Iran’s new veiling law intensifies oppression of women and girls
10/12/2024: Amnesty has condemned Iran for further erasing the human rights of women and girls through severe penalties relating to compulsory veiling. The new law was drafted in May 2023 in response to widespread defiance of compulsory veiling by women and girls in protest at the death in custody of Jina Mahsa Amini.
Source: Amnesty International
World Bank secures record pledges for international development
9/12/2024: World Bank officials have announced $23.7 billion in contributions promised to the International Development Association, which provides grants and low-interest loans to 78 low-income countries. Experts are particularly concerned whether the $4 billion pledge by the US will survive the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Source: Devex
Amnesty concludes Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza
5/12/2024: A report by Amnesty International concludes that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip. Israel has acted with total impunity in the wake of the deadly Hamas-led attacks in October 2023.
Source: Amnesty International
Taliban ban medical training for women
3/12/2024: The Taliban in Afghanistan have closed one of the last remaining loopholes in their ban on education for older girls and women by forbidding them from attending institutions offering medical education. In September 2021, the Taliban stopped girls from attending secondary school beyond sixth grade. In December 2022, they banned girls and women from attending higher education.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Why Russia vetoed UN ceasefire resolution for Sudan
1/12/2024: A British-backed UN Security Council draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in the civil war across Sudan was supported by 14 of the 15 Council members but vetoed by Russia. The UK’s foreign minister called the veto a “disgrace.”
Source: PassBlue
Call for climate reparations at the International Court of Justice
28/11/2024: The historic hearings on climate change at the International Court of Justice may help advance the case for climate reparations. The Court has a unique opportunity to affirm that accountability for climate damage is a matter of obligation and justice — not charity.
Source: Climate Home News
What was decided at the COP29 climate summit in Baku?
27/11/2024: The UN summit’s outcomes were contested and widely seen as inadequate to tackle the urgency of the climate crisis. From a controversial climate finance deal to a new global carbon market, here are the main outcomes.
Source: Climate Home News
COP29 failed Bangladesh and the global south
27/11/2024: A policy analyst from Christian Aid in Bangladesh explains why the COP29 outcome fails to remedy the climate injustice suffered in her country and others. The promise that rich countries will provide $300 billion per annum of climate finance is insufficient to deliver the transition to a low carbon future.
Source: Devex
Internal displacement in Africa triples in 15 years
26/11/2024: Africa hosts 35 million internally displaced people, nearly half of the global total, according to a new report from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Most displacement is driven by rising levels of conflict and violence, concentrated in just five countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan.
Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
Verdicts from Africa on the “shameful” COP29 climate talks
25/11/2024: A panel of African experts, negotiators, and activists offer their reaction to the "finance" COP which was supposed to reset the target for financial support from the richest countries.
Source: African Arguments