Amnesty calls for global action on Myanmar coup
30/1/2023: Amnesty International is calling for increased global action and solidarity ahead of the anniversary of the 2021 coup in Myanmar. The military’s onslaught against anyone perceived to be opposed to its rule has caused widespread human rights violations.
Source: Amnesty International
ICC authorizes resumed Philippines investigation
27/1/2023: Judges at the International Criminal Court have authorized the resumption of its investigation into alleged crimes against humanity in the Philippines. The ICC’s action is an important step toward accountability for the “drug war” killings during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Asia’s response to US trashing of rules-based international trade
23/1/2023: The end of 2022 left no doubt that the Biden administration has sustained US policy to undermine the rules-based international trading system. What should the rest of the world do, especially the heavily trade dependent economies in Asia?
Source: East Asia Forum
Africa objects to US chairing UN climate fund
26/1/2023: African board members have raised an objection to the nomination of a US official to jointly lead the UN flagship Green Climate Fund. The US has contributed just $1 billion to the fund in its 12-year history, compared to $9bn from EU countries and $3bn from Japan.
Source: Climate Home News
Is the EU losing the fight for human rights in Asia?
24/1/2023: The European Union is a key investor and trading partner of most states in the Southeast Asia region. But many of these countries have poor reputations for human rights and the EU's habit of criticizing governments over human rights doesn't go down too well.
Source: DW
Delivering on our promise of universal education
24/1/2023: On the International Day of Education we should be concerned that almost 700 million children and adolescents worldwide cannot read. That’s more than 8% of the global population. World leaders will meet in February, aiming to raise $1.5 billion for education over the next four years.
Source: Inter Press Service
Richest 1% are winners in global wealth since 2020 crisis
16/1/2023: An Oxfam report finds that the richest 1% of the world’s population grabbed nearly two-thirds of all new wealth created since 2020. The number and wealth of billionaires has doubled over the last ten years.
Source: Oxfam International
Africa’s vast arable land underutilized for food security
16/1/2023: UN data shows that Africa is home to an estimated 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land. Experts argue that pitting food crops for domestic markets against cash crops for export is not the right conversation to have.
Source: Inter Press Service
Germany calls for special Ukraine tribunal for war crimes
16/1/2023: Germany's Foreign Minister has called for a special international tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Although the International Criminal Court has sent a team to Ukraine, its jurisdiction is questionable because Russia does not recognise the Court.
Source: DW
China’s population falls for first time since 1961
17/1/2023: China's population fell last year, a historic turn that is expected to mark the start of a long period of decline in its citizen numbers. The largest drop since the last year of China's Great Famine lends weight to predictions that India will become the world's most populous nation this year.
Source: CNA