HUMAN WRONGS WATCH

Without healthy, thriving forests, planet Earth cannot sustain life. As much as eighty per cent of the world’s forests have been degraded or destroyed. The destruction of forests is responsible for up to a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions – more than every plane, car, truck, ship and train on the planet combined.

Photo: Greenpeace

Greenpeace reports these facts and many others as part of its worldwide campaign for zero deforestation by 2020 to protect what is left of these extraordinary ecosystems.

Human Wrongs Watch

Marking the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) called for reflection on the transformation brought about by the slave trade to the world, and urged countries to protect their citizens against racism and forced labour.

Shackles used to bind slaves. UN Photo/Mark Garten

“The long series of uprisings by slaves in their quest for freedom are sources for reflection and action for protecting human rights and combating modern forms of servitude,” said UNESCO’s Director-General, Irina Bokova, in a message to mark the Day, which is observed annually on 23 August.

“The history of the slave trade and its abolition has shaped the world in which we live,” she added. “We are all heirs to this past, which has transformed the world’s map, its laws, cultures and social relations, even giving rise to new food habits – especially through the sugar trade.”

The International Day commemorates the uprising which took place on 22-23 August 1791, when slaves in Saint Domingue (present-day Haiti), launched an insurrection which ultimately led to the Haitian revolution and helped to promote the cause of human rights.