Archive for ‘Migrants and Refugees’

16/08/2024

Yemen: Exceptionally Heavy Rain and Deadly Flash Flooding Have Compounded the Already Dire Situation for People

Human Wrongs Watch

By Daniel Johnson

(UN News)* — Exceptionally heavy rain and deadly flash flooding in Yemen have compounded the already dire situation for people across the country, UN humanitarians said on Thursday [].

Continuing heavy rains across Yemen have impacted and damaged vital public services and swept away homes.
© IOM | Continuing heavy rains across Yemen have impacted and damaged vital public services and swept away homes.
16/08/2024

Most of Gaza’s 40,000 Dead Are Women and Children : UN Human Rights

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — As the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza passes the dark milestone of 40,000, UN rights chief Volker Türk called on Thursday [] for an end to the killing “once and for all” and the release of all hostages while negotiators prepared to meet in Qatar to renew efforts to halt the conflict and avert a wider war. 

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Gazans gather at a camp for displaced people which was bombed in May 2024. (file)
© UNRWA | Gazans gather at a camp for displaced people which was bombed in May 2024. (file)
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“Most of the dead are women and children. This unimaginable situation is overwhelmingly due to recurring failures by the Israeli Defense Forces to comply with the rules of war,” the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement.
15/08/2024

World Health Organization Announces Highest Level of Alert for Mpox

Human Wrongs Watch

WHO declares mpox virus a public health emergency of international concern

Mpox - formerly monkeypox - is a rare but dangerous infection similar to the now eradicated smallpox virus.
© CDC/Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regnery | Mpox – formerly monkeypox – is a rare but dangerous infection similar to the now eradicated smallpox virus.
 
(UN News)* — The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the rise in mpox cases constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), following advice from members at Wednesday’s [] International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee meeting.  
 
A PHEIC is the highest level of alarm under international health law.
15/08/2024

Gaza at ‘High Risk’ of Polio Virus Spread: United Nations

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The risk of polio spreading in Gaza remains high unless there is an urgent and comprehensive response to the serious health threat, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday [].

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A family on the move in Gaza where 10 months of war and stifling summer temperatures have increased the risk of disease spreading
© UNRWA | A family on the move in Gaza where 10 months of war and stifling summer temperatures have increased the risk of disease spreading
 
“At least two rounds of [orally delivered polio vaccine] will be necessary to shut down transmission,”the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) explained in an update.
15/08/2024

Palestine: UN Reports Rise in Children Killed and Injured by Israel in the Occupied West Bank

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The killing, injury and displacement of Palestinians continues in the West Back against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, now in its 10th month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update issued on Wednesday [14 August 2024].

A person carries water through the streets in a West Bank town. The situation there is gradually worsening.
© UNRWA | A person carries water through the streets in a West Bank town. The situation there is gradually worsening.
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The number of Palestinian children killed by live ammunition fired by Israeli forces has almost tripled since 7 October 2023, compared with the preceding 10 months, rising from 39 to 115.
15/08/2024

Almost Half a Billion Children Live in Areas Experiencing at Least Twice as Many Extremely Hot Days as Their Grandparents – UNICEF

Human Wrongs Watch

Eight countries, including Mali, Niger, Senegal, South Sudan and Sudan, are home to children who spend more than half the year in temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius / 95 degrees Fahrenheit

A child in Cambodia pours water over their head
UNICEF/UN0290924/Llaurado

NEW YORK, 14 August 2024 (UNICEF)* – One in 5 children – or 466 million – live in areas that experience at least double the number of extremely hot days every year compared to just six decades ago, according to a new UNICEF analysis.

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14/08/2024

India: Hate Speech Fueled Modi’s Election Campaign

Human Wrongs Watch

By Human Rights Watch*

Prime Minister, Ruling Party Targeted Muslims, Other At-Risk Groups

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at a public rally ahead of polling in the national election in Hyderabad, India, May 10, 2024. © 2024 Mahesh Kumar A./AP Photo

(New York) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2024 electoral campaign frequently used hate speech against Muslims and other minorities, Human Rights Watch on 14 August 2024 said.

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14/08/2024

Sexual Violence and Famine Stalk Sudan’s Displaced

Human Wrongs Watch

By Daniel Johnson

(UN News)* — Sudan’s deepening humanitarian crisis caused by nearly 16 months of war has left countless women and girls subject to sexual violence and rape and tens of thousands of children at risk of death from hunger, UN aid teams said on Tuesday [13 August 2024].

A young girl receives treatment at a hospital in Khartoum, Sudan.
© UNICEF/Mohammed Elibrahimi Isamaldeen | A young girl receives treatment at a hospital in Khartoum, Sudan.

13/08/2024

Gaza: Clean Water Crisis Adds to New Displacement Misery, and “Sewage Water Is All Over the Streets”: UNICEF

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Amid further evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military in Gaza, UN humanitarians delivered a fresh warning on Monday [12 August 2024] over the dire sanitary emergency there and the urgent need for a mass polio vaccination campaign in the embattled enclave. 
 
A person collects water in the midst of the ruins of Gaza.
© UNRWA | A person collects water in the midst of the ruins of Gaza.

UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund, issued a statement from Deir al-Balah in Gaza’s central area, where untreated sewage run-off formed large pools on the road next to shelters for forcibly displaced people.

“Sewage water is all over the streets,” said UNICEF spokesperson Salim Oweis, who highlighted the destruction of Gaza’s water and sanitation network, and its sewage treatment plants, since war erupted on 7 October, after Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel.

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12/08/2024

Let’s Abolish the Colonial IMF on Its 80th Birthday

By Arthur Larok*

From Kenya to Pakistan, protesters want the International Monetary Fund to stop exploiting countries in debt crisis

(OpenDemocracy)* 24 July 2024 — Mass protests rocking Kenya in the past month have once again laid bare the predatory lending practices of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). ​​Placards read “IMF keep your hands off Kenya,” and “We ain’t IMF bitches”, calling on President William Ruto to withdraw an IMF-driven finance bill set to ramp up austerity and regressive taxes. 

Kenyan protesters anger at new IMF measures | James Wakibia/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images