It’s not too late to rein in these unaccountable armed giants, but we need to act fast
A Tier 1 Group instructor at one of the company’s training sites in Arkansas, US | The Commercial Appeal/ZUMAPRESS.com/Alamy
07/08/2021
Afghanistan at ‘Dangerous Turning Point’
Human Wrongs Watch
(UN News)* — With the war in Afghanistan now in “a new, deadlier, and more destructive phase”, the top UN official in the country appealed on Friday [6 August 2021] for the Security Council to act to avert a catastrophe.
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Special Representative Deborah Lyons, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said the advance of the Taliban in recent months, now targeting major cities, is reminiscent of the Syrian and Balkan wars.
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07/08/2021
Displaced Afghans Face ‘Continued Deterioration’ in Country
6 August 2021 (UN News)* — The situation for people who have been displaced due to an upsurge in fighting in Afghanistan following the resurgence of the Taliban is expected to continue to deteriorate, unless more is done to assist them, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).
06/08/2021
Democracy: Enemy of the Powerful
By Robert C. Koehler | Common Wonders – TRANSCEND Media Service*
Perhaps the best possible thing we could acknowledge being is a “divided nation.” Failing to do so justifies — or at least avoids noticing — all manner of violent cruelty and repression in the name of so-called democracy, from the jailing of whistleblowers who reveal U.S. war crimes and global criminality, to the lynching of men and women of color . . . to the waging of endless war.
Oh, and so much more!
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06/08/2021
How Women Migrants in Thailand Are Stopping Trafficking and Gender-Based Violence in Their Communities
Human Wrongs Watch
By UN Women*
Migration can be a life-changing experience, but migrant workers are especially vulnerable to human trafficking and gender-based violence. San May Khine, a social worker in Thailand who was once a migrant worker herself, is supporting her fellow women migrant workers to move past experiences of violence and build a stable and bright future in a COVID-19 world.
San May Khine organizes a session on violence against women migrant workers, trafficking in persons and the rights of women migrant workers in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Photo courtesy of San May Khine
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06/08/2021
Somalia: Urgent Action Needed Following ‘Alarming’ 80% Rise in Sexual Violence
Human Wrongs Watch
5 August 2021 (UN News)* — An “alarming” 80 per cent increase in sexual violence in Somalia, as documented in two recent reports by the Secretary-General, has been described as “appalling” by two UN Special Representatives.
06/08/2021
COVID-19 Vaccine Equality, ‘Most Pressing Issue of Our Times’
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05/08/2021
Defining Refugees in the Era of Climate Displacement
By Dewi Zarni | BIMI at UC Berkeley – TRANSCEND Media Service*
In Bangladesh’s refugee camps, evacuation due to flooding is increasingly common. Paula Bronstein/Getty Images.
July 28th marks the 70th anniversary of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. This historic document, signed by 149 nation-states, defines refugees as those with a well-founded fear of persecution if returned to their country of origin on the basis of their “race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.”¹
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05/08/2021
Protecting the Paradise of Praslin Island, Seychelles
5 August 2021 (UNEP)* — For many locals and tourists, Praslin Island in Seychelles is synonymous with paradise. From the white sands of Anse Lazio, frequently voted as one of the top beaches in the world, to the endemic species of the jungle, to the colorful coral reefs in Curieuse Marine Park, Praslin is filled with both beauty and biodiversity.
Photo by Shutterstock / 04 Aug 2021
05/08/2021
No Time or Forest to Lose
The deforestation of 10,329 hectares was detected by comparing satellite images from November 2020 to July 2021. Greenpeace aerial images from July also show bulldozers in operation, with forest destruction recorded in at least 10 places in the province.
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HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 