Ahead of G7, coalition of luminaries says “new relationship with the planet” and “transformational action this decade” absolutely necessary.
Students demonstrate holding signs reading “There is no Planet B” during the Fridays for Future climate strikes in May 2019. (Photo: Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty Images)
A group of 126 Nobel laureates and other experts today called on the leaders of the G7 nations and the United Nations secretary-general to help put the global community on a path to establishing “a new relationship with the planet,” as the world continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic and faces a coming decade which will be “decisive” in determining whether the Earth remains habitable.
4 June 2021 (United Nations)* — It is a sad reality that in situations where armed conflict breaks out, it is the most vulnerable members of societies – namely children, who are most affected by the consequences of war. The six most common violations are recruitment and use of children in war, killing, sexual violence, abduction, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access.
On 19 August 1982, at its emergency special session on the question of Palestine, the General Assembly, “appalled at the great number of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children victims of Israel’s acts of aggression”, decided to commemorate 4 June of each year as the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.
31 May 2021 (United Nations)* — Since the 1980s, the important role of the family has increasingly come to the attention of the international community. The General Assembly adopted a number of resolutions and proclaimed the International Year of the Family and the International Day of Families.
Emphasizing the critical role of parents in the rearing of children, the Global Day of Parents recognizes that the family has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of children.
Home secretary Priti Patel seems set on returning public opinion on migration to pre-2016 levels
Priti Patel has accused those who disagree with her stance on immigration of ‘seeking to sow dissent’ | PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
28 May 2021 (openDemocracy)* — On Monday 24 May, home secretary Priti Patel laid out the next steps in her department’s plan to ‘overhaul’ the UK immigration system. It followed proposals earlier this year to rip up the UK’s refugee protection principles.
US foreign policy is increasingly promoted by billionaire funded foundations. The neoliberal era has created individuals with incredible wealth and through “philanthropy”, they flex their influence and feel good at the same time.
While these philanthropists can be liberal on some issues, they universally support U.S. foreign policy and the “free market”.
High-level event co-hosted by FAO, Costa Rica, Spain and the Vatican
Women at work in an Amazonian food system.
ROME (FAO)* — Indigenous peoples and afro-descendants’ knowledge, innovations and resilience capacities are essential for the transformation to a more sustainable and climate-friendly world and should be included in the policy-making processes, agreed the High-Level Seminar convened on 27 May 2021 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the governments of Costa Rica, Spain and the Vatican.
World Food Programme aims to make staying in hometowns a better option than risking exploitation in the goldmines of the north
‘Up north you’re an easy target for criminals,’ says Adam. Photo: WFP/María Gallar Sánchez
28 May 2021 (WFP)* — In the provinces of central Chad migrating is, by tradition, less a last resort than a way of life. For centuries, during the dry season, herdsmen have made for the wetlands and pastures around Lake Chad and in the south of the country.
(UN News)* — UN humanitarians expressed deep concern on 28 May 2021 about serious and ongoing abuses carried out against displaced civilians who are also facing dire food insecurity in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, after months of conflict.
In an alert, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, said that it was aware of “gross violations”, including gender-based violence in the war-torn north.
Vile attacks
“The situation of women and adolescent girls in Tigray and border areas of Amhara and Afar remains dire”, said UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem.
On the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, it is hard not to draw comparisons between Black Lives Matter and growing international solidarity with the Palestinians.
Palestinian artist Ayman al-Hasari paints a mural of African-American George Floyd on a wall in Gaza City | ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo. All rights reserved
25 May 2021 (openDemocracy)* — For the past two weeks, social media platforms have been awash with solidarity posts about the Palestinian struggle. As we mark the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, it is hard not to draw comparisons with the global Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and the impact it had on the growing international solidarity with the Palestinians.
(UN News)* — UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet called on Thursday [27 May 2021] for a “genuine and inclusive peace process” to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine and a repeat of recent deadly clashes that have been marked by possible war crimes by Israeli security forces.
In comments to the Human Rights Council in Geneva – which stopped short of supporting a call for an international probe into the escalation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel – Ms. Bachelet condemned indiscriminate rocket attacks by Gaza’s de facto authority Hamas, which claimed 10 lives in Israel, and strikes inside the enclave by Israeli Security Forces that left 242 dead.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 