Council of Canadians debunks Fraser Institute water report | The Council of Canadians

Council of Canadians debunks Fraser Institute water report | The Council of Canadians: The Fraser Institute recently released the report, Evaluating the State of Fresh Water in Canada. The report concludes that “...there is no shortage of freshwater in Canada as a whole. Despite concerns about water usage and the unequal distribution of freshwater across the country, freshwater resources in Canada are abundant and Canadians consume only small fraction of the water supply.”  
 The information in the report and its conclusions paint an inaccurate and dangerous picture of water security in Canada. Information about long-standing drinking water advisories in First Nations, droughts and other climate events, and extreme energy projects like the tar sands is missing from the report. This gives a skewed view of water quantity and quality in Canada.  
 Drinking water advisories in First Nations   Council of Canadians chapters flagged the lack of information on Drinking Water Advisories (DWAs) in First Nations. Nowhere in the report are DWAs in First Nations (or municipalities for that matter) mentioned.

A War on Science, Morals, and Law (US)

A War on Science, Morals, and Law: new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists accuses Trump’s Interior Department of “relentless attacks on science ranging from suppressing and sidelining the work of the department’s scientists to systematically refusing to act on climate change.” To put it mildly, this is concerning.

The Union of Concerned Scientists is an advocacy group whose words are chosen to advance their viewpoint. They refer often to “science,” which we assume to be non ideological, universal, and true. In this sense, science is the highest guiding principle that all should follow, as it is in the best interest of our nation and planet. In practice, the power dynamics and other social divisions within our society don’t go away when one does “science.”

 Yale sociologist Justin Farrell points out that disputes over the management of nature can be more moral than scientific in nature. Science can tell us how many wolves or grizzly bears live in Wyoming, or how much habitat and genetic diversity they need to survive as a species. But the belief that humans should manage nature to preserve intact ecosystems is a moral one. Economics and politics matter too, as we determine whose interests and opinions matter most. What’s it worth to us to protect Bears Ears National Monument, which encompasses land sacred to Native Americans? To Native Americans and those who support them, the land is priceless. The mining industries can put a specific price tag on the minerals in the ground. Whether it’s worth banning mining on land that is beautiful, ecologically valuable, and sacred to Native Americans is a moral question, not a scientific one.

 That said, science is needed to help us make sound decisions that compromise between groups with competing values and interests. The government needs to produce, believe, and disseminate science that will allow it to act in the best interests of the American people, and to help the people hold the government accountable. The Trump administration clearly isn’t doing that. According to the LA Times, “Interior isn’t the only science agency that has been turned into a billboard for political and ideological propaganda. The Environmental Protection Agency has been similarly hollowed out, and the Department of Health and Human Services has all but abandoned its duty to advance Americans’ access to affordable healthcare.” There’s another reason why we need solid science within the government: to enable the government to follow its own laws. Trump’s administration is taking a see no evil, hear no evil approach. Without information about how a mining project might impact an endangered species, or human health, or water quality, they’re going to end up enabling projects that violate existing laws. Which is probably the point. It’s understandable that some people disagree with our laws or don’t wish to follow them.

However, we have a democratic process for changing those laws. When it comes to public safety regulations, industries and politicians have no business going around voters by suppressing the science needed to uphold the laws that protect them.

#HumanRightsDay: I have to be the voice to the powerless - Michelle Bachelet | IOL News

#HumanRightsDay: I have to be the voice to the powerless - Michelle Bachelet | IOL News

Exclusive: Today marks 70 years since the signing of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights. Noni Mokati chats to former Chilean President and now United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet about the status quo of human rights across the world.

Before she relinquished her position in government in March this year, Michelle Bachelet had a myriad of responsibilities. One of these, which she was vehemently determined to see through, was to ensure that the dignity and rights of fellow Chilean men, women and children were upheld. Now in her new position, she maintains that her mandate is very clear.

“I have to be the voice to the powerless,” she said. On Friday, Bachalet joined South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg where both leaders spoke on the important role the declaration of human rights has played post World War 2.

Indifference to sexual violence eats away at us all, say Nobel pair | World news | The Guardian

Indifference to sexual violence eats away at us all, say Nobel pair | World news | The Guardian

Nobel laureates Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad have called on the world to protect victims of wartime sexual violence as they angrily criticised indifference to the plight of women and children in conflict in their peace prize acceptance speeches.

Mukwege, a Congolese gynaecologist and world expert on rape in conflict, and Murad, a Yazidi activist and survivor of Isis sexual slavery, said victims were sometimes valued less than commercial interests.

In a ceremony in which the laureates were cheered and given standing ovations, Mukwege and Murad called on the world to do more.

“If there is a war to be waged, it is the war against the indifference which is eating away at our societies,” Mukwege said at the ceremony in Oslo. His Panzi hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s war-torn east has treated the wounds of tens of thousands of women and children for sexual assaults that have become a “new reality” in the country. He said the violence “shames our common humanity”.

In her speech, Murad implored the global community to help to free hundreds of women and girls still held by jihadis, saying the world must protect her people and other vulnerable communities.

“It is my view that all victims deserve a safe haven until justice is done for them,” she said, pausing briefly, seemingly overcome with emotion.

Write on your own | Amnesty Canada, Dec 10

Write on your own | Amnesty Canada

This event registration is for those who are not attending a letter writing event, but are writing on their own.

Join Amnesty International on December 10th to Write for Rights on Human Rights Day! On or around December 10th millions of people across the world use the power of letter writing to protect individuals or communities whose human rights have been denied.

Everyone can participate! You don`t need to have any previous letter writing or Amnesty International experience. Amnesty welcomes all those who are keen to keep shining the light on human rights. Whether you plan to participate as a letter-writer, event organizer, event attendee or donor, you'll be making a difference.

Does letter writing work? It sure does! Check out our success stories page to learn more about previous Write for Rights cases that have been freed from prison or seen victory in their struggle: http://writeathon.ca/successes/

Write for Rights - Amnesty INternational, Human Rights Day

Write for Rights

WRITE4RIGHTS EVENTS
When thousands of people from around the world speak out at the same time, our voices united cannot be ignored. By participating in Write for Rights, you’re challenging systemic human rights abuses like torture and the death penalty. You’re standing up for women’s rights, LGBTI rights and corporate accountability. Each letter you write can change a life.

Use the link to find an event, or create one in your area.

#

Apocalyptic Climate Reporting Completely Misses the Point

Apocalyptic Climate Reporting Completely Misses the Point | Portside
(read the entire report - this is a very good analysis)
Are we doomed? It’s the most common thing people ask me when they learn that I study climate politics. Fair enough. The science is grim, as the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just reminded us with a report on how hard it will be to keep average global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. But it’s the wrong question. Yes, the path we’re on is ruinous. It’s just as true that other, plausible pathways are not. That’s the real, widely ignored, and surprisingly detailed message of the IPCC report. We’re only doomed if we change nothing. The IPCC report makes it clear that if we make the political choice of bankrupting the fossil-fuel industry and sharing the burden of transition fairly, most humans can live in a world better than the one we have now...

Reporting on the IPCC, and climate change more broadly, is unbalanced. It’s fixated on the predictions of climate science and the opinions of climate scientists, with cursory gestures to the social, economic, and political causes of the problem. Yet analysis of these causes is as important to climate scholarship as modeling ice-sheet dynamics and sea-level rise. Reductionist climate reporting misses this. Many references to policy are framed in terms of carbon pricing. This endorses the prevailing contempt in establishment circles for people’s capacity to govern themselves beyond the restrictions of market rule. Meanwhile, the IPCC report is overflowing with analyses showing that we can avoid runaway climate change, improve most people’s lives, and prioritize equality through a broad set of interventions.

It remains physically possible to keep global warming at a relatively safe 1.5 degrees Celsius, and certainly a less safe—but not apocalyptic—2 degrees. This would require dramatic changes in economic policy and doubling down on the powers of public planning. Taxing carbon is essential, but is just one of many complementary tools. Using “command and control” regulatory methods, the Clean Air Act cleaned up much of the United States years before “market mechanisms” became famous. Indeed, “command and control” is the centerpiece of the best climate policies in the United States. Take California: There, the state’s regulatory mandates forcing utilities to source more renewable energy are the main reason emissions have gone down. In contrast, the market-mechanism piece of California’s climate policy, a “cap and trade” program, has failed to slash emissions; it may even have facilitated a moderate increase in carbon pollution in the state’s poorest neighborhoods.

Despite the framing of most news coverage about it, the latest IPCC report is innovative precisely because it uses new social science to highlight the climate implications of a range of political choices. But you have to read beyond the “Summary for Policymakers” to see it. The IPCC has embraced an approach developed by climate scholars called “Shared Socioeconomic Pathways,” or SSPs. Prior to the latest report, the IPCC projected future scenarios based on skeletal, technocratic models of energy, land use, and climate. They represented climate politics as being like a dashboard with a few dials that engineers could turn—a little more renewable energy here, a touch less deforestation there. In contrast, the SSPs imagine different possible climate futures in terms of realistic clusters of policy decisions, which in turn affect emissions, land use, and how the impacts of extreme weather are felt.

In the current report, there are five SSPs, which illustrate the huge differences between possible paths forward. Each pathway represents a different set of approaches for slashing emissions and coping with climate change. The first three strike me as most plausible. SSP 1, called “Sustainability,” imagines a world where policies increasingly favor sustainability, equity, education, and health care (which all reduces population growth), technological progress, and energy efficiency. This pathway also includes major cuts to fossil-fuel investment, which combined with public policy drive a hard, fast shift to clean energy and increased efficiency.

Compared to this rosy scenario, SSP 3, “Regional rivalry,” is terrifying: It projects low technological progress, few advances in health and education, high energy use, low international cooperation, and a booming population. Thanks to Donald Trump and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, it’s depressingly easy to imagine this world, though we’re not there yet. SSP 2, a “middle of the road” scenario, feels closest to our current reality; it projects only moderate amounts of technological progress, cooperation, and social investment. While SSP 2’s climate implications are also scary—limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius on this path is hard—the scenario is flexible enough for a turn to 1 or 3, better or worse. SSP 4, “Inequality,” and SSP 5, “Fossil-fuelled development” explore other unsettling options. The next report will have nine of these.

The scenarios do a nice job of tying together disparate social science about drivers of greenhouse-gas emissions beyond crude energy accounting. For instance, women’s improved education, job prospects, and smaller families in SSP 1 are a key reason climate models find that it is the easiest path to limiting warming to 1.5 degrees. Keywan Riahi, one of the architects of this new modeling approach, told me that some of the numbers glossed in the IPCC report’s “Summary for Policymakers” miss crucial takeaways, like the social-impact analysis buried deeper in the report’s third chapter. For instance, at two degrees Celsius warming, in an SSP 3 world, between 750 million and 1.2 billion people would be severely exposed to climate-linked extreme weather, according to a 2018 study discussed in the IPCC report. In contrast, the IPCC reports, under the SSP 1 scenario, well under 100 million people would be hard hit by extreme weather at the same level of warming.

Stop biodiversity loss or we could face our own extinction, warns UN |

Stop biodiversity loss or we could face our own extinction, warns UN | Environment | The Guardian
The world must thrash out a new deal for nature in the next two years or humanity could be the first species to document our own extinction, warns the United Nation’s biodiversity chief.

Ahead of a key international conference to discuss the collapse of ecosystems, Cristiana Pașca Palmer said people in all countries need to put pressure on their governments to draw up ambitious global targets by 2020 to protect the insects, birds, plants and mammals that are vital for global food production, clean water and carbon sequestration.

Petition: No milk from BGH-injected cows in Canada

Petition: No milk from BGH-injected cows in Canada!
In January 1998, the Health Canada internal review team found evidence that rBST is not broken down in digestion. They noted the effects of the drug on test animals in a 90-day rat study conducted in the late 1980s for Monsanto and contained in the manufacturer's New Drug Submission. The Gaps Analysis Report noted that 20 to 30% of test animals that received high doses of the drug orally for 90 days produced antibodies to it. Some also showed evidence of cysts and other early effects. Some studies suggest an increase of IGF-1 levels in rBST milk, and evidence that IGF-1 is not broken down in digestion but survives in the presence of casein, a milk protein. Recent articles in scientific journals suggest that elevated IGF-1 levels are associated with a higher incidence of breast and prostate cancer, showing that IGF-1 may have local effects.

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,

Twenty years ago, Canada made the wise and responsible decision to keep genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH) out of our dairy supply, protecting the health of cows and consumers across the country.

Now, the pending USMCA and CPTPP trade agreements threaten to bring imported dairy to Canadian grocery stores in unprecedented levels - and rBGH along with it.

I call on you to uphold Canada's higher standard and keep this harmful genetically engineered hormone out of Canada.

Forests Emerge as a Major Overlooked Climate Factor

Forests Emerge as a Major Overlooked Climate Factor | Portside\...
Very interesting article - here's a taste:

The key features of this molecular wizardry are pores, called stomata, in plant leaves. A single leaf can contain more than 1 million of these specialized structures. Stomata are essentially microscopic mouths that simultaneously take in carbon dioxide from the air and let out water. As Swann notes, the gas exchange from each stoma — and indeed from each leaf — is, on its own, tiny. But with billions of stomata acting in concert, a single tree can evaporate hundreds of liters of water per day — enough to fill several bathtubs. The world’s major forests, which contain hundreds of billions of trees, can move water on almost inconceivably large scales. Antonio Nobre, a climate scientist at Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, has estimated, for example, that the Amazon rainforest discharges around 20 trillion liters of water per day — roughly 17 percent more than even the mighty Amazon River.

New UN report demands immediate urgent action on climate change | The Council of Canadians

New UN report demands immediate urgent action on climate change | The Council of Canadians: The the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a report that says governments must make "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society" to avoid disastrous levels of climate change. The panel’s report, released earlier this week, says the planet will reach the crucial threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by as early as 2030, increasing the risk of extreme drought, wildfires, floods and food shortages for hundreds of millions of people. According to CNN, “the planet is already two-thirds of the way there, with global temperatures having warmed about 1 degree C. Avoiding going even higher will require significant action in the next few years.” "This is concerning because we know there are so many more problems if we exceed 1.5 degrees C global warming, including more heatwaves and hot summers, greater sea level rise, and, for many parts of the world, worse droughts and rainfall extremes," Andrew King, a lecturer in climate science at the University of Melbourne, said in a statement.
 CNN reports that global net emissions of carbon dioxide would need to fall by 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach "net zero" around 2050 in order to keep the warming around 1.5 degrees C. Lowering emissions to this degree, while technically possible, would require widespread changes in energy, industry, buildings, transportation and cities, the report says. "The window on keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees C is closing rapidly and the current emissions pledges made by signatories to the Paris Agreement do not add up to us achieving that goal," added King. The report makes it clear that climate change is already happening – and what comes next could be even worse unless urgent international political action is taken.

Zero Hunger: Our Actions Today Are Our Future Tomorrow

Zero Hunger: Our Actions Today Are Our Future Tomorrow | Inter Press Service

ROME, Oct 15 2018 (IPS) - Just three years ago, in September 2015, all United Nations Member States approved the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The eradication of hunger and all forms of malnutrition (Sustainable Development Goal number 2) was defined by world leaders as a cardinal objective of the Agenda, a sine qua non condition for a safer, fairer and more peaceful world.

Paradoxically, global hunger has only grown since then. According to the latest estimates, the number of undernourished people in the world increased in 2017, for the third consecutive year. Last year, 821 million people suffered from hunger (11 percent of the world population – one in nine people on the planet), most of them family and subsistence farmers living in poor rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

However, the growing rate of undernourished people is not the only big challenge we are facing. Other forms of malnutrition have also increased. In 2017, at least 1.5 billion people suffered from micronutrient deficiencies that undermine their health and lives, At the same time, the proportion of adult obesity continues to rise , from 11.7 percent in 2012 to 13.3 percent in 2016 (or 672.3 million people).

Dutch appeals court upholds landmark climate change ruling | Environment | The Guardian

Dutch appeals court upholds landmark climate change ruling | Environment | The Guardian

A court in The Hague has upheld a historic legal order on the Dutch government to accelerate carbon emissions cuts, a day after the world’s climate scientists warned that time was running out to avoid dangerous warming.

Appeal court judges ruled that the severity and scope of the climate crisis demanded greenhouse gas reductions of at least 25% by 2020 – measured against 1990 levels – higher than the 17% drop planned by Mark Rutte’s liberal administration.

The ruling – which was greeted with whoops and cheers in the courtroom – will put wind in the sails of a raft of similar cases being planned around the world, from Norway to New Zealand and from the UK to Uganda.

Marjan Minnesma, the director of the Urgenda campaign which brought the case, called on political leaders to start fighting climate change rather than court actions.

Nobel Peace Prize to Mukwege and Murad!

BREAKING NEWS:
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. #NobelPrize #NobelPeacePrize

'How can I be happy?' Narrated by Stephen Fry - British Humanist Association

'How can I be happy?' Narrated by Stephen Fry - British Humanist Association

The long experience of tens of thousands of years of human beings living in communities has developed and refined our morality and we are all the lucky inheritors of that hard work.

But it does not mean that there are not people who do harm, or make bad choices.

But ultimately, morality comes from us, not from any god. It is to do with people, with individual goodwill and social responsibility; it is about not being completely selfish, about kindness and consideration towards others.

Ideas of freedom, justice, happiness, equality, fairness and all the other values we may live by are human inventions, and we can be proud of that, as
we strive to live up to them.

Lawyer: 'Monsanto's History Is Full of Lies'

Anti-Monsanto Lawyer: 'Monsanto's History Is Full of Lies' - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Monsanto has an internal program called "Let Nothing Go." The aim of this program is to attack scientists who are critical of Monsanto products. They go after people directly and discredit them. They also pay others to do so.

...nother program is called "Freedom to Operate." Its purpose is to eliminate everything that might disrupt sales of their products - laws, scientific articles, they go after everything. As part of that effort, they also engage lobbyists - scientists who Monsanto pays for their opportunism. Such programs reflect a corporate culture that shows no interest whatsoever in public health, only in profits.

DER SPIEGEL: Monsanto continues to dispute that it tried to influence scientific research. What was the critical factor for jurors in reaching the verdict?

Wisner: I believe it was the scientific findings themselves. The 12 jurors were not lightweights after all. There was a molecular biologist, an environmental engineer, a lawyer. Some colleagues told me: "Be careful Brent, so much intelligence can be an impediment." But I was certain that the arguments in the critical studies, parts of which were suppressed, were the strongest evidence we had.

'A man of enormous compassion': Adrienne Clarkson reacts to Kofi Annan’s death | CTV News

'A man of enormous compassion': Adrienne Clarkson reacts to Kofi Annan’s death | CTV News

Former governor general Adrienne Clarkson is remembering her friend and ex-United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan as “a man of enormous compassion” and “intense human vulnerability.”

The first black African to lead the United Nations, Annan died at the age of 80 after a short illness, his family and foundation announced on Saturday.

The relationship between Clarkson and Annan spanned a quarter of a century and the pair served together on the board of directors for the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa.

Those qualities, Clarkson said, included dignity, generosity, understanding, compassion and a capacity for listening that “is very rare in world leaders.”“I think that what was remarkable about Kofi Annan was that he hereditarily -- and for centuries I guess, because that’s the way African tribal life is -- was really a king and a prince in his own culture,” Clarkson said. “He brought all of the best qualities of that to his international work in the modern world for the UN.”

She added that Annan was not “a power technocrat” and that while he was realistic in his assessment of the world’s most complex problems, “he never lost hope and he never became cynical.”

Former UN chief and Nobel peace laureate Kofi Annan dies aged 80

Former UN chief and Nobel peace laureate Kofi Annan dies aged 80

The U.N. can be improved, it is not perfect but if it didn’t exist you would have to create it,” he told the BBC’s Hard Talk during an interview for his 80th birthday last April, recorded at the Geneva Graduate Institute where he had studied.

“I am a stubborn optimist, I was born an optimist and will remain an optimist,” Annan added.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, paid tribute to Annan as “humanity’s best example, the epitome, of human decency and grace”.

Zeid, who has criticized major powers and other countries during his four-year term that ends later this month, said that whenever he felt “isolated and alone politically”, he would go for long walks with Annan in Geneva.

“When I told him once how everyone was grumbling about me, he looked at me — like a father would look at a son — and said sternly: “You’re doing the right thing, let them grumble.” Then he grinned!

Health Canada to End Outdoor Use of Two Bee Killing Neonicotinoids : Friends of the Earth Canada

Health Canada to End Outdoor Use of Two Bee Killing Neonicotinoids : Friends of the Earth Canada: August 15, 2018 (Ottawa) – Friends of the Earth Canada welcomes the proposed decision by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency to end outdoor use of Clothianidin and Thiamethoxam, two of the most widely used neonicotinoid pesticides in the world.

Neonicotinoids (neonics) are systemic chemical insecticides that are found in all tissues of treated plants, including pollen and nectar. Neonics pose threats to non-target organisms like bees, which are responsible for pollinating one third of the world’s crops and 90 per cent of all wild plants. “This is testament to the persistence of Canadians. Literally 100s of thousands have petitioned government to make a special review of these bee-toxic chemicals.

 It is especially telling that the proposed decisions are based on unacceptable residues in our water and their impact on aquatic invertebrates – they haven’t yet finished the bee studies,” said Beatrice Olivastri, CEO of Friends of the Earth Canada. Today’s decision, along with the 2016 proposed decision on Imidicloprid, brings Canada in line with the European Union which banned the pesticides in April this year after a moratorium on their use since 2013. Today’s decision is an important step in protecting pollinators and Canada’s agricultural industry.

 Canadian beekeepers have reported significant losses since neonicotinoids were given conditional registration by PMRA. Despite growing complaints, PMRA continued to renew conditional registrations. “Five years ago I launched the save the bees campaign in Canada and PMRA told me there was nothing to worry about – neonicotiniods were safe. Today, PMRA is finally saying the use of these pesticides is not sustainable,” said John Bennett, Senior Policy Advisor, Friends of the Earth Canada. Despite the high levels of Clothianidin and Thiamethoxam found in waters, PMRA is proposing a three to five year phase-out rather than an immediate ban. The European Union has seen marginal impact on agricultural production since it stopped the use of neonicotinoid pesticides in 2013. A number of other studies have concluded the prophylactic use of neonicotinoids has little impact on yields. “Three to five years is too long to allow pesticide pollution to continue. PMRA is putting the economic interests of multinational corporations before the safety of our environment. Our environmental security requires an immediate halt to the use of these pesticides” said Ms. Olivastri. Friends of the Earth Canada’s #BeeCause campaign has called for a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides since 2013 mobilizing tens of thousands of Canadian, distributing bee friendly plant seeds and testing flowering plants sold by garden centres.

 Friends of the Earth is one of four environmental groups represented by Ecojustice in the November 2018 hearing against PMRA where we are asking the court to rule that the PMRA’s “approve first, study the science later” approach is unlawful and that the practice of granting approvals without science cannot continue.

Michelle Bachelet, Ex-President of Chile, Picked as Next U.N. Rights Chief - The New York Times

Michelle Bachelet, Ex-President of Chile, Picked as Next U.N. Rights Chief - The New York Times

The leader of the United Nations said on Wednesday that he had picked Michelle Bachelet, a prominent women’s rights advocate and the first woman to serve as Chile’s president, to be the organization’s next top human rights official.

The announcement by Secretary General António Guterres ended the uncertainty over who would replace Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, a Jordanian prince and longtime diplomat who became one of the most forthright critics of abuses by governments in many countries, including the United States, during his four years as the high commissioner for human rights.

Mr. al-Hussein said in December that he would not be seeking an extension of his term, which expires next month. He told colleagues that “to do so, in the current geopolitical context, might involve bending a knee in supplication.”

Ms. Bachelet, 66, who was imprisoned and tortured during Chile’s right-wing dictatorship and years later became a pediatrician and politician, will be stepping into a particularly difficult and contentious role at the 193-member organization.

Ban GM Field Tests - CBAN

Ban GM Field Tests - CBAN

On June 14, the Canadian government announced a contamination incident with unapproved genetically modified (GM, also called genetically engineered) wheat. Several GM wheat plants were found on a road in Alberta in an isolated contamination case and the government does not know how they got there. No GM wheat was ever approved for growing or eating in Canada, but the GM trait found growing in Alberta was field tested from 1998-2000.

The National Farmers Union has called for a ban on outdoor testing of GM crops. Please support this call by sending your letter from this website today (using the green box on the right of this page).

“The only way to prevent these incidents happening in the future is to ban outdoor testing.” – Terry Boehm, Chair of the National Farmers’ Union Seed Committee

UN: Torture in any form is absolutely unacceptable

Torture in any form, is absolutely unacceptable and can never be justified, UN said on Tuesday, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, urging great support for victims worldwide.

In his message to mark the Day, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said the “absolute prohibition” of torture is “stipulated in unequivocal terms’’ as a foundational principle, within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“Much has been achieved in the fight against this and other cruel, inhuman, degrading punishment and treatment, yet more action is needed to eradicate torture fully. He underscored that the victims have the right to justice, rehabilitation and redress.

The International Day in Support of Victims of Torture marks the moment in 1987, when the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, came into effect.

The Day also served as a rallying cry for all stakeholders, including the UN Member States, civil society and individuals to unite in support of victims of torture and those who are still subjected to the ghastly practice.

Stop the Bayer-Monsanto Mega-Merger

https://cban.ca/take-action/stop-the-mega-mergers/If companies Monsanto and Bayer are allowed to merge, the new company could control around 30% of the world’s commercial seed market and 25% of agricultural pesticides. The merger could increase the price of seed, decrease choice in the marketplace for Canadian farmers, and stifle research and development.Europe approved the merger on March 21, 2018 but Canada and other countries around the world need to approve the merger before it can happen.Please send an instant letter to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development today.In Canada, the Competition Bureau will review the proposed merger and announce a decision at some unknown time. Canada’s Competition Bureau has already agreed to let Dow and Dupont merge, and Syngenta and ChemChina  merge.
The Monsanto-Bayer merger is the last of the current proposed mega-mergers in seeds and pesticides which will mean four companies will control about two thirds of the global seed market and around 70% of pesticides. 

Federal government not doing enough to manage risk of fish farms, environmental watchdog says

The federal government isn't doing enough to manage the risks associated with salmon farming — and is failing to set national standards to prevent fish escapes and regulate how much drugs and pesticides companies can use. That's the conclusion of a report tabled in Parliament Tuesday from Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Julie Gelfand.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-environment-commissioner-spring-report-1.4632864

"I suggest that the department is at risk of being seen to be promoting aquaculture over the protection of wild fish," Gelfand said at a news conference. She pointed to a number of imbalances in Ottawa's approach to salmon aquaculture, such as lax enforcement of existing regulations and the absence of a requirement to monitor the ocean floor beneath fish farms. The report also points to a lack of clear national standards for nets and anchoring equipment — something Gelfand said is vitally important in Atlantic Canada, where escaped farmed salmon have begun to interbreed with declining wild salmon populations. Nets are often damaged by severe storms off the East Coast, so more farmed fish escape into the surrounding water there than on the West Coast, the report says

The commissioner also found that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans wasn't doing enough to monitor diseases and had only completed one-tenth of risk assessments for known diseases to understand the effects of salmon farming on wild fish. As a result, the report states, the department has no way of knowing how salmon farming has affected the health of wild fish stocks.

COC: Deny pit mining permit

https://secure.canadians.org/page/21656/action/1

Ask the Government of Ontario to deny the application by CRH Inc (Dufferin Aggregates) for renewal of the Permit To Take Water No. 5003-APFH26. The Teedon gravel pit is located in the heart of the Waverley Uplands. This area is a critical groundwater recharge area and granting this permit will endanger water quality and quantity in local aquifers.

Last year, Ontario amended the aggregate licence for the Teedon Pit to allow a huge expansion of both the area of excavation and the depth of excavations. This shortsighted decision will result in the company clearcutting a designated significant forest area, stripping away the soil and scooping out the gravel and stone that together make up the “filter” that keeps the groundwater so pure. The amendments also allow the import and storage of asphalt and other construction materials on the site, increasing the risk of contamination to the aquifer.

Renewing the permit to take water will affect the traditional territories of the Anishinabe people of Beausoleil First Nation. The Crown and the proponent are required by law to consult with the Anishinabe people over the project and obtain their free, prior and informed consent, but have not done so.

The Waverley Uplands need to be protected from industrial activities that threaten groundwater. Climate change is expected to cause significant changes to precipitation patterns in Ontario and groundwater recharge areas such as the Waverley Uplands are especially vulnerable to the cumulative impacts of those changes and gravel pit operations.

Protect water: Boycott Nestlé

Your voice is urgently needed. The Council of Canadians has just learned that Big Oil giant BP is in the process of moving a massive oil rig to offshore Nova Scotia where it has received approval from the Canadian government to begin drilling exploratory wells. BP could start drilling just days from now – and the risk of an environmental disaster is simply too great for you and me to ignore. To make matters worse, BP is on the move without obtaining a final permit from the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB), an unelected board of mostly former oil industry executives with a conflicting mandate of both promoting oil and gas development and protecting the marine environment. This is the same board that would be given more power in federal environmental assessments under Bill C-69, currently being debated.

 please add your name to our national petition calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to reverse the federal approval of BP’s offshore drilling. Sign the petition

 If the name BP sounds familiar it’s for good reason. It’s the same company responsible for the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico – the largest marine oil spill ever recorded.Now BP is eyeing new sources of oil offshore Nova Scotia and has federal approval to drill nearly twice the depth of the Deepwater Horizon well. A spill would be devastating to area marine life, and the fishing and tourism industries that are the lifeblood of Nova Scotia’s economy. For example, BP intends to drill 70 km east of the Gully Marine Protected Area and 50 km Northeast of Sable Island National Park, threatening endangered species like the Right Whale and thousands of sustainable fishery and tourism jobs. The risk is even greater offshore Nova Scotia, where stopping and containing a ruptured well is made more difficult by virtue of the harsher conditions of the North Atlantic.

UN moves towards recognising human right to a healthy environment

UN moves towards recognising human right to a healthy environment | Environment | The Guardian

It is time for the United Nations to formally recognise the right to a healthy environment, according to the world body’s chief investigator of murders, beatings and intimidation of environmental defenders.

John Knox, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, said the momentum for such a move – which would significantly raise the global prominence of the issue – was growing along with an awareness of the heavy toll being paid by those fighting against deforestation, pollution, land grabs and poaching.

His appeal, the culmination of more than five years of investigations, comes amid a major push for the UN and member states to do more to protect those who defend the land, water, air, forests and wildlife.

The UN Secretary-General’s Message on International Women’s Day | UN Women – Headquarters

The UN Secretary-General’s Message on International Women’s Day | UN Women – Headquarters

We are at a pivotal moment for women’s rights. The historical and structural inequalities that have allowed oppression and discrimination to flourish are being exposed like never before. From Latin America to Europe to Asia, on social media, on film sets, on the factory floor and in the streets, women are calling for lasting change and zero tolerance for sexual assault, harassment, and discrimination of all kinds.

Achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is the unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human rights challenge in our world.

The activism and advocacy of generations of women has borne fruit. There are more girls in school than ever before; more women are doing paid work and in senior roles in the private sector, academia, politics and in international organizations, including the United Nations. Gender equality is enshrined in countless laws, and harmful practices like female genital mutilation and child marriage have been outlawed in many countries. 

But serious obstacles remain if we are to address the historic power imbalances that underpin discrimination and exploitation.

More than a billion women around the world lack legal protection against domestic sexual violence. The global gender pay gap is 23 per cent, rising to 40 per cent in rural areas, and the unpaid work done by many women goes unrecognized. Women’s representation in national parliaments stands, on average, at less than one quarter, and in boardrooms it is even lower. Without concerted action, millions more girls will be subjected to genital mutilation over the next decade.

Where laws exist, they are often ignored, and women who pursue legal redress are doubted, denigrated and dismissed. We now know that sexual harassment and abuse have been thriving in workplaces, public spaces and private homes, in countries that pride themselves on their record of gender equality.

The United Nations should set an example for the world.

I recognize that this has not always been the case. Since the start of my tenure last year, I have set change in motion at UN headquarters, in our peacekeeping missions and in all our offices worldwide.

We have now reached gender parity for the first time in my senior management team, and I am determined to achieve this throughout the organization. I am totally committed to zero tolerance of sexual harassment and have set out plans to improve reporting and accountability. We are working closely with countries around the world to prevent and address sexual exploitation and abuse by staff in peacekeeping missions, and to support victims.

We at the United Nations stand with women around the world as they fight to overcome the injustices they face – whether they are rural women dealing with wage discrimination, urban women organizing for change, women refugees at risk of exploitation and abuse, or women who experience intersecting forms of discrimination: widows, indigenous women, women with disabilities and women who do not conform to gender norms.

Women’s empowerment is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals means progress for all women, everywhere. The Spotlight initiative launched jointly with the European Union will focus resources on eliminating violence against women and girls, a prerequisite for equality and empowerment.

Let me be clear: this is not a favour to women. Gender equality is a human rights issue, but it is also in all our interests: men and boys, women and girls. Gender inequality and discrimination against women harms us all.

There is ample evidence that investing in women is the most effective way to lift communities, companies, and even countries. Women’s participation makes peace agreements stronger, societies more resilient and economies more vigorous. Where women face discrimination, we often find practices and beliefs that are detrimental to all. Paternity leave, laws against domestic violence and equal pay legislation benefit everyone.

At this crucial moment for women’s rights, it is time for men to stand with women, listen to them and learn from them. Transparency and accountability are essential if women are to reach their full potential and lift all of us, in our communities, societies and economies.

I am proud to be part of this movement, and I hope it continues to resonate within the United Nations and around the world.

India's child marriage numbers drop sharply, driving down global rate: UNICEF

India's child marriage numbers drop sharply, driving down global rate: UNICEF

“India  constitutes more than 20 percent of the world’s adolescent
population and accounts for the highest number of child marriages in
South Asia given its size and population,” said Javier Aguilar,
UNICEF’s chief of child protection.
“In the current trend, 27 percent of girls, or nearly 1.5 million girls,
get married before they turn 18 in India. This is a sharp decline
from 47 percent a decade ago,” he told the Thomson Reuters
Foundation.Child marriage adds to health, education and abuse risks, and
increases the chance of intergenerational poverty, said Anju
Malhotra, UNICEF’s principal gender adviser, in a statement.“Given
the life-altering impact child marriage has on a young girl’s life,
any reduction is welcome news, but we’ve got a long way to go,”
Malhotra said.
Campaigners and officials attributed the drop in child marriages to
better access to education for women and increased public awareness
on the negative impact of child marriage.

Once dismissed as 'crazy nurses,' Truro human rights activists push UN to recognize domestic torture

Once dismissed as 'crazy nurses,' Truro human rights activists push UN to recognize domestic torture - Nova Scotia - CBC News

Two nurses from Truro, N.S., took their message urging global action on domestic torture of women and girls to the human rights council of the United Nations in Geneva on Wednesday.

Jeanne Sarson and Linda MacDonald travelled to Switzerland where they were one of four so-called "civil society representatives" selected to address the UN Human Rights Council membership of 47 states, including China, the U.S. and Afghanistan.

heir long-repeated message has been that torture isn't just meted out by government officials and agents. Women and girls can be tortured by parents and family members, with atrocities including human trafficking, prostitution, enslavement or pornographic victimization. 

Naming it torture gives continuing crimes against family members the attention and weight it deserves, they believe.

"Non-State Torture is identified as a distinct and specific crime and human rights offence which must not be misnamed as being another form of crime such as an assault causing bodily harm or abuse," their website nonstatetorture.org says.

MacDonald said it felt "very affirming" for her and Sarson to make the joint statement to the council.

"Non-state torture is rising up in awareness in the human rights world which is a great victory for survivors because we always take their voices with us," said MacDonald.

Women’s March: A year later, women are reshaping the future | Toronto Star

Women’s March: A year later, women are reshaping the future | Toronto Star

Was it only two years ago that we read headlines such as “Feminism is over, the battle is won. Time to move on?”

Last year, rising fundamentalism around the world with Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president at its pinnacle exposed the vulnerability of hard-fought women’s rights that were considered done and dusted. The threat galvanized millions of people to take to the streets across the globe, smashing bystanderism and launching a pipeline of young leaders.

One year later, some of those young women led the thousands who gathered in Toronto on Saturday for the second Women’s March, one of at least 38 rallies in the country, with the mission of “inspiring, unifying and leading the charge for advancement of women across Canada.”

Its theme was defining a new future. On Saturday, that future looked diverse and Indigenous.