Archive for March, 2019

19/03/2019

Human Rights Council’s Investigators Urge Israel to Review Its Military ‘Rules of Engagement’ as Gaza Protest Anniversary Looms

Human Rights Council-appointed investigators urged Israel on Monday [18 March 2019] to revise its military rules of engagement, shortly before the one-year anniversary of the start of mass demonstrations at the country’s border fence with Gaza, that have left hundreds of Palestinians dead and thousands more injured. 

UNifeed Video | Protesters walking towards the Gaza separation fence, bordering Israel.The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territory presented its findings in Geneva on 28 February, 2019.
Speaking in Geneva, Santiago Canton, Chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry on the 2018 protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, explained what the panel knew about the Israeli Defence Force’s relevant military protocols with regard to demonstrators.
18/03/2019

“Almost 20 Years Since the Adoption of Security Council’s Resolution on Women, Peace and Security, We Don’t Just Need to Be at the Peace Table. It’s Time to Redesign It”

Human Wrongs Watch

18 March 2019 (UN Women)*“Almost 20 years since the adoption of resolution 1325, we don’t just need to be at the peace table. It’s time to redesign the table,” said Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls, Chair of Board of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, speaking at a side event on 15 March at the 63rd session on the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

Nasima Omari, representing the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, speaks at the side event  “The Road to 2020: Accelerating Action on Women, Peace and Security”. Photo:  UN Women/Ryan Brown

Nasima Omari, representing the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, speaks at the side event “The Road to 2020: Accelerating Action on Women, Peace and Security”. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

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18/03/2019

Judging U.S. War Crimes

By Kathy Kelly – TRANSCEND Media Service*

Chelsea Manning, who bravely exposed atrocities committed by the U.S. military, is again imprisoned in a U.S. jail. On International Women’s Day, March 8, 2019, she was incarcerated in the Alexandria, VA federal detention center for refusing to testify in front of a secretive Grand Jury.

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Kathy Kelly

Her imprisonment can extend through the term of the Grand Jury, possibly 18 months, and the U.S. courts could allow formation of future Grand Juries, potentially jailing her again.

Chelsea Manning has already paid an extraordinarily high price for educating the U.S. public about atrocities committed in the wars of choice the U.S. waged in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Chelsea Manning was a U.S. Army soldier and former U.S. intelligence analyst.

She already testified, in court, how she downloaded and disseminated government documents revealing classified information she believed represented possible war crimes.

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18/03/2019

‘Break the Cycle’ of Disaster-Response-Recovery, Urges Top UN Official, as Death Toll Mounts from “the Worst Extreme Weather Event to Occur So Far This Year”: Cyclone Idai

UN Mozambique | Aerial view of Mozambique affected by floods due to the tropical cyclone Idai
18/03/2019

Failed Economics

 Deforestation for palm oil Indonesia © Ulet Ifansasti / Greenpeace

A recently cleared forest in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. © Ulet Ifansasti / Greenpeace

At the end of 2018, Credit Suisse published its updated report on global wealth. Forty-two-million millionaires and billionaires comprise the richest 0.5% of the world’s population. That translates to 0.8% of adults in the report, possessing 44.8% of the world’s economic wealth. A decade ago, researchers commonly reported that the wealthy 15% of humanity owned 85% of the resources.

Today, 6.2% (9.5% of adults) now claim 85% of the wealth. The rich got richer.

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18/03/2019

“You Are Stealing Our Future” – Thundering Youth Call on Power to Act Now

Human Wrongs Watch

By UN Environment*

“You are stealing our future.”

When Swedish 16-year-old Greta Thunberg first spoke out, she was alone. On Friday, 15 March 2019, she was joined by thousands of young people around the world, as demonstrations gathered momentum in the Belgium, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, Kenya, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and beyond.

They are speaking out and their voices are thundering: “Act now!”

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Photo from UN Environment.

As the largest climate strikes in history gather pace around the world, hundreds of thousands of youth are uniting in their mission to send a clear message to policymakers: let us into the discussion, now.

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18/03/2019

UN Middle East Coordinator Strongly Condemns ‘Arrests and Violence’ by Hamas Security Forces during Gaza Protests

Human Wrongs Watch

17 March 2019 — The UN’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process has strongly condemned the violent response by security forces in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip during the past three days, towards Palestinian protests over the deteriorating economic situation there.

WFP/Wissam Nassar | With rampant poverty and unemployment, food insecurity is on the rise in Gaza making uninterrupted food assistance critical to protect the livelihoods of vulnerable Palestinians.
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Palestinians took to the streets on Thursday and Friday, according to news reports, after months of disputes and deadlock both between the extremist Hamas faction, and the Fatah-led Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank, together with Israeli authorities, which control all access into Gaza under a years-long blockade policy.

17/03/2019

Packaging Accounts for More than a Quarter of Plastic Worldwide – Innovation Drives Industry Efforts to Reduce Waste

Human Wrongs Watch

15 March 2019 (UN Environment)*  — Plastic, as a material, has revolutionized the way we package food, distribute it and safely consume it. It is estimated that packaging accounts for more than a quarter of plastic worldwide, increasing the shelf life of many products and making food shopping more convenient for billions.

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Photo by Lawrence Hislop/GRID Arendal | Photo from UN Environment.

However, the world is waking up to the long-lasting impact that inappropriate management of plastic packaging is having on our environment, especially in our oceans.

Ways to address the plastic problem are now being discussed at the Fourth UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi.

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16/03/2019

The Fashion Industry Is Responsible for More Global Carbon Emissions than All International Flights and Maritime Shipping Combined

Human Wrongs Watch

By UN Environment*

  • Launched today [14 March 2019] at the UN Environment Assembly, the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion is seeking to halt the environmentally and socially destructive practices of fashion.
  • The fashion industry is the second-biggest consumer of water and is responsible for 8-10 per cent of global carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.

UNEA-Fashion-Alliance.jpg

NairobiThe UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, launched today [14 March 2019] at the UN Environment Assembly, is seeking to halt the environmentally and socially destructive practices of fashion, and instead harness the industry as a driver for improving the world’s ecosystems.

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16/03/2019

How Much Would You Pay for Education? – In Lebanon the Cost Is Your Life

Human Wrongs Watch

By Sayde Tawk

13 March 2019 (Wall Street International)*With all the pretty things we can say about Lebanon, it becomes quite ugly when we attempt to allude to politics and the current economic situation. However, when a father gets to a point of burning himself alive in his daughters’ school burdened by the unbearable education fees, the ugliness slaps us hard on the face and lays bare a harsh reality that no longer can be tolerated. 

Beirut
Beirut | Photo from Wall Street International.

The death of George Zreik on the 8th of February 2019, subdued by the merciless administrative of academic institutions marks a shameful day for Lebanon and for its politicians and religious figures in particular.

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