The Carter Center calls on President Pervez Musharraf to restore immediately the independent judiciary he incapacitated during the recent state of emergency in Pakistan. Learn more »
The Soviet Gulag prison system imprisoned millions of innocent people during its infamous history; a panel of human rights leaders will discuss its impact on Russia and the world today, as well as offer comparisons to the American Civil Rights Movement, at a sold out program Dec. 12 from 7-8:30 p.m. The event is part of the Conversations at The Carter Center speaker series and will be webcast live on www.cartercenter.org. Learn more »
Venezuelan citizens responded on Dec. 2 in a peaceful and orderly way to the referendum convoked by the National Electoral Council (CNE) to approve or reject the proposal to reform the National Constitution, presented to the citizens by the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Learn more »
In a message to Ecuador's newly inaugurated Constituent Assembly, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter urged the constituents to use human rights as a basis for drafting a new constitution and encouraged them to seek a harmonious solution on the definition and implementation of their role in transforming the state's institutions. Learn more »
Almost 30 years ago, when I assumed the presidency of my country and military dictatorships extended throughout Latin America, Ecuador inaugurated a wave of democratization that continues today. Human rights began to be restored as fundamental values, and slowly the countries of Latin America established democratic regimes. Learn more »
Poised to be the first parasitic disease eradicated in human history, Guinea worm disease now teeters on the verge of extinction. The 2007 Fries Prize for Improving Health was bestowed on Donald R. Hopkins, M.D., M.P.H., Carter Center vice president for health programs, for his sustained leadership in the global campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis), a debilitating parasitic infection contracted from drinking contaminated water. Learn more »
The Venezuelan society faces a serious dilemma. The National Electoral Council (CNE) has convened a referendum for December 2, 2007 for Venezuelan citizens to cast their votes and convey their opinion about the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Government´s proposal to reform the current Constitution. Learn more »
The people of Nepal have embarked on a remarkable and historic transition. I am proud and grateful to witness parties formerly in conflict demonstrating their commitment to resolving their differences through peaceful means. Learn more »
Colombia has become the first country to interrupt transmission of onchocerciasis (also known as river blindness) on a countrywide basis, according to officials of the Onchocerciasis Elimination Program in the Americas (OEPA). Learn more »
The Russian Federation's conditional invitation to the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe - Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) to observe its Dec. 2 elections to the State Duma placed unacceptable limitations both on the number of election observers permitted to monitor the polls and the duration of their observation activities. Learn more »
The Carter Center deplores General Pervez Musharraf's announcement that January elections will be held under martial law. Elections are a necessary step to secure peace and sustainable democracy, but not with potential candidates under house arrest or expelled from Pakistan. No international observers would participate without the full restoration of the constitutional order, including the independent judiciary. Learn more »
The OSCE invitation was received last week, too late to deploy effective long term observers in advance of the Dec. 2 elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation. The OSCE/ODIHR has a record of long-term observation through a standing invitation to its member states that have openly entered into a broad range of commitments that underscore democratic governance and guarantee fundamental civil and political rights. Learn more »
The Carter Center condemns recent actions by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to suspend the country's Constitution and proclaim a state of emergency. In the process, members of the independent judiciary, news media, and human rights defenders have been abused and imprisoned. Many activist lawyers demanding restoration of the Pakistani Constitution and rule of law have also been arrested. Learn more »
Harnessing the power of prevention to stop the onset or progression of mental illnesses is long overdue. Failure to implement preventive measures on a national scale takes not only a human toll but also an economic and societal toll in terms of lost productivity and disability. Learn more »
The Carter Center urges the government of Israel to cease consideration of a proposal to cut energy supplies in Gaza. On Sept. 19, 2007, Israel threatened to declare the Gaza Strip a "hostile territory" and cut off provision of essential services such as electricity and fuel to the civilian population as retaliation for rocket attacks being launched from the territory. Learn more »
The Carter Center is disappointed with the announcement of a second postponement of Nepal's constituent assembly election. The Center hopes that Nepal's political leadership will now use the time ahead of them wisely to reach reasonable compromises on key issues in dispute. Learn more »
Nepal's peace process is at a critical juncture following the Sept. 18 departure of the Maoists from the interim government and the rapid approach of key electoral deadlines. The Carter Center is encouraged by the renewed commitment of all parties to maintaining unity and pursuing intensive negotiations to resolve contentious issues. Learn more »
Yesterday, Sept. 30, the Ecuadorian people demonstrated their profound democratic vocation by voting peacefully for representatives to the constituent assembly. Learn more »
Since July 2007, The Carter Center has worked intensively to observe the electoral processes leading up to Ecuador's Constituent Assembly elections. This statement presents the continued findings of the Center's international election observation mission in Ecuador. Learn more »
Battling the dangerous void left by the migration of its skilled health professionals to other countries, Ethiopia, a country challenged by the grim realities of killer diseases, has proven it can build a sustainable health workforce to meet its unique health situation. Learn more »
In a statement issued today (see below): The Carter Center deplores the decision taken Wednesday by Israel to declare the Gaza Strip a hostile territory and its threat to cut off provision of essential services such as electricity and fuel to the civilian population. Learn more »
In response to an invitation by the Supreme Electoral Court (Tribunal Supremo Electoral) of Ecuador, The Carter Center will field an electoral observation mission during the constituent assembly election to be held Sept. 30, 2007. The Carter Center also announces the opening of a field office in the city of Quito. Learn more »
On Sept. 5, human rights defenders, including several from faith-based organizations, came from 20 countries to discuss the challenges they face in addressing mass atrocities and to develop recommendations for the international community. Learn more »
Harassed, labeled as traitors, and sometimes jailed for their work, human rights defenders come from backgrounds as diverse as the issues they advocate in their home countries. Many work from an equally diverse platform, one of personal faith. Defenders from 20 countries convened at The Carter Center in September for the fourth annual Human Rights Defenders Policy Forum, co-sponsored by Human Rights First. Learn more »
The Carter Center Mental Health Program has awarded two Romanian journalists with the eleventh annual Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. This will be the first year that journalists from the Eastern European country will participate in the program. Learn more »
This statement presents the observations and continued findings of the Carter Center's international election observation mission in Nepal. Since March 2007, The Center's 13 international long-term observers (LTOs) have visited all of Nepal's 75 districts, in many cases multiple times, reaching not only to district headquarters but also to the village level. Learn more »
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter participated in a live online chat June 28, 2007, to discuss malaria and the article "The Ethiopia Campaign - Jimmy Carter Takes on Malaria," featured in the June 2007 issue of Smithsonian magazine. Learn more »
The Carter Center Mental Health Program has named eight recipients of its eleventh annual Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, including six from the United States and two from southern Africa. Two Romanian journalists will be named at a later date. Each domestic fellow will receive a $10,000 stipend to study and report on a particular issue within the mental health field for one year. International fellows will receive a comparable stipend. Learn more »
The collapse of the Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) last month following the takeover of Gaza by Hamas has left the Palestinian territories in crisis. Learn more »
The majority of Timor-Leste voters participated in an orderly and peaceful June 30 parliamentary election. The administration of these elections was very well executed, bearing testimony to the hard work of election officials and the determination of Timorese citizens to ensure their country remains on the democratic path chosen at independence. Learn more »
I'm happy to be back in Nepal and to be briefed by The Carter Center's long-term observers, political leaders, marginalized groups, and election officials here. I admire deeply what's been accomplished by the people of this great country over the past year. Learn more »
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will visit Nepal June 13-16 to encourage Nepal's political leaders to continue on the path to peace as they prepare to hold constituent assembly elections later in 2007. President Carter, 2002 Nobel Laureate and co-founder of The Carter Center, will lead a delegation including former U.S. Ambassador A. Peter Burleigh, Carter Center Democracy Program Director Dr. David Carroll, and Carter Center Nepal Field Director Darren Nance. Learn more »
This statement presents the observations and continued findings of the Carter Center's international election observation mission in Nepal. In March 2007, the mission deployed 13 long-term observers (LTOs) representing nine different nationalities throughout Nepal to assess the political and electoral environment in the period leading up to the constituent assembly election. Learn more »
Political party and election campaign financing is a murky field in eight Latin American countries, according to a study released today by Transparency International (TI) and The Carter Center. Learn more »
As the foreign ministers of the Western Hemisphere gather for their annual General Assembly to review progress in achieving collective goals for the improvement of security, democracy, and development, The Carter Center and Transparency International announce the creation of a new instrument for transparency in the Americas. Learn more »
The Carter Center expressed concern about the potential for a renewed escalation of violence in the wake of the termination of broadcasts by RCTV and called for new dialogue among political opponents to maintain peace in the country. Learn more »
The Carter Center and its partners are another step closer to eradicating Guinea worm disease, a horrific and debilitating parasitic infection, thanks to the completion of a challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which leveraged a total of $45 million with the support of more than 500 partners in a record two years. Learn more »
The Carter Center is reinvigorating its presence in the Palestinian Territories in support of peace for Israel, justice for the Palestinians, and the emergence of a viable, democratic Palestinian state. Learn more »
The Carter Center congratulates Nepal's sustained commitment to the peace process and applauds efforts to address political differences through dialogue. Following the Election Commission of Nepal's April 13 announcement indicating that a June constituent assembly election is not technically feasible, it is now up to Nepali political leaders to focus their efforts on putting the proper conditions in place for the conduct of a sound electoral process in a realistic timeframe. Learn more »
Since 1993, my colleagues at the Carter Center and I have worked together with governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to improve the United Nations' system for protecting human rights throughout the world. Learn more »
The Carter Center has issued "Building Consensus on Principles for International Election Observation," a report outlining the consensus-building process leading to the endorsement of best practices in the field. Learn more »
Today, the Embassy of Japan awarded funding for the Southern Sudan Guinea Worm Eradication Program. The contract to purchase 420,000 Guinea worm pipe filters was presented by H.E. Ambassador Yuichi Ishii to The Carter Center in the presence of H.E. Dr. Theophilus Ochang Lotti, Minister of Health, Government of Southern Sudan, Mr. Primo Celerino, Coordinator for the Ministry of Health, Government of Southern Sudan, and Dr. Nabil Aziz, National Guinea Worm Program Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Health. Learn more »
The Carter Center launched an international election observation mission in Nepal with the deployment this week of thirteen long-term observers in all five development regions around the country. The long-term observers come from eight countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Learn more »
Applications are now being accepted for six one-year journalism fellowships with the Carter Center Mental Health Program. Learn more »
Philip J. Hickey, Jr., chairman of the board and chief executive officer of RARE Hospitality International, Inc., has been appointed vice chair of the Carter Center's Board of Councilors. The board is comprised of 202 members, who serve as a leadership advisory group that promotes understanding among opinion leaders and the broader community of The Carter Center and its activities. Learn more »
ATLANTA…Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, with a delegation of senior-level Carter Center officials, concluded their two-week tour of Africa today. The Feb. 6-16 visit called international attention to health needs among impoverished communities in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Ghana. Learn more »
Today, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter watched as hundreds of school children received drug treatment for schistosomiasis, a silent and destructive parasitic infection that leads to poor growth and impaired learning, in the small community of Nasarawa North. Learn more »
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter distributed long-lasting insecticide-impregnated bed nets today in Afeta, a community of 7,500 people in the Jimma zone. The symbolic action was part of the Carter Center's new malaria control initiative in Ethiopia, the largest and most populous country in the Horn of Africa. Malaria is Ethiopia's single largest cause of death. Learn more »
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will speak on the prospects for lasting peace in the Palestinian territories to a sold-out audience at The Carter Center on Feb. 22, 2007, from 7-8:30 p.m. Learn more »
On Thursday, Feb. 9, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Lions Clubs International President Jimmy Ross encouraged Sudan's local Lions Club to participate in the fight against two blinding diseases affecting the country—river blindness and trachoma. The appeal comes during President Carter's multi-country tour of Africa to promote health issues affecting Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Sudan. Learn more »
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Government of Southern Sudan Minister of Health Dr. Theophilus Ochang Lotti, during a meeting at the National Assembly on Feb. 10, 2007, encouraged top officials of the Government of Southern Sudan to continue their progress in conquering two of the region's most debilitating scourges—Guinea worm disease and trachoma. Learn more »
Today, amid the scorching heat of peak dry season, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter visited the parched community of Savelugu to meet with dozens of Guinea worm disease victims in an effort to bring global attention to Ghana's growing Guinea worm epidemic caused by inadequate water supply in the country. Learn more »
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