Archive for ‘Africa’

29/09/2023

Libya Floods: ‘Tragedy Is Not Over’ Warns UNICEF

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — More than 16,000 children are displaced in eastern Libya following Africa’s deadliest storm in recorded history the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Thursday [], highlighting the urgent need for psychosocial care.

Young children walk in the Libyan city of Susah, which was extensively damaged by flood water.
© UNICEF/Mostafa Alatreb | Young children walk in the Libyan city of Susah, which was extensively damaged by flood water.

UNICEF stated that many more children are affected due to lack of essential services, such as health, schooling and safe water supply.

“When disasters hit, children are always among the most vulnerable,” said Adele Khodr, UNICEF’s Regional Director, who has just returned from a visit to Al Bayda and Derna.

Storm Daniel struck eastern Libya on 10 September and left widespread flooding and destruction in its wake across Derna, Albayda, Soussa, Al-Marj, Shahat, Taknis, Battah, Tolmeita, Bersis, Tokra and Al-Abyar.

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28/09/2023

Unprecedented Migrant Surge in Central America and Mexico

Human Wrongs Watch

Geneva/San José, 27 September 2023 (IOM)* – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is appealing for governments in Central America and Mexico to collaborate to address the immediate humanitarian needs of people on the move as unprecedented numbers of vulnerable migrants transit through the region, while also working on long-term solutions to tackle the drivers of migration.

As in many border towns across Central America, thousands of migrants are crossing daily into Danli and Trojes, Honduras, Despite the efforts of transit nations, UN agencies, and humanitarian organizations, the capacity to offer life-saving aid is stretched thin. Photo: IOM Honduras / Erick Escoto.

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27/09/2023

The West Destroyed Africa, Eurasia Will Revive It

Human Wrongs Watch

By Matthew Ehret Insights – TRANSCEND Media Service*

In Africa, injustice looms large, marked by poverty, warfare, and famine. Despite post-WWII political gains, economic independence, a vital component of true freedom as envisioned by Pan African leaders like Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, and Haile Selassie, remains elusive.

The Cradle

After decades of restrictive IMF and World Bank loans, poverty, hunger, and conflict persist throughout the continent.

While many attribute this to Africa’s governance challenges, in reality, a deliberate imperial agenda has hindered the continent’s development in all political, economic, and security sectors.

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25/09/2023

How Fast Fashion Fuels Climate Change, Plastic Pollution, and Violence

Human Wrongs Watch

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9c88f2a9-gp1t21qs-510x34022 September 2023 — You know the feeling: wardrobe full of clothes, nothing to wear. Online, fashion sales fill your feeds. Clothes are cheaper than ever, and even cheaper in the sales, which now happen year-round.

24/09/2023

Beyond Climate Colonialism and Food Imperialism to Earth Democracy and Food Freedom

Human Wrongs Watch

By Prof. Vandana Shiva | Navdanya International – TRANSCEND Media Service*

1. Mother Earth is a sacred, self organized living being. She creates and sustains life.Through her biosphere and her complex ecological processes, she regulates her water systems, her nutrition cycles, and her climate system.Over 4 billion years, using the energy of the sun, the power of photosynthesis by microbes and the green leaf of plants, she brought the temperature of the planet down from 290 C to 13 C, and the concentration of atmospheric CO2 down from 98% to .03%, from around 4,000 to somewhere around 250-270.

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24/09/2023

‘While Water Holds the Key to Life, All Too Often It Kills’

Human Wrongs Watch

Geneva 22nd September 2023 (WMO)*As proved so tragically in Libya last week, while water holds the key to life, all too often it kills.

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Whether – like in Derna – it’s too much water leading to floods, or too little water causing droughts, or polluted water resulting in health risks, addressing the dangers that water poses can save lives.

As climate change intensifies these threats, there is an urgent need for action.

That is why a new collaboration matters so much.

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24/09/2023

Humanity Facing ‘Unprecedented Global Toxic Emergency’ – Human Rights Experts

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The consequences of poor chemicals and waste management worldwide are fuelling an “unprecedented global toxic emergency”, independent UN human rights experts have warned, ahead of a major summit next week.

Children play in an area outside their home that has been turned into a large dumpsite of waste from leather industries in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
© UNICEF/Shehzad Noorani | Children play in an area outside their home that has been turned into a large dumpsite of waste from leather industries in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
24/09/2023

Healthcare: Lack of Universal Coverage, ‘Human Rights Tragedy on a Massive Scale’

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — World leaders on Thursday [] agreed to boost efforts to provide universal health coverage for all by 2030.

A young pregnant mother is seen for an antenatal checkup at a health centre in  Kassala state, Sudan.
© UNICEF/Mojtba Moawia Moawi | A young pregnant mother is seen for an antenatal checkup at a health centre in Kassala state, Sudan.

By approving a new political declaration at UN Headquarters during the high level meeting, Member States also pledged to take concrete action and provide the necessary funding to reach the ambitious goal.

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22/09/2023

Europe’s Lack of New Ideas on Migration Is the Real Crisis

Human Wrongs Watch

By Judith Sunderland | Human Rights Watch*

European Commission Response to Lampedusa Arrivals Rehashes Ineffective, Abusive Polices.

People sit on the ground of the overcrowded migrant reception center on Lampedusa, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea, on September 16, 2023. © 2023 Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP Photo

(September 19, 2023) – When the European Commission president arrived on the island of Lampedusa in Italy on September 17, it was an opportunity to reset Europe’s broken approach to migration. Instead, we got a 10-point plan of ineffective and abusive policies, with some wishful thinking.

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22/09/2023

Funding Woes Continue to Plague UN Palestine Refugee Agency

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The head of the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees across the Middle East, UNRWA, on Thursday [] appealed for consistent and sustainable financing to keep its operations running and avert chronic shortfalls.

Palestinian children go back to school across the Gaza Strip.
© UNRWA/Mohamed Hinnawi | Palestinian children go back to school across the Gaza Strip.

UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini was speaking at UN Headquarters alongside the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Jordan, Ayman Safadi, following a meeting to support its lifesaving work, which is almost entirely funded by donor contributions.“

It has become absolutely unbearable to deal with a situation where the needs of the Palestine refugees increase, the expectations increase, the region is hit by multiple crises, and at the same time to operate public-like services… with decreasing funding,” he said.

The tension is also fuelling “a feeling of abandonment by the international community”, he warned.

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