Archive for November, 2023

11/11/2023

Carbon Market Greenwashing Systems Deepen Inequalities in Global South – Experts

Human Wrongs Watch

NAIROBI, Nov 10 2023 (IPS)* – Somalia, Syria, DRC Congo, Afghanistan, Yemen, Chad, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Nigeria, and Ethiopia are the 10 countries at greatest risk of climate disaster globally despite collectively contributing just 0.28 percent of global CO2 emissions.
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Kenya's extensive coastline has been fronted as a hub for carbon trading due to its lush mangrove forests. But now experts caution that carbon markets are exploitative greenwashing systems. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

Kenya’s extensive coastline has been fronted as a hub for carbon trading due to its lush mangrove forests. But now experts caution that carbon markets are exploitative greenwashing systems. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

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11/11/2023

Sudan War Turning ‘Homes into Cemeteries’: UN Refugee Agency

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The war between rival militaries in Sudan is growing in scope and brutality, having driven almost six million people from their homes since it erupted in April and worsening an already complex humanitarian emergency, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday [].

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Displaced people arrive in South Sudan from Sudan through the Joda boarder crossing.
© UNHCR/Ala Kheir | Displaced people arrive in South Sudan from Sudan through the Joda boarder crossing.

“The war that erupted without warning turned previously peaceful Sudanese homes into cemeteries,” said Dominique Hyde, Director of External Relations at UNHCR.

She visited the country last week, and witnessed a surge in human suffering.

“Away from the eyes of the world and the news headlines, the conflict in Sudan continues to rage. Across the country, an unimaginable humanitarian crisis is unfolding, as more and more people are displaced by the relentless fighting,” Ms. Hyde added.

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10/11/2023

Israeli Forces and Settlers Ramp Up Violence against Palestinians in West Bank

Destructions in Jenin Nov 2023

9 November 2023 — It’s 2.30 am and doctors are huddling outside the entrance to Jenin hospital, supported by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), in the West Bank, Palestine.

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10/11/2023

After a Month of Siege, Bombardments and a Health System Obliterated, Pregnant Women in Gaza Are Caught in a Catastrophe

Human Wrongs Watch

By the UN Population Fund*

GAZA, Palestine, 9 November 2023 – “The working conditions in our hospital are catastrophic. We lack basic life necessities and we’re struggling with a severe shortage of water,” said Yasmine Ahmed, a midwife at Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility.

Sondos, 26, was caught up in an explosion while heavily pregnant. She underwent surgery on her injured legs and hand and delivered via an emergency Caesarean section at the Al-Hilo hospital. © UNFPA/Bisan Ouda

After a month of escalating hostilities, the health-care system in Gaza is hanging by a thread: Fuel, medicine and supplies have all but run out and with hospitals, infrastructure and ambulances coming under fire, even transporting the injured is fraught with danger.

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10/11/2023

Fossil Fuel Producers ‘Literally Doubling Down’

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Contrary to pledges to cut fossil fuel production, government policies worldwide will add up to a doubling of production in 2030, a new report from the UN environment agency (UNEP) revealed on Wednesday [].

The increased use of fossil fuels is inconsistent with limiting global warming.
© Unsplash/Johannes Plenio | The increased use of fossil fuels is inconsistent with limiting global warming.

This hike in fuel extraction comes despite 151 national governments having pledged to achieve net-zero emissions.

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07/11/2023

My Heart Beats Heavily

Human Wrongs Watch

Text: Kristine Grønhaug | Photos: Beate Simarud | Design: Rami Touma

2 November 2023 — She leans her veiled head against her hand holding a walking stick. Is she 80 or 90? She doesn’t know. But her hands are as weathered as time itself.

Her name is Ndamukunzi. It means “without friends”.

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In North Kivu province, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), over 1.2 million people have been displaced since March 2022 when a wave of violence erupted among armed groups fighting over power and resources.

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07/11/2023

Suspend Arms to Israel, Palestinian Armed Groups

Human Wrongs Watch

By Human Rights Watch*

Countries Providing Weapons Risk Complicity in Grave Abuses

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Airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus fall over the Gaza city port, October 11, 2023.  © 2023 Mohammed Adeb/AFP via Getty Images

(Jerusalem) – Allies of Israel and backers of Palestinian armed groups should suspend the transfer of arms to the warring parties in Israel and Gaza given the real risk that they will be used to commit grave abuses, Human Rights Watch said today [6 November 2023] .

Providing weapons that knowingly and significantly would contribute to unlawful attacks can make those providing them complicit in war crimes.

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07/11/2023

The Irish Government Must Invoke Genocide Convention

Human Wrongs Watch

By Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate – TRANSCEND Media Service*

4 Nov 2023 – Nobel Peace Laureate called on the Irish government to trigger the Genocide Convention as a way to help halt the Israeli genocidal attack on Palestinians, in front of the American embassy in Belfast today.

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Mairead Corrigan Maguire

The governments of the US, UK, Germany and most of Europe are wholly complicit in the horrific assault on the people of Gaza.

Not only are these governments refusing to meet their treaty obligations to ensure respect for the Geneva Convention but they are in fact actively arming the assault by providing economic and intelligence support, and giving political and diplomatic cover for Israel’s war crimes.

Palestinians in Gaza are being demonized, suffering ethnic cleansing, and collective punishment. This is a classic case of genocide and the Israeli government must be held accountable.

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06/11/2023

White-Collar Miners: Who Is Devastating the Amazon?

Human Wrongs Watch

By LUIS SALAS RODRÍGUEZ for DEBATES INDÍGENAS*

IWGIA – International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs*, 1 November 2023 — While miners are blamed for the destruction of the forests, this gold fever would not exist without the lavish consumption of sheikhs, influencers, rappers, footballers, brokers, Hollywood actors and famous singers.

Following the rise in the price of gold during Covid-19, Central Banks and speculators have further boosted this demand.

In Brazil and Venezuela, the land area affected by mining is increasing rapidly and the presence of gold miners threatens the indigenous communities living near the deposits.

When we think of the illegal and legal gold mining that is bleeding the Amazon, the culprits are obvious.

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05/11/2023

Asylum Seekers in Greece Report Being Beaten and Sent Back to Sea

Human Wrongs Watch

By Médecins Sans Frontières [Doctors without Borders]*

Emergency Medical Aid in Samos