From the cult of the vegetation god Osiris in ancient Egypt to the summer solstice celebrations in Sardinia, Italy, to the Maronite feast of Eid el Burbara in Lebanon and the ceremonies of the Piramalai Kallar in Tamil Nadu, India, the symbol of the sprouted seed plays a central role in many rituals. Wheat, barley, or lentil sprouts are also at the heart of Nowruz – the New Year of the peoples who were once part of the Persian Empire – celebrated each spring by around 300 million people worldwide. But why are the shoots thrown into the water?
21 June 2020 (UN)* – Culture is the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group, and it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs.
Thus, culture is at the heart of contemporary debates about identity, social cohesion, and the development of a knowledge-based economy.
As forced displacement tops 79.5 million, Filippo Grandi urges UN Security Council to use its authority seek peace and inclusion for the displaced. |Español | Français
GENEVA (UNHCR)* – Ending conflicts around the world that are driving unprecedented global displacement is not just a moral imperative but critical for international stability, the UN’s refugee chief on 18 June 2020 told a top UN body.
The UN celebrates the sixth annual International Day of Yoga on 21 June, recognizing the ancient practice as a holistic approach to health and wellbeing, and a powerful tool for dealing with the myriad stresses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic
Winnie Witt | Jon Witt, a yoga teacher, practicing therapeutic yoga postures in Jersey City, USA.
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21 June 2020 — (UN News)* — Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India and is now practiced in various forms around the world.
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The word “yoga” derives from Sanskrit and means “to join or unite”, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness.
21 June 2020 (UN News)* — “Conversion therapy” is built on the false premise that it can alter the sexual orientation of gender diverse people, and many more countries around the world need to recognize its “dehumanizing” and deeply corrosive impact, according to a UN report that’s before the UN Human Rights Council this month.
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Matheus Affonso | Matheus Affonso considers himself an “LGBT photographer” and believes it’s important to “portray a population that is often invisible inside the favela”, or slum area.
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UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, will present his findings to the global human rights body, during what is celebrated across the world as LGBT Pride Month, calling for a global ban on the dangerous and deeply harmful practice.
By producing soap, treating the sick and shopping for the vulnerable, these refugees from around the world are taking action to fight the coronavirus. | Español | Français | عربي
19 June 2020 (UNHCR)* — For almost two months now, Carmen Parra has been working 12- and 24-hour shifts as part of an ambulance crew in Peru that visits suspected COVID-19 patients in their homes and transports those who are critically ill to hospital.
(UN News)* — UN Secretary-General António Guterres has reminded countries of their fundamental obligation to protect the nearly 80 million people worldwide forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution and other crises.
In his message to mark World Refugee Day [20 June], the UN chief also praised those nations and communities hosting refugees and internally displaced people, often amid their own economic and security challenges.
“We owe these countries our thanks, our support and our investment,” he said.
19 June 2020 (UN Environment)* — After a five-hour journey by boat and an inland journey on a ranger´s backpack, Diego, the giant tortoise who helped save his species from extinction, finally arrived his native Española Island, in the emblematic Ecuadorian archipelago of Galápagos.
Diego will finally be able to wander in this native island, 87 years after he left to participate in breeding programmes in captivity. Photo by Galapagos National Park...
Diego, now over 100 years old, will have the chance to live in the wild after eight decades of residing in a zoo and in a conservation center, where he fathered at least 800 offspring.
Only through an understanding of the historical impact of colonialism can we begin to heal the wounds caused by centuries of slavery, violence, and oppression.
Pro-Mosaddegh protests in Tehran, 16 August 1953 | Wikimedia Commons. Public domain
18 June 2020 (openDemocracy)* — In August 1619, a ship called the White Lion arrives in Virginia, a year before the Mayflower, the ship that was transporting the first English Puritans. It carries with it the first load of African slaves, captured in West Africa, starting the enslavement of Africans in the North American colonies.
A woman living in Kassab Camp for Internally Displaced People in Kutum, North Darfur, expresses her sorrow over the increase in rapes in the area. Photo: UN Photo/Albert González Farran
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Already a dramatically under-reported crime, CRSV has been further obscured by this pandemic. COVID-19 hampers the possibility of survivors to report sexual violence and further exacerbates the existing structural, institutional and sociocultural barriers to reporting such crimes.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 