Almost

The International Court of Justice has begun hearings on the largest case in its history – examining the link between climate change and human rights. The landmark case – which will see more than 100 countries and organizations present arguments – was spearheaded by the Pacific island of Vanuatu, after a group of students across the Pacific Islands ( Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change )launched a campaign calling on the ICJ to issue its legal opinion about countries’ legal obligations to respond to climate change and protect the rights of current and future generations. On the first day of hearings on Monday Dec. 2, Vanuatu’s special envoy on climate change and the environment, Ralph Regenvanu, delivered a powerful opening statement about the urgent need for a collective response to climate change that is grounded not in political convenience but in international law. “Our peoples have built vibrant cultures and traditions over millennia that are intimately intertwined with our ancestral lands and seas,” Regenvanu said. “Yet today we find ourselves on the front lines of a crisis we did not create, a crisis that threatens our very existence.” He added that the climate crisis is also impacting many other peoples around the world, who have come out in unprecedented numbers to be heard by the court. “I choose my words carefully when I say this may well be the most consequential case in the history of humanity,” Regevanu said. “Let us not allow future generations to look back and wonder why the cause of their doom was.” Over the two weeks, the ICJ will examine two questions with relation to climate change and human rights and issue an advisory opinion, which is not binding but carries significant authority and legal weight. #ClimateICJAO #climatejustice #climate #ClimateJusticeAtTheICJ

On Nov. 29, Syrian rebels took control of most of the city of Aleppo in a lightning offensive. The country’s second largest city has been controlled by the Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad’s regime since 2016. The surprise offensive was the biggest challenge to Assad’s regime in years. Syrian activist Omar Alshogre, who was arrested and tortured by the Assad regime for taking part in the Syrian Revolution in 2012, shares with Almost why this moment is so significant. #syria #aleppo #activist #activism #politics #assad #iran #russia #news #worldnews

People in Georgia are holding mass protests after the government suspended talks to join the EU until 2028. The protest has been ongoing for four days as of Dec. 2, with police violently cracking down on protesters with water cannons and tear gas and arresting at least 220 people. #georgia #europe #EU #russia #elections #news #worldnews

Syrian rebels have taken control of most of Aleppo, the country’s second largest city, from the regime in a lightning offensive. Here’s what to know. #aleppo #syria #basharalassad #civilwar #idlib #hama #middleeast #iran #hezbollah #politics #news #worldnews

Here’s a recap of what really happened during Israel’s genocide in Gaza this week. #gaza #israel #palestine #lebanon #hezbollah #truce #ceasefire #icc #benjaminnetanyahu #war #genocide #news #worldnews

Australia has become the first country in the world to ban children under 16 from using social media. The move comes after the government expressed concerns about how social media negatively affects children's mental and physical health. The law, passed on Wednesday, Nov. 28, requires social media companies like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and X to take "reasonable steps" to prevent children under 16 from creating accounts. However, apps for messaging, online gaming and educational services are not affected by the ban. The new law will not punish children or parents who break the rules and instead place the responsibility on social media companies. If social media companies fail to comply with the rules, they could face large fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (US$32 million). "Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said after the law was passed.. The legislation will come into effect in about a year, which will give social media companies time to set up systems to check children's ages. However, the government has not yet explained how exactly the ban will be enforced. The government has said it will use an unspecified age-verification technology, but, at the same time, social media companies cannot force children to give personal ID, like a digital ID, to prove their age, according to Times Of India. Albanese, who has long advocated for the ban, said that the law will ensure that ”mums and dads can have that different conversation today and in future days." The new law has received mixed reactions. While 77% of Australians support the ban, some people say it is too harsh and won't solve the problems with social media. They say it might push children to use other parts of the internet that are less safe. In addition, advocacy groups say the ban could stop vulnerable people, like those from the LGBTQ community or immigrant teenagers, from being able to find support online. Australia’s law is one of the strictest in the world when it comes to children's access to social media. #world #australia #anthonyalbanese #socialmedia #children #teenagers

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested an arrest warrant for the leader of Myanmar's military junta, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, for committing crimes against humanity against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority ethnic group in the country. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Wednesday, Nov. 27, that there are "reasonable grounds" to believe Min Aung Hlaing “bears criminal responsibility for the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya, committed in Myanmar, and in part in Bangladesh”. The alleged crimes occurred between Aug. 25, 2017 and Dec. 31, 2017 when Min Aung Hlaing led a military campaign that forcibly displaced more than 740,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh. The operation began after Rohingya militants attacked more than 30 police posts in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, according to the BBC. In response, the military launched "clearance operations" targeting Rohingya communities that killed at least 6,700 Rohingyas, including hundreds of children under five, within a month, according to BBC. There were also reports of widespread sexual assault, with the military reportedly raping nearly 2,000 women and girls, according to Amnesty International. The military also burned nearly 400 villages of Rohingya in the Rakhine State. Khan said that the “Tatmadaw, armed forces of Myanmar, committed the crimes with the support of the national police, the border guard police, as well as non-Rohingya civilians”. Khan also said that the warrant request is just the beginning, adding that "the Rohingya have not been forgotten" and are entitled to legal protection. International organizations, including the United Nations, have called the actions as the “textbook definition of ethnic cleansing” and “genocide”. Myanmar’s military government rejected the ICC’s arrest warrant request, arguing the country is not a part of the ICC and that its leaders follow a policy of “peaceful coexistence”, according to Al Jazeera. Many human rights organisations also hailed ICC’s move, which began its investigation in 2019. However , the court can act because the ICC prosecutor mentioned that some alleged crimes also occurred in Bangladesh, which is an ICC member, BBC reported. #myanmar #rohingya #icc #humanrights #military #genocide #law #world #worldnews

COP29 climate negotiations held in Baku, Azerbaijan, finally concluded 33 hours late, with a deal stipulating that developed nations will provide US$300 billion annually by 2035 to assist developing countries in coping with the impacts of climate change. Developing nations have called the figure grossly inadequate, saying it falls far short of the estimated US$1.3 trillion per year needed to efficiently tackle the climate crisis #cop29 #climate #extremeweather #globalwarming #climatejustice #news #worldnews

In a step forward for trans rights, a court in Taiwan has ruled that a transgender woman should be allowed to change her legal gender without undergoing gender-affirming surgery. Since 2001, people in Taiwan who wish to change their legal gender have to provide evaluations from two psychiatrists, as well as medical documentation confirming they have had their reproductive organs surgically removed. On November 20, 2020, the Trans Day of Remembrance, 25-year-old engineer Lisbeth Wu applied to change her legal gender, providing two hospital diagnoses of gender dysphoria and a US passport showing her as female. In her request, she argued that the gender-affirming surgery requirement was unconstitutional and that people should be allowed to change their gender if they had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. When her request was rejected by the court, Wu decided to appeal, becoming the first person to do so in Taiwan. Wu told Almost that she decided to take up her legal battle because she wanted to speak up for the trans community. "Trans people should not be forced to have surgery," she said. "Surgery should be a choice for everyone." Although Taiwan was the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, trans people still face stigma and systemic discrimination. Wu said as she was fortunate to have a stable income and the support of her family, she wanted to help those who didn't have the same privileges. "If someone like me, who is already very eloquent and willing to speak out publicly, has to experience these painful experiences, what about others?" she said. In addition, many people in Taiwan cannot afford gender-affirming surgery. Wu said when she consulted a doctor, she discovered that the price of one operation ranged from NT$500,000 (US$15,300) to NT$600,000 (US$18,400). After four years, Wu finally won her appeal on Aug. 26 and successfully changed her legal gender on Oct. 9. In the past four years, six other people have also won appeals to change their gender without undergoing surgery. "[Trans people] just want to be treated as ordinary people," she said, adding that asking someone how they would like to be referred to is a simple yet powerful gesture. #trans #transgender #identity #gender #lgbt #taiwan #women #news #worldnews

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the International Criminal Court of being “antisemitic” after it issued arrest warrants for him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. “[The ICC] is falsely accusing me, the democratically elected prime minister of the State of Israel and Israel’s former defense minister Yoav Gallant, of deliberately targeting civilians, this when we do everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties,” Netanyahu said in a video message on Nov. 21. He instead blamed Hamas for “doing everything in their power” to keep civilians in Gaza in harm’s way, including shooting them and using them as human shield. Netanyahu also rejected the ICC’s accusations that he and Gallant were employing a deliberate policy of starvation in Gaza, saying that Israel had supplied with 700,000 tons of food but that it was Hamas who were routinely rooting the food. “Yet just in the last few weeks Israel facilitated the vaccination of 97 percent of the people of Gaza against polio,” Netanyahu said. “This doesn’t prevent the court of accusing us of genocide. Netanyahu went on to say that no war is “more just” than the war Israel has been waging in Gaza, adding that the arrest warrants were issued by a “rogue prosecutor” and “biased judges”. He said that the judges were falsely accusing the only democracy in the Middle East and thus imperiling the right of all democracies to defend themselves. He called out the judges for “doing nothing” against dictatorships in Iran, Syria and Yemen and only issuing an arrest warrant for Hamas’ military commander, Mohammed Deif, who Israel claims to have killed in July. He said that Israel will not recognize the validity of the ICC’s decision, adding that “no biased anti-Israel decision in The Hague will prevent the State of Israel from defending its citizens.” #world #news #icc #netanyahu #gaza #palestine #warcrimes