September 23, 2022 No comments
Canada braces for Hurricane Fiona after a week of lashing wind and rain in Caribbean
INTERNATIONAL, 23 September 2022, Climate and Environment - After lashing parts of Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands with 140 kilometres-per-hour winds, Hurricane Fiona is expected to make landfall in Canada late Friday and Saturday, the UN said. “Fiona is expected to affect portions of Atlantic Canada as a powerful hurricane-force cyclone…significant impacts from high winds, storm surge and heavy rainfall are likely,” said World Meteorological Organization (WMO) spokesperson Clare Nullis. ‘Surf and rip’ “Life-threatening surf and rip” currents in the next few days are also expected along much of the east coast of the United States, the Bahamas, Bermuda and Canada’s east coast, the UN agency noted. At least five deaths have reportedly been attributed to the hurricane, which barrelled into Puerto Rico last Sunday....
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September 23, 2022 No comments
War crimes have been committed in Ukraine conflict, top UN human rights inquiry reveals
INTERNATIONAL, 23 September 2022, Human Rights - Almost seven months to the day since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, UN-appointed independent human rights investigators said that war crimes have indeed been committed in the conflict. The finding came in the first report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which was set up in March this year, at the request of Human Rights Council Member States. Much of the Commission’s work focused on investigations in the regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Sumy, where allegations of the most serious rights violations were made against Russian, or Russian-backed forces, early in the war. Thorough investigation Commission chairperson Erik Møse said that investigators visited 27 towns and settlements and interviewed more than 150 victims and witnesses. They also inspected “sites of...
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September 23, 2022 No comments
Half of Sudan’s most vulnerable children could die without aid
INTERNATIONAL, 23 September 2022, Humanitarian Aid - The situation for Sudan’s most vulnerable children is so desperate that half of the most severely malnourished youngsters are expected to die without urgent humanitarian intervention, UN agencies said on Friday. “As we speak today, 650,000 kids are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. If not treated, half of them will die,” said UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Sudan, Mandeep O Brien, underscoring what veteran aid workers have called an unprecedented crisis. Spiralling recent problems in Sudan have their roots in a military coup in October 2021 that prompted a freeze in international funding for aid operations and which has forced UN relief teams to cut rations in half, in some cases. Ongoing political “tumult” has also weakened State support structures for struggling...
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September 23, 2022 No comments
Ukraine refugees: Eager to work but need greater support
INTERNATIONAL, 23 September 2022, Migrants and Refugees - Refugees from Ukraine are eager to work in their host countries but need additional support to do so, and to ensure their inclusion in the communities where they are staying, according to a new survey published on Friday by UN refugee agency, UNHCR. Lives on Hold: Intentions and Perspectives of Refugees from Ukraine, is based on 4,800 responses from people who have fled the brutal war in their homeland and are now living in countries in Europe and beyond. The survey was conducted between August and September. Staying put for now Seven months after the start of the conflict, Ukrainian refugees remain grateful for the warm reception that they have received across Europe, and most plan to stay...
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September 23, 2022 No comments
Ireland: Rights experts call for redress for 50 years of systemic racism in childcare institutions
INTERNATIONAL, 23 September 2022, Human Rights - UN-appointed independent human rights experts on Friday called on Irish authorities to provide adequate redress for victims of racial discrimination and system racism in Irish childcare institutions, stretching over more than 50 years. Citing information received, 10 experts issued a joint statement saying that systemic racism in childcare institutions between the 1940s and 1990s, has “resulted in the higher institutionalization rate of children of African and Irish descent”. During their prolonged time there, children were exposed to heightened risk of corporal punishment, sexual, physical and verbal abuse, with lifelong consequences, including infringing their right to enjoy the highest standard of physical and mental health. Some of them were also subjected to vaccine trials. Exchanging letters Despite welcoming the Irish Government’s Action Plan to...
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