SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Taruna Godric 416-916-5202
smcommunications@therealnews.com
In an interview with Prof. Minqi Li, The Real News Network's Paul Jay discusses China's contribution to the global climate change crisis.
In recent years China's greenhouse gas emissions have surpassed those of the United States, granting them the title of the largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. China's pollution is worsened further by its 70% reliance on coal to produce its energy, and the country's high demand for oil. Prof. Li seeks to shed some light on China's seemingly reckless disregard for the climate change crisis by pointing out that, while the climate change crisis has become critical, China has no choice but to balance the environment with its own economic development.
In a recent study it was found that 1/3 of China's gas emissions are related to its export industry and the finished products it sends to Western countries, such as the United States. At present, China relies very heavily on industries such as these to strengthen their economy in efforts to offset some of the negative effects of rising inequality. The study shows that although the United States may not be the largest direct source of greenhouse gas emissions anymore, they are not completely without fault. Not only do they support an industry that emits 1/3 of China's greenhouse gasses but, as Paul Jay suggests, the United States really has not done much to rectify the situation in their own country. As a result, China and the United States are using each other to avoid finding a solution, with the United States hiding in the shadow of China's emissions, and China claiming that if the United States can't find a solution then they can't either.
Prof. Minqi Li wraps up the discussion by warning that the climate change crisis is "not just about China's interests [but] the interests of entire humanity" and that as long as countries are pursuing their personal capitalist goals, the energy and climate crisis will remain.
The Real News Network is a television news and documentary network focused on providing independent and uncompromising journalism. Our staff, in collaboration with courageous journalists around the globe, will investigate, report and debate stories on the critical issues of our times. We are viewer supported and do not accept advertising, government or corporate funding.
"The Convention on Cluster Munitions provides a vital framework for ending the immediate and long-term harm and suffering caused by these abhorrent weapons," said one of the treaty's architects.
The overwhelming majority of cluster bomb casualties last year were civilians, with children making up nearly half of those killed or maimed by remnants of the internationally banned munitions, a report published Monday revealed.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) published its annual Cluster Munition Monitor report, which "details the policy and practice of all countries with respect to the international treaty that prohibits cluster munitions and requires destruction of stockpiles, clearance of areas contaminated by cluster munition remnants, and victim assistance."
That treaty, the landmark Convention on Cluster Munitions, has been ratified by 112 nations. However, numerous countries that are not parties to the agreement—including Myanmar, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, and the United States—continued to use or sell cluster bombs.
"Cluster munitions can be fired from the ground by artillery, rockets, missiles, or mortars, or dropped by aircraft," HRW explained. "They typically open in the air, dispersing multiple submunitions or bomblets over a wide area. Many submunitions fail to explode on initial impact, leaving unexploded duds that can indiscriminately injure and kill like landmines for years, until they are found and destroyed."
The results have been devastating. According to the report, 93% of cluster munition casualties reported by the monitor last year were civilians, while children made up 47% of those killed or wounded by cluster bomb remnants. Children are particularly vulnerable to unexploded cluster bomblets, which are often mistaken for toys.
According to the report, the following countries suffered more than 1,000 cluster bomb casualties in 2023: Laos (7,810), Syria (4,445), Iraq (3,201), Vietnam (2,135), and Ukraine (1,213).
HRW noted that "Russia has used stocks of old cluster munitions and newly developed models in Ukraine since 2022" and that "between July 2023 and April 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden approved five transfers to Ukraine of U.S. cluster munitions delivered by 155mm artillery projectiles and by ballistic missiles."
Meanwhile, unexploded cluster munitions dropped by the United States during the Vietnam War are still killing and maiming people, mostly children. In Laos, where the U.S. dropped more bombs than all sides in World War II combined, as many as 270 million cluster munitions were sprinkled over the country. Unexploded bomblets have killed an estimated 20,000 Laotians since the end of the war. It is believed that less than 1% of unexploded cluster munitions have been cleared in Laos.
The report highlighted some promising developments:
In December 2023, the convention reached a major milestone when Peru completed the destruction of its stockpiled cluster munitions, as it was the last state party with declared stocks to complete this obligation. Bulgaria, Slovakia, and South Africa announced the completion of the destruction of their respective cluster munition stocks in September 2023. These developments mean that member countries have collectively now destroyed 100% of their declared cluster munition stocks, destroying 1.49 million cluster munitions and 179 million submunitions.
However, there were also setbacks, such as legislation in Lithuania approving the Baltic nation's withdrawal from the cluster bomb treaty.
"Lithuania's ill-considered move to leave the Convention on Cluster Munitions stains its otherwise excellent reputation on humanitarian disarmament and ignores the risks of civilian harm," said HRW deputy crisis, conflict, and arms director Mary Wareham, who edited the new report. "It's not too late for Lithuania to heed calls to stop its planned withdrawal."
Speaking more broadly of the new report, Wareham—a joint recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines—said that "the Convention on Cluster Munitions provides a vital framework for ending the immediate and long-term harm and suffering caused by these abhorrent weapons."
"All countries should join and adhere to the convention if they are serious about protecting civilians from these weapons in the face of rising conflict," Wareham added.
"The international community has seemingly forgotten about Sudan, and is paying little heed to the conflict tearing it apart."
The head of the World Health Organization on Sunday warned of a devastating set of crises in war-torn Sudan and called for a stronger international response.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, a United Nations agency, delivered remarks from the city of Port Sudan following visits to health facilities in the country, which is locked in civil war and faces the prospect of a large-scale famine.
"I was shaken by the state of many of the tiny, wasted children," Ghebreyesus said.
"The scale of the emergency is shocking, as is the insufficient action being taken to curtail the conflict, and respond to the suffering it is causing," he added.
Ghebreyesus said he'd come to Sudan to draw attention to the dire situation there.
"The international community has seemingly forgotten about Sudan, and is paying little heed to the conflict tearing it apart, with repercussions in the region," he said.
#Sudan’s health system is on the verge of collapse after 16 months of war, with over 25M people in dire need of aid. “The scale of the emergency is shocking,” warns WHO chief @DrTedros. The world must wake up and act now to prevent further catastrophe.https://t.co/uuebggGhMG
— Africa Renewal, UN (@africarenewal) September 9, 2024
The two main parties in the civil war are the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the country's official military, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group. The two groups shared power for two years before the civil war erupted in April 2023.
The war's death toll is above 20,000, and that's an underestimate, Ghebreyesus said. Both sides have been accused of atrocities and of obstructing international aid. Parts of Sudan are facing famine and others are at risk of it; overall, 25.6 million Sudanese are expected to face high levels of food insecurity, Ghebreyesus warned.
A report issued last week by U.N. agencies and partner groups found that as of August, 8.5 million Sudanese faced "Emergency" conditions of food insecurity, the second-highest level, while 750,000 faced "Catastrophe/Famine," the highest level.
Last week, three international humanitarian groups warned that Sudan faced a hunger crisis of "historic proportions."
Dire warnings have been issued for many months but the international community has been slow to act. At a conference in Paris in April, rich countries did pledge $2.1 billion in support for Sudan, a bit less than the $2.7 billion the U.N. had sought; in any case, only $1.1 billion has actually been received in Sudan, as of the end of August.
Sudan faces the world's worst displacement crisis, with more than 10 million people having been forced to move within the country, and 2 million having left its borders, according to data cited by Ghebreyesus.
Ghebreyesus, an Ethiopian public health official who's led the WHO since 2017, said he felt a close affinity with Sudan—it's "like my home," he said—and was deeply saddened by the situation there. He described the following "perfect storm of crises":
One of the most conflict-stricken areas of the country is Darfur, which became a cause célèbre during a war in the 2000s but hasn't received the same level of international attention this time.
"We can either continue on our current path... and sleepwalk into a dystopian future, or we can wake up and turn things around for the better," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.
Other countries must hold Israel accountable for violating international law in its war on Gaza and escalating violence in the illegally occupied West Bank, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Monday.
Türk's remarks came as he opened the 57th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva with a wide-ranging warning about the rise of international violence and human rights violations worldwide.
Ending Israel's war on Gaza and "averting a full-blown regional conflict is an absolute and urgent priority," Türk said.
"States must not—cannot—accept blatant disregard for international law, including binding decisions of the (U.N.) Security Council and orders of the International Court of Justice, neither in this nor any other situation," he said.
In particular, Türk referenced the International Court of Justice's advisory ruling in July that Israel's occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem is illegal. The ICJ also called on Israel to evacuate its settlers from the West Bank and on other nations not to recognize Israel's occupation as legal or to render any aid to Israel that maintained the status quo.
Türk on Monday called for the situation to be "comprehensively addressed."
He added that Israel's war on Gaza had forced 1.9 million people to flee their homes since October 7, 2023, many more than once, as Hurriyet Daily Newsreported. The war has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to official figures, though experts say the true death toll is likely much higher.
"I urge voters to ask themselves which of the political platforms or candidates will work for the human rights of everyone."
Türk added that "deadly and destructive" operations in the West Bank, such as 10-day period of raids that concluded Friday, are at a scale "not witnessed in the last two decades" and are "worsening a calamitous situation."
He also spoke out for the rights of the likely more than 10,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and the 101 hostages still held in Gaza.
Beyond Israel and Palestine, Türk also highlighted ongoing conflicts in Sudan and between Russia and Ukraine, noting that the international community seemed to accept the "crossing of innumerable red lines, or readiness to toe right up to them."
"We are at a fork in the road," the human rights chief advised. "We can either continue on our current path—a treacherous 'new normal'—and sleepwalk into a dystopian future, or we can wake up and turn things around for the better, for humanity, and the planet."
In a record election year, Türk argued that committing to the protection of human rights was especially important.
"I urge voters to ask themselves which of the political platforms or candidates will work for the human rights of everyone," he said.
In particular, he encouraged voters to "be wary of the shrill voices, the 'strongman' types that throw glitter in our eyes, offering illusory solutions that deny reality."
"Know that when one group is singled out as a scapegoat for society's ills, one day your own might be next," he said.