UNITED NATIONS, New York, 7 February 2022 (UNFPA)* – Around the world, Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love, romance and commitment – an occasion, perhaps, to get engaged or married. But for millions, what should be a joyous moment is not the stuff of fairy tales.
09/02/2022
Pro-Rich Policies Buoy Billionaires’ Rise in India
Human Wrongs Watch
– If India ranks among the world’s fastest growing economies it is also where inequity is growing the fastest, thanks to endemic features unique to the country such as the caste system.
A woman holding a child begs at an intersection in New Delhi. Credit: Ranjit Devraj/IPS.
“It is not widely understood but India does not have a working class — instead it has large labouring castes that are trapped in an inherently iniquitous system,” says Manas Ray, professor in cultural studies at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata.
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09/02/2022
Displacement, Humanitarian Needs Surging Inside Afghanistan and Across Region
Human Wrongs Watch
(UN News)* — Conflict last year had forced more than 700,000 Afghans to leave their homes and added to the 5.5 million people already displaced over past years, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday [8 February 2022].
“The ongoing crisis in Afghanistan is intensifying humanitarian needs and increasing displacement risks both inside the country, as well as across borders to countries in the region”, according to a statement issued by Ugochi Daniels, the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Deputy Director-General for Operations.
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09/02/2022
Cyberbullying a Top Concern on Safer Internet Day
Human Wrongs Watch
8 February 2022 (UN News)* — With more children and young people spending time online, cyberbullying is the top concern for their safety when using the internet, according to a survey carried about by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on two social media platforms.
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In the lead up to Safer Internet Day this Tuesday, 8 February, the UN agency polled its followers on Twitter and LinkedIn to find out what worries them most about children being active online.
08/02/2022
Amnesty Apartheid Report: The Walls Protecting Israel Are Finally Crumbling
Human Wrongs Watch
By Jonathan Cook – TRANSCEND Media Service*
With the publication of Amnesty International’s new apartheid report, Israel’s supporters have just one tactic left: to accuse critics of antisemitism.
Jonathan Cook
The walls protecting Israel are quickly crumbling. A year ago, it was Israel’s most celebrated human rights group, B’Tselem.
Months later, it was the New York-based Human Rights Watch, whose senior staff have often enjoyed a revolving door with the US State Department.
Now, the one speaking up is Amnesty International – an organisation widely viewed as the most authoritative arbiter of what constitutes human rights violations.
Over the past year, all have reached the same conclusion: Israel is an apartheid state.
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08/02/2022
Looking to the Future: China’s Priorities for Food Security in 2022 and Beyond
Human Wrongs Watch
– Safeguarding food security has long been a critical priority for the Chinese central government. President Xi’s latest comments and meetings demonstrate continued concerns at the top about China’s food security.
Genevieve Donnellon-May
Ahead of the 20th National Congress this year and the release of the No 1 policy document, there are already several hints regarding what the Chinese central authorities could prioritise in terms of food security for this year and beyond
Other factors, including the potential influences of gene-edited plants, commercialisation of genetically modified (GM) crops, and of a Russia-Ukraine conflict should also be considered.
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07/02/2022
Daughters of Somalia, a Continuous Pledge to End Female Genital Mutilation
4 February 2022 (UN News)* — In Somalia, over 90 per cent or more of girls and women, have been subjected to female genital mutilation, or FGM. Despite the practice having devastating health ramifications for women and girls – including pain, bleeding, permanent disability and even death – discussion over how to end the harmful tradition, remains taboo.
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The United Nations has called for collaboration at all levels, and across all sectors of society across the world, to protect millions at risk from FGM every year.
07/02/2022
7 Things You Might Not Know about Child Marriage
Too many women and girls were married off before they reached 18 – many forced to leave school, exposed to violence and pressed into parenthood before they were ready physically or emotionally.
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05/02/2022
Conversation with a Media Icon: Dr. Roberto Savio
Human Wrongs Watch
By Mushahid Hussain*
The Inter Press Service co-founder is part of a vanishing breed
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Dr. Roberto Savio is somewhat unique as an eyewitness to history and builder of institutions, a man who turns his visions into reality | Image from Wall Street International.
5 February 2022 (Wall Street International)* — We are sitting in the heart of Rome, Via Panisperna, where Dr. Roberto Savio has had his office for the last 58 years. His energy and activity, both mental and physical, belies his age.
At 87, he walks the 7 kilometres from his house to his office building and climbs two flights of stairs to reach his office.
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05/02/2022
Is It Time to Bar Coup Leaders from the UN?
Human Wrongs Watch
– A rash of military coups in Africa has resurrected a long dormant question: should leaders who take power through armed insurrections be barred from addressing the United Nations—an institution which swears by, and promotes, multi-party democracy?
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Protesters take to the streets in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Credit: UN Sudan/Ayman Suliman
The most recent surge, which the United Nations describes as “an epidemic of coups”, include military takeovers in Chad, Guinea, Mali, Sudan, and Burkina Faso (and not excluding Myanmar, which marked the first anniversary of a military government in the Southeast Asian country on February 1).
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HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 