මෙම ක්‍රියා දහයෙන් පටන් ගන්න!

 මෙම ක්‍රියා දහයෙන් පටන් ගන්න!

දේශගුණික විපර්යාස සීමා කිරීමට සෑම කෙනෙකුටම උදව් කළ හැකිය. අපි ගමන් කරන විදිහේ ඉඳන්, පාවිච්චි කරන විදුලි බලයෙන්, කන කෑමෙන්, ගන්න දේවල්වලින් අපිට වෙනසක් කරන්න පුළුවන්.

එක් පුද්ගලයෙකුට හරිතාගාර වායු විමෝචනය රටවල් අතර බෙහෙවින් වෙනස් වේ. ඇමරිකා එක්සත් ජනපදයේ පුද්ගලයෙකු සාමාන්‍යයෙන් වසරකට CO2e ටොන් 17.6ක් පමණ නිෂ්පාදනය කරයි -- ඉන්දියාවේ පුද්ගලයෙකු මෙන් 10 ගුණයක් පමණ වන අතර ගෝලීය සාමාන්‍ය මෙන් තුන් ගුණයක් පමණ වේ. යුරෝපීය සංගමයේ සහ එක්සත් රාජධානියේ, සාමාන්‍ය පියසටහන වසරකට එක් පුද්ගලයෙකුට CO2e ටොන් 7.9 ක් පමණ වේ.

ජීවත්වීමට සුදුසු දේශගුණයක් ආරක්ෂා කර ගැනීම සඳහා, 2030 වන විට පුද්ගලයෙකුට වසරකට සාමාන්‍ය විමෝචනය CO2e ටොන් 2 සිට 2.5 දක්වා පහත වැටීමට අවශ්‍ය වනු ඇත. දේශගුණික අර්බුදය විසඳීම සඳහා මෙම ක්‍රියා දහයෙන් ආරම්භ කරන්න.

 
විසන්ධි කරන්න
නිවසේ ශක්තිය ඉතිරි කරන්න

අපගේ විදුලිය සහ තාපය බොහොමයක් ගල් අඟුරු, තෙල් සහ ගෑස් මගින් බල ගැන්වේ. ඔබේ උණුසුම සහ සිසිලනය අඩු කිරීම, LED විදුලි බුබුළු සහ බලශක්ති කාර්යක්ෂම විදුලි උපකරණ වෙත මාරු වීම, ඔබේ රෙදි සෝදන යන්ත්‍ර සීතල වතුරෙන් සේදීම හෝ වියළන යන්ත්‍රයක් භාවිතා කිරීම වෙනුවට වියලීමට දේවල් එල්ලීම මගින් අඩු ශක්තියක් භාවිතා කරන්න. උදාහරණයක් ලෙස වඩා හොඳ පරිවරණයක් හරහා ඔබේ නිවසේ බලශක්ති කාර්යක්ෂමතාව වැඩි දියුණු කිරීම හෝ ඔබේ තෙල් හෝ ගෑස් උදුන විදුලි තාප පොම්පයක් සමඟ ප්‍රතිස්ථාපනය කිරීමෙන් ඔබේ කාබන් පියසටහන වසරකට CO2e කිලෝග්‍රෑම් 900 දක්වා අඩු කළ හැකිය.
 
අඩුවෙන් එලවන්න
ඇවිදින්න, බයිසිකල් කරන්න, හෝ පොදු ප්‍රවාහනය ගන්න

ලෝකයේ මාර්ග වාහනවලින් අවහිර වී ඇති අතර ඒවායින් බොහොමයක් ඩීසල් හෝ පෙට්‍රල් දහනය කරයි. රිය පැදවීම වෙනුවට ඇවිදීම හෝ බයිසිකලයක් පැදීම හරිතාගාර වායු විමෝචනය අඩු කරයි -- සහ ඔබේ සෞඛ්‍යයට සහ යෝග්‍යතාවයට උපකාරී වේ. දිගු දුරක් සඳහා, දුම්රියක් හෝ බස් රථයක් ගැනීම සලකා බලන්න. සහ හැකි සෑම විටම කාර්පූල් කරන්න. මෝටර් රථයකින් තොරව ජීවත් වීමෙන් ඔබේ කාබන් පියසටහන මෝටර් රථයක් භාවිතා කරන ජීවන රටාවකට සාපේක්ෂව වසරකට CO2e ටොන් 2 කින් අඩු කළ හැකිය.
 
ශාක පදනම් වූ ආහාර අනුභව කරන්න
වැඩිපුර එළවළු අනුභව කරන්න

වැඩිපුර එළවළු, පලතුරු, ධාන්‍ය වර්ග, රනිල කුලයට අයත් බෝග, ඇට වර්ග සහ බීජ, මස් සහ කිරි වර්ග අඩුවෙන් ආහාරයට ගැනීමෙන් ඔබේ පාරිසරික බලපෑම සැලකිය යුතු ලෙස අඩු කළ හැකිය. ශාක පදනම් වූ ආහාර නිෂ්පාදනය කිරීම සාමාන්‍යයෙන් අඩු හරිතාගාර වායු විමෝචනයකට හේතු වන අතර අඩු ශක්තියක්, භූමියක් සහ ජලය අවශ්‍ය වේ. මිශ්‍ර ආහාරයකින් නිර්මාංශ ආහාරයකට මාරු වීමෙන් ඔබේ කාබන් පියසටහන වසරකට CO2e කිලෝග්‍රෑම් 500කින් (හෝ වීගන් ආහාර වේලක් සඳහා කිලෝග්‍රෑම් 900 දක්වා) අඩු කළ හැක.
 
අඩුවෙන් පියාසර කරන්න
ඔබගේ සංචාරය සලකා බලන්න

ගුවන් යානා ෆොසිල ඉන්ධන විශාල ප්‍රමාණයක් දහනය කර සැලකිය යුතු හරිතාගාර වායු විමෝචනයක් ඇති කරයි. එය ඔබගේ පාරිසරික බලපෑම අවම කිරීමට වේගවත්ම ක්‍රමයක් ලෙස අඩු ගුවන් ගමන් සිදු කරයි. ඔබට හැකි විට, පාහේ මුණගැසෙන්න, දුම්රියක් ගන්න, නැතහොත් එම දිගු ගමන සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම මඟ හරින්න. එක් අඩු දිගු ආපසු ගුවන් ගමනක් ගැනීමෙන් ඔබේ කාබන් පියසටහන CO2e ටොන් 2කින් පමණ අඩු කළ හැක.
 
ආහාර නාස්තිය කපා දමන්න
අඩුවෙන් ආහාර ඉවතට විසි කරන්න

ඔබ ආහාර ඉවතලන විට, ඔබ එය වගා කිරීමට, නිෂ්පාදනය කිරීමට, ඇසුරුම් කිරීමට සහ ප්‍රවාහනය කිරීමට භාවිතා කළ සම්පත් සහ ශක්තිය ද අපතේ යවති. එමෙන්ම කුණු ගොඩක ඇති ආහාර කුණු වූ විට එය මීතේන් නම් ප්‍රබල හරිතාගාර වායුවක් නිපදවයි. එබැවින් ඔබ මිලදී ගන්නා දේ භාවිතා කර ඉතිරිව ඇති දේ කොම්පෝස්ට් කරන්න. ඔබේ ආහාර අපද්‍රව්‍ය කපා හැරීම මඟින් ඔබේ කාබන් පියසටහන වසරකට CO2e කිලෝග්‍රෑම් 300 කින් අඩු කළ හැකිය.
 
ප්රතිචක්රීකරණය කරන්න
අඩු කිරීම, නැවත භාවිතා කිරීම, අලුත්වැඩියා කිරීම සහ ප්රතිචක්රීකරණය කිරීම

අප මිලදී ගන්නා ඉලෙක්ට්‍රොනික, ඇඳුම් පැළඳුම් සහ අනෙකුත් භාණ්ඩ අමුද්‍රව්‍ය නිස්සාරණය කිරීමේ සිට භාණ්ඩ නිෂ්පාදනය සහ වෙළඳපොළට ප්‍රවාහනය කිරීම දක්වා නිෂ්පාදනයේ සෑම ස්ථානයකදීම කාබන් විමෝචනය කරයි. අපගේ දේශගුණය ආරක්ෂා කිරීමට, අඩුවෙන් දේවල් මිලදී ගන්න, දෙවනුව සාප්පු යන්න, ඔබට කළ හැකි දේ අලුත්වැඩියා කරන්න, සහ ප්‍රතිචක්‍රීකරණය කරන්න. නිපදවන සෑම රෙදිපිළි කිලෝග්‍රෑමයකින්ම CO2e කිලෝග්‍රෑම් 17ක් පමණ ජනනය කරයි. අඩුවෙන් නව ඇඳුම් - සහ අනෙකුත් පාරිභෝගික භාණ්ඩ - මිලදී ගැනීමෙන් ඔබේ කාබන් පියසටහන අඩු කළ හැකි අතර නාස්තිය ද අඩු කළ හැකිය.
 
පුනර්ජනනීය බලශක්තිය භාවිතා කරන්න
ඔබේ නිවසේ බලශක්ති ප්‍රභවය වෙනස් කරන්න

ඔබේ නිවසේ ශක්තිය තෙල්, ගල් අඟුරු හෝ ගෑස් වලින් ලැබෙන්නේ දැයි ඔබේ උපයෝගිතා සමාගමෙන් විමසන්න. හැකි නම්, ඔබට සුළඟ හෝ සූර්යය වැනි පුනර්ජනනීය ප්රභවයන් වෙත මාරු විය හැකිදැයි බලන්න. එසේත් නැතිනම් ඔබේ නිවස සඳහා බලශක්ති උත්පාදනය කිරීම සඳහා ඔබේ වහලය මත සූර්ය පැනල සවි කරන්න. ඔබේ නිවස තෙල්, ගෑස් හෝ ගල් අඟුරු බලයෙන් ක්‍රියාත්මක වන බලශක්තියෙන් සුළඟ හෝ සූර්යය වැනි පුනර්ජනනීය බලශක්ති ප්‍රභවයන් වෙත මාරු කිරීමෙන් ඔබේ කාබන් පියසටහන වසරකට CO2e ටොන් 1.5කින් අඩු කළ හැක.
 
විදුලි මෝටර් රථය
විදුළි වාහනයකට මාරු වෙන්න

ඔබ මෝටර් රථයක් මිලදී ගැනීමට අදහස් කරන්නේ නම්, වෙළඳපොළට පැමිණෙන මිල අඩු මාදිලි සමඟ විදුලිය භාවිතා කිරීම ගැන සලකා බලන්න. බොහෝ රටවල, විදුලි මෝටර් රථ වායු දූෂණය අවම කිරීමට සහ ගෑස් හෝ ඩීසල් බලයෙන් ක්‍රියාත්මක වන වාහනවලට වඩා හරිතාගාර වායු විමෝචනය සැලකිය යුතු ලෙස අඩු කරයි. නමුත් බොහෝ විද්‍යුත් මෝටර් රථ තවමත් ක්‍රියාත්මක වන්නේ පොසිල ඉන්ධන වලින් නිපදවන විදුලි බලයෙන් වන අතර බැටරි සහ එන්ජින් සඳහා දුර්ලභ ඛනිජ අවශ්‍ය වන අතර ඒවා බොහෝ විට ඉහළ පාරිසරික හා සමාජ පිරිවැයක් දරයි. පෙට්‍රල් හෝ ඩීසල් බලයෙන් ක්‍රියාත්මක වන මෝටර් රථයකින් විදුලි වාහනයකට මාරු වීමෙන් ඔබේ කාබන් පියසටහන වසරකට CO2e ටොන් 2කින් අඩු කළ හැක. දෙමුහුන් වාහනයකින් ඔබට වසරකට CO2e කිලෝග්‍රෑම් 700ක් ඉතිරි කර ගත හැක.
 
ඔබේ මුදල් ගණන් කරන්න
ඔබේ මුදල් ගණන් කරන්න

අප මුදල් වියදම් කරන සෑම දෙයක්ම පෘථිවියට බලපායි. ඔබ සහාය දක්වන භාණ්ඩ සහ සේවා තෝරා ගැනීමට ඔබට බලය ඇත. ඔබේ පාරිසරික බලපෑම අවම කිරීම සඳහා, සම්පත් වගකීමෙන් යුතුව භාවිතා කරන සහ කපා හැරීමට කැපවී සිටින සමාගම්වලින් නිෂ්පාදන තෝරන්න

 eir වායු විමෝචනය සහ අපද්රව්ය. උදාහරණයක් ලෙස විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් අරමුදලක් හරහා ඔබ වෙනුවෙන් ආයෝජනය කරන මුදල් ඔබ සතුව තිබේ නම්, එය පොසිල ඉන්ධන හෝ වන විනාශයට සහාය වීම විය හැකිය. ඔබේ ඉතුරුම් පරිසර හිතකාමී ව්‍යාපාර සඳහා ආයෝජනය කර ඇති බවට වග බලා ගැනීමෙන් ඔබේ කාබන් පියසටහන බෙහෙවින් අඩු කළ හැකිය.
 
කතා කරන්න
කතා කරන්න

කතා කර ක්‍රියාමාර්ග ගැනීමට අන් අයව සම්බන්ධ කර ගන්න. එය වෙනසක් කිරීමට ඉක්මන්ම සහ වඩාත් ඵලදායී ක්රමවලින් එකකි. ඔබේ අසල්වැසියන්, සගයන්, මිතුරන් සහ පවුලේ අය සමඟ කතා කරන්න. ඔබ නිර්භීත වෙනස්කම් වලට සහය දක්වන බව ව්‍යාපාර හිමිකරුවන්ට දන්වන්න. දැන් ක්‍රියාත්මක වන ලෙස ප්‍රාදේශීය සහ ලෝක නායකයින්ට ආයාචනා කරන්න. දේශගුණික ක්‍රියාකාරකම් අප සැමගේ කාර්යයකි. ඒ වගේම ඒක අපි හැමෝටම අදාළයි. කිසිවෙකුට එය තනිවම කළ නොහැක - නමුත් අපට එය එකට කළ හැකිය. මෙහි අදහස් ගවේෂණය කරන්න.

"කාබන් පියසටහන" යන්නෙන් අදහස් කරන්නේ පුද්ගලයෙකුගේ ක්‍රියාකාරකම් හා සම්බන්ධ හරිතාගාර වායු විමෝචන ප්‍රමාණයයි.

විමෝචනය කාබන් ඩයොක්සයිඩ් සමාන වන CO2e වලින් මනිනු ලැබේ, එය කාබන් ඩයොක්සයිඩ් පමණක් නොව මීතේන් සහ නයිට්‍රස් ඔක්සයිඩ් වැනි අනෙකුත් හරිතාගාර වායූන් ද සැලකිල්ලට ගනී, ඒවා එකම ගෝලීය උනුසුම් විභවයක් ඇති කාබන් ඩයොක්සයිඩ් සමාන බවට පරිවර්තනය කිරීමෙන්.

අඩු කාබන් ජීවන රටාවන් පිළිබඳ වඩාත් සවිස්තරාත්මක තොරතුරු සඳහා, එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ පරිසර වැඩසටහනේ විමෝචන පරතරය වාර්තාව 2020 බලන්න.

කාබන් අධික පරිභෝජනය අඩු කරන ආකාරය සහ අඩු කාබන් විකල්ප පරිමාණය කරන්නේ කෙසේද යන්න පිළිබඳ වැඩි විස්තර සඳහා, මෙම UNEP ප්‍රතිපත්ති සංක්ෂිප්තය බලන්න.

Start with these ten actions! | United Nations

 

Start with these ten actions!

Everyone can help limit climate change. From the way we travel, to the electricity we use, the food we eat, and the things we buy, we can make a difference.

Greenhouse gas emissions per person vary greatly among countries. A person in the United States of America, on average, produces about 17.6 tons CO2e per year -- around 10 times as much as a person in India, and about three times the global average. In the European Union and the United Kingdom, the average footprint is approximately 7.9 tons of CO2e per person per year.

To preserve a livable climate, the average emissions per person per year will need to drop to around 2 to 2.5 tons of CO2e by 2030. Start with these ten actions to help tackle the climate crisis.

 

 

Save energy at home

Much of our electricity and heat are powered by coal, oil and gas. Use less energy by lowering your heating and cooling, switching to LED light bulbs and energy-efficient electric appliances, washing your laundry with cold water, or hanging things to dry instead of using a dryer. Improving your home’s energy efficiency, through better insulation for instance, or replacing your oil or gas furnace with an electric heat pump can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 900 kilograms of CO2e per year.

 

Walk, bike, or take public transport

The world’s roadways are clogged with vehicles, most of them burning diesel or gasoline. Walking or riding a bike instead of driving will reduce greenhouse gas emissions -- and help your health and fitness. For longer distances, consider taking a train or bus. And carpool whenever possible. Living car-free can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 2 tons of CO2e per year compared to a lifestyle using a car.

 

Eat more vegetables

Eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and less meat and dairy, can significantly lower your environmental impact. Producing plant-based foods generally results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions and requires less energy, land, and water. Switching from a mixed to a vegetarian diet can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 500 kilograms of CO2e per year (or up to 900 kilograms for a vegan diet).

 

Consider your travel

Airplanes burn large amounts of fossil fuels, producing significant greenhouse gas emissions. That makes taking fewer flights one of the fastest ways to reduce your environmental impact. When you can, meet virtually, take a train, or skip that long-distance trip altogether. Taking one less long-haul return flight can reduce your carbon footprint by up to almost 2 tons of CO2e.

 

Throw away less food

When you throw food away, you're also wasting the resources and energy that were used to grow, produce, package, and transport it. And when food rots in a landfill, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. So use what you buy and compost any leftovers. Cutting your food waste can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 300 kilograms of CO2e per year.

 

Reduce, reuse, repair & recycle

Electronics, clothes, and other items we buy cause carbon emissions at each point in production, from the extraction of raw materials to manufacturing and transporting goods to market. To protect our climate, buy fewer things, shop second-hand, repair what you can, and recycle. Every kilogram of textiles produced generates about 17 kilograms of CO2e. Buying fewer new clothes – and other consumer goods – can reduce your carbon footprint and also cut down on waste.

 

Change your home's source of energy

Ask your utility company if your home energy comes from oil, coal or gas. If possible, see if you can switch to renewable sources such as wind or solar. Or install solar panels on your roof to generate energy for your home. Switching your home from oil, gas or coal-powered energy to renewable sources of energy, such as wind or solar, can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 1.5 tons of CO2e per year.

 

Switch to an electric vehicle

If you plan to buy a car, consider going electric, with more and cheaper models coming on the market. In many countries, electric cars help reduce air pollution and cause significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions than gas or diesel-powered vehicles. But many electric cars still run on electricity produced from fossil fuels, and the batteries and engines require rare minerals which often come with high environmental and social costs. Switching from a gasoline or diesel-powered car to an electric vehicle can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 2 tons of CO2e per year. A hybrid vehicle can save you up to 700 kilograms of CO2e per year.

 

Make your money count

Everything we spend money on affects the planet. You have the power to choose which goods and services you support. To reduce your environmental impact, choose products from companies who use resources responsibly and are committed to cutting their gas emissions and waste. If you have money that is being invested for you, through a pension fund for instance, it may be supporting fossil fuels or deforestation. Making sure your savings are invested in environmentally sustainable businesses can greatly reduce your carbon footprint.

 

Speak up

Speak up and get others to join in taking action. It's one of the quickest and most effective ways to make a difference. Talk to your neighbors, colleagues, friends, and family. Let business owners know you support bold changes. Appeal to local and world leaders to act now. Climate action is a task for all of us. And it concerns all of us. No one can do it all alone – but we can do it together. Explore ideas here.

The term ”carbon footprint” used hereabove refers to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions associated with a person’s activities.

Emissions are measured in carbon dioxide equivalents, CO2e, which takes into account not only carbon dioxide but also other greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, by converting them to carbon dioxide equivalents with the same global warming potential.

For more detailed information on low-carbon lifestyles, see the UN Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap Report 2020.

For more on how to reduce carbon-intensive consumption and scale up low-carbon alternatives, see this UNEP policy brief.

 

 

Photos: Crisis pushes more Sri Lankans into poverty

Sri Lanka is in the throes of its starkest economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

Dilhani Wathsala, 14, eating her lunch cooked by her mother, Nilanthi Gunasekera, 49, in her home at Wanathamulla, Colombo. 

Millions of Sri Lankans are battling a calamitous decline in living standards, as they find themselves forced to skip meals, ration medicines and turn to firewood in place of cooking gas.

Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, rising oil prices and economic mismanagement under previous governments, the island nation is in the throes of its starkest crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

Rampant inflation, snaking fuel queues and shortages of essentials such as food and medicine have driven many Sri Lankans into poverty, while months of street protests deposed the previous president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in July.

More than a quarter of the population of 22 million is now struggling to secure adequate, nutritious food, the United Nations says.

As desperation grows, the government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe is seeking a multibillion-dollar bailout in talks with the International Monetary Fund and is tapping key allies, from India and Japan to the United States.

But major financial assistance is still months away, making tough austerity measures likely, so few Sri Lankans will see conditions improve soon.

As depleted reserves have dried up supplies of petrol, diesel and gas, lengthy fuel queues, sometimes persisting for days, have become a daily feature this year.

The shortages have brought a boom in demand for firewood.

Krishan Darshana told the Reuters news agency that he had joined his father in breaking up logs to sell as kindling after getting laid off from a job in construction during the crisis.

“It’s very hard work,” said the 25-year-old, who now makes do with a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits as the day’s only meal. “But what else can I do when there are no jobs for us?”

Nilanthi Gunasekera holds a handful of dried fish, the only protein her family will have until next week. 

Manel Peiris, 68, in her kitchen, in Colombo. 

'I am a heart patient and have to take medicine every day,' Peiris said. 'Hospitals used to issue medicine for three months. But with the onset of the economic crisis, hospitals don't have medicine and so we are asked to buy from pharmacies. But one month's cost is around Rs 3,400 [$9.3] which I can't afford, so I buy only for one week at a time. Sometimes my husband has to borrow or get an advance from his workplace.' 

Gamage Rupawathi, 60, right, her husband WA Susantha, 45, centre, and their son, Krishan Darshana, 25, left, at their home in Colombo. 'When I had a fruit business I was earning a significant income,' Rupawathi said. 'But with the drawn-out lockdowns during the pandemic and now this economic crisis I don't have money to restart my fruit stall.' 

WA Susantha holds a cup of plain tea and two pieces of biscuit, the only food he has for the day. 

'We used to have all three meals, but now we skip breakfast. We are now waiting until my brother brings home some rice,' said S Gayathri, 29, standing with her mother M Saraswathi, 59, in front of their house in Colombo. 'After this we won't have any vegetables left.' 

Ramani Priyani Nisshanka, 62, in a dark room in her home after she switched off the lights to save on the electricity bill. 

Ramani Priyani Nisshanka holds an electricity bill. 'My husband fell ill around a year ago,' she said. 'Now it's very difficult not only to spend on food but even to pay bills.' 

Vidyathipathige Nihal, 62, at his home in Colombo. 'Just a couple of months back some robbers broke into our house and stole the small gas cylinder and the cooker we had ... So now we are forced to cook with firewood,' he said. 

Chandra Thushari Peiris, 42, at her food kiosk in Colombo. 'We had a good business at our kiosk,' she said. 'Since we used to eat the leftovers from our kiosk we didn't have any problem with food ... But during the pandemic, and more so the present economic crisis, we didn't get any customers.' 

Oshada Fernando, 11, holds a kite that his uncle made for him. 'With the economic crisis we haven't bought any toys for our son,' said his mother, 42-year-old Anusha Priyadarshini. 

 

Sri Lanka must ‘reverse the drift towards militarisation’: UN

The latest United Nations report calls on Sri Lanka to end its human rights violations as the country faces its worst economic crisis yet.

Army soldiers remove tents from the site of a protest camp outside the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Friday, July 22, 2022

Sri Lanka must immediately reverse its “drift towards militarisation”, the United Nations has said in a human rights report, calling on the new government to engage in dialogue “to advance human rights and reconciliation”.

The South Asian island nation has suffered acute food and fuel shortages, lengthy blackouts and spiralling inflation this year after running out of foreign currency to import essentials amid its worst economic crisis to date.

The crisis sparked months of protests against the government over economic mismanagement, culminating in a huge crowd storming the residence of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who then fled for the Maldives, Singapore and Thailand before returning to Sri Lanka last weekend.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been criticised for launching a crackdown on peaceful protesters since he succeeded Rajapaksa in July.

“The new government should immediately reverse the drift towards militarisation, end the reliance on draconian security laws and crackdowns on peaceful protest,” the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in its latest report on Tuesday, referring to the new government which took over after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to step down as president in July in the wake of mass protests.

“Fundamental changes will be required to address the current challenges and to avoid repetition of the human rights violations of the past,” said the OHCHR report.

It added that the government should also “show renewed commitment to security sector reform and ending impunity”.

Sri Lanka’s government defaulted on its $51bn foreign debt in April and is in ongoing negotiations for an International Monetary Fund bailout.

The country’s central bank is forecasting a record eight-percent gross domestic product (GDP) contraction for the year.

Rajapaksa’s government was accused of introducing unsustainable tax cuts that drove up government debt and exacerbated economic problems just as the country was struggling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 73-year-old issued his resignation from abroad after fleeing the country in July, but he flew back to Colombo on Saturday and was garlanded with flowers by political allies on his return.

He is now living in a new official residence with a security detail, both provided by Wickremesinghe’s government, to the dismay of protest leaders who campaigned for him to face legal action.

Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, whose term ended last month, said in the report that those responsible for bankrupting the island should be prosecuted.

“The High Commissioner hopes that the new administration will respond to the popular demand for accountability for economic crimes, including corruption, and abuse of power with a renewed commitment to end impunity,” she said.

It was the first time the UN rights office raised the economic crisis, in a report repeating its calls for those who perpetrated atrocities during the island’s long civil war to be brought to justice.

“The High Commissioner encourages the international community to support Sri Lanka in its recovery, but also in addressing the underlying causes of the crisis, including impunity for human rights violations and economic crimes,” the 16-page report said.

The report also repeated long-standing calls by the rights office for the prosecution of those responsible for atrocities during the island’s decades-long civil war, which ended in May 2009.

Sri Lanka has been resisting international calls to investigate allegations that its troops killed at least 40,000 Tamil civilians in 2009.

 

Jamaica sending team to Canada to probe work conditions on farms

Fact-finding team will travel to Canada to speak with Jamaican farmworkers after recent allegations of exploitation.

Between 50,000 and 60,000 foreign agricultural labourers come to Canada annually on temporary work permits

Jamaica has appointed a “special fact-finding team” to investigate the working conditions of Jamaicans employed on Canadian farms, after workers in the province of Ontario said last month that they faced “exploitation at a seismic level“.

In a statement shared on social media on Thursday, Jamaica’s Minister of Labour and Social Security Karl Samuda said a six-person team would “travel to Canada to observe operations and speak with workers on the farms, and provide a report to the Minister”.

The brief statement did not provide any additional information, such as which farms the team members will visit or when the trip to Canada would take place. “Further details will follow,” it said.

A group of Jamaican farmworkers sent a letter to Samuda in August denouncing their treatment on two Ontario farms, which they likened to “systematic slavery”.

The workers, who were not named for fear of retribution, said they were in Canada under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), a decades-old scheme that allows Canadian employers to hire temporary migrant workers from Mexico and 11 countries in the Caribbean to fill gaps in the country’s agricultural labour market.

Foreign workers brought to Canada through SAWP can have jobs for up to eight months in the year, and many people have been coming to the country for decades under the programme.

“As it currently stands, [SAWP] is systematic slavery,” the farmworkers said in their letter, which came just days before Samuda came to Canada to tour farms employing workers from Jamaica.

“We work for eight months on minimum wage and can’t survive for the four months back home. The SAWP is exploitation at a seismic level. Employers treat us like we don’t have any feelings, like we’re not human beings. We are robots to them. They don’t care about us,” the workers said.

But after his trip, Samuda said in a statement sent to Al Jazeera last week that he observed “no evidence of mistreatment” on the Ontario farms he visited.

“We observed no evidence of mistreatment,” said the minister, stressing that SAWP is “absolutely essential to thousands of Jamaican families, many rural communities, and the entire [country of] Jamaica”.

In a more detailed statement shared on Friday morning, the Jamaican labour ministry said it received support from the Canadian government for its fact-finding mission.

Canada’s High Commissioner to Jamaica, Emina Tudakovic, “gave her government’s commitment to support tactical solutions identified by the task force to improve conditions wherever necessary”, the ministry said.

Between 50,000 and 60,000 foreign agricultural labourers come to Canada annually on temporary work permits. They work in various roles, from the planting and harvesting of fruits and vegetables, to meat processing.

But for years, human rights groups have reported a range of issues with SAWP and other migrant labour programmes. Advocates have said a major problem is that temporary foreign workers are tied to their Canadian employers, which means they are effectively not allowed to work for anyone else.

Foreign workers have reported living in crowded, substandard housing, and many said they fear retribution – such as being deported or barred from coming back to Canada for the next season – if they raise concerns with their bosses.

In a statement on Thursday, the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, an advocacy group that the Jamaican farmworkers are members of, said the workers “are ready to discuss the letter” sent to Samuda last month.

The group said the workers are also ready to hold talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Immigration Sean Fraser to reiterate their call for permanent residency for all temporary foreign workers, refugees, students, undocumented people and others in Canada.

The workers and their supporters have said permanent immigration status is the best way to help guarantee that their rights will be protected.

 Asked if Ottawa planned to give temporary migrant farmworkers a path to permanent residency, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told Al Jazeera last month that the government is exploring ways to help foreign nationals transition from temporary to permanent status.

 

Probe under way after baby dies at asylum centre in Netherlands

The Dutch authorities are probing a three-month-old baby’s death as asylum seekers face an accommodation crisis.

The situation in Ter Apel has turned into a national crisis

Dutch authorities are investigating a death of a three-month-old baby at a reception centre for asylum seekers in the Netherlands, highlighting the lack of adequate accommodation for refugees in the country, which has become a national crisis.

The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate said in a statement that the baby died on Wednesday morning in the sports hall of the reception centre for asylum seekers in Ter Apel village.

The baby’s name, gender and nationality have not been publicly released.

“A three-month-old baby died last night in the sports hall in Ter Apel. Like everyone, I am deeply shocked by this terrible event,” State Secretary Eric van der Burg said on Twitter.

Refugees wait outdoors at the centre for asylum seekers in Ter Apel

The situation in Ter Apel has turned into a national crisis, due to the lack of space at asylum centres and the inability of municipalities to provide shelter to refugees.

The Dutch Red Cross set up tents in the centre’s garden due to the lack of beds but removed them following a backlash.

Now many refugees, including women, children and the elderly, continue to sleep in the garden.

While the government was attempting to facilitate the transfer of a hotel purchased in the village of Albergen to the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) to accommodate 300 refugees, it faced protests from local residents.

Many Dutch lawmakers and the public are now demanding an urgent explanation from the officials after the shocking death of the baby.

‘Inhuman’ living conditions

The Dutch branch of MSF deployed in Ter Apel on Thursday – a first for the organisation usually giving medical assistance to those in need in war zones.

“As from today we are giving medical care in Ter Apel,” Doctors Without Borders diretor Judith Sargentini said.

“Living conditions there are inhuman and must be improved immediately,” she told the AFP news agency. “There are no showers and the toilets are dirty,” she said.

“We have reached a low point in our country,” added Groningen mayor Koen Schuiling, calling on other municipalities to open their doors and help alleviate overcrowding at Ter Apel.

More than 100 people have spent nights outdoors, sleeping on

 the roadside with little or no access to shelter or food 

 

Guinea to keep timetable for AFCON 2025 football tournament

Guinea was originally scheduled to host the continental tournament in 2023 but the list of host nations was reshuffled in 2018.

Supporters of Guinea national football team cheer in Sekondi, Ghana, January 28, 2008 during the African Cup of Nations football match against Namibia

Guinea’s military government has told a Confederation of African Football (CAF) mission that it will meet the timetable for staging the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN).

CAF has sent a team to the West African state to assess its readiness to host the tournament.

Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who appointed himself president after taking power in a coup in September 2021, met the delegation on Wednesday.

“They came with a message, and this message was, ‘Is 2025 feasible for us [Guineans] or not?’,” Sports Minister Lansana Bea Diallo said.

The CAF team held out the possibility of postponing CAN 2025 until 2026 or 2027, he said.

“The president was straightforward – ‘We made this a national priority, and the national priority is for 2025, we won’t go for 2026 or 2027, we will organise it in 2025’,” the minister was quoted on state TV late Wednesday as saying.

“And that’s the word of the head of state which has been given today,” he said.

Hosting Africa’s biggest sporting event is a major challenge for Guinea, which suffers a chronic lack of sporting and transport infrastructure.

The country also has a long history of political turbulence.

Last year’s coup saw the removal of octogenarian President Alpha Conde after bloody protests over his bid for a third term in office.

The takeover has stirred frictions with the influential West African bloc ECOWAS, which has been pushing for an early return to civilian rule.

On the eve of the CAF visit, Doumbouya issued a decree declaring the 2025 competition an issue of “national and priority interest”.

All spending for organisational needs “will be processed as a matter of urgency” and procedures will be fast-tracked to allocate land needed for the tournament.

In March, Doumbouya named a new organising committee after one of its members publicly doubted whether it was feasible to host the tournament in 2025.

The CAF mission appeared to have been encouraged by the visit.

“Today we are really reassured by Guinea’s preparedness,” said one of its members, Benin’s Mathurin de Chacus.

Doumbouya “spoke like a soldier – he’s determined to organise CAN for the Guinean public”, he said in remarks broadcast on television.

The delegation will brief CAF on the outcome of its mission, he said.

Guinea was originally scheduled to host the tournament in 2023, but this was pushed back by two years when the list of organising nations was reshuffled in 2018.

The 2023 event will be hosted by Ivory Coas

 

Nearly entire train network shuts down in Netherlands over strike

Staff at the railway firm NS stop work in the central Netherlands region that acts as a hub for nearly all train lines.

A stranded traveller passes a sculpture of a blue train at Utrecht Centraal station 

Nearly the entire Dutch rail network has been shut down as workers affected by soaring inflation and staff shortages are on strike to demand better pay and working conditions.

Staff at the railway company Nederlandes Spoorwegen (NS) stopped work for the day on Tuesday in the central Netherlands region that acts as a hub for nearly all train lines, halting trains across the country.

An exception was the line linking Amsterdam with the busy Schiphol airport that returned to service after a strike shut it down on Monday.

Utrecht Centraal station, the country’s biggest rail hub and normally packed with travellers, was eerily deserted on Tuesday morning.

Screens showing train timetables were lit up with the word “cancelled” in red letters and a station announcer explained in Dutch and English that services were being hit by the strike.

NS said in a statement that international trains operated by Thalys and Eurostar were running again after being halted on Monday.

Schiphol said in a warning to travellers that NS had indicated that four trains an hour would run each way between the airport and the Dutch capital’s central station.

Labour unions have called a series of strikes on the Dutch rail network after negotiations on a new collective labour agreement broke down.

All trains listed were marked “cancelled” in red at Utrecht Centraal station 

 

Dutch offer ‘deepest apologies’ for role in Srebrenica genocide

Defence minister offers ‘deepest apologies’ for the role played by Dutch peacekeepers in Bosnia when an estimated 8,000 Bosniak Muslims were massacred by Serb forces.

Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren pays tribute to victims of the Srebrenica massacre in the village of Potocari, near the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, on July 11, 2022 The Netherlands offered its “deepest apologies” for the role played by Dutch peacekeepers in the Srebrenica genocide, when roughly 8,000 Bosniak Muslims were massacred by Bosnian Serb forces 27 years ago this month.

It is the first time the Dutch government has apologised to relatives of the victims.

Outgunned and outnumbered, Dutch peacekeepers were unable to prevent Bosnian Serb forces from overrunning the United Nations-declared “safe haven” in Srebrenica city at the tail end of regional wars in the 1990s.

During a week of bloodletting in July 1995, Bosniak Muslim men and boys were separated from the women and taken to execution sites where they were massacred. Their bodies were dumped in mass graves.

“Only one party is to blame for the horrific genocide: the Bosnian Serb army,” Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren said on Monday during a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina to commemorate the genocide.

“But let me be clear. The international community failed to offer adequate protection to the people of Srebrenica and as part of that community the Dutch government shares responsibility for the situation in which that failure occurred. And for this we offer our deepest apologies,” Ollongren said, putting her hand to her heart.

“The events of 1995 led to deep human suffering that is palpable here to this day. We cannot relieve you of this suffering. But what we can do is to look history straight in the eye,” she said.

Dutch courts had already determined that the Netherlands was partly responsible for the fall of Srebrenica and compensation was paid to survivors.

The Dutch government resigned over the episode in 2002, with then-Prime Minister Wim Kok saying the government in that way accepted its responsibility for the massacre but not the blame.

Relatives of those killed did not deem this enough and have been pushing for an official apology for years.

Last month, the Netherlands apologised to the Dutch UN soldiers present at the massacre for the conditions under which they had to serve, sparking anger from the relatives of the victims.

The slaughter in Srebrenica, judged an act of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, was the worst single atrocity of the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, in which about 100,000 people were killed.

 

 

Sri Lankans make crypto Ponzi scam claims

Many Sri Lankans have been duped by a fake cryptocurrency investment scheme which has swindled millions of rupees.

Investors who have lost money are feeling the pinch more amid Sri Lanka's continuing economic crisis

Colombo, Sri Lanka–When 37-year-old Harshana Pathirana quit his job in the hotel sector, sold his car and invested in what he believed was a cryptocurrency, he dreamed of making a fortune, especially as the economy around him cratered.

More than a year later, with the tourism sector battered in the face of Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis, Pathirana is unemployed and has lost all his investment.

“I invested 2.2 million Sri Lankan rupees ($6,162) and was promised a five times higher return. But I only received about 200,000 Sri Lankan rupees ($560.20),” Pathirana told Al Jazeera. “I lost everything.”

Pathirana’s name has been changed to protect his identity as his family is unaware that he has lost his money. “My family thinks I sold the car and deposited the money in my bank account,” he said. He is now trying to migrate to find a job and earn some money.

Pathirana is one of the many Sri Lankans both locally and overseas who claim to have been deceived by a group of men that ran a fake cryptocurrency investment scheme and swindled millions of rupees. While it is not clear how many people in total claim to have been duped, one person that Al Jazeera spoke to said easily a thousand people had joined in his district alone, and that since the model worked on bringing on new investors, the scheme had a cascading effect.

These investors are feeling the pinch amid Sri Lanka’s economic crisis which has seen inflation hit 60.8 percent in July, causing acute shortages of essentials, and making basic meals almost unaffordable.

The scam is said to have affected professionals like doctors, security personnel and people from lower middle-income backgrounds in rural districts, mostly between the ages of 30 and 40.

Some of those who spoke to Al Jazeera were Sri Lankans who had made investments while working in countries like South Korea, Italy and Japan.

Most of them had given up their jobs, pawned their jewellery, mortgaged their property, and sold their vehicles to invest all they could, hoping they would receive significant gains.

“If I had my money today, I could have opened up a fixed deposit account and used it to improve the economic status of my family,” Roshan Marasingha, 38, who spoke to Al Jazeera from South Korea, said.

He said that he had invested 3.1 million Sri Lankan rupees ($8,683) and received only 550,000 Sri Lankan rupees ($1,540) in return.

“Unfortunately, we were the bottom-level investors in their pyramid (scheme). So we didn’t receive the return that was promised,” Marasingha lamented.

 

The Indian woman who married herself

Inspired by a Netflix show, 24-year-old Kshama Bindu tied the knot with herself last month – the first example of ‘sologamy’ in India.

Bindu's elaborate Indian wedding with herself made her an overnight internet sensation

New Delhi, India – Though she is dressed aptly as a newlywed, she is different from other brides. Because Kshama Bindu has not married a man, or a woman – she has married herself.

“People look weirdly at me. Like I have committed a crime,” she told Al Jazeera.

Bindu’s “sologamy” – a marriage with self – was conducted last month in an elaborate Indian wedding setup, making her an overnight internet sensation and the first Indian ever to engage in such a practice.

Bindu says she came up with the idea of sologamy only three months before her wedding after watching the Netflix show, Anne With An E, a coming-of-age story of a young orphaned girl who endured abuse as a child.

Taking the line from the show – “I want to be a bride but not a wife” – to another level, she finally tied the knot with herself on June 8.

Since then, from travelling for work to going out for shopping in the western Indian state of Gujarat, the 24-year-old has been earning disapproving looks from strangers.

But she could not be happier. The day of her wedding was the best day of her life, she said, adding, “I was in awe of myself when I looked into the mirror. I had no worries of a normal Indian bride. I felt like I was enough for myself.”

The best part about her marriage to self, she says, is that not much has changed since the wedding.

“I don’t need anybody else’s validation. I don’t have to think about moving to a different city because my partner has to move. I can think just about myself,” she told Al Jazeera, adding that no one but herself can give her greater love.

Bindu came up with the idea of sologamy after watching a Netflix show 

Bindu is an unusual woman in a traditional Indian society now undergoing rapid changes.

Is this radical self-love, a quest for fame, a deliberate glorification of being alone as a protest against loneliness, or a rejection of patriarchy and societal expectations of women?

Experts say such a declaration of self-love could have been a result of past trauma and failed relationships, and could even point to narcissistic tendencies.

Anusnigdha, a psychoanalytically-oriented researcher at Birmingham University in the United Kingdom, believes extreme trauma at a young age could explain self-love.

For someone who has gone through trauma, acceptance of this kind could be immensely healing, she said.

“In a society where everything is now celebrated on social media, it seems she wanted to make a public declaration that she has finally accepted herself after a journey of healing,” Anusnigdha told Al Jazeera.

I don’t need anybody else’s validation. I don’t have to think about moving to a different city because my partner has to move. I can think just about myself.

by Kshama Bindu, 24

Bindu says she did have a tough childhood and was repeatedly sexually abused when she was eight.

“Every time it happened, I would look into the mirror crying and try to motivate and inspire myself. I would have to remind myself that I am strong. Because of this, I grew up much before my time,” she said.

According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data from 2020, sex crimes against children in India went up, with at least 40 percent of the total crimes against children being sexual offences.

Bindu describes herself as a vocal person who always takes a stance against injustice.

“Some people dislike me and want me to take a chill pill, or to take it easy. I am a buzzkill because I call out casual sexism and misogynistic jokes,” she said.

“Rest in Peace, patriarchy and gender rules,” reads the graveyard tattoo on Bindu’s left wrist. “Patriarchy has hit me many times and in different stages of my life.”

Bindu says patriarchy has affected her in different stages of her life 

Anusnigdha feels that the pressures of an ideal marriage for women in Indian society could also be a driving factor in Bindu’s marriage with herself.

“Most cases of sologamy across the world are women. From a young age, girls are prepared for marriage. It can feel like a lot of pressure. By marrying herself, she has shut people up,” she said.

What is sologamy?

There are multiple references to sologamy in Western popular culture. The idea has featured in several popular Hollywood films and television series, including Sex And The City, Glee and Doctor Who.

Organisations such as Marry Yourself Vancouver in Canada and IMarriedMe.com in the United States offer sologamy packages and assistance.

Bindu recalls not feeling shocked when she first learned about the concept. “I had heard a lot about polygamy and monogamy, but never sologamy,” she told Al Jazeera.

“After watching the show, I googled for the first time whether it was legal to marry oneself in India. When I read about it, it felt normal and even attractive to me. It wasn’t a shock.”

But to her friends and family, it was a bolt out of the blue. Eventually, they all came on board. Her friends even planned a bachelorette party for her, which could not take place in the end because of the barrage of media people outside her gate.

“I was on a sort of house arrest because of the media outside, I couldn’t go out. The neighbours too had objections,” she says.

After the news of her marriage broke, the media flocked outside her house for interviews. Her story got mixed responses, but most stories painted her as a pioneer of sorts.

Most cases of sologamy across the world are women. From a young age, girls are prepared for marriage. It can feel like a lot of pressure.

by Anusnigdha, Researcher, Birmingham University

Anusnigdha feels that Bindu has successfully tapped into the social media potential and styled herself a trendsetter and feminist icon. She says that even the wedding, an act of self-acceptance, was done in a performative way.

But it was not an easy journey. Not only were people mocking her for the decision, there was political backlash too. Just a week before her wedding, the priest who was supposed to solemnise the marriage backed out.

“This is because politics got involved,” says Bindu, referring to the opposition she faced from Sunita Shukla, a politician from the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who declared she would not allow the wedding to take place in a Hindu temple.

Because of threats, Bindu was under pressure to keep the marriage discreet. She held the ceremony in her house before the scheduled date. She said the wedding was authentic Gujarati, with garba – a Gujarati dance form – and sweets.

Shukla told the media such a marriage would be against Hinduism.

“I am against the choice of venue, she will not be allowed to marry herself in any temple. Such marriages are against Hinduism. This will reduce the population of Hindus. If anything goes against religion then no law will prevail,” she told India’s ANI news agency.

Bindu says she called at least 25 Hindu priests to perform the wedding rituals but to no avail. Ultimately, technology came to the rescue. The hymns and wedding chants were played on a Bluetooth speaker in Bindu’s house when the wedding finally took place.

Like a proper Indian bride, she got a full bridal mehndi (henna) on her hands and feet a day before the marriage ceremony. On her big day, she invited a makeup artist to get a bridal look.

“After my wedding, I received a lot of questions about how my sex life is going to be. While it is true that I have pledged not to date, remarry or have sexual relations with anyone but myself, I can fulfil my needs fully,” she said.

 

China labour watchdogs face tough tradeoffs to keep access alive

The Better Cotton Initiative faced scrutiny over its work after partnering with Chinese firm accused of rights abuses.

The Better Cotton Initiative ceased monitoring conditions in Xinjiang's cotton industry in 2020 amid reports of widespread human rights abuses in the region

Tokyo, Japan – When the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) launched in 2005 promising to promote the use of traceable, sustainable cotton in global supply chains, the non-profit organisation (NGO) honed in on cotton-growing regions with a documented history of human rights abuses.

BCI’s mission took it to Xinjiang, China, the homeland of the Uighur ethnic minority, where the NGO began working in 2013.

To assist its work on the ground in one of the world’s largest cotton-producing regions, BCI partnered with state-owned Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a firm human rights groups and Western governments have accused of overseeing the arbitrary detention and forced labour of Uyghurs and other ethnic minority Muslims.

Despite mounting evidence of abuses detailed in NGO reports and media investigations in 2018 and 2019, BCI continued to operate in Xinjiang until October 2020.

The non-profit’s exit came several months after the United States Office of Foreign Assets banned transactions with the XPCC over its role in “serious rights abuses against ethnic minorities.”

In a statement that has since been removed from its website, BCI, which has headquarters in London and Geneva, said the “sustained allegations of forced labour and other human rights abuses” were a factor in its departure. Since then, BCI has declined to comment on its decision to leave Xinjiang, or why it took as long as it did to act.

“BCI has once never issued a public apology, nor has the chairman ever faced the media on this,” Brett Mathews, the editor of Apparel Insider and a garment supply chains expert, told Al Jazeera.

“Where was the due diligence? Why didn’t they do any research on the XPCC and its known links with all sorts of atrocities towards the Uighur population?”

BCI did not respond to a request for comment from Al Jazeera.

Beijing has denied allegations of rights abuses and genocide in Xinjiang and credited its “vocational education and training centres” with reducing violent extremism and poverty.”

Tough decisions and compromises

BCI’s case is one of the most dramatic examples of the tough choices and compromises labour and human rights watchdogs must face when operating in China under what critics says is the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Xi Jinping.

Rights groups including the Fair Wear Foundation, Workers Rights Consortium, Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior, and Amnesty International have all found themselves no longer able to continue working in mainland China or Hong Kong.

Those that remain are increasingly subject to strict controls and oversight that risk degrading their ability to identify or address human rights issues in global supply chains.

“Since 2015, the Chinese government has been targeting and cracking down on labour groups,” Johnson Ching-Yin Yeung, a Hong Kong-based campaigner with the Clean Clothes Campaign, told Al Jazeera.

“The risk factor has, in my understanding, deterred a lot of monitoring activities.”

Border controls and other travel restrictions, which have been ramped up under Beijing’s draconian “zero COVID-19” strategy, have made it increasingly challenging for foreign observers to even enter China or access, for example, facilities in Xinjiang considered to be high-risk for forced labour.

Even digital monitoring has become challenging, campaigners say, due to new data security laws that have already impacted the availability of information from the Automatic Identification System used to track ships.

During a 19-day period in October and November, the level of shipping data available for Chinese waters plunged by an estimated 90 percent, according to market intelligence firm VesselsValue.

 

Sri Lanka ex-leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa seeks entry into Thailand

Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled Sri Lanka amid mass protests, requests entry into Thailand after weeks in Singapore.

Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka amid widespread anti-government protests

Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has requested entry into Thailand for a temporary stay in a second Southeast Asian country after fleeing his island nation last month amid mass protests, the Thai foreign ministry has said.

Rajapaksa fled to Singapore on July 14 following widespread demonstrations over Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis in seven decades, and days after thousands of protesters stormed the president’s official residence and office over acute shortages of food, fuel and medicine.

He then resigned from the presidency, becoming the first Sri Lankan head of state to quit mid-term.

Rajapaksa is expected to leave Singapore and head to Thailand’s capital Bangkok on Thursday, the Reuters news agency reported, citing two sources who asked not to be named. Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

There was no immediate comment from the Sri Lankan embassy in Singapore, which had supported Rajapaksa’s attempt to stay longer in the city-state.

Tanee Sangrat, a Thai foreign ministry spokesman, said Rajapaksa holds a diplomatic passport that allows him entry into the country for 90 days. He did not say when Rajapaksa intended to visit.

 

Child feared dead on Greek islet where refugees are stranded

A five-year-old Syrian girl has reportedly died, with her parents and dozens others awaiting rescue following alleged pushbacks.

Baida, a Syrian refugee, is among the group of asylum seekers who remain stranded on a Greek islet 

Athens, Greece – A five-year-old Syrian girl, who was among a group of refugees and migrants, is understood to have died on a Greek islet on the Evros River.

Her parents have submerged the girl’s body in river water in an attempt to keep it cool, as Greek authorities appear unable to locate the group.

Those still on the islet with the girl’s remains say she died in the early hours of Tuesday after being stung by a scorpion, two days after they were stranded there.

Another girl, who is nine, remains in critical condition. She is also understood to have been stung by a scorpion.

They are part of a group of 39 asylum seekers, some of whom are trapped for a second time on this unnamed islet after repeated alleged pushbacks between Turkey and Greece.

One member of the group, 27-year-old Baida, also from Syria, has been sending frantic messages to lawyers and journalists since the reported death.

“A girl died. A child. She’s dead. I can do nothing,” she said in a WhatsApp voice note sent to a group including this reporter.

She posted photos of the girl on her back with her eyes closed, lying on a patch of grass on the islet.

In another message, she questioned why the children have not received any help.

“No one hears our voices,” she said.

“If you hear our voices please help us,” Baida said. “The other girl might die tomorrow.”

The refugees say they were forced on the islet by Turkish authorities on August 7.

The Evros land border is a frequent crossing point for those wishing to claim asylum in Europe, but many reports have documented violent Greek pushbacks in recent months, as well as incidents where people have been made to cross by Turkish authorities.

The stranded refugees and migrants wish to claim asylum in Greece.

Greek authorities have been notified of their location and activists have made emergency calls on their behalf to police, but officials say that they have not been able to locate the group.

On Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights issued an order stating that the trapped asylum seekers should not be removed from Greek territory and that they should be provided with food, water and adequate medical care.

In their messages, members of the group describe what amounts to a geopolitical ping-pong game, being pushed back and forth across the land border by Greek and Turkish authorities for weeks in the highly militarised border zone in which no lawyer, human rights organisations or journalists can legally enter.

Some were originally stranded in the same location in late July, having tried to cross the border from Turkey.

They say they survived on food scraps, nuts and muddy water from the river before being returned to Turkey by Greek authorities.

Then, they accused Turkish authorities of holding them in military barracks, and later bringing them back across to the river and ordering them — at gunpoint — to cross again into Greek territory.

Al Jazeera has contacted Greek and Turkish officials in an attempt to verify the details of these alleged incidents but had not received a response by the time of writing.

Longtime foes, NATO members Athens and Ankara are currently locked in rows on several fronts, including the refugee issue and oil and gas exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean.

 

England’s Euro 2022 win ‘inspiration for girls and women today’

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth leads tributes after England’s women’s team beats Germany in the final to win the first major trophy.

Chloe Kelly's extra-time goal secured England's win at a sold-out Wembley on Sunday

England’s Euro 2022 football win “will be an inspiration for girls and women today, and for future generations”, Queen Elizabeth II has said after the Lionesses beat Germany 2-1 to lift their first major trophy.

Chloe Kelly’s extra-time goal secured England’s win at a sold-out Wembley on Sunday.

“Your success goes far beyond the trophy you have so deservedly earned,” the queen said in a statement on Sunday.

“You have all set an example that will be an inspiration for girls and women today, and for future generations.”

Substitute Ella Toone’s sublime chip, in front of a record crowd for any European Championships match of 87,192 at Wembley, had put England in front.

Germany’s Lina Magull levelled 11 minutes from the end of 90 minutes.

Kelly struck in extra time to give England the win, which came just over 56 years to the day since the England men defeated West Germany to win the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley.

Here is how the players, experts and the fans reacted to England’s win:

England forward Kelly: “Thank you to every single person. Honestly, it’s amazing. This is what dreams are made of. It’s unbelievable. To be here and score the winner, these girls are special, this manager is special. This is amazing. I just want to celebrate now.”

England coach Sarina Wiegman: “I think we really made a change. I think this tournament has done so much for the game but also for society and women in society in England but I also think in Europe and across the world and I hope that will make a [bigger] change too.”

England captain Leah Williamson: “I just can’t stop crying. We talk, we talk and we talk and we finally [did] it. You know what? The kids are all right. This is the proudest moment of my life. Listen, the legacy of this tournament is the change in society.”

Sri Lanka

 

With no fuel and no cash, Sri Lanka grinds to a halt

Less than a day’s worth of fuel remains, says the energy minister, as the cash-strapped nation extends school closures.

An autorickshaw driver waits in a queue hoping to get fuel near a fuel station in Colombo

Sri Lanka has less than a day’s worth of fuel left, the energy minister says, with public transport grinding to a halt as the country’s economic crisis deepens.

Power and energy minister Kanchana Wijesekera on Sunday said petrol reserves were about 4,000 tonnes, just below one day’s worth of consumption, as queues snaked through the main city of Colombo for kilometres.

The cash-strapped nation on Sunday extended school closures because there is not enough fuel for teachers and parents to get children to classrooms, with most pumping stations being without fuel for days.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Al Jazeera last week the petrol shortage will last until July 22 when the next oil shipment is expected. He said a gas deal has been secured which will ensure supplies for the next four months.

“It [fuel shortage] is a big setback to the economy and has caused lot of hardship to people. When we came in, the shortage of dollars actually contributed to this situation. We have been taking steps since then especially to get gas which will be available in the next few days, diesel and furnace oil as well,” he said.

“The issue has been petrol … and that will take a bit of time. We are hoping to get shipment of petrol by July 22 but I have asked the [concerned] minister to try to get the shipment earlier.”

ICJ to rule on Myanmar objections to Rohingya genocide case

If the objections are dismissed, the case will move to the next phase and the evidence for the alleged atrocities.

As genocide cases move slowly through the international courts, many Rohingya continue to endure enormous hardship

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to rule on Myanmar’s preliminary objections to a genocide case brought over the military’s brutal 2017 crackdown on the mostly Muslim Rohingya.

The court heard arguments on the objections in February, and ICJ President Judge Joan E Donoghue will read out its decision on Friday at 3pm (13:00 GMT).

Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Center (GJC) in New York, says it is “reasonably likely” that the ICJ will reject the objections, allowing the court to move to the next stage of the process — the merits phase — when it will consider the factual evidence against Myanmar.

“These objections were nothing more than a delaying tactic and it is disappointing that the ICJ has taken a year and a half to make its decision,” Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK), told Al Jazeera. “The genocide is ongoing and it is vital that the court doesn’t allow any further delays.”

Here are some more details about the lawsuits Myanmar and its military are facing, and what is at stake.

What is the ICJ case?

The Gambia took the case against Myanmar to the ICJ in November 2019, with the backing of the 57-member Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, after a brutal military crackdown in the northwestern state of Rakhine forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee into neighbouring Bangladesh.

Myanmar is accused of breaching the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide(PDF).

The ICJ has already ordered Myanmar to take urgent measures to protect the Rohingya, with the judges saying it had “caused irreparable damage” to the group’s rights.

Rohingya continue to attempt risky journeys to escape Myanmar and Bangladesh. This group was stranded  off the coast of the Indonesian province of Aceh in December

A United Nations investigation found in 2018 that the crackdown had been carried out with “genocidal intent” and recommended that Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and five generals be prosecuted.

The UN mission’s chairman Marzuki Darusman said the victim accounts were among “the most shocking human rights violations” he had come across and would “leave a mark on all of us for the rest of our lives”.

In March this year, the United States determined the Myanmar military’s actions against the Rohingya amounted to genocide.

Myanmar has denied genocide and says the crackdown in 2017 targeted Rohingya rebels who had attacked police posts.

The military, which staged a coup in February 2021, has now taken control of the case, replacing elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who initially defended Myanmar at the court in The Hague. She has not been seen in public since the coup and is on trial in secret military courts on dozens of charges.

Some rights groups and activists have raised concerns about the ICJ dealing with the military’s representatives.

They note that Myanmar’s United Nations ambassador remains Kyaw Moe Tun, who was appointed by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy and is now aligned with the National Unity Government established by politicians who were overthrown.

What are Myanmar’s objections?

The objections, filed a month before the military coup, have not been revealed publicly.

But court proceedings indicate Myanmar is contesting The Gambia’s right to bring the case and whether the ICJ has the necessary jurisdiction.

Myanmar ratified the Genocide Convention in 1956 and The Gambia in 1978.