Will Governments Listen to Youth? Daily Brief

Today marks the return of protests by climate activists all around the globe. Children and youth leading the movement will make their voices heard and demand serious commitment to climate action from their governments. Greta Thunberg will join the protest in Germany, ahead of general elections this weekend which will determine the country’s approach to the climate crisis at a critical moment, and shortly after this summer's devastating floods. 

Since the Polish government has introduced a state of emergency at Poland's border region with Belarus, Polish border guards are increasingly, and unlawfully, pushing people back across the border. At least four migrants have frozen to death in areas between the two countries. With journalists and NGOs being banned from the area, the flow of information about the unfolding humanitarian crisis is severely curtailed. 

The Kenyan government  has banned a documentary portraying an ordinary Kenyan gay couple in its continued efforts to silence sexual and gender minorities. The 2018 award-winning movie Rafiki, representing a lesbian love story, had also been censored, allegedly for serving a "same sex marriage agenda". Criminalizing the LGBT community in Kenya will only stoke the anti-gay violence denounced in the films.

Tunisia's ten-year-old democracy is experiencing its most precarious moment, as President Kais Saied concentrates powers in his own hands. Rights groups and political parties have accused him of violating the constitution and undermining democracy in the country after he dismissed the Prime Minister and suspended parliament on 25 July.

And finally, some good news for delivery workers in New York: The city's lawmakers passed a set of bills aimed at improving working conditions and setting a minimum per-trip payment. It's the broadest effort so far to regulate the food-delivery industry that grew enormously during the pandemic, putting workers at heightened risk - and an example to follow everywhere.