UK ‘double counting’ humanitarian aid as climate finance
16/4/2024: The UK government has reclassified nearly £500m of humanitarian aid for nations including Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia as “climate finance”. The chair of the Least Developed Countries group at UN climate talks says the UK’s actions are a “clear deviation from the path to climate justice”.
Source: Carbon Brief
Sudan’s year of war: why there’s no hope for a cease-fire
14/4/2024: After a year of war in Sudan, the call to negotiate an immediate cease-fire by Norway and other Western governments has gone unheeded. As more local and international actors get involved, the outlook remains grim despite the suffering of one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Source: DW
EU approves new migration pact
11/4/2024: The European Parliament has approved a fundamental reform of asylum policy which aims to reduce the number of new arrivals, speed up asylum procedures and establish centers for doing this at the European Union's external borders. Critics have said the pact undermines the fundamental right to asylum in the EU, and fear people in need of protection will be rejected.
Source: DW
Rich nations reverse aid cuts to poorest
11/4/2024: Official development assistance to least developed countries and sub-Saharan Africa rose last year, OECD figures show — after much-criticized falls in 2022. Five countries achieved the UN target to spend 0.7% of gross national income on aid — Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Sweden, and Germany.
Source: Devex
UK spends quarter of foreign aid on asylum seeker costs
10/4/2024: Expenditure on administrative and accommodation costs for housing asylum seekers continues to hinder UK aid for the world's poorest countries. The UK spent nearly five times more on asylum seeker costs in 2023 than its bilateral support for humanitarian needs.
Source: Reliefweb
Deaths of peacekeepers underline concerns over Congo mission
10/4/2024: Three Tanzanian soldiers have been killed whilst deployed by the Southern African Development Community's (SADC) mission to defeat M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The SADC force is considerably smaller than the 5,000 military personnel originally pledged and lacks vital support and equipment. The UN has started pulling out its 15,000 peacekeepers after Congo's government asked it to leave.
Source: DW
European court rules climate inaction breaches human rights
9/4/2024: The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Swiss government violated its citizens’ human rights by not doing enough to curb climate change. The decision is likely to encourage other campaign groups to bring cases against governments that are parties to the ECHR.
Source: Climate Home News
Germany faces top UN court over Gaza genocide claims
8/4/2024: The International Court of Justice in The Hague is about to hear a case brought by Nicaragua that Germany "has "failed to fulfill its obligation to prevent the genocide committed and being committed against the Palestinian people." Germany is hardly Israel's only ally but has been a major supplier of weapons since the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
Source: DW
Rwanda marks 30 years since 1994 genocide of Tutsis
7/4/2024: April 7 marks 30 years since the start of a genocide that would see nearly 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus murdered in Rwanda. The Rwandan diaspora is now the greatest challenge for stability — the people who did not participate in Rwanda's efforts to push for reconciliation between survivors and those who perpetrated the genocide.
Source: DW
Uganda: Court upholds Anti-Homosexuality Act
4/4/2024: Uganda’s Constitutional Court has upheld most provisions of the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act, thereby sustaining discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. In defiance of international law, the judges ruled that the Act does not violate fundamental rights to equality and nondiscrimination.
Source: Human Rights Watch