Myanmar shadow government drops objections to ICJ's Rohingya genocide case
Myanmar's shadow government, set up after last year's military coup, said it accepts the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hear allegations that the country committed genocide against its Rohingya minority. Before the military seized power last year, Myanmar's government led by the now-ousted Aung San Suu Kyi had filed preliminary objections to the ICJ over the case brought by Gambia in a move seen as likely to delay proceedings. The National Unity Government (NUG), a parallel administration including deposed lawmakers in exile, said in a statement issued on Tuesday that it had withdrawn all preliminary objections to the case. Still, it is not clear whether this would affect the legal process since the NUG said that through a "bureaucratic idiosyncrasy" the ICJ has been communicating with Myanmar diplomats in Brussels who were under the control of the junta. "Should the ICJ recognise the military, it would embolden the junta to continue and escalate its daily atrocity crimes," the NUG said in a statement. It urged the ICJ to deal with Myanmar's permanent representative to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun. The ICJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment and a spokesman for Myanmar's junta did not answer a telephone call seeking comment. More than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar's Rakhine State in 2017 after a military crackdown. Rights groups documented killings of civilians and burning of villages and U.N. investigators concluded that the military campaign, launched after attacks on the security forces by Rohingya insurgents, had been executed with "genocidal intent". In December 2019, Suu Kyi, then Myanmar's civilian leader, attended hearings at The Hague to ask judges to dismiss the case. Suu Kyi has been put on trial by the junta and faces years in jail, though the removal of her government has sparked mass protests and a bloody crackdown on dissent by the army.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.