The refugee crisis is one that will continue to plague Middle Eastern and European countries for years to come. Given that the ongoing violent conflicts are likely to intensify rather abate, and due to climate change coupled with poverty in the countries of origin, the prospect of dealing with this crisis in any effective way is not promising.
#Refugees #RefugeeCrisis #Migration #HumanRights #MiddleEast #Europe
Algerian authorities have been waging a ruthless assault on basic human freedoms, including the freedom of religion and belief, as well as the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Members of a religion other than Sunni Islam are not free to practice their beliefs: dozens of Protestant churches have been closed, and members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light are being targeted by the state. Meanwhile, the government of Algeria is silencing pro-democracy voices, stifling dissent and anyone who is critical of the government. Hundreds of human rights defenders and protesters have been put in prison for nothing more than exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly. In March 2022, a group of five young activists exposed the torture and attempted rape of a 15-year-old boy while he was in police custody. The authorities responded with bogus accusations, such as ‘publishing fake news,’ and ‘defaming public institutions and the judiciary’ – and the young men were sentenced to two years in prison. Critics and dissidents have been subjected to torture and various forms of ill-treatment – for example, anti-corruption activist and former military officer Mohamed Benhlima, who exposed the corruption high-ranking Algerian military officials, was held in solitary confinement, tortured, and not allowed to receive food, clothes, and books from the outside. As Nassera Dutour, President of the Coalition of Families of the Disappeared in Algeria, observed: “It is imperative that UN experts, supported by the international community, stand up for those fighting for human rights in the country.”
#Algeria #NorthAfrica #MENA #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom #Democracy #Activism
According to a 2023 UNICEF report, unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene kills approximately “400,000 children under the age of 5 each year, or 1,000 every day.” The report also points out that nearly 150 million children are compelled to practice open defecation. In fact, in India alone roughly 594 million people (48 percent of the population) practices open defecation. “With 44 percent of mothers disposing their children’s feces in the open, there is a very high risk of microbial contamination (bacteria, viruses, amoeba) of water which causes diarrhea in children.” This is not only a major sanitation issue: women and girls especially “face shame and a loss of personal dignity and safety risk if there is no toilet at home.” A 2023 study found that “Despite the availability of public toilets, some people continue to prefer defecating in the open due to misconceptions about the health benefits of open fields over latrines.” To adequately address the issue it is not only enough to increase accessibility but to promote behavioral change and “raise awareness about the importance of proper sanitation and hygiene practices.”
#Sanitation #WASH #Hygiene
Deforestation is happening in many places around the world. But we see its greatest toll in countries such as Brazil, which lost nearly 1.7 million hectares between 2015-2020. According to netzeroprofessional.com, “Brazil has lost more forestry than any other country” – in fact, no other country even comes close to the levels of deforestation that we find in Brazil. India is the country with the second highest rate globally: it has lost 668,400 hectares over the last five years. Palm oil cultivation in Indonesia led to the destruction of 650,000 hectares of forests, which makes it the country with the third-highest loss in the world. There are many countries where we have witnessed alarming increases in the rate of deforestation in recent years – India coming in first, followed by Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique. Not only is deforestation destroying habitats and ecosystems, it is also one of the biggest contributors to climate change and global warming: trees store and absorb carbon dioxide, and when forests are cut down they release large amounts of that carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As the Swiss-based World Wide Fund for Nature observes: “Forest loss and damage is the cause of around 10% of global warming. There’s simply no way we can fight the climate crisis if we don’t stop deforestation.”
#Deforestation #ClimateChange #Brazil #Amazon #AmazonRainforest
The refugee crisis is one that will continue to plague Middle Eastern and European countries for years to come. Given that the ongoing violent conflicts are likely to intensify rather abate, and due to climate change coupled with poverty in the countries of origin, the prospect of dealing with this crisis in any effective way is not promising.
#refugees #refugeecrisis #migration #humanrights #middleeast #europe
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Since mid-April, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been battling in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. “At least 10,000 people have been killed and 6.3 million have been displaced across the country while others are crossing to South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, and Egypt,” according to HumAngle. The RSF killed hundreds of people in Sudan’s West Darfur Region in early November. As Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, observed: “Every day, civilians in Sudan are being killed and displaced as the conflict continues to rage; countless lives have been needlessly destroyed in the last six months. Justice and accountability are essential for the protection of civilians. The ongoing lack of accountability for past crimes is one of the root causes of this renewed violence.” More specifically, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported on November 17 that the RSF and its Arab militia allies, “killed hundreds of ethnic Masalit civilians in Ardamata town earlier this month, in yet another ethnically motivated mass attack on non-Arab Masalit civilians in West Darfur in just a few months.” In addition to widespread looting, victims were summarily executed, and burned alive, while women and girls were subjected to sexual violence.
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According to Reuters, NATO has increased its presence in northern Kosovo by 1,000 troops due to the recent string of violent clashes in the region, especially the armed violence on September 24 which ended with one police officer and three gunmen dead. The British troops that have been posted to the Kosovo-Serbia border are assigned to 18-hour shifts to prevent the entry of weapons or armed groups into Kosovo. Peaceful coexistence and mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia is not one of many options, but the only option. Their conflict will not end on a zero-sum basis where one party benefits at the expense of the other, but only on a non-zero-sum basis where both sides mutually benefit to ensure the sustainability of any agreement. Both Serbian President Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti must demonstrate statesmanship and the courage to act, without which both will leave the political scene worse off than when they assumed power. #kosovo #serbia #NATO
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In recent years, significant progress has been achieved worldwide in promoting development. However, hundreds of millions of individuals still endure extreme poverty. While children make up one-third of the global population, they represent half of those struggling to survive on less than $2.15 a day—an estimated 333 million children living in extreme poverty. Children growing up in impoverished conditions often face deficiencies of food, sanitation, shelter, healthcare, and education. Worldwide approximately 1 billion children experience "multidimensional" poverty, lacking basic necessities like nutritious food or clean water. Wealthy countries must increase their support and help countries and regions in need. It is our shared responsibility to extend a helping hand to those in need, ensuring that no one is left behind in the pursuit of a brighter and more inclusive future for all.
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