August 2020 — Page 2 of 9 — Human Rights & Charity

UNICEF: Time is of the essence, as water shortages compound desperate situation in Beirut

Rising cases of COVID-19 is complicating an already difficult situation, according to the head of the UNICEF office in Lebanon.

“As COVID-19 cases continue to surge, it is more critical than ever to ensure that children and families whose lives were turned upside down by the explosion have access to safe water and sanitation,” said Yukie Mokuo, UNICEF Lebanon Representative.

“When communities don’t have access to this critical necessity, the risk of water-borne diseases, as well as COVID-19, can skyrocket,” she added.

The situation is particularly distressing for some 300,000 people – including around 100,000 children – whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the blast.

Though public water sustained only minor damage and remains mostly functional, the explosion cut off more than one hundred buildings from the water supply network and damaged the water systems in over 500 others. This compounded an already precarious situation in terms of access to safe water and sanitation in the greater Beirut area.

UNICEF response

In the immediate aftermath of the 4 August explosion, UNICEF along with partners and water authorities assessed the damage to water infrastructure and began responding to pressing needs, supporting repairs where needed.

UNICEF and partners also reconnected over one hundred buildings to the public water system and installed 570 water tanks in damaged ones, trucked water for households, provided water to first responders, and distributed over 4,300 hygiene and 620 baby kits to affected families.

UNICEF is also providing training and resources to equip thousands of young people across Lebanon with the skills they need to help rebuild their country, including training on repairs and maintenance of critical water and sanitation infrastructure.

Ensuring people can wash hands safely, against COVID

Making sure communities can wash hands with soap and safe water is also vital to protect against coronavirus.

“One of our immediate priorities was ensuring that children and families affected, as well as critical frontline responders, had access to safe water,” said Ms. Mokuo, adding:

“Working with the relevant authorities and our partners we’ve been able to reach more than 6,650 children and their families, but there is so much more to do, and time is of the essence.”

Hurricane Laura: Most dangerous hurricane to hit the US this season

While it is difficult to link any individual tropical cyclone to climate change, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) expects to see more powerful storms in future as a result of global warming.

Laura is the seventh named storm to landfall in the US this season, which has just begun what is traditionally its most intense period. It intensified within 24 hours from a Category 1 to a strong Category 4 on the Saffir Simson hurricane scale.

According to news reports, some 1,500 people are being sent into Louisiana for rescue and clean up missions, including troops from the National Guard.

Winds of up to 150 mph caused severe damage, including the death of at least six people, and left half a million homes without power.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards tweeted that the hurricane has left roads flooded and wildlife displaced, warning people to stay vigilant.

Breaking it down

Because storms feed on warm water, and higher water temperatures lead to sea-level rise, an increase in the risk of flooding during high tides and in the event of storm surges follow, WMO explained.

Moreover, warmer air also holds more atmospheric water vapor, which enables tropical storms to strengthen and unleash more precipitation.

“Sea level rise, which very likely has a substantial human contribution to the global mean observed rise…could be causing higher storm surge levels for tropical cyclones that do occur”, Tom Knutson, Chair of the WMO Task Team on Tropical Cyclones and Climate Change said in a statement.

Anthropogenic warming

Anthropogenic warming, which is caused by human activity, accompanied by an increase in atmospheric moisture will likely cause tropical cyclone rainfall rates to increase in the future, WMO pointed out.

“Models project an increase on the order of 10-15 per cent for rainfall rates averaged within about 100 km of the storm for a 2 degrees Celsius global warming scenario,” said Mr. Knutson.

Moreover, it is likely that the intensity of tropical cyclones around the world will increase on average, implying an even larger percentage increase in the destructive potential per storm.

Uncertainty ahead

However, the WMO official flagged that storm size responses to anthropogenic warming are “uncertain”.

While the global proportion of tropical cyclones that reach intense Category 4 and 5 levels will “likely increase due to anthropogenic warming over the next century”, Mr. Knutson questioned “the global number” of Category 4 and 5 storms in future projections since “most modeling studies project a decrease (or little change) in the global frequency of all tropical cyclones combined”.

India urged to lead global push for clean energy, climate action

Delivering the 19th Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture, the UN chief called on India to take the lead in transforming global economic, energy and health systems to save lives, create inclusive economies and avert the threat of climate change.

“India can become a true global superpower in the fight against climate change, if it speeds up its shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” he stated.

With the pandemic putting sustainable development at risk, exposing vulnerabilities that will worsen with climate change, the Secretary-General outlined how switching to clean energy could benefit millions worldwide.

“Investments in renewable energy, clean transport and energy efficiency during the recovery from the pandemic could extend electricity access to 270 million people worldwide – fully a third of the people that currently lack it,” he said.

Furthermore, “these same investments could help create nine million jobs annually over the next three years”, he added.

End fossil fuel subsidies

Mr. Guterres highlighted India’s progress in the renewable energy sector.

The number of workers has risen five-fold since 2015, while last year, spending on solar energy eclipsed coal-fired power generation for the first time.

Despite significant challenges, the South Asian giant has embraced the technology that will power a sustainable future, and is a pioneer in areas such as clean cooking.

However, the UN chief noted that subsidies for fossil fuels, such as coal, are still roughly seven times higher than subsidies for clean energy. The situation is the same in many other parts of the world, something he found “deeply troubling”.

“I have asked all G20 countries, including India, to invest in a clean, green transition as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “This means ending fossil fuel subsidies, placing a price on carbon pollution and committing to no new coal power plants after 2020.”

‘Up in smoke’

Fossil fuels, including coal emissions, create pollution that has severely damaged human health.

Mr. Guterres said eliminating them would result in a rise in life expectancy by 20 months, and prevent some 5.5 million deaths annually worldwide.

Unlike renewable energy, investing in fossil fuels is “bad economics”, he continued, which explains why the world’s largest investors are abandoning coal.

“They see the writing on the wall,” he said. “The coal business is going up in smoke.”

Time for bold leadership

The UN chief said he was inspired to learn about a “promising trend” in India.

During the pandemic, the proportion of renewable energy rose from 17 per cent to 24 per cent, while coal-fired power declined from 76 per cent to 66 per cent.

Mr. Guterres underlined that renewable energy must continue to grow, and coal use progressively phased out.

“Today is the time for bold leadership on clean energy and climate action. I call on India to be at the helm of the ambitious leadership we need,” he said.

Honouring a climate action pioneer

The Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture has been delivered annually since 2002, in honour of the late Indian industrialist and founder of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), a think tank in New Delhi.

The Secretary-General described Mr. Seth as “a climate action pioneer” who stressed that his country must end its reliance on fossil fuels and instead invest in solar power.

“India has all the ingredients for exerting the leadership at home and abroad envisioned by Darbari Seth,” he said.

New killings after Jacob Blake shooting reveal chronic problems still to be overcome in US

According to reports, a 17-year-old male youth has been arrested and charged with killing two people and injuring others in the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, earlier this week.

US authorities said that the father of five was shot seven times in the back, sparking a public outcry and boycotts of major sporting events by athletes.

Not the first time

Briefing journalists in Geneva, OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville condemned the latest violence as part of a “long-running problem”, that included the killing in police custody of George Floyd earlier this year, “and many others”.

“We would see this as yet another unfortunate example of insufficient and lacks gun control measures in the United States, which is something we have spoken about several times before,” he said. “It should be inconceivable that you have a 17-year-old running around with an automatic rifle.”

The death of 46-year-old Mr. Floyd on 25 May in the Minneapolis was captured on video, while a police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes, sparking worldwide protests, including by the Black Lives Matter movement.

Despite commitments to reform by police forces following the killing of Mr. Floyd, Mr. Colville maintained that these “clearly haven’t been delivered…and the killings are continuing”.

Guns readily available

Although it was encouraging that a serious grassroots movement had mobilized “to stop this and change this”, Mr. Colville maintained that it was hard to see how it might be successful, “when guns are so readily available and especially assault rifles”.

“There’s clearly a huge amount of work to be done within individual police departments and police officer to change the situation, but it’s obviously not going to happen overnight” the OHCHR spokesperson continued.

“But one would hope that with the amount of attention given to all these cases this year that the cases would start to filter through to the local police force and that their commanders would really take a grip on their men and women and try to prevent any more such incidents.”

Mr. Colville said that video footage of Mr. Blake’s shooting appeared to show that excessive force had been used.

“It does not appear that the law enforcement officers abided by the international standard of intentional use of lethal force with a firearm,” he said, describing the shooting as a “painful reminder of how African Americans continue to be exposed to differentiated and heightened risk, when engaging with law enforcement bodies in the United States.”

UN rights chief urges DR Congo to protect Nobel laureate Mukwege amid death threats

Dr. Mukwege is best known for helping thousands of women victims of sexual violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

For decades, he has also called for perpetrators to be brought to justice and advocated against the use of rape as a weapon of war.

He survived an assassination attempt at his home in 2012.

Surge in threats

In Geneva, spokesperson for the UN rights chief, Rupert Colville, said that the recent surge of threats against him had been conveyed via social media and in phone calls to him and his family.

These were likely connected with Dr. Mukwege’s condemnation of rights abuses linked to longstanding violence in the highlands of South Kivu, where mainly Banyamulenge herders have been involved in conflict against the Babembe, Bafuliru, and Banyindu communities.

This fighting has been characterized by the involvement of multiple armed groups, “both local and foreign”, Mr. Colville said.

“The threats appear to be more linked to his advocacy, you know his very robust positions taken on accountability, on the protection of women, as a result of what he’s seen in decades in hospital,” he said.

“In terms of protection…this is a difficult part of the country, it’s a very, very violent region, so that is part of our call to the authorities that they absolutely make sure they do provide really comprehensive physical protection to Dr. Mukwege and to the rest of his team, so that they can continue their vital work on which so many women depend.”

In a statement, Ms. Bachelet said that Dr. Mukwege’s life “seems to be at serious risk”, before welcoming President Felix Tshisekedi’s public commitment to ensure his security.

‘A true hero’

“Dr. Mukwege is a true hero – determined, courageous and extremely effective,” the UN rights chief insisted. “For years, he helped thousands of gravely injured and traumatized women when there was nobody else to take care of them, and at the same time he did a great deal to publicize their plight and stimulate others to try to grapple with the uncontrolled epidemic of sexual violence in the eastern DRC.”

Ms. Bachelet also called for an effective, prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the threats made against him.

“It is essential those responsible are brought to justice and that the truth is known, both as a means to protect Dr. Mukwege’s life, but also as a deterrent to others who attack, threaten or intimidate medical workers and human rights defenders who, like him, work for the benefit of the Congolese people, often in exceptionally difficult circumstances,” she maintained.

The UN rights chief also underscored the need for all relevant authorities to condemn the threats.

In order to tackle the problem in the longer term, she urged the Congolese authorities to adopt the draft law on the protection and regulation of the activity of human rights defenders “in a form that is fully consistent with international standards”.

Transitional justice call

Efforts should also be stepped up to prevent further human rights violations and abuses in eastern DRC, Ms. Bachelet continued, with “concrete steps to establish transitional justice processes that grant thousands of victims of successive conflicts their right to justice, truth, and reparations.”

Dr. Mukwege, a surgeon and gynaecologist,was awarded the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize after decades of work at Panzi hospital in Bukavu – which he founded – helping women who’d endured serious sexual abuse.

He was also a firm supporter of a 2010 report by the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR, which chronicled hundreds of serious human rights violations and abuses in the eastern DRC between 1993 and 2003, in many cases identifying the groups and entities allegedly responsible for perpetrating the crimes.

The UN-led mapping exercise followed the discovery of three mass graves in the eastern part of DR Congo in late 2005.

The Office’s final 550-page report contained descriptions of 617 alleged violent incidents in the DRC between March 1993 and June 2003.

Each of the incidents pointed to the possible commission of gross violations of human rights and/or international humanitarian law, the UN human rights office said.

Only incidents backed up by at least two independent sources featured in the report. Incidents that could not be corroborated by a separate source were not included in the report, serious as they may have been.

New guidelines aim to dismantle barriers blocking people with disabilities from access to justice

The document will help countries dismantle the barriers that block people with disabilities from being able to use justice systems worldwide.

“The guidelines respond to the challenges that people with disabilities face in accessing justice on an equal basis with others,” said Catalina Devandas, UN special rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities.

“Many barriers prevent that access. Just to name a few, court houses or police stations are often not accessible, or court officials and police officers may not think that those with disabilities can take part in legal proceedings or have the capacity to instruct a lawyer. We want to help countries dismantle obstacles and parallel systems that prevent access to the existing guarantees and rights by all people.”

A ‘practical handbook’ for countries

The International Principles and Guidelines on Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities are the product of joint work by the three UN bodies that deal with disability rights.

They were developed in collaboration with disability rights experts, organizations of people with disabilities, States, academics, and others.

“These guidelines are an important contribution to international human rights law, and are an indispensable contribution to achieving justice for all,” said Danlami Basharu, chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

“For the first time, countries will have a practical handbook on how to design and implement justice systems that provide equal access to justice for people with disabilities, regardless of their role in the process, to bring them into line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other international standards.”

Principles for inclusion

The guidelines outline 10 principles of access to justice for people with disabilities – such as “people with disabilities have the right to participate in the administration of justice on an equal basis with others” – and detailed steps for implementation.

They have been endorsed by the International Disability Alliance and the International Commission of Jurists.

“We believe we have supplied one pillar that many justice systems were lacking – disability inclusion,” said María Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility.

“This should be a valuable tool for everyone in the justice system. We want to ensure that people with disabilities are part of the system in the same way they are part of society, that they can fully exercise the human rights they have by virtue of being human.”

About UN rapporteurs

The Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. The experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

Myanmar: Upcoming elections an opportunity to take a new inclusive democratic path

According to James Rodehaver, Senior Human Rights Officer based in the OHCHR South-East Asia Regional Office, three years after the violence that forced over 700,000 Rohingyas from their homes in northern Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh, “conditions inside the country have deteriorated and little has been done to create viable conditions for their safe return.”

Meanwhile, a new conflict has flared between Myanmar’s security forces and the Arakan Army, which has negatively impacted civilians throughout the country’s central and northern Rakhine state, including the members of the minority Rohingya community.

“It is crucial if the vote in November is to be inclusive, free and fair that Myanmar respect the right of all its people to participate fully and equally in the electoral processes and in all aspects of public life,” Mr. Rodehaver said in a news release.

Ensure meaningful participation in elections

The November elections also offer the chance to restore political rights to the Rohingya, who were able to participate in all votes until 2010, said the news release.

However, they were excluded from the 2015 ballot, and at least four Rohingya politicians who sought to stand in the upcoming vote have had their applications rejected. This continuing process of disenfranchisement effectively prevents Rohingya from enjoying their fundamental rights.

“The Government should take immediate steps to ensure that the Rohingya can meaningfully participate in the forthcoming election, both as candidates and as voters,” said Mr. Rodehaver.

The OHCHR official also called on the authorities demonstrate real commitment to the process of returns for displaced Rohingya and to take necessary measures to address the root causes that led to the crisis, including amending the 1982 Citizenship Law to restore their nationality and ensuring accountability for crimes committed against them.

A complex refugee crisis

The complex Rohingya refugee crisis erupted in August 2017, following attacks on remote police outposts in northern Myanmar by armed groups alleged to belong to the community. These were followed by systematic counter attacks against the minority, mainly Muslim, Rohingya, which human rights groups, including senior UN officials, have said amounted to ethnic cleansing.

In the weeks that followed, over 700,000 Rohingya – the majority of them children, women and the elderly – fled their homes for safety in Bangladesh, with little more than the clothes on their backs.

Prior to the mass exodus, well over 200,000 Rohingya refugees were sheltering in Bangladesh as a result of earlier displacements from Myanmar.

‘Widespread’ COVID-19 transmission, limited testing, deepen Syria’s humanitarian woes

“Reports of healthcare facilities filling up, of rising numbers of death notices and burials, all seem to indicate that actual cases far exceed official figures,” Ramesh Rajasingham told the UN Security Council.

Briefing the 15 member body on the humanitarian situation in Syria, he also stressed& that humanitarian assistance must be sustained in the face of growing food insecurity, although a surge in the price of food is easing as the value of the Syrian pound stabilizes.

In the first half of 2020, humanitarian operations reached an average of 7.2 million people each month, with food assistance being expanded to reach vulnerable people in COVID-19 quarantine centres.

Mr. Rajasingham also noted the challenge of delivering humanitarian aid since the Council adopted resolution 2355 (2020) on 11 July, which reduced to one – Bab al-Hwa – the number of authorized crossing points for aid on the Turkey-Syria border.

A UN convoy bound for northern rural Aleppo set off on 28 July via Bab al-Hwa took 11 hours to reach its destination after many delays, lack of approvals from various parties and poor road conditions, he said

Travel time from the now-closed Bab al-Salam crossing point would have been about two hours, he added.

‘Widespread’ COVID-19 transmission

Mr. Rajasingham said that official COVID-19 figures suggest that community transmission of the coronavirus is widespread in Syria, with the majority of the 2,440 cases confirmed by the Ministry of Health not traceable to any known source.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday put the number of COVID-19 deaths in Syria at 98, with 75 new cases reported.

Mr. Rajasingham, who is also UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, emphasized that rising patient numbers are putting more pressure on Syria’s fragile healthcare system.

“Many are reluctant to seek care at medical facilities, leading to more severe complications when they do arrive,” he told Council members, meeting via video-teleconference due to the pandemic.

Health workers still lack sufficient personal protective equipment and several facilities have suspended operations due to a lack of capacity and staff falling sick from the coronavirus, he said.

The situation is particularly worrying at the Al Hol camp for refugees and internally displaced persons in north-east Syria, where WHO is leading an interagency mission this week to see how healthcare there can be improved despite COVID-19.

Al Hol shelters more than 65,000 people, 94 per cent of them women and children, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says. Between 6 and 10 August, eight children under the age of five died in the camp from various causes, Mr. Rajasingham said.

He also said that COVID-19 is impacting some commercial supply chains in Syria – together, to varying degrees, the devastating explosion in the Port of Beirut on 4 August.

Turning to the protection of civilians in Syria, nine years after opposition to President Bashar al-Assad’s government turned into all-out war, Mr. Rajasingham said that a ceasefire in the north-west is largely holding, “but it would hardly seem that way for civilians in frontline areas”.

Hostilities increased in July and August, with more shelling reported in Idleb, Lattakia, Hama and Aleppo governorates, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recording at least 10 civilian deaths – including three children – in the so-called “de-escalation area”.

Explosive remnants litter the country

Every month is also seeing a steady stream of civilian casualties due to explosive hazards that contaminate large parts of Syria, he said. Many of those killed or injured are children playing or picking through rubble.

He pointed to an incident on 12 August when a group of around 70 people, including families with children, travelling with local smugglers, walked into an area littered with explosive remnants outside Aleppo.

“They triggered explosions that, in turn, drew fire from armed actors in the area,” he said. “While some bodies of the victims have been recovered, it is unclear how many were killed.”

UN rights expert calls for ceasefire, commitment from all stakeholders to ensure free elections in Central African Republic

“For the elections to be peaceful, they must be preceded by a ceasefire and cooperation among all sides,” said Yao Agbetse, Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic. “Time is running short and there is much to be done in the four months before polling day.”

With a potential run-off vote and National Assembly polling slated for early 2021, he called on armed groups to immediately lay down their arms, as agreed under the 2019 Peace Agreement, to fully cooperate in the conduct of elections – and to respect the results.

Space for dialogue

Noting that the Government controls less than 50 per cent of the country,Mr. Agbetse insisted on reactivating the existing inclusive dialogue space, where the Government, the opposition and civil society groups can agree on essential issues.

“This kind of discussion is a prerequisite for restoring the confidence of the various actors in a peaceful way towards free and transparent elections that respect human rights and fundamental freedoms,” he assured.

He warned that any recourse to violence entails the responsibility of the perpetrators, principals and accomplices – including before the Special Criminal Court or the International Criminal Court.

“I call on the guarantors and facilitators of the Peace Agreement and the Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council to take diligent action against the armed groups in order to guarantee the security of persons and property throughout the national territory,” he said.

For its part, Government must do its utmost to ensure inclusive, free, credible and transparent elections, he said, stressing that fair access to public media is an indispensable component of the democratic exercise.

A voice for refugees, displaced persons

Offering context, Mr. Agbetse recalled that more than 1.1 million people of the country’s five million were forced to flee during the civil war. Authorities therefore must ensure that refugees and displaced people will be able to vote.

International support is also needed. “I call on the international community to continue and strengthen its support for the organization of this and future presidential and legislative elections in the country,” he said.

Human rights are the ‘means by which governments can successfully beat pandemics’, says UNAIDS chief

Interruptions of HIV services, harassment, abuse, arrests, deaths and a failure to respect human rights in the early responses to the pandemic have underscored how trust has been undermined, individuals harmed, and public health responses set back, according to a new UNAIDS report launched on Thursday.

“It is a myth that there can be a trade-off between human rights and public health”, said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Human rights are not only intrinsic, but they are also the very means by which Governments can successfully beat a pandemic”.

Snapshot report

The report, Rights in a pandemic – Lockdowns, rights and lessons from HIV in the early response to COVID-19, draws attention to the experiences of some of the most marginalized communities between February until mid-May.

It flags violations that include instances of police using rubber bullets, tear gas and whips to enforce physical distancing.

Moreover, people have been arrested, detained and fined for not wearing masks – with those unable to pay the fines left in jail.

Movement restrictions

The report also highlights the impact of movement restrictions, such as doctors being arrested and detained for travelling to and from health facilities and spotlights pregnant women dying because of austere restrictions preventing them from reaching health-care services – some while walking to hospital.

One account details a motorcycle taxi-driver being beaten to death by police after taking a woman in labour to hospital during curfew hours.

Government action needed

Safety during lockdowns has been a major concern, particularly for people most affected by HIV, including sex workers, whose lost income were largely not eligible for financial support.

In many countries, gender-based violence has increased by 40–70 per cent. And under gendered lockdown policies, transgender people have been harassed and arrested for leaving their home on the “wrong day”.

As UNAIDS has repeatedly stated, violence against key populations and women and girls increases vulnerability to HIV.

Rights in a pandemic calls on Governments to take proactive measures to ensure that people, particularly those in vulnerable groups, can access HIV treatment and prevention services; designate and support essential workers, including community-led organizations; and implement measures to prevent and address gender-based violence.

Treatment disruptions

The report revealed that in 10 of the 16 countries reviewed, HIV prevention and treatment services were disrupted, with some registering reductions in medicine collections of up to 20 per cent in various areas.

We have a commitment to stand up for the most vulnerable even in the tough environment COVID-19 has put us in — UN rights chief

There were multiple reports of people living with HIV not having enough antiretroviral medicine for a lockdown of more than 60 days as well as others of people having abandoned their HIV treatment due to a lack of food.

‘Stand up’ for vulnerable

UNAIDS stressed that the HIV pandemic must not be forgotten during this crisis.

“COVID-19 is likely to be with us for a very long time”, said Ms Byanyima. “We have a commitment to stand up for the most vulnerable even in the tough environment COVID-19 has put us in”.

The report builds on Rights in the time of COVID-19, released by UNAIDS in March, which urged countries to take a human rights approach in responding to COVID-19 – in line with best practices from 40 years of responding to HIV.

The UNAIDS chief concluded by flagging that Rights in a pandemic will be used to convene Governments, communities and partners to “open a dialogue and to find a way forward to reform bad laws, policies and practices and to protect human rights”.