Citizens for Justice and Peace
India’s Economic Survey reveals first ever estimate for number of ‘unwanted’ girls
01-Feb-2018
The Indian Express reported that India’s newly released Economic Survey includes the first ever estimate of the number of “unwanted” girls in the country, i.e. girls whose parents wanted a boy, but instead had a girl. The figure, 21 million, was obtained by considering the sex ratio of the last child (SRLC), which was disproportionately tilted in…
UNICEF initiates record fundraising appeal for $3.6 billion
01-Feb-2018
The Guardian reported that the United Nations children fund (UNICEF) has initiated its largest ever “emergency appeal for funding, warning that conflict is creating unprecedented levels of need.” According to UNICEF, which is seeking $3.6 billion to supply emergency aid this year, nearly one in four children reside in a country that is impacted by conflict or…
Violence compels returning Afghan refugees to escape again: NRC
31-Jan-2018
The Guardian reported that, according to a study commissioned by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 72% of those who went back to Afghanistan after having escaped there and lived as refugees have been displaced at least two times. More than one million people have been newly displaced from Afghanistan because of…
Conflict worsening hunger across the world
31-Jan-2018
The Guardian reported that this week, food agencies cautioned at the United Nations Security Council that the number of people in conflict zones that are dealing with hunger is increasing, with eight nations afflicted with food insecurity that is at a crisis or emergency level. According to report by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food…
Guatemala takes steps to combat child sexual abuse
30-Jan-2018
The Thomson Reuters Foundation reported that, according to legislators and activists, a new national DNA database and sex offender registry should raise convictions of child sexual abuse in Guatemala. According to the country’s human rights ombudsman, ten cases of child sexual abuse are reported daily in Guatemala, and that perpetrators are frequently family members or friends. The…
Holocaust survivors call on Netanyahu not to expel African migrants in Israel
30-Jan-2018
Holocaust survivors in Israel have called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to force out 38,000 African migrants, AFP reported. “We, who know precisely what it’s like to be refugees… cannot comprehend how a Jewish government can expel refugees and asylum seekers to a journey of suffering, torment and death,” 36 survivors wrote in a…
Greenpeace: 550 million in India living in hazardous pollutant levels
30-Jan-2018
According to a new Greenpeace India report, around 550 million people live in areas where annual PM10 levels exceeded national standards in 2016. PM10 is particulate matter with a diameter of ten microns or under, The Hindu reported. The report analysed air quality in 280 cities, and found that the majority of people living there–550…
ILO, OECD launch report on immigrants in developing countries
27-Jan-2018
The Development Centre of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have released a joint report, titled ‘How Immigrants Contribute to Developing Countries’ Economies’. An ILO announcement of the report noted that “the perception that immigrants cost more than they yield is widespread but rarely relies on empirical evidence,” adding…
American diplomat resigns from Rohingya panel, criticises Aung San Suu Kyi
27-Jan-2018
Longtime US diplomat Bill Richardson, who was previously the governor of New Mexico, has resigned from an international advisory panel on the ongoing Rohingya crisis. Richardson told Reuters that his “main reason” for resigning was that “…this advisory board is a whitewash,” saying that he did not want to be on “a cheerleading squad for the government”.…
EU Court finds that asylum seeker in Hungary should not have undergone sexuality test
27-Jan-2018
Reuters reported that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) found that a Hungarian immigration authorities should not have administered psychological tests on a Nigerian asylum seeker to ascertain if he was being truthful about his sexual orientation. “The performance of such a test amounts to a disproportionate interference in the private life of the asylum seeker,” the…