(UN News)* – Haiti is in the grip of “extreme brutality”, with gang-related violence continuing to force thousands from their homes amidst widespread suffering, said the UN’s top humanitarian official there.
The desperate situation prompted a tweet on Friday [] from Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths calling for an immediate end to the fighting.
“This carnage needs to stop” said the UN relief chief.
Major escalation
In the past two weeks alone, 71 people have been killed and injured in capital Port-au-Prince, marking a major escalation, according to UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, which Mr. Griffiths heads.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 30 2023 (IPS)* – The United Nations will host six “high-level” meetings, including two summits of world leaders– over a short span of five consecutive days, beginning September 18.
.
The 2023 SDG Summit will take place on 18-19 September 2023 in New York. It will mark the beginning of a new phase of accelerated progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals with high-level political guidance on transformative and accelerated actions leading up to 2030. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias
The back-to-back meetings, described as unprecedented, includes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit on September 18-19; a high-level dialogue on Financing for Development (FfD) on September 20; and a ministerial meeting of the Summit of the Future on September 21 (with the summit itself scheduled to take place September 2024).
(UN News)* — UN Secretary-General António Guterres marked Wednesday’s [] International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance by condemning the “atrocious crime” and urging all Member States to hold those who perpetrate it accountable.
UNIC/Mexico | A protest rally in Mexico City on the case of Ayoitzinapa rural school attended by the 43 disappeared students.
Enforced disappearance has regularly been used as a tool for instilling fear and exert control over a population. The feeling of insecurity it generates is not limited to close relatives of the disappeared, but also their communities and society as a whole.
In a post on social media platform X, The UN chief said enforced disappearance was “a serious human rights violation that has frequently been used to spread terror…I call on countries to help put an end to this atrocious crime”.
(UN News)* — Criminal gangs in southeast Asia are using torture and abuse to force hundreds of thousands of people into an online scam operation which generates billions of dollars per year, the UN rights office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday [].
OHCHR said that at least 120,000 people across Myanmar and another 100,000 in Cambodia may be held in situations where they are forced to execute lucrative online scams – from illegal gambling to crypto fraud.
Other States including Lao PDR, the Philippines and Thailand have also been identified as main countries of destination or transit.
Victims, not criminals
“People who are coerced into working in these scamming operations endure inhumane treatment while being forced to carry out crimes,” said UN rights chief Volker Türk. “They are victims. They are not criminals,” he insisted.
HAVANA, Aug 25 2023 (IPS)* – Emigrating from Cuba was an agonizing decision for Ana Iraida. She left behind family and friends; in her backpack she carried many hopes, but also the fear of facing dangers on the journey to the United States. | En español
Several people, mainly women, stand in line to check their tickets at Terminal 3 o the José Martí International Airport in Havana. According to the International Organization for Migration, women represent 48 percent of international migrants worldwide, and more and more are migrating on their own. CREDIT: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS
“My salary and that of my second job, as an editor, were insufficient. I wanted to prosper and help my parents. Nor did I want to have a child in a country where it is an ordeal to buy everything from disposable diapers to soap, not to mention food,” the 33-year-old philologist who, like the others interviewed for this story, asked to withhold her last name, told IPS.
It is in our connectedness with other people – in our memories of laughter, smiles, sharing sorrow, being heard, being looked at with kindness, being heard with attention, being remembered by someone, being upset with someone, being comforted – that we become alive as relational beings.
Sumeet Grover
From one perspective, we can only experience the richness of life when we are in relation with other people, amongst other people, and in between other people.
Our relationship with people is not the only relationship that we have: we also have a relationship with what goes on within our minds and bodies.
We have a relationship with a complex internal world that drives us, often out of awareness, until that internal world begins to feel unsettling.
People often come to psychotherapy because there is an uncomfortable relationship with one’s own mind, body or the people around them.
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.
(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.
UN News/Elizabeth Scaffidi | A slavery memorial in Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
“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 [].
IOM 2016/Amanda Nero | Migrants look out at the sea in Lesvos, Greece.
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.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 