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UN rights council to investigate crimes during Gaza conflict

 

UN rights council to investigate crimes during Gaza conflict


we begin with breaking news out of
geneva the un human rights council has
just voted to launch an international
investigation
into violations during the 11-day
conflict between
israel and hamas in gaza human rights
chief michelle bachelet earlier said
israel's air strikes in densely
populated areas
could amount to war crimes let's speak
to kristin salumi who's at the united
nations for us so kristin take us
through how the approval
of this investigation came together in
the human rights council
well this special session of the human
rights council was called after
an unprecedented some have been saying
level
of international scrutiny and pressure
for action
in the wake of the most recent violence
in israel
uh during that session we did hear from
the human rights chief michelle bachelet
who called for an investigation saying
that
israel and hamas are both possibly
guilty of war crimes for indiscriminate
bombing in the case
of israel the indiscriminate and
disproportionate attack on civilians
would be an issue of concern she said
hamas's
indiscriminate rocket fire was also a
clear violation of rules of war
and so we had different uh speakers and
countries making the case israel
insisting that it was reacting as any
country would in self-defense to
indiscriminate attacks
but the council went ahead and voted and
with 24 states in favor nine against
and 14 abstentions to
launch this further investigation and
while
uh it has no power this body to punish
those that they find guilty it does mark
an unprecedented level of scrutiny for
israel in a situation uh
that it has found itself in in the past
the united states perhaps the united the
israel's greatest ally in the region
and in the united nations decried this
latest vote and said it seriously
regrets the decision by the human rights
council to move forward
um again no punishment or
uh outcome from a a guilty finding
would be possible from the council and
certainly nothing at the united nations
without the support of the united states
which is a veto wielding member of the
security council but
certainly a sign of the international
community's frustration and concern
at the cycle of violence in the region
all right thanks so much kristin salumi
let's talk now to yumna assad live in
gaza
maybe i can ask you i know you're
standing behind the rubble of that uh
press building the al jazeera building
and jalaptail but murray can start with
this latest line of approval
of this investigation any reaction out
of the people of gaza
yes indeed sammy i mean uh the people of
gaza
for sure have been calling out uh for
the international community to hold
israel accountable for the crimes that
it has committed here in the gaza strip
in in in considering the targeting of
civilians and densely populated area and
residential buildings
and also uh in in in a
commemoration ceremony that was just
held here
at this same location for journalists
with incorporation with human rights
centers
they called out the international
community to hold also israel
accountable
for targeting the media voices and media
offices in the gaza strip
so basically uh um what the people are
demanding is that israel is held
accountable
for its crimes against civilians in the
gaza strip
and for uh the blockade that it
has been imposing for more than 14 years
now on the gaza strip
so uh basically uh the people want the
international community to take
action and not just condemn uh
the israeli uh crimes as they call them
towards the civilians and towards the
gaza strip
all right thanks for that update jimna
say it
washington's relationship with ethiopia
its most important ally in the horn of
africa
is under strain it's now under the
spotlight on capitol hill
the senate foreign relations committee
held a hearing on the conflict in tigre
and america's response assistant
secretary of state for african affairs
and a usaid official gave testimonies
in western tigre security forces
belonging to the amhara regional
government are forcing
ethnic degradings from their homes in
what secretary blinken has described as
acts of ethnic cleansing
the eritrean defense force is
undertaking a campaign of unremitting
violence and destruction that amounts to
the collective punishment
of the people of tigre the violence
abuses
and atrocities are unacceptable they
must
stop now we've also heard devastating
reports of abuse by armed actors across
tigre
the reports not only speak to widespread
incidents of rape
and other gender-based violence have
systematic attempts to dismantle society
and destroy families some perpetrators
are targeting the wives of priests
abusing women in front of their families
or using a level of violence so brutal
that women are left with organ damage
the severity of abuse is among the
absolute worst i have seen in my nearly
two decades of humanitarian work
let's join alan fisher now he comes to
us from from capitol hill and then take
us
through some of those strong warnings we
we heard about
more action to come possibly
laid out in pretty strong terms there
and you have to remember that ethiopia
is regarded
as a very firm ally of the united states
in the horn of africa certainly over the
last few months
relationships have begun to deteriorate
joe biden in the last 24 hours
has called for an immediate ceasefire
anthony blinken the secretary of state
has said what is happening in degree
amounts to ethnic cleansing
but at the hearing that just ended less
than an hour ago
the state department wasn't quite ready
to go as far and say that war crimes
were being committed
into grey they say that that is a legal
definition that has to be met
with a number of things that have to
essentially boxes being ticked
and that the state department will make
that decision through anthony blinken
in the next week or so so that is one
thing that the us
can hold over ethiopia at the moment
then there is also the potential
of further economic sanctions and that
seems to be very much
where the u.s foreign relations
committee is heading as well as the
administration
there is a warning to ethiopia look if
you do not stop this
we are going to take economic sanctions
because we believe
that you are undermining the economic
viability of the horn of africa area
but not only that you're impacting in
the stability of the area
and that is against u.s strategic
interest there's the possibility
in the view of many on the senate
foreign relations committee that
some groups they would define as
terrorists could get a foothold
in the area and that could be a problem
and then you have the whole humanitarian
issue not just
all these sexual assaults that are going
on which have been outlined
in testimony but also the warning that
ethiopia is facing perhaps
its first famine in more than 40 years
simply because
no one can plant crops because of the
fighting that's ongoing
many millions of people have been
displaced so they're moving out of their
areas
and the aid agencies simply don't have
enough food to cope we're talking about
four million people in a population of
six million people
facing what is described as food
insecurity with two million of those
being children
so you can see why something which would
normally be considered a conflict in a
far-off place away from washington
is being considered by the senate
foreign relations committee
they want to see increased sanctions
they want transparent accountability for
what they see as human rights abuses
because they say if you don't take
action against it now there is always
the possibility
this will be repeated in the future now
joe biden is sending a special envoy to
the horn of africa
back to the region next week obviously
the administration will be hoping
that the strong words here in washington
will reflect
with a change of circumstances on the
ground in ethiopia and in tigre
particular
all right good stuff there from adam
fisher at capitol hill

China-Russia MOON BASE Begins

 

China-Russia MOON BASE Begins




That’s no moon...
It’s a Chinese-Russian Moon base
And it could determine the future of space
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
There’s a new space force in orbit. And  this one is being led by China and Russia.
But first, Youtube frequently  demonetizes the show. If you can,  
help support our work for as little as a dollar  an episode on Patreon.com/chinauncensored.
And be sure to hit those  like and subscribe buttons,  
so the almighty YouTube  algorithm may smile upon us.
So as I said, Russia and China are teaming  up. This time—to build a moon base.
That’s one small step for man, one  giant leap—into a dystopian future.
I’m kidding of course. The Russia-China  moon base is for “peaceful purposes  
in the interests of all mankind”.
That’s according to this joint  statement from China and Russia. 
And just when the world needed  him most, Elon Musk vanished.
“The two countries have also signed  agreements to jointly create a data center  
for the exploration of the moon and deep space.”
The base will be built on the lunar south pole.  
That’s because scientists believe there might  be a lot of ice there. And ice could serve as  
a water supply. There also might be an  orbital part of the moon base as well. 
The base will be called the  “International Lunar Science Station.”  
International, because China and Russia  want to lure the rest of the world in,  
so they can replace the US  as the dominant space force. 
It’s a real possibility too. “The  European Space Agency has also expressed  
interest in partnering with China  on future missions to the Moon.”
As early as last year, China  was talking about a Moon base.
And in 2019, China was the first country to  land a probe on the dark side of the moon.
Unfortunately, the probe was  quickly refracted into a rainbow.
NASA has excluded China from  all US space operations.  
That’s because China’s space program is run  by the Chinese Communist Party’s military.  
Although now Biden’s space advisers are  saying we should cooperate with China.
They are officially space cadets.
US dominance of space has  been slipping for decades.  
And Russia and China are eager to replace the US.
Not only would that have a huge  impact on future space explorations,  
but also on security here on Earth. 
China is already trying to replace the  GPS navigation system, which is run  
by the US. And they’ve launched  their own satellites to do it.
So whoever controls space  will be the next superpower.
The Biden Administration has said it will  
continue the Trump era Artemis  Program to return to the moon.
Former Vice President Mike Pence had said  the US would return to the Moon by 2024.
To get there, NASA created the Artemis  Program in 2017, and it laid the  
groundwork for international cooperation in  space—international cooperation with the US.
NASA also created the Artemis Accords in  2020, and they’ve been signed by 10 countries.
The Accords say that “Partner nations...need  to agree to 10 basic norms as part of  
their space activities, such as operating  transparently and releasing scientific data.”
Those are things that China and  Russia maybe aren’t too keen on,  
being authoritarian regimes and all.  And, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but  
I really agree with state-run Global  Times on this one, when they say Russia  
opting for moon base cooperation with  China over the US is ‘not surprising’
And now, as a thank you to everyone who  supports China Uncensored on Patreon,  
I’ll answer a question from what I call  the China Uncensored 50 cent army. 
P Dwag asks, “Doesn't the CCP already  control the value of the RMB within  
China? They are just re-inventing  bank accounts and debit cards.”
This was in response to our recent episode  about China declaring war on Bitcoin.  
Essentially, the Chinese Comunist Party is trying  to create its own national digital currency.
P Dwag, you’re right that China  already controls the value of the RMB.  
But that’s not enough for the Communist  Party. Over the past several years,  
China has been transitioning  to becoming a cashless society.
That gives the government way more power  to monitor and track every transaction  
Chinese people make. It also let’s  them freeze the accounts of dissidents.
Sure, there are tools to do most of  that already, but it involves piecing  
together a lot of different systems, including  coordinating with different Chinese companies.  
But with a digital currency, it’s so much easier.
Globally, however, the US dollar still dominates.  In fact, a lot of China’s Belt and Road agreements  
operate using the dollar. China wants to have  the dominant global currency. The RMB is unlikely  
to do that. But countries around the world are  experimenting with a national digital currency.  
“Yet no major power is as far along as China. Its  early moves could signal where the rest of the  
world goes with digital currencies.”   
So China’s ambition is much greater  than just controlling the RMB.  
And if that terrifies you, now’s a  good time to remind you that China  

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