'Unseen' News and Views
By Victoria Strang, Policy Advocate with Faith Communities | Human Rights Watch*
Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Leaders Speak at Parliament of the World’s Religions
Rabbi Brant Rosen speaking at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago, Illinois on August 16, 2023. © 2023 Victoria Strang/Human Rights Watch
— At a gathering of 7,000 people of faith last week in Chicago, an important discussion took place on Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians.
(UNEP)* — It has been another season of extreme weather, with everything from record temperatures to devastating floods hammering countries around the world. But one of the most worrying trends has been what scientists have called an unprecedented planet-wide ocean heatwave.
June saw the highest ever average global ocean surface temperatures, with local records being set from Ireland to Antarctica. In Florida, waters reached 38°C.
The North Atlantic recorded its hottest ever temperature in July. And the Mediterranean Sea hit 28.7°C, an all-time high.
(UN News)* — Wastewater, long seen as an environmental and health hazard, possesses untapped potential as an alternative energy and clean water source to offset fertilizer use, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said on Wednesday [].
In its new report, Wastewater: Turning problem to solution, UNEP warned that only 11 per cent of treated wastewater is reused while around half of the world’s untreated wastewater still enters rivers, lakes and seas.
Furthermore, CO2 emissions from wastewater are substantial, hovering slightly below those from the global aviation industry.
(UN News)* — Commemorating the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition on Wednesday [], the head of the UN’s education, science and culture agency UNESCO, emphasized the urgent need to end exploitation.
“It is time to abolish human exploitation once and for all, and to recognize the equal and unconditional dignity of each and every individual,” said Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO.
“Today, let us remember the victims and freedom fighters of the past so that they may inspire future generations to build just societies.”
(UN News)* — Greece must adopt “safe and impartial” border policies and practices and hold its law enforcement officers accountable for abuses, a group of UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts said in a statement on Wednesday [].
That’s the message from the group of eight experts, including Ashwini K.P., the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, who urged Greece on Wednesday to investigate alleged violations against asylum-seekers.
They said that they were “particularly concerned” by the failure of the country’s security personnel and coast guard to provide “prompt and effective” assistance to migrants in distress and ensure safe disembarkation and adequate reception.
If people living in informal settlements gained access to adequate housing, the average life span would jump 2.4 years on average globally, saving 730,000 lives each year. Credit: Lova Rabary-Rakontondravony/IPS
Project for a New American Century
The Project for a New American Century was a Washington-based “think tank” founded in 1997 by William Kristal and Robert Kagen.
John Scales Avery
The basic idea behind the organization was that since the United States had emerged as the world’s sole surviving superpower, the country should increase its military spending and use its military power to promote US interests and values throughout the world.
Global Hegemony through Military Force
In recent years, the United States has aimed at “full spectrum dominance”, military dominance over all other nations, global hegemony through military force, and the construction of an empire.
For anti-war activists, the preparations for a major war have an aspect that is literally nightmarish. In this bad dream, one watches as if physically or morally paralyzed while a menacing situation approaches step by step until it is too late to avert a foreseeable disaster.
Richard E. Rubenstein
This is exactly how one feels watching the United States government prepare for a military confrontation with China.
The technical aspects of this preparation remain largely under wraps, except for demonstrative military exercises and occasional impolitic statements like Air Force General Mike Minihan’s remark last January, “My gut tells me that we will fight in 2025.”
But the civilian aspects of this mobilization are increasingly evident and alarming.
(UN News)* — Conflict and insecurity in countries such as South Sudan and its neighbour to the north are set to make 2023 another year of high death tolls and and injuries for aid workers in the field, the UN warned on Thursday [].
The grim forecast comes ahead of World Humanitarian Day, commemorated annually on 19 August.
Since the start of the year, 62 aid workers have been killed, 84 have been wounded and 34 kidnapped, the UN said, citing provisional data from the independent research organization Humanitarian Outcomes. Last year, the death toll reached 116.
South Sudan remains the most dangerous place to be a humanitarian. Forty attacks and 22 fatalities have been reported there as of 16 August.
Weather agency Spokesperson Clare Nullis said that heat warnings have been issued by many weather services across Europe this week, including in France, Germany, Poland and Switzerland.
Meanwhile, parts of the Middle East were expected to see temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius in the coming days, and Japan was experiencing a “prolonged” heatwave which shattered temperature records.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 