Authorities in Burkina Faso must conduct a full and independent investigation into the recent latest deadly attack on civilians, where score of people are killed in a village near the border with Mali, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred on Thursday when armed men in uniform encircled Karma village, located in northern Yatenga province, and randomly shot at people. At least 150 civilians were killed, and many more wounded, according to reports.
#BurkinaFaso: We call for full investigation into the latest horrific killing of civilians & for those responsible to be held to account. Deliberately targeting civilians or individuals not taking direct part in hostilities constitutes a war crime https://t.co/M7OChdFIQ0
The attackers – allegedly members of the defence and security forces, accompanied by paramilitary auxiliaries known as the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP) – then proceeded to loot homes, shops and mosques.
OHCHR Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said sources in the nearby town of Ouahigouya reported hearing gunshots at 7am on Thursday, three hours after they had seen men in military fatigues on vehicles and motorcycles headed towards Karma.
“The public prosecutor in Ouahigouya announced on 23 April that 60 people were killed and an investigation into the attack was under way,” she said. “This investigation must be prompt, thorough, independent, and impartial and must result in credible prosecutions, if such gross violations are to end.”
Burkina Faso has been experiencing unrest in recent years, with attacks reportedly carried out by suspected jihadists. Armed group activity, and military operations, have sparked widespread displacement, uprooting some two million people.
Respect rights obligations
The latest bloodshed comes in the wake of an attack on a VDP base on 15 April. Eight soldiers and 32 VDPs were killed, and more than 30 injured, according to the provincial governor.
OHCHR said credible accounts indicate the attackers accused villagers of sheltering members of Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslim (JNIM), an Islamic State group affiliate, and other non-state armed groups.
“We call on all parties to the conflict in Burkina Faso to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including by refraining from targeting civilians and civilian objects. Deliberately targeting civilians or individuals not taking direct part in hostilities constitutes a war crime,” Ms. Shamdasani said.
Wave of attacks
She added that this was one of several other reported attacks on civilians by the armed forces and VDPs in recent months.
At least 50 civilians were killed on 9 November when suspected members of the 14th regiment attacked four villages near Djibo town, capital of Soum province. In another incident, at least 28 people were killed in Nouna town, Kossi Province, on 30-31 December.
“Investigations were announced by the authorities,” Ms. Shamdasani said. “We call on the authorities to publish the findings of these investigations.”
This is the question some activists are asking themselves in Spain The presidency of the Council of the European Union (Consillium) is rotating and changes every six months, with Spain scheduled to take over on 1 July, but there are doubts about this.
A Spanish alliance is calling for Spain to be declared to have serious systemic deficiencies in its rule of law. The request is based on its own complaints and its own report on the Spanish rule of law in 2022.
This Alliance is made up of four associations and a social movement whose activity is related to the denunciation of corruption, especially institutional corruption, and the administrative and judicial defence of the victims of what they call “(institutional) metamafia” or the defence of human rights. The Alliance is called “Denouncers of Judicial Authoritarianism” (Denunciantes del Autoritarismo Judicial).
The promoter and spokesman of the Alliance is Javier Marzal and states that:
"Our set of complaints to the European Commission and the Spanish Supreme Court reflect the Spanish institutional reality and the political and economic danger it poses to the European Union and its member countries".
The first of the complaints cover the first four years of the current Spanish government led by Pedro Sánchez. It was sent on 11 November 2022 to the European Commission and, unusually, the Commission accepted to process it in the Economic Unit F3, registering the complaint in Ares(2022)8174536. The main allegations are the falsification of numerous public documents and the systematic usurpation of Parliament by the government, both to legislate and to increase public spending without control, up to double the maximum spending of the previous government in 2022.
The second of the complaints was sent on 27 January 2023 and it was requested that it also be processed in the Directorate for Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law, and the request was accepted and the complaints were processed in Unit C1 as Ares(2023)1525948. This double processing is also unprecedented.
The set of complaints was completed with the amplifying complaint of 15 April 2023 and Marzal states that: “it is the peacetime complaint with the most brutal facts in the history of Europe”.
The following day the Alliance submitted its report on the Spanish rule of law, requesting that the European Commission declare that Spain has serious systemic deficiencies in its rule of law and that it promote the suspension of the Spanish presidency of the Consillium until Spain demonstrates that it has a rule of law. The Alliance proposes that the suspension be put to a vote in the Council of the European Union (among the presidents of the governments of the Member States) and in the European Parliament.
This request has also been made by two MEPs at the annual plenary session of the European Parliament in January 2023, namely Hungary’s Eniko Gyori and Portugal’s Eniko Gyori. Eniko Gyori was the Hungarian Ambassador to Spain from 2014 to 2019, so she knows the Spanish situation well.
Complaints and petitions regarding the rule of law and the Consillium Presidency have also been sent to several MEPs, the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and several European governments.
This is the first time that individuals and European officials have called for a declaration of dysfunction of the rule of law in an EU Member State and the suspension of the Consillium Presidency.
As a precedent to these actions, it should be noted that the European Commission itself warned Spain in October 2022 that it would not grant any more funds for reconstruction after the Coronavirus Crisis to Spain if the Spanish government did not detail the destination of these funds.
The European Commission was unable to inform the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) about the destination of the Next Generation EU funds transferred to Spain. The President of CONT, Monika Hohlmeier, decided to meet with the Spanish government in Spain to clarify this serious matter. A Commission of ten MEPs, led by Germany’s Hohlmeier, were in Madrid between 20 and 22 February.
At the end of the meetings, she said: “It is impossible to trace the funds to the final beneficiary”, because Spain has not fulfilled its commitment to set up the CoFFEE platform that the Spanish government promised Brussels would be up and running by November 2021.
MEP Susana Solís said: “We don’t know where 3 billion that has already been allocated have gone”. Marzal says that “In Spain, the European Union is strongly criticised for having granted 37 billion euros to Spain, with no guarantees as to the destination of the Next Generation EU funds, and also knowing full well the contempt for the legality of the current government”.
The Coronavirus Crisis and the Next Generation EU funds have led the European Union into a difficult political and economic situation that is beginning to eliminate excessive permissiveness with governments. We must remember that the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) published in 2018 that in the European Union corruption took 4.8% of GDP, in this regard Marzal says that
"The figures of corruption in Spain and in the European Union do not allow us to affirm that the rule of law is working properly, as European officials irresponsibly claim. Corruption threatens to economically collapse several countries and the European Union itself, but the situation is an opportunity to solve this serious problem".
The Alliance’s website www.contraautoritarismojudicial.org contains the denunciations and the report in both English and Spanish. The report is also available in French and German.
Cows in the UK may be given “methane blockers” in a bid to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, the Guardian reports.
The proposal comes after a consultation launched in August on how new types of feed could reduce methane emissions from cows, which are the main cause of emissions from livestock farming.
The Guardian writes that “farmers have welcomed the proposal” but “green campaigners have been skeptical, arguing that the move will fail to tackle other major environmental harms.
They were caused by cattle breeding and the dairy industry, and the measure showed that it was focusing on “technical solutions” and not on reducing consumption.
The Daily Telegraph adds that the extra cost of feeding methane to cows will increase the price of milk for the average consumer by around 33p a year.
“But the cost could be borne by taxpayers if ministers decide to subsidize meals, or by supermarkets in the form of a greenhouse gas levy,” the newspaper said.
A feed additive that reduces emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane from cattle could be the first of its kind to hit the market in Europe after receiving a positive assessment from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), reported Reuters at the end of 2021.
EFSA found that 3-nitrooxypropanol, called Bover, made by Dutch specialty chemicals company DSM ( DSMN.AS ), reduces emissions in dairy cattle and is safe for cows and consumers who drink their milk.
The EU agency provides scientific opinions on safety and efficacy, which the European Commission decides on together with EU governments.
The manufacturer estimates that emissions are reduced by between 20% and 35% without affecting production and describes Bover as the result of a decade of research.
DSM has yet to market the supplement, despite receiving regulatory approval in Brazil and Chile in September. Since then, it has also signed a development agreement with Brazil’s JBS ( JBSS3.SA ), the world’s largest meat processing company.
The additive works by suppressing enzymes that help break down grass and other fibrous plants, producing methane, which cows release by burping. DSM says its product’s impact on three cows was equivalent to taking a family car off the road (immobilizing it).
Agriculture is the largest source of human-caused methane emissions, at 40 percent, according to the United Nations Environment Program, and the lion’s share of these emissions come from cattle farming.
Parliament endorsed the first EU rules to trace crypto-asset transfers, prevent money laundering, as well as common rules on supervision and customer protection.
MEPs approved with 529 votes in favour to 29 against and 14 abstentions, the first piece of EU legislation for tracing transfers of crypto-assets like bitcoins and electronic money tokens. The text –which was provisionally agreed by Parliament and Council negotiators in June 2022- aims to ensure that crypto transfers, as is the case with any other financial operation, can always be traced and suspicious transactions blocked. The so-called “travel rule”, already used in traditional finance, will in future cover transfers of crypto assets. Information on the source of the asset and its beneficiary will have to “travel” with the transaction and be stored on both sides of the transfer.
The law would also cover transactions above €1000 from so-called self-hosted wallets (a crypto-asset wallet address of a private user) when they interact with hosted wallets managed by crypto-assets service providers. The rules do not apply to person-to-person transfers conducted without a provider or among providers acting on their own behalf.
Uniform EU market rules for crypto-assets
Plenary also gave its final green light with 517 votes in favour to 38 against and 18 abstentions, to new common rules on the supervision, consumer protection and environmental safeguards of crypto-assets, including crypto-currencies (MiCA). The draft law agreed informally with the Council in June 2022 includes safeguards against market manipulation and financial crime.
MiCA will cover crypto-assets that are not regulated by existing financial services legislation. Key provisions for those issuing and trading crypto-assets (including asset-reference tokens and e-money tokens) cover transparency, disclosure, authorisation and supervision of transactions. Consumers would be better informed about the risks, costs and charges linked to their operations. In addition, the new legal framework will support market integrity and financial stability by regulating public offers of crypto-assets.
Finally, the agreed text includes measures against market manipulation and to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and other criminal activities. To counter money-laundering risks the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) should set up a public register for non-compliant crypto assets service providers that operate in the European Union without authorisation.
To reduce the high carbon footprint of crypto-currencies, significant service providers will have to disclose their energy consumption.
Quotes by rapporteurs
Stefan Berger (EPP, DE), lead MEP for the MiCA regulation, said: “This puts the EU at the forefront of the token economy with 10 000 different crypto assets. Consumers will be protected against deception and fraud, and the sector that was damaged by the FTX collapse can regain trust. Consumers will have all the information they need and all underlying risks around crypto-assets will have to be monitored. We secured that the environmental impact disclosure will be taken into account by investors in crypto assets. This regulation brings a competitive advantage for the EU. The European crypto-asset industry has regulatory clarity that does not exist in countries like the US.”
Ernest Urtasun (Greens/EFA, ES), co-rapporteur for the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on crypto-asset transfers said: “Currently illicit flows in crypto-assets are moved swiftly across the world, with a high chance of never being detected. The Recast of the TFR will oblige crypto-asset service providers to detect and stop criminal crypto flows and also ensure that all categories of crypto companies are subject to the full set of anti-money laundering obligations. This will close a major loophole in our AML framework and implement in the EU the most ambitious travel rule legislation in the world so far, in full compliance with international standards.”
Co-rapporteur for the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee Assita Kanko (ECR, BE) said: “Parliament and Council have found a fair compromise that will make it safer for people of good will to hold and trade crypto assets. However, it will make it more difficult for criminals, terrorists and sanctions evaders to misuse crypto assets. Any administrative burden on crypto companies and innovators will be more than offset by the fact that we are unifying the currently fragmented European market that has 27 regulatory regimes.”
Next steps
The texts will now have to be formally endorsed by Council, before publication in the EU Official Journal. They will enter into force 20 days later.
In adopting this legislation, Parliament is responding to citizens’ expectations to set safeguards and standards for the use of blockchain technology as expressed in Proposal 35(8) of the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Repression in Russia, in particular the cases of Vladimir Kara-Murza and Alexei Navalny
Following the recent sentencing of Russian-British journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison for having criticised Vladimir Putin’s regime, MEPs strongly condemn this politically motivated conviction and demand his immediate and unconditional release. They make the same demand for Russian opposition activist and 2021 Sakharov Prize laureate Alexei Navalny, who remains incarcerated in a penal colony, as well as all other political prisoners in Russia.
While noting that the health of both Mr Kara-Murza and Mr Navalny is rapidly deteriorating due to mistreatment and lack of proper medical care, MEPs denounce the escalation of human rights violations by the Russian regime and condemn the ongoing crackdown on government critics, human rights defenders and independent journalists in the country. Due to this, Parliament calls on the UN Human Rights Council to conduct an immediate investigation into the acts of inhuman imprisonment, torture and murder of political opponents in Russia.
In addition, MEPs want EU member states in the Council to adopt tough sanctions under the EU’s global human rights sanctions regime against Russian judges, prosecutors and others responsible for the arbitrary prosecutions, detentions and torture in politically motivated trials. They also urge EU countries to provide humanitarian visas and other support to Russian dissidents at risk of political prosecution.
The resolution was adopted by 508 votes in favour, 14 against and 31 abstentions. For more details, the full text will be available here.
The persecution of women’s education activists in Afghanistan
Parliament urges Afghanistan’s de-facto authorities to release all those imprisoned for exercising their fundamental rights, including education activist Matiullah Wesa, the head of the Afghan PenPath organisation. MEPs also demand an end to the persecution of those Afghans who have been resisting the dramatic rollback of women’s rights in the country since the Taliban took over.
The resolution calls on the EU and its member states to exert diplomatic pressure directly or indirectly on Afghanistan’s de-facto authorities to secure the release of all those arbitrarily detained, as well as to increase support to Afghan groups providing education to women and girls.
MEPs also denounce the Taliban ban on secondary and university education for women in Afghanistan, as well as the ban on women from working for non-governmental organisations and the United Nations. In addition, the resolution urges Afghanistan’s de-facto authorities to fully respect the rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls and to restore their full, equal, and meaningful participation in public life and access to education.
The text was adopted by 529 votes in favour, 2 against and 11 abstentions. For more details, full text will be available here. (20.04.2023)
Nigeria: The risk of death penalty of singer Yahaya Sharif-Aminu for blasphemy
MEPs urge the Nigerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release and drop all charges against imprisoned singer Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, as well as all others facing blasphemy allegations. In 2020, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu was sentenced to death by a Sharia Court in Kano State in the north of the country over a song he composed and shared on social media, containing allegedly derogatory comments regarding the Prophet Muhammad.
The resolution states that blasphemy laws are in clear breach of both international human rights obligations and in contradiction with the Nigerian Constitution. Therefore, Parliament urges the Nigerian authorities to uphold human rights throughout the country by ensuring that federal and state law and Sharia do not deny Nigerians protection under the national constitution and international conventions, as well as to repeal blasphemy laws at both federal and state level.
MEPs also urge the government of Nigeria to combat impunity surrounding blasphemy accusations, and to withdraw the use of capital punishment for such supposed crimes, while moving towards full abolition. They finally call on the EU and its member states, as key development partners, to raise individual cases, human rights concerns and blasphemy laws with the Nigerian side.
The resolution was adopted by 550 votes in favour, 7 against and 4 abstentions. For more details, full text will be available here (20.04.2023).
Open Source - Smoke rises following a bombing in the Al-Tayif neighbourhood of Khartoum, Sudan.
The UN Secretary-General on Monday welcomed the temporary relocation of hundreds of staff members and their families from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, amid the continuing intense fighting between rival military factions which has now entered its second week.
Speaking in the UN Security Council, António Guterres said: “Let me be clear: the United Nations is not leaving Sudan. Our commitment is to the Sudanese people, in support of their wishes for a peaceful and secure future. We stand with them, at this terrible time.”
Secretary-General António Guterres addresses the Security Council meeting on Maintenance of international peace and security.
In a statement issued earlier by his Spokesperson, António Guterres said the relocation exercise had been carried out “without incident”, adding that he appreciated the cooperation shown by Sudanese army personnel and paramilitaries from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), allowing safe passage to Port Sudan, on Red Sea.
Continued clashes in #Sudan are leading to acute shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel. Prices of essential items have skyrocketed.
The fighting must stop. People need access to urgent aid and basic services.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his call on the parties to immediately cease hostilities and allow all civilians to evacuate from areas affected by the fighting.”
Mr. Guterres affirmed “the continued dedication” of the whole UN system, “to stand with, and work for, the Sudanese people, in support of their wishes for a peaceful, secure future and a return to the democratic transition.”
The warring factions had worked together since the ousting of long-term ruler Omar al-Bashir, four years ago, carrying out a military coup in a joint operation in 2021 which ended a military-civilian power sharing agreement. In recent months as negotiations over a return to civilian rule advanced, the two factions failed to agree an integration plan, on the road to the formation of a civilian government.
Addressing ambassadors in the Security Council during a general debate on the importance of multilateralism, Mr. Guterres condemned the “indiscriminate” bombing of civilian areas and facilities, calling on members “to exert maximum leverage with the parties to end the violence, restore order, and return to the path of the democratic transition.”
He said he was in “constant contact” with military leaders in Khartoum and has called on them to return to the negotiating table.
“Civilians must be able to access food, water and other essential supplies, and evacuate from combat zones”, he said.
Death toll
In its latest update, the UN humanitarian coordination office OCHA, reported that after nine days of fighting at least 427 people have been killed and more than 3,700 injured.
At least 11 health facilities have been attacked and many are no longer functioning at all in Khartoum and Darfur states.
Relocation and evacuation plan
In a statement issued by the UN Assistance Mission for the transition to civilian rule, UNITAMS, The Special Representative Volker Perthes, said that the relocated staff would be evacuated from Sudan, to neighbouring countries, “where they will work remotely, as a measure to minimize risks to their safety while continuing to provide assistance to the Sudanese people.”
About 700 UN, international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), and embassy staff and their families, have arrived in Port Sudan by road, he continued.
“Also, 43 internationally recruited UN staff and 29 INGO staff have already been evacuated from El Geneina (West Darfur) and Zalingei (Central Darfur) to Chad, while other operations are ongoing or planned.
‘Necessary measures’ to protect Sudanese workers
Mr. Perthes said he and a small number of other internationally recruited staff, would remain in Sudan “and continue to work towards resolving the current crisis”.
He said the UN was “taking the necessary measures to protect Sudanese employees and their families and is looking into all possible ways to support them.”
“We are committed to staying in Sudan and supporting the Sudanese people in every way we can. We will do everything we can to save lives while protecting the safety of our people.”
The debate over drug use legalization has gone on for years, with little progress being made towards a compromise that meets the interests of all sides.
On the one hand, some people support the idea of completely legalizing all drugs or, at the very least, decriminalizing them. However, if drugs are legal, it’s pretty safe to assume that more people will use them since they will be more accessible and won’t carry such a negative connotation. If the goal is to create a drug-free society, it doesn’t seem that making drugs more accessible is the right way to go.
At the other side of the spectrum, some people support the idea of continuing with the existing system, which is to criminalize people for using drugs. However, almost 50 years of War on Drugs policies have completely failed to reduce drug use in America with drug statistics worsening each year, not improving. Meanwhile, the criminalization of drug addiction has resulted in a bloated criminal justice system and the largest prison population in the world.
The goal, of course, must be to reduce drug use and help addicts get better, not criminalize them. But it is unlikely that the current approach or a blanket legalization approach will accomplish this goal. It may be possible that a compromise could create a better state of affairs. Such a system would decriminalize drug use to some extent while still leaving certain penalties in place that would act as incentives for addicts to seek treatment.
Perhaps the solution is neither 100% legalization nor 100% criminalization, rather a carefully constructed system that utilizes some penalties for transgressions while consistently supporting, encouraging, and insisting on treatment.
Some evidence suggests that legalizing cannabis led to more cannabis use in the states that legalized it. Further, some evidence also suggests that the use of other drugs, such as opioids, also went up in states that legalized them. Granted, opioid use has been going up across the nation, which makes it impossible to ascertain if the surge in opioid abuse in those states is the effect of cannabis legalization.
People who oppose legalization also argue that drug use and crime go hand-in-hand. However, this side of the argument is likely nullified in a proposed world where all drugs are legal. Still, drug use is immensely harmful no matter the legal context, and even if drugs were legal, addicts would still suffer, people who use drugs would still die, and addiction would still ruin families.
Conversely, some evidence suggests drug decriminalization and/or legalization makes treatment more available for addicts, reduces drug use, significantly reduces the stigma associated with addiction, and shifts the public focus regarding addiction to one of addiction being a health issue, not a criminal inclination. With the goal being the treatment of addiction and the recovery of those who suffer from drug abuse, a more compassionate and health-oriented approach to addiction would be a beneficial development.
Unfortunately, in places in the U.S. where decriminalization or legalization have been piloted, there have been mixed results at best. The most recent example is in Oregon, which just released disappointing statistics on drug addiction, treatment, and overdoses following one year of drug decriminalization in that state. Summarized, the state did not experience the uptick in addiction treatment or the downward trend in overdoses that it was hoping decriminalization measures would bring about.
It’s almost certain that a program that does not incarcerate drug users yet which compels them to seek treatment would be the ideal compromise. Such an approach would still put forth the notion that drug use is not okay, but it would do so from the perspective that addicts must seek treatment and get better. It would be a compassionate yet firm approach.
Perhaps leaving some penalties in place but altering or lessening them if treatment is completed is the best route possible. It walks the middle ground and neither legalizes drugs nor normalizes their use, nor does it criminalize people for having an addiction. In Oregon, the recent ballot measure to decriminalize drugs seems not to be working because there was no incentive put in place to compel addicts to seek treatment if apprehended. Rather, an approach like Oregon’s model but with a better system for directing addicts into treatment may be the answer.
Programs that Lead to Treatment and Recovery are the Answer
It’s important to have a nuanced discussion about how, on the one hand, heavily criminalizing addiction is not the correct answer, but neither is blanket legalization with no programs in place for helping addicts, and neither is merely incentivizing treatment as a part of the repercussions of using drugs. Rather, a compromise that reduces criminal penalties for drug possession and use while compelling those apprehended with drugs to seek treatment is likely a better approach.
Perhaps the most workable solution would be to set up diversion programs that could send drug offenders to treatment, rather than prison. Such a model has been implemented with some success in places like Seattle, Washington and Baltimore, Maryland.
Addiction is not a problem that goes away, even for those who try very hard to stop using drugs. If you know someone who is using drugs, please do everything you can to get them help.
The rapid melting of Antarctic ice is dramatically slowing the circulation of water in the world’s oceans and could have catastrophic effects on global climate, the marine food chain and even the stability of ice shelves. This is what scientists quoted by Reuters warn.
Ocean circulation, which consists of the movement of denser water toward the sea floor, helps provide heat, carbon, oxygen, and vital nutrients around the globe. However, deep ocean water flows from Antarctica could decline by 40% by 2050, according to a study published in the journal Nature. “It’s stunning that it’s happening so quickly,” said Alan Meeks, a paleoclimatologist at Oregon State University and co-author of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. “The phenomenon seems to be kicking in right now, and that’s breaking news,” he says.
As temperatures rise, fresh water from melting Antarctica enters the ocean, reducing the salinity and density of surface waters and reducing downward flow to the bottom. While previous research has looked in detail at what might happen with a similar disturbed circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean, where Europe could suffer from the melting of the Arctic ice, the mechanism of the melting of the Antarctic ice has so far been poorly studied. The circulation of water in the ocean allows nutrients to rise from the bottom, with the Southern Ocean supporting about three-quarters of the world’s production of phytoplankton, which is at the base of the food chain, said second study co-author Steve Rintoul. “If the downward movement of water near Antarctica is slowed down, the whole circulation will be slowed down, and that will reduce the amount of nutrients that return from the deep ocean waters back to the surface,” says Rintoul. The results of the study also show that the ocean no longer absorbs as much carbon dioxide as its upper layers thin out, leaving more and more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
More needs to be done to protect the health of children and adolescents from the negative impacts of air pollution, according to European Environment Agency (EEA) air quality assessments published today. Air pollution causes over 1,200 premature deaths per year in people under the age of 18 in Europe and significantly increases the risk of disease later in life. Despite improvements over past years, the level of key air pollutants in many European countries remain stubbornly above World Health Organization health-based guidelines, especially in central-eastern Europe and Italy.
While emissions of key air pollutants have declined over recent decades, air pollution levels in Europe are still not safe. Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because their bodies, organs and immune systems are still developing. Air pollution damages health during childhood and increases the risk of disease in later life, according to the EEA ‘Air pollution and children’s health’ briefing.
Air pollution is estimated to cause over 1,200 premature deaths every year among those under the age of 18 across the EEA’s 32 member countries. Although the number of premature deaths in this age group is low relative to the total for the European population estimated by EEA each year, deaths early in life represent a loss of future potential and come with a significant burden of chronic illness, both in childhood and later in life.
Children’s lung function and lung development are affected by air pollution, especially by ozone and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the short term, and by fine particles (PM2.5) in the long term. Maternal exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is linked to low birth weight and risk of pre-term birth. After birth, ambient air pollution increases the risk of several health problems, including asthma, reduced lung function, respiratory infections and allergies. It also can aggravate chronic conditions like asthma, which afflicts 9% of children and adolescents in Europe, as well as increasing the risk of some chronic diseases later in adulthood.
Until air pollution is reduced to safe levels overall, improving air quality around settings like schools and kindergartens and during activities like school commutes and sports, can help reduce children’s exposure.
Air pollution levels across Europe are still unsafe and European air quality policies should aim to protect all citizens, but especially our children, who are most vulnerable to the health impacts of air pollution. It is urgent that we continue to step up measures at EU, national and local level to protect our children, who cannot protect themselves. The surest way to keep them safe is by making the air we all breathe cleaner.
EEA monitoring update 2022: air pollution levels remain persistently high
In 2021, upwards of 90% of of the EU’s urban population was exposed to harmful levels of nitrogen dioxide, ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
PM2.5 is one of the most damaging pollutants to human health, with exposure to PM2.5 a leading cause of stroke, cancer and respiratory disease. In 2021, 97% of the urban population was exposed to concentrations of PM2.5 above the 2021 WHO annual guideline of 5 µg (microgram) /m3.
According to preliminary data from 2022, central-eastern Europe and Italy reported the highest concentrations of both PM2.5 due primarily to the burning of solid fuels like coal for domestic heating and their use in industry.
The EEA briefing ‘Europe’s Air Quality status 2023’ presents the status of concentrations of air pollutants in 2021 and 2022 for regulated pollutants, in relation to both EU air quality standards and the 2021 WHO guideline levels.
How clean is your city? Portuguese, Swedish cities score cleanest air
Faro, Portugal, and the Swedish cities of Umeå and Uppsala were ranked as the cleanest European cities and had the lowest average levels of fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, over the past two calendar years, according to the updated EEA city air quality viewer. Cities are ranked from the cleanest city to the most polluted, on the basis of long-term average levels of fine particulate matter.
Background
Under the European Green Deal’s Zero Pollution Action Plan, the European Commission set the 2030 goal of reducing the number of premature deaths caused by PM2.5 (a key air pollutant) by at least 55% compared with 2005 levels. To this end, the European Commission published in 2022 a proposal to review the ambient air quality directives, aiming, among other things, to align the air quality standards more closely with WHO recommendations.
The EEA’s air quality assessments highlight pollutants deemed to be most harmful to human health or that exceed the EU air quality standards and WHO guideline levels most frequently. The concentrations are obtained from measurements in over 4,500 monitoring stations across Europe that are officially reported to the EEA by its member and other collaborating countries.
A new project is launched aiming to help protect and increase the security of places of worship. “The SHRINES project recently established the European network for safety and security management in places of worship.” said one of the partners of the project.
The Network aims to promote awareness and dialogue among managers of places of worship of different religions about the threats they face and the use of technological solutions to better protect these places. According to their staff, it also aims to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, tools and good practices among different stakeholders “involved in managing places of worship (e.g., local municipalities, cultural associations, law enforcement agencies)”.
Project SHRINEs aims at engaging a wider network of organisations and authorities, which they hope it will provide fruitful benefits for the protection of places of worship, including people, historical and cultural sites and heritage.
"This 24-months ISF-funded project aims to enhance the security and safety of places of worship, creating a multidisciplinary network and promoting innovative solutions against current & emerging threats.".
Therefore, SHRINEs has established a European network for safety and security management in places of worship to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, tools, and good practices among different stakeholders involved in managing places of worship.
The network aims to promote awareness and dialogue among managers of places of worship of different religions about the threats they face and the use of technological solutions to better protect these places.
“The protection of places of worship has become crucial as these public spaces continue to represent high-risk areas in the context of criminal activities, man-made attacks, as well as infrastructural incidents and natural disasters. SHRINEs, a project co-funded by the EU, aims to enhance the security and safety of places of worship, while creating an interfaith and multidisciplinary network and promoting innovative solutions against current risks and emerging threats.” says their website.
