Good morning, this is Kasmira. One year after the massacre committed by Hamas in Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, it’s not just the Middle East that has been shaken by this terrible conflict but the entire world. In today’s newsletter, the head of one of Geneva’s biggest aid groups operating in the region describes how it has transformed the humanitarian sector.
Meanwhile, our colleagues at Le Temps explore the many red lines crossed by the warring parties – from human rights to violations of international humanitarian law. |
MSF secretary-general Christopher Lockyear, at the organisation’s Geneva headquarters. (Geneva Solutions/Kasmira Jefford)
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🇱🇧LEBANON ASSAULT.
Israel’s offensive in Lebanon to target Hezbollah is escalating, with bombs hitting Beirut suburbs over the weekend.
While visiting the Lebanese capital, the United Nations refugee chief, Filippo Grandi, said the airstrikes from the past weeks had violated international law, damaging civilian infrastructure, killing civilians and affecting humanitarian operations.
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In numbers.
The Lebanese government says over 2,000 people have been killed in the last two weeks, while 10,000 have been injured. Grandi's refugee agency estimates around 220,000 people have crossed into Syria, 70 per cent of whom are Syrians returning to the home they had once fled.
Half a million people are displaced within Lebanon, according to the UN, with people having to sleep out in the open on the streets and parks as the country’s 900 shelters reach full capacity.
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🏆Nobel peace prize for UNRWA?
It’s Nobel prize week, and among the shortlisted favourites to win this year’s peace accolade are the UN Palestinian refugee agency and UN chief António Guterres. Both would be controversial, given Israel’s allegations implicating some of the agency’s staff in the 7 October attacks and Guterres being deemed persona non grata by the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, last week.
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🗳️DECISION WEEK.
The Human Rights Council is wrapping up its autumn session on Friday, with 38 proposals on the table to be considered by the 47-member body. Among them are requests to renew the fact-finding missions on Sudan and Venezuela, tasked with investigating serious violations in the countries as well as the mandate of the special rapporteur on Russia responsible for monitoring abuses in the country.
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Calls against Saudi bid.
Over in New York, states at the General Assembly will be casting their ballots on Wednesday to renew 18 of the 47 seats of the Geneva-based rights body for three-year terms.
Rights organisations are urging countries not to vote for Saudi Arabia over its abuses of human rights, including mass killings of migrants on the Yemeni border, the use of the death penalty on child offenders and the clampdown on its critics. The Gulf state is vying for one of the five seats allocated to the Asia-Pacific group, competing against Cyprus, Marshall Islands, Qatar, South Korea and Thailand.
The groups also raise concerns about Qatar and Thailand's poor rights record. Ethiopia, which is running for one of the African group's slots, has also been singled out for atrocities committed by the military during the civil war in Tigray and successfully campaigning to end a Human Rights Council-backed investigation into the acts last year.
– By Michelle Langrand and Kasmira Jefford
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Also on the agenda
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📌 4-13 October | Democracy Week.
Discussions, exhibitions and workshops will be taking place across Geneva this week exploring local, Swiss and international democracy. Among them, the Geneva Graduate Institute will be hosting a public event focused on media and the US electoral campaign, including a keynote by professor Rodney Benson from New York University and Irene Khan, UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression.
Canton de Genève (EN)
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📌 10 October | Freedom of gender identity and sexual orientation: book launch and symposium.
The forthcoming book, The Oxford Handbook on LGBTI Law, addresses the common problems faced by LGBTI people around the world and the national and international legal responses to them. Its editors, three leading academic experts in the field, will present a selection of chapters at this evening event.
Geneva Academy (EN)
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For more events, visit the Genève Internationale website.
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