UN report looks underfoot, to solve global water crises
21/3/2022: While groundwater accounts for 99 per cent of all running freshwater on Earth, it is often undervalued, mismanaged, and overexploited, according to a new report by UNESCO. Water use is projected to grow by roughly one per cent annually over the next 30 years, and dependency on groundwater is expected to rise.
Source: UN News
Human rights in Myanmar face profound crisis
21/3/2022: UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet has told the Human Rights Council that Myanmar's humanitarian crisis continues to expand, as systematic brutality by security forces has inflamed pre-existing armed conflicts in multiple ethnic states.
Source: UN News
Environmentalism after Ukraine
21/3/2022: The modern environmental movement has taken the rules-based system for granted, trusting in national commitments even when they came from authoritarian states. But Russia has exposed the fragility of the global order, what now?
Source: Eco-Business
Where is the UN’s Guterres?
15/3/2022: It is long overdue for UN Secretary-General António Guterres to intervene more forcefully in Russia’s war on Ukraine and use his good offices to try to forge a cease-fire and work out a final settlement on this nightmarish conflict. Guterres should follow up with all sorts of new proposals on how to end the fighting.
Source: PassBlue
Ukraine war feeds fears of another food crisis
13/3/2022: Important lessons were learned from the 2007–08 food crisis, and avoiding those mistakes will be critical in responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The rice crisis in 2007–08 was caused by panicked importers, exporters and hoarding by small-scale participants along the rice supply chain.
Source: East Asia Forum
Appalling violations in Myanmar demand international response
15/3/2022: Security forces in Myanmar have killed at least 1,600 people and detained more than 12,500, since the military coup last year, the UN rights office has said. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned that serious rights abuses may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Source: UN News
The rise in food insecurity amid COVID-19 and conflicts
17/3/2022: The effects of COVID-19 over the past two years, in addition to the increase in wars and conflicts, climate change and economic crises, have aggravated global food insecurity, generating serious concerns for 2022. An increase of 100 million people suffering from hunger is projected for these past two years, extending the negative trend already reported.
Source: Inter Press Service
What does Russia leaving the Council of Europe mean?
17/3/2022: The Russian Federation's exit from Europe's top human rights watchdog has been condemned by human rights groups concerned about the impact on victims of the Kremlin's rights abuses. The Council of Europe was formed in 1949 and seeks to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law across Europe.
Source: DW
Russia blocks ships carrying grain exports
17/3/2022: Up to 300 ships have been stopped by Russian forces from departing the Black Sea, leaving one of the key global trade routes for grain virtually blocked. The fertile region is known as "the world's breadbasket." The International Maritime Organization has called for so-called blue corridors to allow the ships to leave the Black Sea without the risk of attack or hitting a mine.
Source: DW
Bangladesh: stop flouting UN rights concerns
17/3/2022: The Bangladesh government should meaningfully respond to UN concerns regarding torture, enforced disappearance, and extrajudicial killings in the country, Human Rights Watch has said. The US has already sanctioned the country’s Rapid Action Battalion for serious rights violations.
Source: Human Rights Watch