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Flagship UN report extolls win-win water partnerships to avert global crisis

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United Nations News
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UNEP/Lisa Murray - A boy collects water from a rehabilitated catchment basin in Sudan’s southern White Nile state.

Launched ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference, the new edition of the UN World Water Development Report focuses on twin themes of partnerships and cooperation. Published by the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the report highlights collaborative ways actors can work together to overcome common challenges.

NO MATTER HOW SMALL THE ACTION, YOU CAN HELP COMBAT THE WATER CRISIS! SAVE WATER BY:

🌿 NOT OVERWATERING YOUR PLANTS
🍎 BUYING LOCAL & SEASONAL FOOD
🛁 AVOIDING TAKING BATHS

AHEAD OF WEDNESDAY’S #WORLDWATERDAY, TELL US HOW YOU’RE TAKING #WATERACTION 👇HTTPS://T.CO/36SMS2KA2K PIC.TWITTER.COM/P3IKOSMXO3 — UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 (@UNESCO) March 20, 2023

“There is an urgent need to establish strong international mechanisms to prevent the global water crisis from spiralling out of control,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “Water is our common future, and it is essential to act together to share it equitably and manage it sustainably.”

Globally, two billion people do not have safe drinking water and 3.6 billion lack access to safely managed sanitation, the report found.

The global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to potentially double from 930 million in 2016 to between 1.7 and 2.4 billion people, in 2050.

The rising incidence of extreme and prolonged droughts is also stressing ecosystems, with dire consequences for both plant and animal species, the report said.

‘Global crisis’ looms

Richard Connor, the report’s editor-in-chief, told reporters at a press conference at UN Headquarters ahead of the launch that “uncertainties are increasing”.

“If we don’t address it, there definitely will be a global crisis,” he said, pointing to rising scarcity that reflects reduced availability and increased demand, from urban and industrial growth to agriculture, which alone consumes 70 per cent of the world’s supply.

Building partnerships and cooperation are key to realizing human rights to water and overcoming existing challenges, he said.

Explaining the landscape of such shortages, he said economic water scarcity is a big problem, where governments fail to provide safe access, such as in the middle of Africa, where water flows. Meanwhile, physical scarcity is worst in desert areas, including northern India and through the Middle East.

Answering reporters’ questions about possible “water wars” in the face of a global crisis, Mr. Connor said the essential natural resource “tends to lead to peace and cooperation rather than to conflict”.

Strengthening transboundary cooperation is the main tool to avoid conflict and escalating tensions, he said, noting that 153 countries share nearly 900 rivers, lakes and aquifer systems, and more than half having signed agreements.

image1024x768 - Flagship UN report extolls win-win water partnerships to avert global crisis
UNEP/Lisa Murray – A boy collects water from a rehabilitated catchment basin in Sudan’s southern White Nile state.

Up and downstream

Detailing experiences – both good and bad – of partners’ efforts to collaborate, the report explains how accelerating progress on achieving related 2030 Agenda goals hinges on enhancing positive, meaningful cooperation among water, sanitation, and broader development communities.

Innovations during the outset of the COVID 19 pandemic saw partnerships form among health and wastewater authorities, who were together able to track the disease and provide critical real-time data, he said.

From city dwellers to small holder farmers, partnerships have produced mutually beneficial results. By investing in agricultural communities upstream, farmers can benefit in ways that help the downstream cities they feed, he said.

Running dry

States and stakeholders can cooperate in such areas as flood and pollution control, data sharing, and co-financing. From wastewater treatment systems to protecting wetlands, efforts contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions should “open the door to further collaboration and increase access to water funds”, he said.

“However, the water community is not tapping into those resources,” he said, expressing hope that the report and the conference can trigger productive discussions and on-the-ground results.

Johannes Cullmann, special scientific advisor to the president of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said “it’s a question of investing wisely”.

While water resources and how they are managed impact almost all aspects of sustainable development, including the 17 SDGs, he said current investments must be quadrupled to meet the annual estimated $600 billion to $1 trillion required to realize SDG 6, on water and sanitation.

“Cooperation is the heart of sustainable development, and water is an immensely powerful connector,” he said. “We should not negotiate water; we should deliberate on it.”

Water, after all, is a human right, he said.

Common good, not commodity

Indeed, water should be “managed as a common good, not a commodity”, a group of 18 UN independent experts and special rapporteurs said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

“Considering water as a commodity or a business opportunity will leave behind those that cannot access or afford the market prices,” they declared, adding that progress on SDG 6 can only happen effectively if communities and their human rights are at the centre of discussions.

“It is time to stop a technocratic approach to water and consider the ideas, knowledge and solutions of indigenous peoples and local communities who understand local aquatic ecosystems to ensure sustainability of the water agenda,” they said.

The commodification of water will “derail achievement of the SDGs and hamper efforts to solve the global water crisis”, the experts said.

Special rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, are not UN staff, and operate independently.

Pakistan Forced Conversion situation

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Guest Author
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By Sumera Shafique

Every year, human rights estimate that several hundred minor girls are forcibly married in Pakistan. While this is an issue that affects minor girls from all communities, girls from religious minorities are particularly vulnerable. Several reports also found that the minor girls were also forcibly converted to Islam

Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), found that 162 cases of questionable conversions of minority girls were reported in Pakistan’s media between 2013 and November 2020. CSJ found that more than 54 percent of victims (girls and women) belonged to the Hindu community, while 44 percent were Christians. More than 46 percent of victims were minors, with 33 percent aged 11-15, while only 17 percent of victims were above 18. The age of the girls was not mentioned in more than 37 percent of the cases.[1]

There are also special laws concerning the marriage of minors such as the Child Marriage Restraint Act (CMRA), the Majority Act, 1875 and the Muslim law of personal status and other laws related to certain states or provinces.

Forced marriages are a crime under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Section 365-B[2] of the PPC penalizes the kidnapping, abducting, or inducing woman for marriage with the imprisonment of life sentence and a fine.

Some minor girls elope with older Muslim men against their family’s wishes and if they belong to different faith traditions such as Hinduism and Islam they first convert or are converted to Islam before the marriage. While, parents claim that the girl is forced to convert and marry, to prove this is difficult. Local police are usually unwilling to act if they believe the girl has eloped.

In its report for the year 2012-13, the Council of Islamic Ideology unambiguously declared that marriage of a child can be contracted at any age and for the girl-bride rukhsati can take place at age nine for consummation, provided she has attained puberty.

In the case of Pumy Muskan[3] in 2019, the Lahore High Court ruled that a 14-year-old girl, whose family claimed she had been forcibly converted by her employers, should be returned to the care of her family.

The court ruled that a 14-year-old did not have legal capacity to change her religion, but her conversion was not invalid since it was a matter of her personal conviction and there was no statutory authority prescribing it as unlawful. In effect the court refused to give effect to the conversion for certain legal purposes while not holding the conversion per se as unlawful.

The court held that, “The question as to whether Pumy Muskan’s conversion is forced or otherwise has lost significance in view of my holding that she lacked the legal capacity to make such decision.”

In Pumy’s case she was not married.

Where a minor girl is married along with the conversion, courts have been reluctant to restore her to her parent’s custody.

In July 2021, the Lahore High Court has upheld a ruling in Pakistan granting custody of a 13-year Christian girl, Nayab Gill, to a Muslim accused of kidnapping her, forcibly marrying her, and converting her to Islam. Justice Shahram Sarwar Chaudhry rejected the girl’s official birth documents showing she was 13. The court instead accepted her claim, considered to be made under severe threats of harm to her and her family, that she was 19 years old and married 30-year-old Saddam Hayat, a married father of four children, after converting to Islam of her own free will in Gujranwala on May 20.[3]

In April 2021, A 40-year-old Muslim man allegedly abducted a 14-year-old Hindu girl in Chundiko in Sindh and married her forcibly. The abductor, Mohammad Aachar Darejo, got himself photographed with the minor girl. The picture also showed him and the girl displaying an alleged ‘nikah-nama.’ She was also converted to Islam.[4]

International law

Pakistan has signed and ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Article 16 (2) of the CEDAW expressly prohibiting child marriage stating that “The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an official registry compulsory” [5]

Furthermore, under Article 16 it says that member countries to the convention must protect their citizen’s rights to choose a spouse and enter the contract of marriage with their full consent.

In marriage with a minor, there is no clear consent as the minor girl is incapable of giving their free consent due to lack of their maturity

Pakistan has also ratified the Child Rights Convention (CRC) and while the CRC does not directly address the issue of child marriage, it defines a child under Article 1 as “a child means every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable to the child, the majority is attained earlier”. Article 14 (1) of the CRC also states that state parties need to respect the right of children to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

[1] https://www.ucanews.com/news/the-curse-of-forced-conversions-in-pakistan/92096#

[2] Section 365-B of the PPC states that : Kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel for marriage, etc.: whoever kidnaps or  abducts any woman with intent that she may be compelled, or knowing it to be likely that she will be compelled, to marry any person against her will, or in order that she may be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse, or knowing it to be likely that she will be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine, and whoever by means of criminal intimidation as defined in this Code or of abuse of authority or any other method of compulsion, induces any woman to go from any place with intent that she may be or knowing that it is likely that she will be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person shall also be punishable as aforesaid.

[3] https://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/high-court-in-pakistan-upholds-girls-forced-marriage-conversion.html and https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/13-year-old-hindu-girl-forcibly-converted-and-married-to-abductor-in-pakistan-s-sindh-1777947-2021-03-11

[4] https://newsvibesofindia.com/minor-hindu-girl-abducted-forcibly-married-in-pakistan-18920/

[5] (Article 16 (2), Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination

Sumera Shafique Pakistan Forced Conversion situation

Sumera Shafique is a senior lawyer at Get Justice Law Firm in Pakistan, practicing in constitutional law and human rights with a special emphasis on minority rights and religious freedom in Pakistan. She is member of the National Lobbying Delegation for Minority Rights. She works to secure justice for Christian girls who are victimized by rape, kidnap and forced marriages. Ms. Sumera speaks across the country on the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan. In addition, she served Chairperson Minorities Rights committee high court Bar association and General secretary and vice president Christian Lawyers association in Pakistan.

Pollock’s painting discovered in Bulgaria was for the actress Lauren Bacall

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The discovered painting believed to be by Jackson Pollock was of American actress Lauren Bacall, wife of Hollywood star Humphrey Bogart. This was announced by the deputy city prosecutor of Sofia, Desislava Petrova.

It said that the canvas was for her birthday. Her real date of birth was also written, and there was a signature, Petrova also pointed out.

“Dedicated to my very talented and dear friend Lauren Bacall, Happy Birthday,” reads the back of the painting along with the date September 16, 1949, and a signature. The date coincides with the actress’ birthday. This was explained by Deputy City Prosecutor Desislava Petrova, spokesperson of the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office at a media briefing.

Petrova added that so far there is a conclusion and expertise that indicate that the canvas may be original. An analysis of the paint binder would be useful but was not possible at this time. In order to establish whether the canvas is genuine, the tools of international cooperation will also be used.

The Bulgarian who held it indicated that he did not know whether it was authentic or not. Therefore, the process of selling the canvas had not yet started. The painting was not wanted and is not known to have been in Pollock’s catalogue.

Lauren Bacall, born Betty Joan Persky (September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress and model known for her signature voice. In 1999, the American Film Institute listed Bacall at number 20 on its list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema.

Bacall, now deceased, was named one of the 20 most powerful women in Hollywood. She was the wife of the legend Humphrey Bogart for 12 years. Then she had a relationship with Frank Sinatra.

Prosecutor Petrova announced that in connection with the painting, an expert report has been prepared by two experts from the National Art Gallery, as well as expertise made by a three-member commission.

According to her, the expert report says that in terms of style, execution technique and artistic specificity, the painting corresponds to the aesthetic features characteristic of Jackson Pollock’s paintings from the period 1945-1950.

The expert said that the fluorescence analysis carried out, which allowed finding the exact chemical composition of each colour used in the painting, showed that the pigments in it were similar to the pigments used by Pollock in other works. “This is an important but not decisive element to the author’s identification,” the experts add, and say that it would be useful to analyze the binder of the paints, which research requires taking a sample.

Further examination of the seized painting is to be done to determine whether the painting is an original work and a movable cultural asset. The tools of international legal assistance, including European investigation orders, will be used to establish all the circumstances related to the possible movement and path of this painting, prosecutor Desislava Petrova also commented.

It is also yet to be established whether the painting has anything to do with Romania, the prosecutor’s office added, adding that it had not been declared wanted or catalogued.

However, Romania has not yet confirmed the version that the picture has something to do with him.

To BNT, the Romanian art critic and expert on state art collections, Adrian Buga, said that until now, in the archives of the Romanian secret services Securitate, there is no evidence that a painting by Jackson Pollock was part of Nicolae Ceausescu’s collection. The Romanian police have already contacted him for more information on the case.

“Ceausescu’s collection consists exclusively of Romanian paintings. Communist art that extols the Romanian spirit. Ceausescu lacks a taste for American art, especially in the style of Pollock,” said Adrian Buga. Each painting in this collection is stamped and numbered on its back and label.

“If the painting came from America, there is a good chance that some trace will be found in the archives. I have not found any foreign paintings in his house. He may have received gifts, but there is no trace of such paintings,” said Adrian Buga.

Ceausescu’s son-in-law, the husband of his daughter Zoya, told the BBC that he did not remember seeing abstract works in their home. “Ceaușescu was not an art collector. So there is no way,” said Prof. Mircea Operan.

Despite these claims, information has already appeared that, according to Romanian media, our northern neighbour will also have claims for the painting. Jackson Pollock’s family foundation announced to the Bulgarian media that no one had sought them from Bulgaria in connection with the find.

Photo: Lauren Bacall in a 1944 publicity still from Howard Hawks’s “To Have and Have Not,” her first film. Credit…Warner Bros.

Physicists Confirm 50-Year-Old Hypothesis About Selfish Behavior

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SciTechDaily.com
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Physicists have verified a fifty-year-old hypothesis that explains the formation of herds as a result of selfish behavior.

“Surprisingly, when individuals act out of purely selfish reasons, this can lead to a fair situation within the group,” says physics professor Clemens Bechinger. This was demonstrated in a recent study by his team at the Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior (CASCB) at the University of Konstanz, which is part of the Cluster of Excellence.


The researchers used computer simulations to explore how herd animals can reduce their predation risk. The study is based on the idea suggested by W.D. Hamilton in 1971, that individuals in a herd position themselves so that their own predation risk becomes reduced at the expense of their neighbors. The results were published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology.

The reason why many animals organize themselves in herds is not necessarily the result of gregariousness or social behavior. One example is seals: On their own, they are easy prey for orcas or sharks. Instead, it is much safer within a group, because then the danger of an attack is spread out among many individuals. It is safest in the middle of the group where animals are crowding together in a very small space and an attack there is more likely to target a close neighbor than oneself. At the edge of the group with only a few neighbors, on the other hand, the predation risk is considerably larger. Each animal, therefore, tries to get to one of the coveted spots in the middle.

Selfishness leads to a fair distribution of risk

With the help of artificial intelligence (reinforcement learning), Clemens Bechinger and his colleagues studied how individuals must alter their positions optimally to keep the distance between themselves and others as small as possible, which, in turn, reduces their own risk of being attacked.


“Because this strategy increases the risk for neighbors, it is clearly considered a selfish motivation,” says Veit-Lorenz Heute, who is working as a doctoral student on the project. Just as Hamilton predicted, the physicists observed that individuals that were spread out at first then formed a dense herd, because this decreases their distance to neighbors and thus reduces the individual risk of being attacked.

“Considering reinforcement learning for collectives opens up a range of new possibilities in understanding animal behavior,” Iain Couzin, speaker of the CASCB and Professor for Biodiversity and Collective Behaviour at the University of Konstanz adds. “It provides an elegant way to ask how adaptive behaviors may emerge in the complex social context characteristic of flocks and swarms.”

The researchers were surprised, however, to see what happened after the herd had formed.

Their simulations show that the time-averaged predation risk is exactly equal for all individuals. Obviously, members at the center of the herd are not able to defend such advantageous positions as other animals push toward this coveted spot.


“This is a result of the high dynamics within the group which makes it impossible for individuals to maintain specific optimal positions,“ says Samuel Monter, who is also involved in the study. Another interesting observation is that, as a result of this permanent competition for the best positions, the group begins to rotate around its gravitational center, similar to what is observed in many herds of animals.

“Our study shows that the formation of groups does not necessarily result from their gregarious behaviors but can also be explained by the entirely selfish motivations of individuals to gain an advantage at the expense of others,” Bechinger concludes. “Not only does our study help to understand collective behaviors in living systems, but the results may also be useful in the context of finding optimal strategies of how autonomous robotic devices have to be programmed to master collective tasks.”

“We have long observed vortices in animal groups and this work provides an insight into why that may be the case,” Iain Couzin adds. “If each individual acts to reduce risk, by approaching others, but is also penalized for collisions, rotating swirls, as we see in fish schools and even some herding animals, naturally emerge.”

Reference: “Dynamics and risk sharing in groups of selfish individuals” by Samuel Monter, Veit-Lorenz Heuthe, Emanuele Panizon and Clemens Bechinger, 2 February 2023, Journal of Theoretical Biology.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2023.111433


The study was funded by the Cluster of Excellence “Center of the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior.”

UNICEF alert to save millions from desperate hunger in Yemen

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United Nations News
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UNICEF alert to save millions from desperate hunger in Yemen

Eight brutal years of conflict have left around 11 million children in need of humanitarian assistance and many of their families facing serious malnourishment.

“The lives of millions of vulnerable children in Yemen remain at risk due to the almost unimaginable, unbearable, consequences of the crushing, unending war,” said Peter Hawkins, the agency’s representative in the country.

“UNICEF has been here, providing desperately needed support throughout the past eight years, and before, but we can only provide so much support to children and families affected without a lasting peace.”

Perpetual cycle of hopelessness

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen stems from 2015, when Houthi militias clashed with the forces of the internationally-recognized Government, dividing the country, displacing millions and destroying essential services and infrastructure.

Despite a long truce and recent progress along the road to peace, a devastating convergence of compounding factors has unfolded: eight years of fierce conflict, economic collapse, and a crippled social support system, denying the vulnerable essential services.

Between March 2015 and November 2022, more than 2.3 million children have been displaced, 11,000 have been killed or seriously injured, over 4,000 have been recruited by the warring parties, and there have been more than 900 attacks on – and the illegal military use of – educational and health facilities. These are verified figures, but the true toll is likely much higher, UNICEF said.

“After eight years, many children and families feel stuck in a perpetual cycle of hopelessness,” Mr. Hawkins said. “Visiting a family recently who have been displaced from their homes for over seven years, you realize that for too many families, little of their situation has changed beyond the children’s faces.

Children have grown up knowing little but conflict, providing these children with some room for hope of a peaceful future is absolutely critical.”

© UNICEF/Moohialdin Fuad

A young boy plays while his mother lines up at a water point in a camp for displaced people in Aden, southern Yemen.

‘Hope, not fear’

UNICEF urgently requires $484 million to continue its life-saving humanitarian response for children in Yemen in 2023. If funding is not received, UNICEF might be forced to scale down its vital assistance.

“The children of Yemen should be able to look to the future with hope, not fear,” Mr. Hawkins said. “We call on all parties to help us deliver that hope by committing to the Yemeni people, and pulling a country, and a weary population, back from the brink.”

 

Reaching millions in Yemen

Despite ongoing challenges, in 2022 UNICEF was able to:

  • Treat more than 375,000 children for severe acute malnutrition in 4,584 primary health care facilities and 34 therapeutic feeding centres.
  • Dispense emergency cash transfers to 9 million people.
  • Provide access to safe and sustained drinking water to 6.2 million people, including fuel to support the production and distribution of clean water to 36 local water and sanitation corporations in 15 governorates.
  • Inoculate more than 2.1 million children with measles and polio vaccines.
  • Support psychosocial services for more than 478,000 children and caregivers in conflict-affected areas, and life-saving mine-risk education for over 5.2 million children and community members.
  • Reach more than 2.7 million people living in remote rural areas with access to public healthcare centres.
  • Provide support for mother, newborn and child health services in 24 hospitals.
  • Scale up malnutrition services at 4,500 static outpatient therapeutic programme centres and 288 mobile teams.
  • Provide individual learning materials to more than 538,800 children to enable them to continue their schooling.

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Leena Ylä-Mononen selected as next Executive Director of the European Environment Agency

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On 23 March 2023, the Management Board of the European Environment Agency (EEA) decided to nominate Leena Ylä-Mononen, a Finnish national, as the next Executive Director of the EEA. The decision was taken after the Management Board interviewed shortlisted candidates, as a result of a pre-selection by the European Commission following an open call for applications.

Leena Ylä-Mononen currently holds the position of Director General at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment. Prior to this, she has held a senior management position at the European Chemicals Agency, after working at the European Commission’s DG Environment. Leena Ylä-Mononen holds a Master’s degree in environmental sciences from the University of Helsinki.

Laura Burke, EEA Management Board Chair, said, ‘Congratulations to Leena Ylä-Mononen. I am confident that the Management Board has selected an outstanding candidate to lead the European Environment Agency. We look forward to working with Leena Ylä-Mononen to further strengthen the role of EEA and its Eionet network in support of Europe’s environment and climate policies.’ 

Leena Ylä-Mononen and Laura Burke on 23 March 2023

EEA Executive Directors are appointed for five years, renewable once. After ten years in office, the current Executive Director Hans Bruyninckx’s term will end on 31 May 2023.

Leena Ylä-Mononen may be invited to provide a statement in front of the European Parliament’s ENVI Committee, followed by an exchange of views with Members of the European Parliament.

The formal appointment will be made once the required formalities have been completed.

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Former Eugenics leader Ernst Rüdin on trial in Romania

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Torsten Hjelmar
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Former Eugenics leader Ernst Rüdin on trial in Romania
Crédit photo : Daniel Bone de Pixabay

The International Mock Trial on Human Rights of Ernst Rüdin was held in the plenary hall of the Romanian Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday 22nd March.

A distinguished panel of Judges consisting of two judges from the Constitutional Court of Romania and the vice-President of the Romanian Senate preceded over this educational Mock Trial. Judge Ms Laura-Iuliana Scântei summarized the decision stating that if the defendant former Eugenics leader and prof. of psychiatry, Ernst Rüdin (1874-1952) would have been standing before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, we would have heard these words of the president of that tribunal: “ERNST RÜDIN, The Tribunal finds you guilty of charges 1, 3 and 4 consisting of incitement to crimes against humanity; inciting as well as directly causing the crime against humanity called sterilization; and membership of criminal organizations [the Association of German Neurologists and Psychiatrists] defined according to the Nuremberg Principles.”

Constitutional Court Judge, Ms Laura-Iuliana Scântei, pointed out that the defendant Ernst Rüdin, was one of the founders of the Nazi racial hygiene movement, promoter of eugenic ideas and policies in Germany, of the Nazi eugenic sterilization law and other policies that aimed to kill children and patients with physical and mental disabilities considered genetic defects, in a heinous extermination program euphemistically called Euthanasia.

The International Mock Trial on Human Rights of Ernst Rüdin was held in the plenary hall of the Romanian Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday 22nd March. It was a first for Romania and Europe. The International Mock Trial on Human Rights which is an action part of an educational program for young leaders initiated by Dr. Avi Omer from the Social Excellence Forum had previously been held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 31st January.

The initiative to hold the Mock Trial in Romania was taken by the Magna cum Laude-Reut Foundation and the “Laude-Reut” Educational Complex, together with the Social Excellence Forum team and the Embassy of the State of Israel in Romania.

The prosecution and defendant litigators consisted of pupils and students from the “Laude-Reut” Educational Complex and other colleges and universities in Bucharest, Iasi, Ploiesti, Buzău and Sibiu.

A struggle of all those who believe in freedom

“I greatly appreciate the openness of the Romanian Parliament to bring to the fore and shed light on a difficult page from the past. Today we are facing a historic moment and a first in Romania – a mock trial of one of the Nazi criminals directly responsible for the racial genocide. It is a trial that was necessary to take place even post-mortem for past, present and future generations and for the victims and survivors of the Holocaust and their families (…) It is a constant and assumed struggle of all those who believe in freedom, dignity and moral values. This struggle is also fought through education. With today’s simulation, I believe that we have made a valuable contribution to the knowledge of the truth and with it to the fight against anti-Semitism and extremism”, said Tova Ben Nun-Cherbis, President of the “Laude-Reut” Educational Complex.

The President of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, underlined that the action in the Parliament brings back into focus the importance of learning to use international human rights instruments and the historical reparation made in memory of the generations of victims of the Holocaust.

The Minister of Culture of Romania, Mr Lucian Romașcanu, pointed out that: “The fact that we are in the Parliament’s plenary hall and not in a court of law, this mock trial is more than symbolic, because in this hall people elected to be here can vote on laws, can do things that do not allow what you are called today to judge. It is again a symbol that over the years, no matter how many have passed, bad things are not forgotten, and the Holocaust, the great crimes against the Roma, against the communist prisoners must remain in memory. (…) No matter how many years go by, guilt surfaces and the guilty are punished.”

The distinguished panel of Judges consisted of:

Mr Marian Enache – President of the Constitutional Court

Ms Laura-Iuliana Scântei – Judge of the Constitutional Court of Romania

Mr Robert Cazanciuc – Vice-President of the Romanian Senate

O8A0752 1024x683 - Former Eugenics leader Ernst Rüdin on trial in Romania
Expert Witness Dr. David Deutsch, International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem. Other witnesses included Prof. Alon Chan, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science, and Prof. Marius Turda, Department of History, Philosophy and Religion, Oxford Brookes University. Photo credit: THIX Photo.

Promoters of racial hygiene played a major role in the Holocaust

Israel’s ambassador to Romania, Mr Reuven Azar, put it straight when he said: “Today’s conference is meant to evoke an obligation on all of us not to forget the horrors that happened just 78 years ago. (…) During the Nazi regime, more than 400,000 people were forcibly sterilised and some 300,000 of the patients in psychiatric institutions were killed, while 70,000 of them were killed in gas chambers. Promoters of racial hygiene, including Ernst Rüdin, played a major role in the Holocaust, which victimised Jews as well as Roma, Slavs, coloured persons and people with physical or intellectual disabilities. The consequence of the Nazi regime was the Holocaust. This is a unique phenomenon compared to any other genocide in human history.”

Deadly Syria earthquake provides chance to move forward: UN envoy

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United Nations News
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Deadly Syria earthquake provides chance to move forward: UN envoy

War-torn Syria and neighbouring Türkiye were rocked by twin earthquakes on 6 February, which killed more than 56,000 people and caused widespread destruction, displacing millions.  

“The situation today is so unprecedented that it calls for leadership, bold ideas and a cooperative spirit,” said Mr. Pedersen, speaking via videoconference from Geneva. 

“A political solution is the only way forward for Syria. We may not be able to reach that in one step – but I believe we can progress towards it gradually.”  

Maintain calm on the ground 

The UN envoy said it is absolutely vital to continue to provide resources to support the earthquake response and ongoing humanitarian operations related to the war, which this month entered its 12th year.  Security Council resolution 2254, adopted in December 2015, outlines a roadmap for a ceasefire and political solution to the conflict.  

He stressed the need for sustained calm on the ground, especially in those areas affected by the earthquake.  

“The week after the earthquakes saw signs of such calm emerging, with a relative lull in violence in most quarters,” he said.  “For brief moments, the unimaginable became real – parties on each side of the front-line largely refraining from hostilities. Since then, we have seen a creeping rise in incidents.” 

Catalyst for progress 

Expressing concern for civilians, Mr. Pedersen warned of the risk of escalation.  In this regard, he has been working with key stakeholders towards a sustained calm, particularly in earthquake-affected areas in northwest Syria, the last opposition stronghold.   

“In the same way that we have seen moves from different sides in the humanitarian sphere, this logic can and must be applied to address post-earthquake rehabilitation and broader political challenges,” he said. 

Prior to the earthquake, humanitarian convoys brought aid into northwest Syria via a single authorized border crossing with Türkiye.  Two additional crossing points were subsequently re-opened, and he said there have also been “new openings” on sanctions. 

“This shows that different sides can make constructive moves,” he said. “I sense, from all the discussions I have had, that there is an opportunity to move forward with additional moves on all sides beyond the immediate emergency.”  

Engagement with all sides 

To advance on this front, Mr. Pedersen called for engaging with the Syrian parties on how they can create an environment conducive to post-earthquake rehabilitation.  Engagement with “outside actors” will also be required to determine how they can provide enhanced resources and remove hindrances, including those related to sanctions. 

He listed some of the issues that will have to be discussed, such as security, civilian protection, basic services, energy infrastructure, livelihoods, and land for housing; but also conscription or detention, which he said are vital for Syrians, including refugees and internally displaced persons.  

“I believe that verifiable steps implemented mutually and reciprocally from all sides are doable,” he said. “I am convinced that such steps could enable us to move forward incrementally into post-earthquake rehabilitation and, in the process, on political confidence building on issues in Security Council resolution 2254.” 

Cooperation is critical 

Mr. Pedersen stressed that “a degree of cooperation across divides is essential” in finding a way forward. 

“The Syrian Government, the Syrian Opposition, the Western players, the Arab players, the Astana players, other interested parties – none alone can move this process forward. Individual approaches will not make the kind of qualitative difference that a coordinated approach could make,” he said. 

“But if all are prepared to put practical points on the table, and if players coordinate and work together, I am more convinced than ever that it is possible and essential to move forward – step for step, and step by step.” 

More suffering for millions 

The Council also heard an update on the earthquake response from Tareq Talahama, an Acting Director with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA.  

“We cannot lose sight of the reality that this immense tragedy struck millions of people in Syria already suffering the poverty, displacement and deprivation of 12 years of conflict,” he said. 

Teams continue to clear away the rubble from the earthquake, which caused some $5.2 billion in losses, according to the World Bank, although the actual amount is likely much higher. 

UN support continues

The UN responded quickly to the tragedy, releasing some $40 million in emergency funding within days, and continues to work with partners on the ground. 

Some 2.2 million people have received food assistance to date, and more than a million medical consultations have been conducted.  Nearly 380,000 people have been provided water and sanitation services. 

“The expanded cross-border modality has also proved essential in northwest Syria. More than 900 trucks with aid from seven UN agencies, have now reached northwest Syria from Türkiye via the three available border crossings,” he said. 

Needs are mounting  

But more needs to be done in the weeks ahead, in areas such as shelter, returns, family reunification, and protection services, especially for women and girls. An ongoing cholera outbreak and other public health emergencies will also have to be monitored. 

Mr. Talahama underlined the important role of donor support and welcomed an international conference held this week in Brussels, which netted seven billion Euros in pledges for Syria and Türkiye.  

However, with needs deepening, continued international support will be necessary. The $4.8 billion Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria this year – the largest worldwide – is only six per cent funded.  

“The generosity demonstrated in recent weeks must be extended to—and not come at the expense of—the ongoing humanitarian response across Syria to ensure lifesaving and early recovery assistance reaches all those in need,” he said.  

“And further action is required to create a more enabling environment, one where humanitarian assistance can reach communities in a safe, predictable, and timely fashion.” 

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Southern Africa: Cyclone Freddy aftermath brings diseases, healthcare gaps

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United Nations News
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Southern Africa: Cyclone Freddy aftermath brings diseases, healthcare gaps

The devastation caused by the cyclone in Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique has increased the spread of cholera and malaria, as well as malnutrition.

Meanwhile, more than 300 health facilities have been destroyed or flooded in the three countries, limiting health care access.

The cyclone’s destruction increased public health risks including a surge in the spread of cholera, malaria, malnutrition, COVID-19, and other vaccine-treatable diseases.

WHO said that Malawi was still in the midst of its “worst-ever” cholera outbreak, although cases are declining. In Mozambique, cholera cases have more than doubled over the past week, to almost 2,400.

“With a double landfall in less than a month, the impact of Cyclone Freddy is immense and deepfelt”, said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa.

“While we work to understand the full extent of the devastation, our priority is to ensure that affected communities and families receive health assistance for immediate needs as well as to limit the risks of water-borne diseases and other infections spreading,”

Helping communities prepare for climatic hazards

Overall, flooding, and torrential rains have affected more than 1.4 million people in the three countries. WHO and partners are providing support in the form of cholera treatment centers, medical supplies, and health worker training.

WHO has provided U$7.9 million and sent over 60 experts to the affected countries to assist with the emergency response.

Around 184 tons of important medical supplies have been shipped to support the cyclone and cholera emergency response. In Malawi, WHO has redistributed cholera response operation centres to hotspot districts, to help disease control efforts.

“With the rise in climate-related health emergencies in Africa, it’s clear that more needs to be done to bolster preparedness to climatic hazards so that communities can better cope with the impacts of the devastating natural disasters,” said Dr Moeti.

The cholera outbreaks are currently affecting 14 African countries and are being made worse by extreme climate events and conflicts that leave countries more vulnerable. Many people have been forced to flee their homes, to face uncertain living conditions.

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Haiti: Amid rising hunger levels, ‘world cannot wait for disaster before it acts’, WFP warns

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United Nations News
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Haiti: Amid rising hunger levels, ‘world cannot wait for disaster before it acts’, WFP warns

“Haiti can’t wait,” said Jean-Martin Bauer, World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director for the country. “We cannot wait for the scale of the problem to be expressed in deaths before the world responds, but that is where we are heading.”

Half the population – 4.9 million people – are now struggling to access food, according to the new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis. Findings reveal a substantial increase in the number of severely hungry people in Haiti, with the number tripling since 2016.

Eight out of ten Haitians are currently spending less on meals, and the country is among the top ten most affected by food price inflation, according to the World Bank.

Farmers crippled by violence, high costs

Farmers have been forced to reduce areas sown due to the high cost of seeds and fertilizers at a time when the spread of armed groups has plagued rural areas with violence.

The multiple emergencies are having a significant impact on the health and nutrition of Haitian children who have limited access to nutritious food. Malnourishment is compromising their immunity, making them vulnerable to diseases like cholera, and causing other lifelong health issues including poor cognitive development.

An estimated one million children are out of school in Haiti due to insecurity and other factors.

Life-saving food assistance needed

Sustained humanitarian aid has managed to support the most vulnerable communities in Cité Soleil, an area of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. However, WFP operations are underfunded and compromised and require $125 million over the next six months.

“It is critical that both life-saving food assistance keeps reaching the most vulnerable Haitians and resilience and safety-net initiatives continue being prioritized so we can address the root causes of hunger,” Mr.  Bauer said. “We desperately need an increase in funding and political will to be mobilized. The world cannot wait for a big disaster before it acts.”

The agency’s focus remains on strengthening national social protection and food systems that are critical to Haiti’s recovery efforts and development. While it is certain that life-saving assistance is an urgent need, building long-term resilience for the people of Haiti needs to be a top priority, he said.

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