UN Rights Body to Investigate Israel/Palestine: Daily Brief
The UN Human Rights Council voted to launch a commission of inquiry on Israel/Palestine; Chevron and Total suspend payments to Myanmar's junta; equitable vaccine policies and access are needed around the world; children in Ethiopia's Tigray region are deprived of safe schools; Ecuador's new president should protect rights; Germany officially recognizes colonial-era genocide in Namibia; and Tulsa's Race Massacre centennial, an opportunity for reparations in the US.
The UN Human Rights Council voted yesterday to create a commission of inquiry into Israel/Palestine. During the session, Human Rights Watch called for this standing inquiry to advance meaningful accountability, address root causes and end the crimes of apartheid and persecution. Pressure is mounting for Europe and the US to stop turning a blind eye to the Israeli government's oppression of Palestinians.
Chevron and Total suspended payments from a gas pipeline project in Myanmar with additional steps to cut off funding to the country’s military junta. While it is a welcome move, governments and companies should now take stronger actions to stop the Myanmar military from receiving funds.
The world is witnessing a tale of two pandemics, where equitable vaccine policy and access play leading roles. France is unwinding lockdown measures, while India struggles to set a Covid vaccine policy with cases ratcheting up. Governments like France and other EU states should focus on waiving the intellectual property of Covid vaccines, in addition to donating doses.
The fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray is depriving children of an education, adding to the loss that their communities have suffered for the last six months. The government should ensure schools can reopen safely, including by ending the military use of schools and punishing military personnel responsible for abuses.
The newly elected president of Ecuador should prioritize implementing Constitutional Court rulings that advance human rights protections. In many cases, the court specified action required by lawmakers and the president to carry out its rulings.
Germany recognized colonial-era mass killings in Namibia as genocide and promised financial support worth more than $1.2 billion.
The upcoming centennial of the Tulsa race massacre is the opportunity to provide Black communities with long overdue reparations.