GENEVA, 9 February 2024 (UNICEF)* –- “Three hundred days ago, a wave of atrocities were unleashed upon the children of Sudan.
“Here is some of what happened in those 300 days:
“First: the world’s largest displacement of children has been seen in Sudan. Four million children have been displaced. That’s 13,000 children every single day for 300 days. Safety, gone. Worldly possessions, gone. Friends and family members separated or lost. Hope, fading.
CARACAS, Jan 31 2024 (IPS)* – Rural life in Latin America and the Caribbean continues to be marked by poverty and inequality compared to the towns and cities where the vast majority of the population lives. A new focus on rural life in the region could help reveal and address the challenges and neglect faced by people in the countryside. | En español
A family from the Q’eqchi Mayan indigenous people of Guatemala gathers to share a meal cooked with firewood. Life in many rural areas of Latin America continues to be marked by scarce resources and inequality, in comparison with urban areas. CREDIT: IDB
()* —Bulldozers in refugee camps, detainees stripped naked and spat at, farmers robbed of their harvest: against the backdrop of the war in Gaza the situation in the occupied West Bank is “rapidly deteriorating” amid levels of violence not seen in years, UN rights chief Volker Türk warned on Thursday [].
OCHA/Manal Massalha | A family displaced from the herding community of Al Ganoub in the West Bank in October 2023.
Commenting on a new report on the West Bank released by his office, OHCHR, Mr. Türk expressed concern at the use of military means and weapons by law enforcement, movement restrictions affecting Palestinians and a sharp rise in settler violence resulting in the displacement of herding communities.
(Stockholm) — Revenues from sales of arms and military services by the 100 largest companies in the industry totalled $597 billion in 2022, 3.5 per cent less than 2021 in real terms, even as demand rose sharply, according to new data released today [4 December 2023] by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), available at www.sipri.org.
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Photo: Wikimedia
The decrease was chiefly the result of falling arms revenues among major companies in the United States. Revenues increased substantially in Asia and Oceania and the Middle East.
Recent events make us question more than ever: why can’t something be done to stop and prevent the crimes of war?
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Julian Assange languishes in prison, and may eventually die in prison, for having documented the war crimes of the American Empire.
And all the relevant institutions, the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, etc., agree that we are witnessing daily war crimes by Israel against the people of Gaza, crimes that are financed and supplied by the United States and its allies.
There are demands for justice from the International Criminal Court, but even if it condemns these war crimes, has no power of enforcement. None of the Great Powers even belongs to it.
(Jerusalem) – Allies of Israel and backers of Palestinian armed groups should suspend the transfer of arms to the warring parties in Israel and Gaza given the real risk that they will be used to commit grave abuses, Human Rights Watch said today [6 November 2023] .
Providing weapons that knowingly and significantly would contribute to unlawful attacks can make those providing them complicit in war crimes.
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.
(UN News)* — Over 4.5 billion people worldwide lack coverage for essential health services the UN health agency said on Monday [], underscoring the need for stronger political commitment and increased government investment.
Moreover, two billion face severe financial hardships when paying out-of-pocket for necessary medical treatment, according to a joint World Health Organization (WHO)-World Bank report.
(UN News)*— Amplified by wildfires and desert dust fanned by climate change, more frequent heatwaves are leading to a sharp drop in air quality and human health, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a new report on Wednesday [].
UN News | In early June 2023, strong wind brought heavy smoke from wildfires in Canada to New York City.
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The news came as the UN chief released a strongly worded statement on a record summer of global warming in the northern hemisphere, according to the European Union’s climate service Copernicus and WMO.
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Earth has just experienced its hottest August on record – by a large margin – and the second hottest month ever after this July.
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Factoring in June, they represent the hottest three month period ever, the data indicates. The year overall is the second warmest on record behind 2016.
(UN News)* — After four months of war in Sudan, UN humanitarians on Tuesday [] called for action to be taken to end the conflict which is having a “devastating impact” on people’s lives, health and well-being.
UN Photo/Albert González Farran | People continue to be displaced by conflict in Sudan.
In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned that the “disastrous, senseless war in Sudan, born out of a wanton drive for power, has resulted in thousands of deaths, the destruction of family homes, schools, hospitals and other essential services, massive displacement, as well as sexual violence, in acts which may amount to war crimes”.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 