Archive for December 20th, 2018

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20/12/2018

Is It Time to End Cheque Book Diplomacy at the UN?

Human Wrongs Watch

By Thalif Deen*

UNITED NATIONS, 19 December 2018 (IPS) – The UN’s major donors – led by the United States – have long been accused of influence-peddling and misusing their financial clout not only to grab some of the high ranking jobs in the world body but also threaten funding cuts to push their own domestic agendas.

UN-building_4_

The Trump administration’s plan to reduce its 22% assessed contributions to the world body –- mandatory payments to the UN’s regular budget– has helped resurrect a 1985 suggestion by the late Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme who proposed a new system of financing the UN.

The Palme proposal did not renounce the existing “capacity to pay” formula, but suggested there should be a cap of 10 percent maximum for any one country.

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20/12/2018

Doing Rubber Differently: a Win-Win Solution for People and Planet

Human Wrongs Watch

An innovative finance project in Indonesia is providing jobs while preserving the habitat of endangered species.

TLFF Photo by Mokhamad EdliadiCIFOR (002)

Photo by Mokhamad Edliadi/CIFOR | Photo from UN Environment.

18 December 2018 (UN Environment)* – Sri Hartiwi, a rubber tapper in Indonesia’s Jambi Province on the island of Sumatra, has a demanding routine. Her day starts at 3.30 a.m. when she cooks for the family and goes off to work in a plantation till 1.00 p.m. She gets a holiday on Sundays.

Her family—her husband, a cleaner in a private company, and two children—don’t own any land, making the income earned from rubber tapping critical for the household’s daily needs.

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Posted in Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Market Lords, Middle East, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples | 1 Comment »

20/12/2018

Evangelicals in Guatemala on Verge of ‘Legalising Homophobia’

Human Wrongs Watch

By Diana Carboni – openDemocracy*

A “nefarious” bill on ‘life and family’ is the first-ever drafted by the country’s evangelical churches, reflecting their growth – and ambition.

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An evangelical group prayer, Guatemala 2014. Photo: Flickr/amslerPIX. CC BY-NC 2.0. Some rights reserved.

The first legislative proposal of evangelical groups in Guatemala would legalise homophobia, threaten women who have miscarriages with jail terms, and allow the criminal prosecution of abortion rights campaigners.

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20/12/2018

Migrants and Refugees Are Being Subjected to “Unimaginable Horrors” from the Moment They Enter Libya – UN Report

Human Wrongs Watch

Migrants and refugees are being subjected to “unimaginable horrors” from the moment they enter Libya, throughout their stay in the country and – if they make it that far – during their attempts to cross the Mediterranean, according to a report released on 20 December 2018 by the United Nations political mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the UN human rights office (OHCHR).

UNICEF/UN052822/Romenzi | A migrant sits in a patch of light entering through one of only two windows as he tries to warm himself up at a detention centre, located in Libya, 1 February 2017. At the time of UNICEF’s visit, 160 men were being detained there.

Posted in Africa, Asia, Market Lords, Middle East, Migrants and Refugees, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples, War Lords | 1 Comment »

20/12/2018

Confronting Root Causes: Forced Labour in Global Supply Chains

Human Wrongs Watch

By GENEVIEVE LEBARON, NEIL HOWARD, CAMERON THIBOS, and PENELOPE KYRITSIS*  – openDemocracy*

Forced labour is all around us, but not how you think. ‘Confronting root causes’ pulls together research from across the world to explain where it comes from and what we can do about it.

Illustration by Carys Boughton. (CC BY-NC 4.0)

It is by now widely recognised that effectively tackling forced labour in the global economy means addressing its ‘root causes’. Policymakers, business leaders and civil society organisations all routinely call for interventions that do so.[1, 2]Yet what exactly are these root causes? And how do they operate?

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20/12/2018

Meet Antonio C. S. Rosa, Pioneer in Peace Journalism – Be the Change: Enter Peace Journalism

Human Wrongs Watch

By Sebastian Eck | Galtung Institut – TRANSCEND Media Service*

Part 1: “TMS HAS INTEGRITY”: Meet the man behind TRANSCEND Media Service

 

Part 2: Peace Journalism, a New Paradigm for Journalists Covering Conflict Situations

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20/12/2018

Resolution to Protect the Rights of All Rural Populations Including Peasants, Agricultural and Rural Workers and Indigenous Peoples, Adopted

Human Wrongs Watch

The Resolution also recognizes rural populations, workers and indigenous peoples’ contribution to sustainable development and biodiversity.

Photo: ©Benedicte Kurzen/NOOR for FAO / FAO

A woman farmer in Senegal. | Photo from FAO.

New York/Rome (FAO)* – FAO has hailed a landmark United Nations General Assembly resolution adopting the Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas.

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20/12/2018

Confirmed ‘Blue Line’ Tunnels ‘Do Not Appear’ to Surface in Israel – UN Peacekeeping Chief

Human Wrongs Watch

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has confirmed the existence of at least two tunnels crossing the “Blue Line” – the border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel – but they “do not appear thus far” to have exit points leading to the surface on Israeli territory, the United Nations top peacekeeping official on 19 December 2018 told the Security Council.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe | A UN peacekeeper patrols the ‘Blue Line’ in southern Lebanon.

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20/12/2018

‘Multiplicity’ of Human Rights Violations in Ukraine as Fifth Winter of Conflict Bites

Human Wrongs Watch

Rights violations have continued unabated and unaddressed in Ukraine and people are still dying amid ongoing conflict between Government forces and armed separatists in the east of the country, a top UN rights official on 19 December 2018 said.

IOM/Konstantin Skomorokh | An elderly woman in village Krymskoe, heavily affected by the armed conflict, receives financial assistance from IOM.
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Addressing Member States at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kate Gilmore, warned that in addition to the loss of life, fighting had caused communities to “fracture”, undermining the prospects for a sustainable peace.

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20/12/2018

Crime and Drugs in West and Central Africa: ‘New Alarming Trends’

Human Wrongs Watch

West and Central Africa faces “disruptive and destabilising” new trends regarding drug trafficking, drug use and other crimes, according to Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), who briefed the UN Security Council on 19 December 2018.

UNMIL Photo/Christopher Herwig | Abandoned buildings at the Barclay training center in downtown Monrovia, a notorious meeting point for drug dealers and users. Here, a suspect is identified and searched for drugs and weapons. (2008)
“UNODC is registering new alarming trends on drug trafficking in West and Central Africa with disruptive and destabilizing effects on governance, security, economic growth, and public health,” said Mr. Fedotov, who briefed via VTC.

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