50 million people in modern slavery
12/9/2022: UN agencies report that 50 million people were living in modern slavery in 2021, an increase of 10 million since 2016. More than half of all forced labour and a quarter of all forced marriages can be found in upper-middle income or high-income countries.
Source: UN News
Uganda pays first $65m to DRC as war reparations
12/9/2022: Uganda has implemented a ruling made earlier this year by the International Court of Justice. The Court ordered the country to pay $325 million to DR Congo for loss of lives, looting and property damage during the invasion by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces more than 20 years ago.
Source: The East African
Warming above 1.5C could trigger multiple tipping points
8/9/2022: New research raises concerns about temperature-related tipping points that can trigger large-scale and potentially irreversible changes in the Earth system. It finds that five tipping elements are already within reach.
Source: Carbon Brief
Tigray forces open to African Union peace talks
12/9/2022: After two years of fighting government forces, Ethiopia's Tigray leadership has expressed interest in a peace process led by the African Union. The Ethiopian government has said that it is willing to come to the table without preconditions.
Source: DW
Re-invigorating the international trade system
8/9/2022: The US/China tariff war would not be allowed under a more functional international trade system. Unilateral policies such as ‘America First’ are unfair and detrimental to other countries. Members of the World Trade Organization must restore an effective dispute settlement mechanism.
Source: East Asia Forum
UK government heads to court over refugee expulsion plan
8/9/2022: The UK government is appealing to the Royal Courts of Justice in London to rule that its controversial plan to expel potential refugees to Rwanda should be allowed to proceed. The UK advocacy director at Human Rights Watch is interviewed about the ramifications of the hearing.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Africa food crisis deepens with spike in fertiliser costs
8/9/2022: Multinationals and philanthropists see widespread use of fertilisers as key to increasing yields in Africa, despite the 300% rise in prices since Russia invaded Ukraine. Smallholder advocacy networks say this model has put farmers at the mercy of volatile global markets and worsened food security.
Source: Climate Home News
Human development falling behind in 90% of countries
8/9/2022: For the first time in over 30 years of publication, the UN's Human Development Index has declined globally for two years in a row. Human development has fallen back to its 2016 levels, reversing much of the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
Source: UN News
UK Prime Minister Truss should end assault on rights
6/9/2022: Human Rights Watch calls on the UK's new Prime Minister to halt the systematic destruction of freedoms engineered by her predecessor. Boris Johnson’s government made Britain a less open, fair, and democratic society.
Source: Human Rights Watch
European leaders shun climate adaptation summit
6/9/2022: The Africa Adaptation Summit was recently held in Rotterdam in preparation for the COP27 climate negotiations. Presidents of Senegal, DRC and Ghana criticised the poor representation of richer countries responsible for unmet promises of climate finance for adaptation.
Source: Climate Home News