Archive for ‘Africa’

03/07/2019

Libya Detention Centre Attack Could Amount to a ‘War Crime’ – UN Calls for Independent Investigation

Human Wrongs Watch

A missile attack on a detention centre in Tripoli that killed scores of migrants and refugees “deserves more than condemnation”, UN agencies said on Wednesday [3 July 2019], as both the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the head of the UN mission in Libya (UNSMIL), insisted that it may amount to a war crime. 

IOM/Moad Laswed | The aftermath of the devastating attack at the Tajoura Detention Centre, in the suburbs of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on 2 July.

In a joint call for an investigation to bring those responsible to justice, UN migration agency, IOM, and UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, spoke of the “appalling toll” caused by Tuesday’s reported airstrike on the Tajoura Detention Centre in a suburb of the Libyan capital.

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03/07/2019

UN Migration and UN Refugee Agencies Condemn ‘Appalling Toll in Injuries and Lives’ from Attack East of Tripoli, Libya, at the Tajoura Detention Centre

Geneva, 3 July 2019 (IOM/UNHCR)*  – The appalling toll in injuries and lives from Tuesday night’s attack east of Tripoli at the Tajoura Detention Centre speaks to the deep concerns, expressed repeatedly¸ by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, over the safety of people in detention centres. 

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The aftermath of Tuesday night’s attack at the Tajoura Detention Centre, east of Tripoli which resulted in significant loss of life. Photo: IOM/ Moad Laswed

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03/07/2019

Are We Fighting a Losing Battle in the War Against Drugs?

Human Wrongs Watch

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 3 2019 (IPS)* – How effective is the global war on drugs?

The latest statistics released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are staggering: 35 million people across the globe currently have a substance use disorder, and as of 2017, 585,000 people have died worldwide as a result of drug use.

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According to a recently-released UNODC report, the lack of proficient drug treatment and facilities for those that need it is impacting mortality rates at alarming levels.

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03/07/2019

Increase in Climate Change-Related Heat Stress Predicted to Bring Productivity Loss Equivalent to 80 Million Jobs

Human Wrongs Watch

Global warming is expected to result in an increase in work-related heat stress, damaging productivity and causing job and economic losses. The poorest countries will be worst affected.
Afghanistan local construction worker perched from his work under the burning heat of the Kabul sun. © PJ Tavera Photography (photo from ILO)..

GENEVA, 1 July 2019 (ILO)*  – An increase in heat stress resulting from global warming is projected to lead to global productivity losses equivalent to 80 million full-time jobs in the year 2030, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO).

03/07/2019

Decolonising the Economy

Human Wrongs Watch

By Laura Basu*

A new ourEconomy series focusing on the global economy and global justice.

1 July 2019 (openDemocracy)* — We are connected on a planetary scale. All our resources, our infrastructure, our food, energy, clothing, our electronic devices, almost everything human-made that we see around us, contains some component that someone from somewhere else has worked on.
03/07/2019

An Honorable Course in Iran: End Sanctions, Resume Dialogue

Human Wrongs Watch

By Kathy Kelly – TRANSCEND Media Service*

The Greatest Outlier in Terms of Possessing Nuclear Weapons Is the U.S.A.

1 July 2019 — Last week, Elham Pourtaher, an Iranian graduate student at the State University of New York in Albany, wrote about how U.S. policies cause suffering and trauma far beyond U.S. borders.

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03/07/2019

Tuina: Chinese Manual Therapy – Traditional Chinese Medicine Way to Health

Human Wrongs Watch

By Igor Micunovic*

3 July 2019 (Wall Street International*Tuina 推拿, or Chinese massage therapy, is one of the four main branches of traditional Chinese medicine. Although very ancient, it is relatively new to majority. Tuina therapy dates back to around 3000 BC, making it the grandmother of all forms of massage and body work that exist today, from shiatsu, reflexology, chiropractics to osteopathy and beyond.

Tuina is the grandmother of all forms of massage and body work that exist today
Tuina is the grandmother of all forms of massage and body work that exist today | Photo from Wall Street International.

Tuina is different from other forms of massage with specific emphasis on medical factor, such as treatment of specific illnesses related to internal organs, or muscular – skeletal systems as well.

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03/07/2019

Food Aid Tripled for Troubled Ituri Province in DR Congo, to Respond to the World’s ‘Second Largest Hunger Crisis in the World, after Yemen’

Human Wrongs Watch

2 July 2019 — Food aid is being tripled for troubled Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to respond to what the World Food Programme (WFP) has described as the world’s second largest hunger crisis in the world, after Yemen.

WFP/Jacques David | The World Food Programme (WFP) held massive food distributions in the Ituri provice, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where thousands of persons had fled from their villages due to ethnic clashes. 21 March 2018.

In addition to worsening hunger, communities in north-east DRC face a deadly Ebola outbreak and inter-ethnic clashes that claimed at least 117 lives between 10 and 13 June, according to a recent report by the UN human rights office, OHCHR.

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02/07/2019

“They Told Me to Stop Crying at Night”: How the UK Is Failing Asylum Seeking Children

Human Wrongs Watch

By Laura Gibbons*

Figures suggest that many young asylum seekers arriving in the UK have their ages wrongly disputed leading to serious safeguarding problems.
Young asylum seekers who have their age disputed by local authorities are at risk of significant harm.| Wikimedia Commons. Some rights reserved.

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02/07/2019

The Crunch Question on Climate: How Can I Help?

Student strike in Bangkok for more climate protection.

Students in Bangkok strike and demonstrate to support the School strike for climate movement, also known as Fridays for Future, Youth for Climate and Youth Strike 4 Climate. © Biel Calderon / Greenpeace

Working in climate and environment, you hear this question a lot. On one hand, environmental groups — including Greenpeace — will tell you that every action you take can make a difference.

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