In this week’s podcast, aboriginal art custodians from the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia come all the way to Geneva to tell us they’re facing cultural genocide, while in Haiti, gang violence is creating a serious problem for UN relief teams. Across Africa, we find out why there’s serious concern about the spread of animal-to-human disease, and in the Philippines, a court ruling on Press freedom hero and Nobel winner, Maria Ressa, has sparked alarm from one leading human rights expert.
The decision by a Philippines court to uphold the conviction of campaigning journalist Maria Ressa should be reassessed by the newly elected government, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, said on Thursday.
As the debris clears, the scale of destruction is laid bare. When Super Typhoon Rai - Odette as it’s known locally - barrelled down on the Philippines on 16 December, its 195km/h winds and torrential rain tore through hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses and vital infrastructure, putting millions of lives in peril.
In this week’s show, the latest on the emergency relief effort in the Philippines after the terrible destruction caused by Super Typhoon Rai; deep concern about the blockade of medicines to Ethiopia’s Tigray from the World Health Organization (WHO), a “landmark” judgment against a Syrian interrogator who’s been found guilty of crimes against humanity, and Omicron on the African continent, where infections look to be plateauing, but not everywhere.
Super Typhoon Rai which ripped through the Philippines over Christmas, has created a massive emergency with huge and ongoing needs, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
Relief teams fear worsening aftermath of Super Typhoon Rai
WHO Omicron variant is not ‘mild’, says Tedros
UN rights chief Bachelet appeals for calm in Kazakhstan
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines urged on Tuesday all United Nations Member States to reverse course on inequality, saying the issue will define humanity’s future.
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday that it was “appalled” by what appears to be the simultaneous arbitrary killings of nine activists in the Philippines during police-military operations in provinces surrounding the metropolitan area of the capital, Manila.
Polar vortex responsible for Texas freeze and warm Arctic temperatures
Philippines killing of activists must be investigated
Switzerland ban on headscarves risks further marginalization: UN rights office