Yet another SOS call is made by the Eritrean People's Democratic Party (EPDP) requesting world leaders, international organizations and other concerned bodies to act through their offices to help limit the extent of human suffering in Eritrea. Mr. Ammar, Chairman of the EPDP addresses the serious violations of human rights that are taking place at many levels in Eritrea in a message directed to the UN system. He draws attention to the grim conditions that Eritrean political prisoners are facing under the extreme cruel regime of President Isaias Afewerki.

The draft decision on the setting up of the External Action Service, published on the 25th of March by Catherine Ashton, has not been well received. 4 major groups of the European Parliament (EEP, S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA) find the proposal to be unacceptable. You can find their joint statement here.

Social Watch calls the announcement by Baroness Ashton of a deal to incorporate development cooperation into the EEAS 'shocking'. Concerns have been raised over lack of democratic accountability of this new institution. Read the press release.

(BRUSSELS, 21 March 2010, AFP) - A turf war has erupted in Brussels, pitting the EU Commission against member states in a bid for control of the top diplomatic jobs and the influential development aid purse strings. At the centre of the battle for control is the EU's nascent External Action Service (EEAS) which will eventually boast some 7,000 eurocrats in Brussels and in EU offices worldwide.

Click here to read the full article.

One of the significant provisions made by the Lisbon Treaty is the establishment of the European External Action Service to support the enhanced role of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. In a briefing "Note on the Legal ality of Inclusion of Aspects of EU Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance within the EEAS", Dr. Mirjam van Reisen defines the legal basis for the EEAS as provided by the Lisbon Treaty.

Click here to read this briefing paper.

International Women's Day seems like an appropriate occasion to ask which countries do best by women - and why. Obviously, the answer depends on how you define "best" - in absolute terms, relative to men, or some combination of the two?

You can choose from at least four different published rankings that consider some aspect of gender inequality. One of them is the Gender Equity Index (G.E.I.) published by Social Watch.

Click here to read the article by professor Nancy Folbre on the Economix Blog from the New York Times.