Proposed US landmine transfers gravely threaten civilians
20/11/2024: The Biden administration’s decision to transfer antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine has been criticised by Human Rights Watch. A majority of the world’s countries rejected landmines decades ago due to their indiscriminate nature. Russia has used antipersonnel landmines widely in Ukraine since its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Hong Kong: 45 democracy advocates harshly sentenced
20/11/2024: A Hong Kong court has harshly sentenced 45 prominent pro-democracy figures for involvement in elections for the then-semi-democratic Legislative Council. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments’ crackdown on the democracy movement violates obligations enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Source: Human Rights Watch
New landmine casualties show need to support Mine Ban Treaty
20/11/2024: The international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines is weakened by the actions of countries such as Russia and Myanmar that are not parties, according to the Landmine Monitor 2024 report. A total of 164 countries have joined the treaty, including all NATO members except the United States.
Source: Human Rights Watch
G20 leaders have agreed: It’s time to tax the rich
20/11/2024: A proposal to tax billionaires is a key feature of the G20 Leaders' Declaration in Rio de Janeiro. It is not yet clear who would be targeted with that tax, what the tax rate would be, or where any additional tax revenue would go. But the hope is that the cash could be channeled toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially as they relate to climate change.
Source: Devex
Big Pharma not moving fast enough to deliver access
19/11/2024: The latest version of the Access to Medicine Index ranks 20 of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies based on how they prioritize access to people in low- and middle-income countries. It finds that while efforts to improve access have accelerated, companies are still not moving fast enough.
Source: Devex
The G20 road map to transform multilateral development banks
19/11/2024: Heads of state at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro have endorsed a plan to make institutions such as the World Bank “better, bigger and more effective.” The framework aims to tackle several challenges, from streamlining the slow, often bureaucratic processes of MDBs, to leveraging private capital to boost resources, to enhancing the role MDBs play in climate change financing.
Source: Devex
Taxing Big Oil would boost UN climate loss and damage fund
18/11/2024: A small tax on just seven of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies could grow the UN Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage by more than 2000% and help address the costs of extreme weather events, according to new analysis published by Greenpeace International and Stamp Out Poverty. The organisations are calling for a long term tax on fossil fuel extraction.
Source: Greenpeace International
The truth behind the Taliban’s brutal Kabul ‘regeneration’ programme
18/11/2024: Satellite imagery, social media footage and resident testimony has revealed a trail of devastation as houses in the Afghan capital have been demolished for development. The six most-affected districts included areas populated by minority communities.
Source: The Guardian
World Health Organization presses for funding despite Trump 2.0
18/11/2024: World Health Organizatino officials expect to secure at least half of its $7.1 billion fundraising target — for its work in the next four years — during the G20 summit in Brazil. The agency hopes to sustain its US partnerships despite concerns that, during Donald Trump’s first presidential term, he initiated a US withdrawal from the WHO.
Source: Devex
UN trembles before a second Trump Presidency
15/11/2024: Donald Trump’s return to the White House on January 20 next year may be another calamity for the United Nations—particularly if the second term turns out to be a re-run of his first presidency (2017-2021). Those were difficult years to say the least in terms of US-UN relations.
Source: Inter Press Service