Human Wrongs Watch
By UN Population Fund*
UNITED NATIONS, New York – May is a time for motherhood. Dozens of countries around the world observe Mother’s Day this month, celebrating the strength and beauty of mothers everywhere.
© UNFPA/Doan Bao Chau
02/05/2018
Europe Must Honour iIts Commitments: Protect the Nuclear Deal
Human Wrongs Watch
By Mehrdad Khonsari*
**The ministers of foreign affairs of China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union debate with Iran nuclear negotiating team, 14 July 2015| Bundesministerium für Europa, Integration und Äusseres | Iran Talks | Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
What is at stake when President Trump announces his decision on 12 May to stay or part with the ‘JCPOA’ (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) involves not just reopening old wounds and the renewed threat of proliferation in the Middle East, but also the prospects of another costly war in the region.
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02/05/2018
Fox in the Hen House: Why Interest Rates Are Rising
Human Wrongs Watch
By Ellen Brown*
The Fed is aggressively raising interest rates, although inflation is contained, private debt is already at 150% of GDP, and rising variable rates could push borrowers into insolvency. So what is driving the Fed’s push to “tighten”?
Ellen Brown
30 April 2018| Web of Debt – TRANSCEND Media Service
On March 31st the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate for the sixth time in 3 years and signaled its intention to raise rates twice more in 2018, aiming for a fed funds target of 3.5% by 2020.
LIBOR (the London Interbank Offered Rate) has risen even faster than the fed funds rate, up to 2.3% from just 0.3% 2-1/2 years ago.
LIBOR is set in London by private agreement of the biggest banks, and the interest on $3.5 trillion globally is linked to it, including $1.2 trillion in consumer mortgages.
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02/05/2018
Fleeing Horn of Africa, New Arrivals Find More Peril in Yemen
Human Wrongs Watch
By Shabia Mantoo*
On arrival in war-torn country, refugees and migrants are routinely subjected to detention and abuse as UNHCR calls for unhindered access to detainees.
New arrivals rescued after the capsizing of a smuggling boat in the port of Aden in March 2009. © UNHCR/Rocco Nuri
ADEN, Yemen, April 2018 (UNHCR)* – In excruciating pain from weeks of beatings and now suffering from gangrene and facing a leg amputation, 30-year-old Ethiopian refugee Jon* never imagined his quest for safety would result in such a horrific ordeal.
“I landed in Yemen about a month ago. I was dragged by armed men who held me captive for over a month. They beat me so badly that I lost track of what was happening,” he recounted while awaiting surgery.
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02/05/2018
“The fear is not of leaving, but of no longer belonging”
Human Wrongs Watch
Alejandro’ story is part of the UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) series: “i am a migrant“.* Alejandro’s country of origin is México and he currently lives in Rwanda – 14,184 kms from home.
Alejandro: Photo from IOM
“I was born and raised in Mexico. From a young age I was interested in faraway lands, attracted by their different languages, picturesque landscapes and buildings, food and traditions. I studied International Business, and during this time I had the chance to do a couple of international exchanges to the United States.
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02/05/2018
‘Sharp Escalation’ in Fighting across Myanmar’s Kachin State, Warns Human Rights Expert
Human Wrongs Watch
Raising alarm over a “sharp” escalation in hostilities in Myanmar’s Kachin province, a UN human rights expert has called on all parties to ensure greater protection for civilians.
“Innocent civilians are being killed and injured, and hundreds of families are now fleeing for their lives,” Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, on 1 May 2018 said.
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02/05/2018
Security Council Urges Conditions that Allow Safe Return of Rohingya Refugees
Human Wrongs Watch
After seeing for themselves the conditions facing Rohingya refugees in the camps of southern Bangladesh as well as homes they fled in Myanmar, Security Council members on 1 May 2018 called for them to be allowed a safe return.
02/05/2018
Combating ‘Scourge’ of Sexual Abuse Allegations Remains ‘Key’ UN Priority, as 54 New Allegations Emerge
More than 50 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse involving personnel serving with the United Nations and its partners in the field were received in the first three months of this year, the global organization said on 1 May 2018.
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02/05/2018
Almost 500,000 Affected as Devastating Floods Inundate Central Somalia
Human Wrongs Watch
United Nations agencies in Somalia have stepped up their response in the wake of devastating flash floods across large parts of the country that have impacted nearly 500,000 people and displaced close to 175,000 from their homes.
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02/05/2018
‘Can Science and Technology Really Help Solve Global Problems?’
Human Wrongs Watch
Science and technology offer part of the solution to climate change, inequality and other global issues, a United Nations official on 1 May 2018 said, spotlighting the enormous potential these fields hold for achieving humanity’s common goal, of a poverty and hunger-free world by 2030.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 