Archive for June 8th, 2024

08/06/2024

A Nuclear-Armed European Union? A Proposal Under Fire

Human Wrongs Watch

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 7 2024 (IPS)* – The continued veiled threats from Russia, warning of nuclear attacks on Ukraine, have prompted some politicians in Europe to visualize a nuclear-armed European Union (EU).
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UN Secretary-General António Guterres (center right) attends a Security Council meeting on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation on March 18, 2024. With geopolitical tensions escalating the risk of nuclear warfare to its highest point in decades, reducing and abolishing nuclear weapons is the only viable path to saving humanity. The UN chief told the Security Council delegates that he was deeply concerned about the continuous erosion of the international non-proliferation architecture.Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

UN Secretary-General António Guterres (center right) attends a Security Council meeting on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation on March 18, 2024. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

But Volkert Ohm, Co-Chair of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA) in Germany, told IPS that the call for nuclear weapons for the EU contradicts international law.

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08/06/2024

European Nuclear Deterrent a Harebrained Illegal Proposal

Human Wrongs Watch

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NEW YORK, Jun 6 2024 (IPS)* It is quite astonishing and clearly insane, that Manfred Weber, the German leader of the European Union’s center-right European People’s Party, now expected to come in first in the European Parliament election scheduled on June 6-9th, is calling for the EU’s own nuclear “deterrent”—arguing that the US-stationed nuclear weapons in five NATO states, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherland, and Turkey, may be inadequate protection for Europe’s security should Trump, that great friend of Russia, be elected!
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Aerial view of the European Parliament in Brussels

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08/06/2024

‘Unimaginable Trauma’ Haunts Sudan’s Displaced While Violence, Famine Threaten Millions

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Horrific violence and the risk of famine continue to stalk the people of Sudan, UN humanitarians warned on Friday [], as they echoed condemnation by UN Secretary-General António Guterres of an attack on a village south of Khartoum two days ago that is now believed to have left more than 100 dead.

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A woman feeds a child at a school used as a gathering point for displaced people in Port Sudan. (file)
© WFP/Abubaker Garelnabei | A woman feeds a child at a school used as a gathering point for displaced people in Port Sudan. (file)

“The UN Secretary-General strongly condemns the attack reportedly carried out on 5 June by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Wad Al-Noura village, Jazira state, which is said to have killed over 100 people,” his Spokesperson said in a statement overnight, which also underscored “the immense suffering of the Sudanese population as a result of the continued hostilities”.

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08/06/2024

War Propels Unemployment to Close to 80%, Shrinks GDP by 83.5 % in the Gaza Strip

Human Wrongs Watch

The war has caused unprecedented devastation to the Palestinian labour market and the wider economy, according to new data and analysis by the ILO and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

People crossing the road in front of a commercial shop destroyed during the warPhoto credit: UNICEF. \

BEIRUT, 7 June 2024 (ILO)* – Eight months of war in the Gaza Strip have caused loss of jobs and livelihoods on a massive scale and a sharp decline in GDP in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), a new brief by the ILO and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) reports.

Since hostilities erupted in October 2023, the unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip has reached a staggering 79.1 per cent. In the West Bank, which has also been severely impacted by the crisis, unemployment has reached 32 per cent.

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