(UN News)* — More than 70 percent of South Sudan’s population will struggle to survive the peak of the annual ‘lean season’ this year, as the country grapples with unprecedented levels of food insecurity caused by conflict, climate shocks, COVID-19, and rising costs, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday[11 March 2022]
While global attention is focused on Ukraine, said WFP in a press release, a “hidden hunger emergency” is engulfing South Sudan with about 8.3 million there – including refugees – facing extreme hunger in the coming months.
(UN News)* — Top UN-appointed rights investigators on Wednesday [9 March 2022] urged renewed efforts for a political solution to Syria’s devastating war, which has been marked by an uptick of violence and a deepening humanitarian crisis in recent months.
Presenting the latest UN Human Rights Council-mandated report on the nearly 11-year-old conflictat a virtual press conference in Geneva, Paulo Pinheiro, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, described the “devastating” impact on communities.
(UN News)* — The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process on Tuesday [8 March 2022]expressed deep concern over the “deteriorating security situation” this week in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where daily violence has claimed the lives of six Palestinians, including a child.
Tor Wennesland added that 26 Palestinians and seven Israelis have also been injured during the confrontations.
According to news reports, Israeli police shot a Palestinian man dead on Monday after he stabbed two officers at a gate to the Old City of Jerusalem. Militant group Hamas, reportedly claimed the attacker as a member.
Africans support the Ukrainian people, but centuries of experience also make us wary of ‘solutions’ by our former colonisers| ESPAÑOL
A sign protesting against US and European sanctions in Zimbabwe | Yagil Henkin / Alamy Stock Photo. All rights reserved
3 Marcch 2022 (openDemocracy)* — Scrolling through my social media and news feeds, “I stand with Ukraine” is the dominant statement of support for a country that undeniably needs it at this time.
But this stance is not as black and white as Western liberals like to think.
Although we all condemn President Putin`s action in entering Ukraine we must now consider what steps can be taken to de-escalate the situation. Although some low level talks have been held we must consider the best options to not stroke or escalate a war in Europe.
Mairead Corrigan Maguire
Both sides need assurances of their own safety with Russia requesting that Ukraine remaining non-NATO/neutral state.
This is very important to the Russians. Before the break-up of USSR, NATO promised never to move east into ex-soviet countries. They now have missiles and bases in most ex-soviet countries.
The Ukrainians also need guarantees of their own security. There would have to be a full withdrawal of Russian troops and possibly a UN Monitoring body along borders of Donbas region, to prevent ongoing war that has been carried out along the borders of Donbas where thousands of civilians have been killed following the 2014 uprising.
It is my belief that the escalation will continue if we go on weaponizing the region by UK/USA/EU.
MADRID, Mar 7 2022 (IPS)* – The picture is gloomy: not only do women represent 70% of the 1.3 billion people living in conditions of poverty, but also up to 40% of the poorest households in urban areas are headed by women.
Women predominate in the world’s food production (50-80 per cent), but they own less than 10 per cent of the land. Credit: Jency Samuel/IP
5 March 2022 (UN News)* — “Slave” tattoos, electric shock devices, and plastic bracelets. These are examples of the kinds of objects and physical abuses deployed by human traffickers to control, torture, and brand their victims, and which are crucial to securing a conviction.
The plastic bracelets the women wore in a bar in Argentina indicated the number of men they had been forced to have sex with. In Thailand, men and children from Myanmar were exploited in the fishing industry: an electric shock device was used if they refused to work.
And a Chinese symbol for “slave” was tattooed on the ankle of a woman in the United States.
Notes from a 1991 meeting prove that the US, UK, France, and Germany assured the Soviet Union that NATO would not expand east. It’s part of a growing body of evidence that the West broke its promise to Russia.
NATO Summit
A newly discovered document provides more evidence that Western governments broke their promise not to expand NATO eastward after German reunification.
The acceleration of history encourages us to foreshorten our memory of past events, especially when a drama of disillusionment displaces hope by renewed disappointment.
Richard Falk
This happened to events widely welcomed a decade ago, viewed as a fresh start for the peoples of the Middle East, epitomized by massive demonstrations whose goals were expressed by such slogans as ‘bread, freedom, and social justice.
These uprising were celebrated by the liberal media in the West as ‘the Arab Spring.’
The role of activist youth, the spontaneous displays of populist strivings for a better political future, created the feeling that something irreversible, and for the better, was taking place that had transformative implications.
MADRID, Feb 27 2022 (IPS)* – Safety and security are at the base of the ‘hierarchy of needs’ pyramid, second in importance only to life’s absolute necessities—air, water, food and shelter, warns a new report.
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Credit: Parvez Ahmad/Unicef
The report “Why we don’t feel safe,” elaborated by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and released on 8 February 2022, adds that in the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, people were on average living healthier, more prosperous and better lives than ever.
“Yet still a growing sense of unease has taken root and is flourishing.”
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 