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For Immediate Release
August, 02 2022, 09:28am EDT
Contact:
Tyler Kruse, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications Specialist, tkruse@greenpeace.org
Jean Su, Center for Biological Diversity, jsu@biologicaldiversity.org
Tonyisha Harris, Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE), tonyisha@acespace.org,
Activists Deliver 16-foot "Earth" into Biden's Hands as Nearly Half A Million Demand He Declare Climate Emergency
Greenpeace USA activists delivered a 16-foot inflatable Earth to the White House today along with nearly half a million petition signatures demanding that President Biden declare a climate emergency. The action, which symbolized that a livable planet is in Biden's hands, kicked off a day of climate emergency rallies in 19 cities across the country.
WASHINGTON
Greenpeace USA activists delivered a 16-foot inflatable Earth to the White House today along with nearly half a million petition signatures demanding that President Biden declare a climate emergency. The action, which symbolized that a livable planet is in Biden's hands, kicked off a day of climate emergency rallies in 19 cities across the country. Calls for President Biden to follow through on his climate promise continue to grow as the death tolls and long-term impacts from heatwaves, drought, floods, and other climate disasters rise.
18-year-old Gemma Gutierrez, Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE) Youth Advisory Board Member, said: "I am surrounded by the devastating effects of inaction: wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, and record-breaking heatwaves. Millions displaced, children poisoned by their own backyards, and living in certain zip codes cutting life expectancy in half. As a teenager calling for climate justice, I do so with the moral authority of someone whose future is on the line. We urgently need President Biden to declare a national climate emergency!"
Despite a big investment in renewable energy, the draft Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) currently being discussed in Congress falls short in addressing the out-of-control fossil fuel industry at the root of the climate crisis. By itself, the IRA is not enough to keep warming under 1.5 degrees and secure a livable future, and would lock in decades of fossil fuel pollution for communities in the Gulf Coast and Alaska.
The petitions launched by Greenpeace USA, Sunrise Movement, Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, MoveOn, 350Merced, Food & Water Watch, Turtle Island Restoration Network, Climate Smart Missoula, Center for Biological Diversity, People vs Fossil Fuels, Climate Hawks Vote, Green New Deal Network, Honor the Earth, Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE), Third Act National, Mothers Out Front, Better Path Coalition, and 350Colorado provided President Biden with specific actions he should take to prevent a climate catastrophe and advance climate justice. These include:
- Working with Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to end fossil fuel leasing on public lands and waters to protect them from any further pollution, contamination, or destruction at the hands of Big Oil.
- Halting the export of crude oil by reinstating the export ban. The ban existed for 40 years, and since it was lifted US exports have skyrocketed, as have associated greenhouse gas emissions.
- Expanding on the June 6th order under the Defense Production Act to spur electric transportation development and create millions of good-paying union jobs.
Photos and video of the 16-foot Earth and petition delivery will be available later today.
Jean Su, Energy Justice program director, Center for Biological Diversity, said: "As Congress negotiates climate measures, President Biden must champion a package free of fossil fuel handouts and declare a climate emergency to deliver the robust, all-of-government response we need. By using his full arsenal of emergency and ordinary executive powers, Biden can take sweeping action to protect our climate and curb fossil fuels where Congress is failing to do so. Deadly floods, severe heat and destructive fires all tell us we're in a climate emergency, but no one has power like President Biden to confront it."
Winona LaDuke, Executive Director, Honor the Earth, said: "As prophesied by Anishinaabe people, we are now in the time of 7th Fire, the time when humanity chooses either the worn, scorched path or the fresh, green path. Regardless of what Congress does, President Biden must declare the climate emergency and expedite a justice-based transition from fatal fossils to real renewables. We turned out in record numbers to put him in office; let President Biden keep his promises and send a message to the nation and the world that climate doom is not our destiny - we choose the new green path."
Bill McKibben, Founder of Third Act, said: "The planet's climate is obviously in a state of emergency-alarms are going somewhere each day, as fire, flood, heat and drought remake the map. We must all do all we can-and for the president, that means declaring an emergency, both to bear witness to the truth, and to expand his power to do what he, above all others, can."
Ashley Thomson, senior climate campaigner at Greenpeace USA, said: "Last week more than 85 million people in the U.S. were under heat-related advisories and 41 states are in a drought. The climate emergency is happening. President Biden needs to act like it now if he wants to preserve a livable future."
Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, Founder & CEO of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, said: "Jewish law acknowledges the need for action at unprecedented times with the legal principle: hora'at sha'ah, for "times of urgent need" or "times of emergency." We find ourselves in such a time, and urgently need President Bident to deliver bold action not more polluting fossil fuels."
Karen Feridun, Co-founder, Better Path Coalition (PA): "President Biden doesn't need to declare a climate emergency. People across the globe have been doing that for years and have been ignored. What he needs to do now is hear them, acknowledge the emergency, and exercise the full extent of his executive powers to address it."
Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
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Report Details Ongoing Civilian Harm From Banned Cluster Bombs
"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.
Sep 09, 2024
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.
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WHO Chief Warns of 'Perfect Storm of Crises' in Sudan as World Turns Its Back
"The international community has seemingly forgotten about Sudan, and is paying little heed to the conflict tearing it apart."
Sep 09, 2024
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":
- over 500 days of conflict;
- the largest level of displacement in the world;
- famine in some parts, and risk of this in others;
- disasters including flooding leading to dams bursting;
- disease outbreaks, including cholera, malaria, dengue, and measles, with the risk of mpox;
- multiple reported incidents of conflict-related sexual violence; and
- the near collapse of much of the country's health system.
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.
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UN Rights Chief: World Can't Accept Israel's 'Blatant Disregard' of International Law
"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.
Sep 09, 2024
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.
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