Saturday, June 23, 2018
News and Views from the Global South
Human Rights
Savagery of Rapes of Minors
Rapes of minors surged from 16 per day in 2001 to 46 per day in 2016. As if this was not horrendous enough, their savagery adds to it.In 2016, 43.3% of the total female rape victims were minors. Around 13% of the minor female victims were of age 11 and below. The deceased victim in the Kathua rape case from a nomadic Muslim community was barely eight years old. Her crumpled body was found in a blood-smeared dress in January, 2018. A group of Hindu men lured her into a forest, kidnapped her, drugged her, locked her in a Hindu temple, gang-raped her and then strangled her.
Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals Reach 40,944 in 2018; Deaths Reach 960
IOM, the UN Migration Agency, reports that 40,944 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea through the first 171 days of 2018. That total compares to 84,675 at this time last year, and over 215,997 at this time in 2016.
Senegalese Immigrants Face Police Brutality in Argentina
Senegalese immigrants began to arrive in Argentina in the 1990s and most of them joined the group of street vendors in Buenos Aires and other cities. But in recent months, they have suffered police brutality, denounced as a campaign of racial persecution.
Gaming Disorder: A New Disease Experts say is Hard to Diagnose
The World Health Organization (WHO) has formally added “Gaming Disorder” as a disease recognized by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) in its 11th revision of its official collection of recognized conditions.However, since it is a very new condition, no one is really sure about its extent, its impact or how best to treat it.
EU Urged to Ban Early & Forced Child Marriages
Something historic was initiated at the European Development Days (EDD) in early June: the EDD placed women and girls at the forefront of Sustainable Development. Since its inception in 2006, EDD has become a barometer for ideas in global development.
America First or America Alone?
The United States’ move to withdraw from the Human Rights Council will have “reverberations” throughout the world in years to come, say human rights groups.This week, the U.S. announced its intention to withdraw from the 47-member Human Rights Council, accusing it of bias against Israel.
Finding My Migrant Voice
Bärli Nugent, Assistant Dean, the Juilliard School of Music, New York, reflects on the journey that led to her curating a musical selection for a unique concert presented by the United Nations Migration Agency at the UN Vienna Headquarters on June 28
Countries are Using Domestic Laws to Criminalize Health Care
Ambulance drivers attacked, nurses detained, doctors tortured, pharmacists arrested, dentists facing more than a decade in prison—all for delivering healthcare to people considered enemies of the state.
A Journey from Science to Diplomacy: Rescuing Somali Migrants Stranded in Libya
As the sun begins to rise, 150 migrants welcome their first morning on Somalia’s soil in, what is for some, years and, others, months. Disembarking an IOM, UN Migration Agency, charter flight from Libya, at the end of May 2018 is the final haul of a long and hard journey. It is not the end that they had expected when they had first set out from Somalia. It isn’t Europe but it is home and it is safe.
EU Funds Giant Research Project on Migration
What is the relationship between migration and development? And why do people choose to leave or stay in their home countries? Those are among the questions an international research project will explore.
Chairman of the Geneva Centre: World Society Must Express Greater Solidarity for Refugees Worldwide
Dr. Hanif Hassan Al Qassim, Chairman of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue, has appealed to international decision-makers to express greater solidarity to destitute refugees from the Arab region and to work jointly to address the protracted refugee crisis.
Three Countries Protect Half the World’s New Refugees
Turkey, Bangladesh and Uganda alone received over half of all new refugees last year. Never before has the world registered a larger number of people displaced by war and persecution.
IOM, Mongolian Consular Officers Work Together to Combat Human Trafficking
IOM, the UN Migration Agency, in collaboration with the Consular Department of Mongolia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has organized a pre-departure training on human trafficking for 31 Mongolian consular officers.
Food Sustainability, Migration, Nutrition and Women
We worry about how we can continue to put food on our tables; and yet one-third of food is never eaten, instead being lost or wasted.We worry about eating properly, and yet in many countries , poor nutrition, obesity and micronutrient deficiencies are increasingly common. This trend is taking place in the Americas, Oceania, Asia, Africa and in Europe.
2.5 Million Migrants Smuggled Worldwide, Many Via Social Media
At least 2.5 million migrants were smuggled worldwide in 2016, generating an income for smugglers which ranged between $5.5 billion and $7.0 billion, according to a newly published report “2018 Global Study On Smuggling Of Migrants” by the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Trump is Here to Stay and Change the World
Donald John Trump, 45th and current president of the United States, has been seen in many illustrious circles as an anomaly that cannot last. Well, it is time to look at reality.If we put on the glasses of people who have seen their level of income reduced and are afraid of the future, Trump is here to stay, and he is a result and not a cause.
IOM’s Director General Swing Praises Spain for Bringing 600+ Migrants to Safety
IOM, the UN Migration Agency praises Spain’s action bringing over six hundred migrants stranded on Mediterranean rescue ships to safety.
Ethiopia to Return Land in Bid for Peace with Eritrea
The utterly inconsequential-looking Ethiopian border town of Badme is where war broke out in 1998 between Ethiopia and Eritrea, lasting two years and devastating both countries.
Now is Not the Time to Give up on the People of DRC
After more than 20 years of brutal conflict, few might believe that things could get worse in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). And yet they most dishearteningly are.In the last year, we have witnessed a continuous escalation of violence that has spread to half of the country, endangering millions. Some 2 million children suffer from acute hunger, and the DRC is home to the largest number of displaced people in Africa.
Europe, Sharing the Love?
Even if arrivals of migrants into Italy by sea have decreased between 2017 and 2018 so far, recent events in the Mediterranean rim have strongly drawn attention to the migration issue and a fierce debate is now underway among European countries.
You Are More Powerful than You Think!
Are you overwhelmed by the depressing news coming at you daily? Conflict, forced migrants, famine, floods, hurricanes, extinction of species, climate change, threats of war … a seemingly endless list. It might surprise you, but you can really make a difference on many of these issues.Next Page »
One world, one humanity, now one court to defend its rights. Another step towards universal human rights, but not remotely a step far enough. The United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights more than half a century ago, but that has done little to stop violations the world over, just as the Geneva Convention has not protected prisoners of war enough. Democracy itself and the freedom it presupposes has not been protective enough. This is the century to move from politicisation of human rights towards humanising political ways. IPS keeps an eye on that difficult path.
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