Archive for ‘Migrants and Refugees’

19/10/2021

Abandoning Yemen

Human Wrongs Watch

By Kathy Kelly – TRANSCEND Media Service*

Why is the UN Human Rights Council Silencing Yemeni Human Rights Victims?

kathy-kelly-201

*Kathy Kelly

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, with the cooperation of the U.S. succeeded this week in killing off a little known U.N. agency that for nearly four years has courageously advocated for hundreds of thousands of Yemenis suffering immensely in the civil war that is being driven forward by Saudi Arabia.

Monday, October 11, marked the official closure of the UN Group of Eminent Experts (Group of Experts or GEE) on Yemen.

For close to four years, this highly respected investigative body scrupulously examined alleged violations and abuses of human rights suffered by Yemenis whose basic rights to food, shelter, safety, health care and education are being horribly violated even as they have been bludgeoned by Saudi and U.S. air strikes.

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19/10/2021

Greater International Support Urgent for 13 Million ‘Exhausted’ and Displaced Syrians

Human Wrongs Watch

18 October 2021(UN News)*UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has urged greater international support for the more than 13 million Syrians who’ve been displaced in the past 10 years.

© UNHCR/Saad Sawas | UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi visits Talibiseh city, northern Homs, Syria.

Currently, around 6.7 million have been displaced inside the country and 5.5 million refugees are being hosted in five neighbouring countries, Mr. Grandi said after a visit to the country.
15/10/2021

More than 3 Billion People (almost 40% of the World’s Population) Cannot Afford a Healthy Diet

Human Wrongs Watch

World Food Day –  16 October 2021

get-creative

Image: FAO

15 October 2021 (FAO)* — An agri-food system is a complex term that may seem far from your reality, but do you know our lives depend on them? Every time you eat, you participate in the system. The food we choose and the way we produce, prepare, cook and store it make us an integral and active part of the way in which an agri-food system works.

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15/10/2021

Need for a ‘Lifesaving’ Transformation of Food Systems, Urgent

Human Wrongs Watch

World Food Day – 16 October 2021

© UNICEF/Bektur Zhanibekov | A mother helps her three-year-old girl eat porridge at home in Kyrgyzstan.
 
15 October 2021 (UN News)* World Food Day is not only a reminder of the importance of what we eat to everyone on the planet, but also “a call to action to achieve food security around the world”, the UN chief said in his message marking the day on Friday.

World Food Day is not only a reminder of the importance of what we eat to everyone on the planet, but also “a call to action to achieve food security around the world”, the UN chief said in his message marking the day on on 15 October 2021.

12/10/2021

Disparities in Poverty Between Ethnic Groups and Across Genders Show Why We Need to Dig Deeper into Poverty Data

Human Wrongs Watch

LONDON, Oct 12 2021 (IPS)* – During the pandemic, we learnt a new word – at least I did: comorbidity. It means that one or more additional conditions co-occur (all happen at the same time for a person) alongside a primary condition – in this case the virus.

Disparities-in-Poverty_2_

Credit: UNDP

And we learnt that when a person has significant comorbidities, the path of the virus can be tragic.

We therefore learned to be highly alert for diabetes, for lung conditions, and medical histories, and to protect vulnerable people in our circles carefully.

As time went on, our circle of attention expanded – to handwashing, to overcrowding, to water and nutrition, or informal work – or risks like domestic violence, that make lockdown unbearable.

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12/10/2021

Use of Fossil Fuels Must Stop

Human Wrongs Watch

By John Scales Avery – TRANSCEND Media Service*

The IPCC Report

The 4,000-page report by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was not due to be released until February, 2022, but a copy was leaked to Agence France-Presse.

John-Scales-Avery

John Scales Avery

The report calls for a total transformation of our way of life if we wish to avoid catastrophe.

The window of opportunity is closing rapidly. Urgent action must be taken within less than a decade.

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The report states that,

“We need transformational change operating on processes and behavior at all levels: individual, communities, business, institutions and governments. We must redefine our way of life and consumption.”

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12/10/2021

What You Need to Know about the UN Biodiversity Conference

Human Wrongs Watch

(UNEP)* — Today [11 October 2021], world leaders are gathering in Kunming, China and virtually for the first phase of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP-15) to agree on a new set of goals for nature over the next decade. The second phase will be held in April-May 2022 due to the pandemic.

biodiversity2Shutterstock / 11 Oct 2021

Nature and biodiversity loss are accelerating the triple planetary crisis we face, along with climate change and pollution waste.

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12/10/2021

“We Are Losing Our Suicidal War against Nature” – UN Chief

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — With more than a million species at risk of extinction, countries must work now to achieve a sustainable future for people and the planet, Secretary-General António Guterres told leaders attending the UN Biodiversity Conference, which opened on Monday 11 October 2021 from Kunming, China.

© 2019 Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT/ Georgina Smith | A Kenyan farmer has been experimenting with a range of new seeds which is helping to increase biodiversity where she lives.

“We are losing our suicidal war against nature,” he said in a video message to the meeting, which is mainly being held virtually. 

10/10/2021

Avoiding a Cop-Out at COP-26

Human Wrongs Watch

By William Becker*

Time has run out for a polite phaseout of carbon fuels

The climate is changing faster than scientists and computer models predicted
The climate is changing faster than scientists and computer models predicted | Image from Wall Street International Magazine.

10 October 2021 (Wall Street International)* — With weather disasters becoming the rule rather than the exception worldwide, two inconvenient realities are clear.

First, the climate is changing faster than scientists and computer models predicted. Rather than exaggerating the threat of global warming, the experts have been too conservative.

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07/10/2021

Rebooting Our Human Future

Human Wrongs Watch

By Hazel Henderson*

Adaptation is required to avoid threats to our life-support and even possible extinction

Humans are facing such a time of multiple changes at all levels
Humans are facing such a time of multiple changes at all levels | Image from Wall Street International Magazine.

5 October 2021 (Wall Street International)*Human evolution, as in all species on Earth, is driven by stress – as all are challenged by continually changing conditions and environments.

Like all species, we humans become habituated to our current situations and cultural norms. Our reactions to change range from outright denial to reluctant acceptance and attempts at adaptation.

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