In February 2008, Israel’s Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai warned that if Hamas continued firing rockets, they would bring upon themselves a ‘bigger shoah,’ the word used by Israelis to refer to the Nazi genocide or holocaust. This statement came in the wake of attacks on Gaza which left 32 Palestinians dead, including eight children, the youngest a six-month-old baby. These regular attacks, combined with a blockade which deprived Palestinians in Gaza of food, fuel, potable water, medicines and educational materials, was the slow-motion shoah which had been taking place up to December 27. The full-scale bombing which began on that date is surely the ‘bigger shoah’ promised by Vilnai, and, according to Israeli reports, it was being planned as long back as February.
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In a powerful victory for the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 66 nations at the UN General Assembly supported a groundbreaking statement confirming that international human rights protections include sexual orientation and gender identity. It is the first time that a statement condemning rights abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people has been presented in the General Assembly.
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As the world marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a new report from The New America Foundation finds that U.S. arms transfers are undermining human rights, weakening democracy and fueling conflict around the world.
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Shoes are a weapon of the masses. The fact is that most do not have the means to defend against their foreign invaders equipped with superior American-made weaponry. Shoes, like stones and most other projectiles used by people under occupation are not about defeating or causing physical damage to the enemy. It is a symbolic act, and one filled with anger, like all of us at one point have thrown something during a fit. It is a clear and simple message from the people to the occupiers that they are not welcome. And it is a message that the occupiers and its media so arrogantly refuse to admit.
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The UN Climate Conference in Poznan, Poland failed to achieve any breakthrough towards a global climate deal – a sign not merely of bad timing, but of a fundamentally flawed system that takes no account of climate justice. From binding global emissions targets to the limits of the carbon market, none of the main issues tabled at Poznan were resolved – and the more pressing discussion on how to leave fossil fuels in the ground went entirely untouched.
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Participants of a Conference on Ecological Agriculture: Mitigating Climate Change, Providing Food Security and Self-Reliance for Rural Livelihoods in Africa called for the promotion and implementation of ecological agriculture in the continent. This is because ecological agriculture holds significant promise for increasing the productivity of Africa’s smallholder farmers, with consequent positive impacts on food security and food self-reliance, as well as has environmental benefits, including allowing adaptation to and mitigation of climate change.
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Selected news
World Peace and Security
- Fri Jan 09 2009
US weaponry facilitates killings in Gaza
The devastating Israeli firepower, unleashed largely on Palestinian civilians in Gaza during two weeks of fighting, is the product of advanced US military technology.
Source:
IPS
Human Rights
/World Peace and Security
- Fri Jan 09 2009
Gaza: a humanitarian and protection crisis unfolding
In its latest Protection of Civilians Weekly Report, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) denounced there is no safe space in the Gaza Strip—no safe haven, no bomb shelters, and the borders are closed and civilians have no place to flee (pdf).
Source:
OCHA
World Peace and Security
- Wed Jan 07 2009
Poverty will devastate Palestinian people if there is not an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) condemns the prolonged border blockade, the on-going air and ground attacks on Gaza and missile attacks on Israel.
Source:
GCAP
INSouth embodies an understanding, from a South perspective, of the new and emerging issues in the international arena, and the challenges and opportunities they pose for the South.
Migrants are commonly seen as both unwanted intruders and powerless victims, but Laura Agustin own ideas work to break down this duality and think about power in different ways. Laura Agustín writes as a lifelong migrant and sometime worker in both nongovernmental and academic projects about sex, travel and work.
