires assessing strengths and weaknesses — also known as evaluation. From November 6 to 11, evaluators, scholars, and students from around the world convene in Washington, D.C., for the American Evaluation Association’s annual conference to explore diverse evaluation practices and learn from their successes. The…
Susan Kemp is the former global practice lead on the Democracy and Governance Practice.