World court hearing says climate change is ‘urgent and existential threat'
The ICJ in The Hague said on Wednesday that greenhouse gas emissions are unequivocally caused by 'human activities' and have cross border effects.
After years of lobbying by vulnerable island nations who fear they could disappear under rising sea waters, the United Nations General Assembly asked the ICJ in 2023 for an advisory opinion, a non-binding but important basis for international obligations.
Vanuatu is one of a group of small states that are pressing for international legal intervention in the climate crisis which affects many more island nations in the South Pacific.
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Al Jazeera
8 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Amnesty slams Israel for ‘deliberately starving' Palestinians in Gaza
The human rights group Amnesty International has accused Israel of enacting a 'deliberate policy' of starvation in Gaza as the United Nations and aid groups warn of famine in the Palestinian enclave. In a report quoting displaced Palestinians and medical staff who have treated malnourished children, Amnesty said: 'Israel is carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip.' The group accused Israel of 'systematically destroying the health, wellbeing and social fabric of Palestinian life'. 'It is the intended outcome of plans and policies that Israel has designed and implemented, over the past 22 months, to deliberately inflict on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction – which is part and parcel of Israel's ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,' Amnesty said. Israel has killed nearly 62,000 Palestinians and turned Gaza into rubble since it launched its military offensive on October 7, 2023. Campaigners and rights organisations have called it a war of vengeance and identified Israeli actions as a genocide. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes . The report is based on interviews conducted in recent weeks with 19 displaced Palestinians in Gaza sheltering in three makeshift camps as well as two medical staff members in two hospitals in Gaza City. 'I fear miscarriage, but I also think about my baby. I panic just thinking about the potential impact of my own hunger on the baby's health, its weight, whether it will have [birth defects] and, even if the baby is born healthy, what life awaits it, amid displacement, bombs, tents,' Hadeel, 28, a mother of two who is four months pregnant, was quoted as saying in the report. A 75-year-old woman told Amnesty International that she wishes to die. 'I feel like I have become a burden on my family. … I always feel like these young children, they are the ones who deserve to live, my grandchildren. I feel like I'm a burden on them, on my son,' Aziza said. Erika Guevara Rosas, senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns at Amnesty International, said in a statement: 'As Israeli authorities threaten to launch a full-scale ground invasion of Gaza City, the testimonies we have collected are far more than accounts of suffering, they are a searing indictment of an international system that has granted Israel a license to torment Palestinians with near-total impunity for decades.' Nearly one million Palestinians in Gaza City, many of whom have been displaced multiple times in the past two years, face forced displacement as Israel has intensified its attacks on the enclave's main urban centre. Call for truce Rosas called for 'an immediate, unconditional lifting of the blockade and a sustained ceasefire' for reversing 'the devastating consequences of Israel's inhumane policies and actions' in Gaza. Rosas concluded: 'The impact of Israel's blockade and its ongoing genocide on civilians, particularly on children, people with disabilities, those with chronic illnesses, older people and pregnant and breastfeeding women is catastrophic and cannot be undone by simply increasing the number of aid trucks or restoring performative, ineffective and dangerous airdrops of aid.' The Israeli military and Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not make statements about Amnesty's findings at the time of publication. Israel, while heavily restricting aid allowed into the Gaza Strip, has repeatedly rejected claims of deliberate starvation. More than 250 Palestinians, including 110 children, have died of malnutrition during the war due to the Israeli blockade. The enclave – home to 2.1 million people – had already been under an Israeli land, air and sea blockade since 2007, but since the war began, Israel has tightened it, at times stopping all aid from entering and now allows only a trickle of supplies into the Strip. In a report issued last week, the Israeli military body overseeing civil affairs in Palestinian territory rejected claims of widespread malnutrition in Gaza despite widespread condemnation from the UN and the international community in general. 'Famine unfolding before our eyes' Britain, Canada, Australia, Japan and several of their European allies have called on Israel to allow unrestricted aid into Gaza, stressing that the humanitarian crisis has reached 'unimaginable levels'. 'Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation,' the foreign ministers of about two dozen countries and the European Union's top diplomat said in a joint statement last week. In April, Amnesty accused Israel of committing a 'livestreamed genocide' against Palestinians by forcibly displacing Palestinians in Gaza and creating a humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged territory, claims that Israel dismissed at the time as 'blatant lies'.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
Israel intensifies Gaza City attacks, forcing starving Palestinians to flee
Israel's military has stepped up attacks on Gaza City as part of its expanded operations aimed at seizing the last major population centre in the enclave, forcing tens of thousands of starving Palestinians to flee again. The Gaza City neighbourhoods of Zeitoun, Sabra, Remal and Tuffah have particularly borne the brunt of the Israeli bombardments in recent days as a spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Israel's plans to forcibly displace Palestinians to southern Gaza would increase their suffering. Thousands of families have fled Zeitoun, where days of continuous strikes have left the neighbourhood devastated. At least seven people were killed on Sunday when an Israeli air strike hit al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. Also on Sunday, the Israeli military said tents and equipment to erect shelters will be provided to the Palestinians who have been displaced multiple times in 22 months of war, which has been called an act of genocide by multiple rights organisations. Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said artillery fire and air raids have forced many from their homes. 'The Zeitoun neighbourhood is a very densely populated area, home to many families, including those who have been sheltering there. Residents were surprised when the artillery shelling and the intensive air raids started. Some people stayed. Others started moving. As the violence escalated, many were forced to evacuate – hungry, devastated and displaced yet again, leaving behind everything they had,' Khoudary said. 'New wave of genocide' Israel last week announced plans to push deeper into Gaza City and remove its residents to the south, a move that has drawn international condemnation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, said civilians would be moved to 'safe zones' even though these areas have also been repeatedly bombed. Nearly 90 percent of the 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza remain displaced, and an overwhelming number of them are now facing starvation. At least seven more Palestinians died of starvation in Gaza in 24 hours, Gaza's Ministry of Health said on Sunday, raising the war's hunger-related death toll to 258, including 110 children, as a result of Israel's ongoing siege of the enclave. On Sunday, Israel killed nearly 40 Palestinians, half of them aid seekers, taking the total number of Palestinians killed since the war began in October 2023 to 61,827. Hamas denounced Israel's plan to set up tents in the south as a cover for mass displacement. The group said in a statement that the measure amounted to a 'new wave of genocide and displacement' and described it as a 'blatant deception intended to cover up a brutal crime that the occupation forces prepare to execute'. There was an atmosphere of despair in Gaza after Israel's latest forced displacement order, Maram Humaid, Al Jazeera's online correspondent from Gaza, posted on X. 'There are no words to describe how people in Gaza feel right now. Fear, helplessness, and pain fill everyone as they face a new wave of displacement and an Israeli ground operation,' she posted. 'Family and friends' WhatsApp groups are full of silent screams and sorrow. God knows people have suffered enough. Our minds are almost paralysed from thinking.' Displaced and desperate Palestinians are scrambling for scraps of food as they face more bombardment from Israeli forces. The UN says one in five children in Gaza is malnourished as tens of thousands rely on charity kitchens, whose small portions of food can be their only meal of the day. 'I came at 6am to the charity kitchen to get food for my children, and if I don't get any now, I have to come back in the evening for another chance,' said Zeinab Nabahan, displaced from the Jabalia refugee camp, told Al Jazeera. 'My children are starving on small amounts of lentils or rice. My children haven't had bread or any breakfast. They've been waiting for me to leave with whatever I can get from the charity kitchen.' Another resident, Tayseer Naim, told Al Jazeera that 'had it not been for God and charity kitchens', he would not have survived. 'We come here at 8am and suffer to get lentils or rice. We suffer a lot, and we leave at midday and walk for about a kilometre.' 'Man-made famine' On Sunday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned that Gaza is facing a 'man-made famine' and urged a return to a UN-led distribution system. 'We are very, very close to losing our collective humanity,' Juliette Touma, the agency's communications director, said in a post on X. She said the crisis had been fuelled by 'deliberate attempts to replace the UN-coordinated humanitarian system through the politically motivated 'GHF'.' She warned the alternative system promoted by Israel and the United States 'brings dehumanisation, chaos, and death' and stressed: 'We must return to a unified, UN-led coordination and distribution system based on international humanitarian law. The abomination must end.' The Government Media Office in Gaza said Israel was deliberately starving Palestinians by blocking essential goods, including baby formula, nutritional supplements, meat, fish, dairy products, and frozen fruits and vegetables. In a statement on Telegram, it said Israel was carrying out 'a systematic policy of engineered starvation and slow killing against more than 2.4 million people in Gaza, including more than 1.2 million Palestinian children, in a complete crime of genocide'. It warned that more than 40,000 infants face severe malnutrition while at least 100,000 other children and patients are in a similar condition. Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network in Gaza City, told Al Jazeera that aid workers were struggling to respond as resources collapse. 'We are trying to do our best. We are … part of this social fabric. We are linked to the people here, and we are staying with them while Israel threatens to apply its plans to forcibly evacuate Gaza City and destroy the rest of Gaza. There are 1.1 million people here, most of them elderly, women, children and people with disabilities,' Shawa said. He said workers continued to provide limited meals, medical care and education but warned that 'the humanitarian system is collapsing' as Israel strikes aid facilities and restricts supplies.
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- Al Jazeera
No agreement in sight as UN plastic pollution treaty talks enter final day
Negotiations to secure a global treaty to combat plastic pollution were in limbo as talks entered their final day after dozens of countries rejected the latest draft text. With time running out to seal a deal among the 184 countries gathered at the United Nations in Geneva, the talks' chair, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, produced a draft text based on the few areas of convergence, in an attempt to find common ground. But the draft succeeded only in infuriating virtually all corners, and the text was immediately shredded as one country after another ripped it to bits. For the self-styled ambitious countries, it was an empty document shorn of bold action like curbing production and phasing out toxic ingredients, and reduced to a waste management accord. And for the so-called Like-Minded Group, with Gulf states leading the charge, it crossed too many of their red lines and did not do enough to narrow the scope of what they might be signing up for. The talks towards a legally binding instrument on tackling plastic pollution opened on August 5 and were scheduled to close on Thursday, the latest attempt after five previous rounds of talks over the past two and a half years which failed to seal an agreement. Valdivieso's draft text does not limit plastic production or address chemicals used in plastic products, which have been contentious issues at the talks. About 100 countries want to limit production as well as tackle cleanup and recycling. Many have said it's essential to address toxic chemicals. Oil-producing countries only want to eliminate plastic waste. The larger bloc of countries seeking more ambitious actions blasted what they consider a dearth of legally binding action. But oil-producing states said the text went too far for their liking. Lowered ambition or ambition for all? Panama said the goal was to end plastic pollution, not simply to reach an agreement. 'It is not ambition: it is surrender,' their negotiator said. The European Union said the proposal was 'not acceptable' and lacked 'clear, robust and actionable measures', while Kenya said there were 'no global binding obligations on anything'. Tuvalu, speaking for 14 Pacific island developing states, said the draft risked producing a treaty 'that fails to protect our people, culture and ecosystem from the existential threat of plastic pollution'. Britain called it a text that drives countries 'towards the lowest common denominator', and Norway said it was 'not delivering on our promise … to end plastic pollution'. Bangladesh said the draft 'fundamentally fails' to reflect the 'urgency of the crisis', saying that it did not address the full life cycle of plastic items, nor their toxic chemical ingredients and their health impacts. Oil-producing states, which call themselves the Like-Minded Group – and include Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran – want the treaty to focus primarily on waste management. Kuwait, speaking for the group, said the text had 'gone beyond our red lines', adding that 'without consensus, there is no treaty worth signing'. 'This is not about lowering ambition: it's about making ambition possible for all,' it said. Saudi Arabia said there were 'many red lines crossed for the Arab Group' and reiterated calls for the scope of the treaty to be defined 'once and for all'. The United Arab Emirates said the draft 'goes beyond the mandate' for the talks, while Qatar said that without a clear definition of scope, 'we don't understand what obligations we are entering into'. India, while backing Kuwait, saw the draft as 'a good enough starting point ' to go forward on finalising the text. The draft could now change significantly and a new version is expected on Thursday, the last scheduled day of the negotiations. With ministers in Geneva for the final day of negotiations, environmental NGOs following the talks urged them to grasp the moment. The World Wide Fund for Nature said the remaining hours would be 'critical in turning this around'. 'The implications of a watered-down, compromised text on people and nature around the world is immense,' and failure on Thursday 'means more damage, more harm, more suffering', it said. Greenpeace delegation chief Graham Forbes called on ministers to 'uphold the ambition they have promised' and address 'the root cause: the relentless expansion of plastic production'. The Center for International Environmental Law's delegation chief David Azoulay said the draft was a 'mockery', and as for eventually getting to a deal, he said: 'It will be very difficult to come back from this.' More than 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items. Nearly half, or 46 percent, ends up in landfills, while 17 percent is incinerated and 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes rubbish.
