Archive for December 16th, 2016

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16/12/2016

‘Aleppo Now Synonym for Hell’ – Ban Ki-Moon 

Human Wrongs Watch

In his last press conference as United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon on 16 December 2016 delivered stark warnings on two issues at the forefront of international concern: that “the carnage in Syria remains a gaping hole in the global conscience;” and that South Sudan faces a risk of genocide as the country leaders have “squandered a peace agreement.”

12-15-2016jibreen

WHO partners in Syria vaccinate children who have fled eastern Aleppo. Prior to the crisis, Syria had one of the highest vaccination rates in the Middle East. Now, half of all children are missing out on life-saving vaccines. Photo: WHO Syria

“Aleppo is now a synonym for hell,” Ban said at UN Headquarters in New York, bidding farewell to the UN press corps.

“We have collectively failed the people of Syria. Peace will only prevail when it is accompanied by compassion, justice and accountability for the abominable crimes we have seen,” he added.

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16/12/2016

Are There Human Rights Abuses in Your Seafood?

Human Wrongs Watch

By Anchalee Pipattanawattanakul*

16 December, 2016 (Greenpeace)* – Migrant workers from Cambodia and Myanmar are being used as forced labour in the Thai fishing industry. Using tricks of deception, non-binding verbal agreements and induced debt, these workers catch fish both for human consumption and the pet food industry. 

Burmese workers sort freshly-landed fish at the public fishing port in Ranong, southern Thailand.

Burmese workers sort freshly-landed fish at the public fishing port in Ranong, southern Thailand.

Now, a new report from Greenpeace Southeast Asia exposes how crackdowns on human rights abuse in the Thai fishing industry has forced vessels to operate further…decreasing their chances of being caught and continuing their illegal practices out of sight, out at sea.

Last year, the Associated Press exposed human rights violations in Thailand’s notorious fishing industry, sending shockwaves around the world.

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16/12/2016

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Heads for 50 Years of UN Failure

Human Wrongs Watch

By Thalif Deen*

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 15 2016 (IPS) – Come 2017, the United Nations will mark the 50th anniversary of one of the world’s longstanding unresolved political problems firmly entrenched on the UN agenda: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict dating back to the Six Day War in June 1967.

Credit: IPS

Credit: IPS

When Antonio Guterres takes over as the new UN Secretary-General on January 1, he will inherit a rash of ongoing political and military conflicts, including the six-year-old civil war in Syria, the devastating bombings in Yemen, the Shia-Sunni killings in Iraq, the widespread political chaos in Libya, renewed violence in the Central African Republic, the continued atrocities in Darfur and South Sudan and the rise of global terrorism.

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16/12/2016

Caught in ‘Poverty Trap,’ Least Developed Countries Being Left Behind – UN

Human Wrongs Watch

15 December 2016 – Even as the international community pledged to ‘leave no one behind’ with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has warned that without stronger global support, 48 of the world’s most vulnerable countries will lose ground in economic development and face increasing levels of poverty.

Stacking bricks at a factory near Dhaka, Bangladesh, a least developed country. Photo: World Bank/Scott Wallace | Source: UN News Centre

UNCTAD’s The Least Developed Countries Report 2016: The Path to Graduation and Beyond – Making the Most of the Process, released earlier this week, underscores the need for more action from the international community to help these countries progress.

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16/12/2016

More of the Same: World Bank Doing Business Report Continues to Mislead

Human Wrongs Watch

By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram*

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 2016 (IPS) – The World Bank’s Doing Business Report 2017, subtitled ‘Equal Opportunity for All’, continues to mislead despite the many criticisms, including from within, levelled against the Bank’s most widely read publication, and Bank management promises of reform for many years.

Eight of The World Bank's "Doing Business" report 2017’s ‘top 10 improvers’ including Kenya, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have, in fact, worsened workers’ rights, according to the International Trade Union Confederation. Credit: IPS

Eight of The World Bank’s “Doing Business” report 2017’s ‘top 10 improvers’ including Kenya, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have, in fact, worsened workers’ rights, according to the International Trade Union Confederation. Credit: IPS

 

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