Top UN court wraps hearings in Rohingya genocide case
The International Court of Justice finished a week of hearings on Monday into whether it has jurisdiction to decide if Myanmar violated a 1948 treaty against genocide. The West African state of Gambia filed a complaint before The Hague-based United Nations court in 2019, alleging Myanmar’s treatment of the Muslim minority group violated the post-World War II Genocide Convention, but Myanmar argues Gambia can’t bring the case because its nationals haven’t been affected. Further complicating the dispute, since proceedings began the military in Myanmar staged a coup and arrested its civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. She represented her country during preliminary hearings in 2019, but she’s currently jailed on charges of treason. The South Asian country is now being represented by a former propaganda minister, Ko Ko Hlaing. In her opening remarks last week, ICJ President Joan Donoghue addressed the matter: “The parties to the case are states, not particular governments." Activist groups have been calling for the ICJ to refuse to hear the case in an effort to isolate the military junta. Myanmar argued Gambia shouldn’t be able to file the complaint because Gambians haven't been impacted by its actions. "Humanitarian considerations themselves cannot generate legal interest,” Myanmar's lawyer Stefan Talmon said during his opening statements last Monday. But Gambia disagrees, arguing anyone can initiate proceedings under the U.N. convention. "We made it our business when we, as civilized nations, committed ourselves to the Genocide Convention,” Gambian Minister of Justice Dawda Jallow said in his opening statement.
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.