'Unseen' News and Views
Toddlers should spend no more than 60 minutes passively watching a screen every day, while babies under 12 months should have none, to ensure that they grow up fit and well, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday [24 April 2019], as part of a campaign to tackle the global obesity crisis.
Despite repeated appeals by the United Nations human rights system, Saudi Arabia’s decision to go ahead with the beheading of 37 men, drew strong condemnation on Wednesday [24 April 2019] from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet.*
“I strongly condemn these shocking mass executions across six cities in Saudi Arabia yesterday in spite of grave concerns raised about these cases by numerous UN Special Rapporteurs, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and others,” she said in a statement.
DAYLESFORD, Australia, 25 April 2019 — Whenever, in ordinary circumstances, the subject of violence comes up, most people throw up their hands in horror and comment along the lines that it is ‘in our genes’, ‘nothing can be done about it’ or other words that reflect the powerlessness that most people feel around violence.
Robert J. Burrowes
It is true that violence is virtually ubiquitous, has a near-infinite variety of manifestations and, at its most grotesque (as nuclear war or run-away climate catastrophe), even threatens human extinction in the near-term.
Nevertheless, anyone who pays attention to the subject of violence in any detail soon discovers that plenty of people are interested in tackling this problem, even if it is ‘impossible’.
Moreover, of course, at least some people recognize that while we must tackle each manifestation of violence, understanding the cause of violence is imperative if we are to successfully tackle its many manifestations at their source.
Nearly three weeks since fighting began near the Libyan capital Tripoli, the UN health agency warned on Tuesday [23 April 2019] that “large numbers” of people are sheltering in medical clinics, while civilians continue to be killed or injured, and refugees and migrants remain exposed to clashes.
“The latest figure as of last night is 264 dead and 1,266 wounded”, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told journalists.
Over the course of the past decade, there has been “a paradigm shift” in understanding the devastating impact of sexual violence in conflict on international peace and security, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council during a high-level debate on Tuesday [23 April 2019].
“Local civil society organizations, many of them women’s organizations, are on the frontlines of our efforts to prevent and provide redress for this crime, and they deserve our strong and consistent support” he said at the meeting marking the 10th anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1888, which created the mandate of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict.
Bolivian constitution will recognize three new Indigenous languages. | Photo: Reuters | Photo from teleSUR.
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22 April 2019 (teleSUR)* — The Constitution of Bolivia will recognize three more Indigenous languages, namely, Joaquiniano, Paunaka, and Kumsa. They will be added to the 36 recognized Indigenous languages, local media reported Monday [22 April 2019].
“Shall we not learn from life its laws, dynamics, balances? Learn to base our needs not on death, destruction, waste, but renewal?”
— Nancy Newhall
René Wadlow
On 16 April 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump vetoed S.J. Resolution 7 to withdraw U.S. support for the Saudi and United Arab Emirates-led coalition in the war on Yemen.
The resolution had passed both houses of Congress with bipartisan support.
However, there are most likely not enough votes to override the veto; a two-thirds majority is needed.
Also on 16 April, a French investigative NGO with web journal Disclose published a note of the French military intelligence service indicating that French arms sold to Saudi Arabia were being used against civilians in Yemen.(1)
Tripol, 23 April 2019 (IOM)* –– Nearly three weeks of fighting in the Libyan capital has displaced close to 35,000 people, claimed over 200 lives, and injured more than 1,000. Further insecurity, continued displacements and large-scale humanitarian and protection needs are expected as the conflict continues to intensify.
IOM is appealing for international support for its efforts to deliver assistance to migrants and displaced persons affected by the ongoing hostilities in Tripoli. Photo: IOM
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has provided emergency assistance to all affected populations since hostilities began but funding shortfalls are now affecting the Organization’s ability to meet the critical needs of both migrants and the local families displaced by the fighting.
Tupac Enrique Acosta is a member of the Nahuatl Nation and serves as firekeeper for the Nahuacalli, Embassy of Indigenous Peoples in Phoenix, Arizona.
– The United Nations, as in so many other areas, gives lip service in support of Indigenous issues while lacking the political will and enforcement power over individual member states to comply with the protection of fundamental human rights for the Original Nations of Indigenous Peoples of the world.
Privatization is expected by many to promote competition and eliminate corruption. In practice, the converse has been true as privatization beneficiaries have successfully colluded and engaged in new types of corruption to maximize their own gains.
– At the risk of reiterating what should be obvious, the question of private or public ownership is distinct from the issue of competition or market forces. Despite the misleading claim that privatization promotes competition, it is competition policy, not privatization, that promotes competition.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Privatization the problem, not the solution
Instead, privatization has typically been accompanied by collusion, which undermines competitive pricing.
Formal and, more commonly, informal collusion is rife. Informal collusion is more likely among those involved in public or transparent bidding to provide privatized or contracted-out services.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 