UNITED NATIONS, Aug 29 2024 (IPS)* – The Communist Manifesto of a bygone era, authored by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, begins with an implicit warning: “A specter is haunting Europe—the specter of Communism.”
US President Donald Trump (2017-2021) presiding over a meeting of the UN Security Council. Credit: United Nations
And today another specter is haunting– this time at the United Nations — the specter of a second Trump presidency.
(UN News)* — The United Kingdom must take action to curb racist hate speech and xenophobic rhetoric, a UN human rights body said on Friday [], following recent riots that rocked the country.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racism (CERD) voiced concern over persistent hate crimes, hate speech and xenophobic incidents on various platforms, including by politicians and public figures.
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It was particularly concerned about recurring racist acts and violence by extremist far-right and white supremacist individuals and groups targeting ethnic and ethno-religious minorities, migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers.
()* — Years of underfunding of humanitarian aid and increasing needs have put millions of Haitians at risk of chronic vulnerability, according to a newly released UN report.
Reversing the situation will require the international community and donors to increase the funding of UN and non-governmental organization (NGO) relief operations, the UN humanitarian office, OCHA, said in its latest advocacy note.
Exclusive: New immigration laws create ‘hierarchy of victims’ that means many are imprisoned and denied help on release.
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Hundreds of modern slavery victims are in prison | Credit: Pexels/Composition by James Battershill
(OpenDemocracy)* 21 August 2024 — Hundreds of modern slavery victims may be being locked up in prisons across England and Wales, an exclusive investigation by openDemocracy can reveal.
()* — Leaders from landlocked developing countries, (LLDCs) will gather in Gaborone, Botswana, this December to tackle challenges, explore solutions, and build alliances for a more equitable and prosperous future.
World Bank/Dominic Chavez | Men unload sacks of onions from a truck in Bamako, Mali, a landlocked developing country. Their lack of direct access to the vital trade links often result in landlocked countries paying high transport and transit costs.
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At the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, known as LLDC3, innovative solutions and strategic partnerships will be outlined and leveraged to “unlock the full potential of these nations.” LLDC3 is set to take place from 10-13 December.
Here’s what you need to know about LLDCs and plans for this year’s conference:
(UN News)* —The swift spread of a new virulent strain of the mpox virus across Africa triggered the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare it once again a public health emergency of international concern last week.
But, what is it, where did it come from and how can the world deal with the threat, which inevitably raises the spectre of pandemics past such as COVID-19 and the early spread of HIV infections?
15 Aug 2024 – Now the numbers killed in the indiscriminate slaughter in Gaza exceeded 40,000 registered deaths (72% of them women and children). But the number of deaths could be many folds more (at least ten thousand under the rubble, many thousands died for lack of food or medical care etc).
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Gaza under intense, relentless Israeli bombardment Aug 2024. Photo: Mazin Qumsiyeh
But globally the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. How do they do it and how do we stop it.
Climate change is fuelling flooding and other forms of extreme weather, causing fresh displacement and making life even harder for people already uprooted from their homes.
In recent weeks, torrential rains in Afghanistan, Brazil and East Africa have inundated towns and villages, destroyed homes and livelihoods, and brought increasing hardship for the most vulnerable populations.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 19 2024 (IPS)*– Back in August 2003, the United Nations faced one of its violent tragedies when a terrorist attack on the UN headquarters in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad claimed the lives of 22 people.
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Among those killed was Sergio Vieira de Mello of Brazil, the UN envoy in Iraq and High Commissioner for Human Rights, who had a long and distinguished UN career stretching over 30 years.
As the UN commemorated World Humanitarian Day on August 19, it continues to be confronted with rising death tolls among both its humanitarian workers and peacekeepers worldwide.
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 18 August 2024 (UNFPA)* – There were more than 1,500 attacks on health facilities last year. More than 280 humanitarians and at least 750 health workers and patients were killed.
These numbers were racked up not on battlefields, but in hospitals, in homes, in vehicles delivering vital medical care, in spaces designed to be safe.
More health workers and patients were killed or injured in 2023 than any previous year – a grim record the world is on track to beat in 2024.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 