Volume 6 No 2
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ItemRussian anti-war activists continue feminist tradition of opposing violence(Global Campus Human Rights, 2022)Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several anti-war movements have been organised in Russia or by Russian emigrants abroad. One of them is Feminist Anti-War Resistance—a horizontal feminist organisation creating online and offline protest actions against the war in Ukraine. The article tells the story of the activists and explains why feminist ideas are so important in opposing the war.
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ItemHow energy injustice fuels Middle East conflict and human rights abuses(Global Campus Human Rights, 2022)The abundance of Middle East oil reserves has shaped global politics for decades. United States foreign policy in particular is driven by the desire for energy security and efforts to safeguard this have inversely fuelled conflict and instability in the Middle East. Oil also plays a major role in European foreign policy, the importance of which has been intensified by the Russia Ukraine war which now threatens the continuity of Russian oil and gas supplies. Moreover, tension and inequalities within and between Middle Eastern oil-importing and oil-exporting countries have greatly contributed to human rights abuses in the region. Now is the time for the international human rights community to adopt an energy justice framework which acknowledges and considers compensation for harms committed by oil industry giants and the violent politics of oil.
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ItemCOVID-19 must accelerate African push for universal healthcare(Global Campus Human Rights, 2022)“The greatest injustice is the lack of access to equitable healthcare” Dr Martin Luther King Jr. In a bid to achieve equitable healthcare in Africa, a total of 46 African states met in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2001. In what came to be known as the Abuja Declaration, each African state pledged to commit 15 percent of public expenditure to health. More than two decades since the Declaration was signed, only two African countries have reached this target, leaving vast swathes of the continent vulnerable to emerging health crises such as Ebola and COVID-19. Poor response and management is exacerbated by unpreparedness due to lack of research and under-developed infrastructure. Limited healthcare funding has also led to other challenges such as exploitation of patients, especially by private health providers, who see public health crises as money-making opportunities. Unfortunately, even those entrusted with managing public funds dedicated to the response and management of these crises have resorted to corruption. Whilst we tentatively celebrate having finally survived COVID-19, Africa needs to learn lessons from its past and plan for a better future. Firstly, by increasing government funding towards the health sector and secondly by addressing other still-existing challenges to equitable healthcare. This article recommends building resilient healthcare systems; adopting individual and group participation in decision-making processes; and ensuring there is Universal Health Coverage. All these must start with political will and good leadership.
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ItemHuman rights preparedness and protracted ongoing emergencies(Global Campus Human Rights, 2022)The terms “emergency” and “refugee” often conjure up images of short-term crises quickly resolved by one-off aid efforts and people who will be able to return home at some stage in the near future. However, many emergencies around the world continue for decades and those fleeing them struggle to exist in conditions totally unsuited for the long haul. In Asia Pacific alone, Afghanistan, Tibet and Sri Lanka are all suffering ongoing long-term emergencies with tens of thousands of citizens bringing up new generations in exile: many are denied basic human rights such as citizenship, education and the ability to make a living in their host countries, not to mention the steady erosion of their cultures and traditions. With economic crashes and climate change amongst the many reasons people may flee their countries of origin in order to survive, this article recommends that the global community broadens its definition of refugees and imaginatively redesigns its approach to human rights preparedness in face of ever-increasing movement of peoples migrating from varied and complex long-term emergencies.
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ItemHydropower plants in the Western Balkans: Protecting or destroying nature?(Global Campus Human Rights, 2022)Urgent action is needed to save humanity from the consequences of global warming. The energy sector, especially coal-fired power plants in the Western Balkans, are amongst the worst polluters and contributors to CO2 emissions in Europe, therefore the switch to renewables is essential. Hydropower was seen as an attractive replacement with 3,000 hydropower plants (HPPs) planned between Slovenia and Turkey. However, with most of these earmarked for protected natural areas, the resulting damage to the environment, especially to fragile river ecosystems and dependent biodiversity, is hugely disproportionate to investment, particularly given HPPs’ negligible contribution to electricity production and lack of benefits for local communities. Activists and scientists across the Balkans have succeeded to some extent in highlighting the negative impact of HPPs. However, governments in the region must do more to diversify into alternative renewable energy sources and to protect nature for future generations.