Archive for ‘Migrants and Refugees’

12/03/2021

Secrets of the Herodotus Basin – Hidden Wealth of Egypt

Human Wrongs Watch

By Aleksandra Pećinar*

11 March 2021 (Wall Street International)* —The famous Greek historian Herodotus, “the Father of History”, had once characterized Egypt as “a gift of the Nile” due to the country’s dependence on the river.
But could he ever imagined that the triangle of unprecedented importance between Egypt, Greece and Cyprus, representing the current hotspot for energy developments, would be named after him and would become a contemporary gift to Egypt?
Herodotus had once characterized Egypt as "a gift of the Nile"
Herodotus had once characterized Egypt as “a gift of the Nile” | Image from Wall Street International.

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12/03/2021

Humanity’s Penchant to Waste Food Is Trashing the Planet

11 March 2021 (UNEP)* — The next time you pour expired milk down the drain or throw away wilted vegetables, consider how this waste could have been avoided. A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) finds the world is in the grip of an epidemic of food wastage. In 2019, consumers tossed away nearly a billion tonnes of food or 17 per cent of all the fare they bought.

wqqwUnsplash/Dose Juice / 11 Mar 2021

That is deeply problematic in a world where 690 million people were undernourished in 2019, a number expected to rise sharply with COVID-19. It’s also bad for the planet. 8-10 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions come from producing food that is ultimately thrown away.

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12/03/2021

‘If You Don’t Feed People, You Feed Conflict’

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Conflict drives hunger, and when that turns to famine, that then drives conflict, the UN chief told the Security Council on Thursday 11 March 2021, adding that “if you don’t feed people, you feed conflict”.

©UNICEF/Mohammed Huwais | Five years of conflict In Yemen has displaced 4 million people and left many facing death as widespread hunger stalks the nation.

“When a country or region is gripped by conflict and hunger, they become mutually reinforcing…[and] cannot be resolved separately”, Secretary-General António Guterres said via videoconference to the meeting which focused on how conflict and food security are interlinked.

And when hunger meets inequality, climate shocks, sectarian and ethnic tensions, together with grievances over resources, they then “spark and drive conflict”.

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12/03/2021

Endemic Violence against Women ‘Cannot Be Stopped with a Vaccine’ – World Health Organization

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Over the past decade, violence against women has been “endemic in every country and culture”, according to a new study released by the UN health agency on Tuesday 9 March 2021.

UNICEF/Aleksey Filippov | A 15-year-old girl from conflict-affected eastern Ukraine calls helpline after her mother lost her job and her step-father began harassing her
Latest available data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners revealed that violence against women remains “devastatingly pervasive and starts alarmingly young”.

Some 736 million women – that translates to a third of all women – have been subjected to physical or sexual violence across their lifetimes.

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11/03/2021

“This Is Hell. Absolutely Horrendous … Yemen Is Becoming the Worst Place on Earth and It Is Totally Man Made“

Human Wrongs Watch

ADEN/SANA’A, 10 March 2021 (WFP)* – The Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme issued an urgent plea for peace in Yemen and called for funding to help the most vulnerable hungry families as he wrapped up a two-day visit to the country where the worst famine the world has seen in modern history is now looming. 

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Photo: WFP/ Alaa Noman

“Over half of the people in Yemen are facing acute food shortages with millions knocking on the door of famine. These are not just numbers. They are real people and it is heartbreaking,” said David Beasley.

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11/03/2021

Ten Years On, Syrian Crisis ‘Remains a Living Nightmare’

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — UN Secretary-General António Guterres has underlined the UN’s determination to continue pursuing a negotiated political settlement to the Syrian civil war, a “living nightmare” that has endured for 10 years now.

© UNOCHA/Mahmoud Al-Basha | A health worker talks to displaced children about their hopes and worries in Atma camp, Syria.

Briefing journalists at UN Headquarters on 10 March 2021, the UN chief stressed the need for countries to put aside their differences to support Syrians in finding a solution to the crisis.

“After a decade of conflict, in the middle of a global pandemic, and faced with a steady stream of new crises, Syria has fallen off the front page”, he said. “And yet the situation remains a living nightmare.”

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11/03/2021

Asia-Pacific: Migrants Play Central Role in World’s Most Populous Region; Protect Them

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — United Nations officials on 10 March 2021 highlighted the contributions of migrants to economies and societies in Asia and the Pacific, calling on countries to ensure all who live within their borders are fully included in national coronavirus inoculation programmes.

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Photo: ILO | Migrants play a key role both in countries of origin and destination, but often face discrimination and have to work under difficult conditions with little protection.
10/03/2021

Polar Vortex Responsible for Texas Deep Freeze, Warm Arctic Temperatures

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — A “polar vortex” was responsible for the freezing conditions in the US state of Texas last month, UN weather experts said on Tuesday 9 March 2021, before warning of a worrying increase in global carbon dioxide levels.

Unsplash/Thomas Park | The US state of Texas endured unseasonably freezing temperatures in February 2021.
 
Spokesperson Clare Nullis from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) told journalists during a regular briefing in Geneva that the United States shivered through its coldest February since 1989, thanks to the natural phenomenon:

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10/03/2021

Food Systems Account for More than One Third of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Human Wrongs Watch

New data tool offers detailed insights covering role of land use, agriculture, refrigeration, packaging and more, providing critical guidance for holistic mitigation efforts

Photo: ©FAO/Carly Learson

Processing peppers in Turkey.

ROME, 9 March 2021 (FAO)* The world’s food systems are responsible for more than one-third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, according to a pioneering new study published in Nature Food.

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10/03/2021

Devastatingly Pervasive: 1 in 3 Women Globally Experience Violence

Human Wrongs Watch

Younger women among those most at risk

9 March 2021 (WHO)* — Violence against women remains devastatingly pervasive and starts alarmingly young, shows new data from WHO and partners. Across their lifetime, 1 in 3 women, around 736 million, are subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence from a non-partner – a number that has remained largely unchanged over the past decade.

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