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avaaz
Nearly 1 Million Across US Call For Cease-Fire in Gaza
"Only a negotiated cease-fire can pave the way to addressing the current humanitarian crisis, the release of all hostages, and a long-term solution to this conflict," said one campaigner.
Nov 29, 2023
Almost a million Americans signed petitions from half a dozen civil society organizations demanding that U.S. President Joe Biden and Congress push for a lasting cease-fire in Israel's war on the Gaza Strip.
Amnesty International USA, Avaaz, Demand Progress, Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), MoveOn, and Oxfam America circulated similar petitions in response to the war, which Israel launched after a Hamas-led attack on October 7.
The groups delivered the petition signatures to the White House on Wednesday as the world waited to see if a temporary truce would be extended. The initial four-day pause in fighting—during which Hamas freed some hostages taken last month and Israel released some Palestinian prisoners—was extended by two days on Monday, but as of press time, no new announcement had been made.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to meet with Israel's leaders to discuss extending the temporary cease-fire, during which two American Israelis have been released—Liat Atzili and Abigail Idan, who is 4 years old.
"It's inspiring to see the groundswell of support across the United States for an immediate cease-fire to end Israel's reckless military campaign and the total blockade of Gaza."
"The resumption of fighting for Palestinians means that there's going to be no humanitarian aid that will be allowed into the Gaza Strip. It also means there are going to be more casualties and victims alongside mass destruction of civil infrastructure and civilian homes," Al Jazeera's Abu Azzoum reported from Khan Younis. Israeli forces have already killed 15,000 people in Gaza.
MoveOn executive director Rahna Epting said in a statement Wednesday that "civilians are being killed at what is being described a 'historic pace,' the majority women and children. The loss of life is devastating."
"We must end collective punishment, return those taken hostage or wrongfully imprisoned, and let in humanitarian aid," Epting argued. "The current pause is a good step toward what is needed: a permanent cease-fire."
Demand Progress foreign policy adviser Cavan Kharrazian similarly asserted that "there is no military solution to the current conflict, and further violence will continue to erode the safety and security of Palestinians and Israelis. Only a negotiated cease-fire can pave the way to addressing the current humanitarian crisis, the release of all hostages, and a long-term solution to this conflict."
Paul O'Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA, pointed out that the nearly 1 million people who signed the petitions "represent just a fraction of Americans who support a cease-fire today, as reflected by poll after poll."
"They know that the way the Israeli military and Hamas have been engaging in this conflict is in violation of international law," he continued. "They know that a short pause in the fighting—even as it is welcome—will do nothing to assure that this will change."
Hassan El-Tayyab, FCNL's legislative director for Middle East policy, said that "it's inspiring to see the groundswell of support across the United States for an immediate cease-fire to end Israel's reckless military campaign and the total blockade of Gaza."
"It's critical that Congress and the administration listen to these voices, and the vast majority of U.S. citizens, who want an end to this nightmare before more innocent lives are lost," El-Tayyab added.
Since October 7, the list of members of Congress calling for a Gaza cease-fire has grown to about four dozen—though as The Intercept's Prem Thakker noted Wednesday, "a closer look at some lawmakers' statements raises questions about whether they are truly pushing for an end to the violence."
The United States already gives Israel $3.8 billion in annual military aid—and after the Hamas attack, Biden announced his "unwavering" support for the country and asked Congress for $14.3 billion for its war effort.
Oxfam's petition declares that "President Biden and Congress must help immediately de-escalate this dangerous situation; failing to do so will unwittingly place a U.S. seal of approval on the suffering that is sure to only deepen."
El-Tayyab highlighted that "every major humanitarian organization working in Gaza is pleading with the international community to reach an immediate cease-fire and open up aid access so they can continue their vital work in the Gaza Strip."
Throughout Israel's air and ground assault on Gaza, Israeli forces have waged what some critics have called a "war against hospitals," three-quarters of which have had to shut down. Margaret Harris, a World Health Organization spokesperson, warned Tuesday that "eventually we will see more people dying from disease than from bombardment if we are not able to put back together this health system."
The civil society groups behind the petitions shared the testimony of a practicing nurse volunteering in a Gaza hospital: "We heard nearby explosions. I rushed to assist, only to discover it was my own family. Witnessing their extraction was heartbreaking. Some lost their lives, while others were wounded. They started pulling out dead children from under the rubble in front of me."
"This is the hardest war Gaza has ever experienced. It's the first I witnessed such injuries: amputations, burns, unprecedented in its severity," the nurse added. "Dealing with 60 to 70 people simultaneously in an emergency room designed for 13 or 14 beds poses a challenge. We have no choice but to treat some on the floor."
As Oxfam's Scott Paul put it Wednesday: "We need a permanent cease-fire in order to enable humanitarian organizations to deliver much-needed aid safely and securely. More violence is not going to produce the safety and human rights that Israelis and Palestinians deserve, but it is sure to immeasurably deepen suffering in Gaza."
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'No Place for Science Denial': Google, YouTube Ban Monetization of Climate Misinformation
"Deniers can find someplace else to spread their lies," said one digital rights activist.
Oct 07, 2021
Digital rights advocates on Thursday welcomed a report that Google and its YouTube video platform are prohibiting the monetization of climate misinformation.
Google advertisers and publishers and YouTube creators will be banned from receiving advertising revenue that contradicts "well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change," company officials said in a statement reported by Axios.
"This includes content referring to climate change as a hoax or a scam, claims denying that long-term trends show the global climate is warming, and claims denying that greenhouse gas emissions or human activity contribute to climate change," the statement explained.
"Advertisers simply don't want their ads to appear next to this content. And publishers and creators don't want ads promoting these claims to appear on their pages or videos," the statement added.
\u201cGood move. And how about banning advertising of fossil fuels too? https://t.co/zRr451noWJ\u201d— Nick Young (@Nick Young) 1633638826
Last year, a study by the advocacy group Avaaz concluded that YouTube's recommendation algorithm was "driving millions of people to watch climate misinformation videos" and that the company was incentivizing such content through its monetization program.
"Some of the largest household brands in the world, including Samsung, L'Oreal, Warner Bros, Carrefour, and Danone, as well as two of the largest environmental groups in the world, Greenpeace International and World Wildlife Fund, have advertisements running on these climate misinformation videos," Avaaz said.
Other social media platforms are also rife with climate lies. Last month, Common Dreams reported that the environmental group Friends of the Earth found that Facebook allows 99% of all climate disinformation to go unchecked. A 2020 InfluenceMap studyfound that in the first six months of last year, at least eight million people in the U.S. saw 51 Facebook ads containing false climate claims.
Google's move to quash climate misinformation profiteers comes one week after YouTube announced it was banning the accounts of several prominent anti-vaccine personalities.
"There is no place for science denial--whether it's climate, Covid, or anything else--on such influential platforms," Vahid Razavi, founder of the digital rights group Ethics in Tech, told Common Dreams. "Deniers can find someplace else to spread their lies."
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"Don't Feed the Greed Kristalina": Citizen Call for Debt Reform (or Revolt) at IMF/WBG Spring Meetings
To mark the start of two important days of debt negotiations, the international campaigning group Avaaz has invited a special guest to perform in front of IMF headquarters at the spring meetings: Evita Peron.
Singing in English, an activist dressed as Evita performed a debt-restructured version of the hit "Don't Cry for me Argentina," which includes the refrain: Don't feed the greed, Argentina / The truth is you give them Nature / All through your wildlife / Your green resilience /Just keep your glaciers / And save the planet!
Apr 08, 2021
To mark the start of two important days of debt negotiations, the international campaigning group Avaaz has invited a special guest to perform in front of IMF headquarters at the spring meetings: Evita Peron.
Singing in English, an activist dressed as Evita performed a debt-restructured version of the hit "Don't Cry for me Argentina," which includes the refrain: Don't feed the greed, Argentina / The truth is you give them Nature / All through your wildlife / Your green resilience /Just keep your glaciers / And save the planet!
Evita's composition is intended to draw attention to the fact that while Argentina holds a significant IMF debt, it also shares crucial climate and biodiversity wealth, free of charge. A similar imbalance (of monetary poverty despite biodiversity wealth) exists in the majority of highly-indebted poor countries (HIPC) whose IMF debts are set to be renegotiated to allow for additional urgent needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lyrics highlight the fact that Argentina has one of the biggest environmental surpluses in the world, in contrast to its financial creditors, the majority of whom have a green deficit.
Avaaz is calling upon Argentina to start an international debt rebellion which would take into account contributions of climate and biodiversity wealth in overall debt calculations. This would allow poor countries to stop paying money to rich countries and invest instead in the well-being if their people and the protection of their natural wealth, with a benefit for all of us. Avaaz also calls upon the IMF's Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva to stand her ground in negotiations towards a radical debt reform.
Oscar Soria, Campaign Director at Avaaz, said in a press conference at the front of IMF HQ:
"To mark the start of these crucial spring meetings, Avaaz brought an Argentine icon to call for social inclusion and ecological justice in the current debt negotiations. The ecological debt should be considered in any further negotiations between rich and poor nations."
"Given the emerging global recognition of the need to include nature in economic models it is time that debt calculations take into account the biodiversity and climate protections provided by many developing countries, usually for little or no financial reward. By rethinking who is indebted to whom we will establish a new green economy that protects our planet while tackling debt through a sustainable and equitable lens
The perpetual renegotiation of sovereign debt between rich and poor countries is a cruel feature of a colonial mindset that believes it is fine for the wealthy to profit from the natural riches and resources of the poor, with little concern for helping them out of poverty. As a result, too many governments, especially in the Global South, find themselves stuck in spirals of indebtedness that prohibit them from investing in the health and well-being of their citizens. We fear this will only be exacerbated by the social and economic blows of the Covid-19 pandemic."
What Avaaz would like to see happen at the IMF/WB Spring Meetings:
Special Drawing Rights (SDRs): The world's wealthiest countries (primarily G7 and G20) should be called upon to:
* Reallocate a significant proportion of
their SDRs to support rapid access to liquidity for vulnerable countries. A collective target of 90% of SDR allocation to G20 countries should be reallocated to vulnerable countries.
* Put these new SDRs to good use: whether the new SDRs remain at the IMF or are poured into a new "SDRs Trust Fund" to make grants and concessional lending, the actual use of the money should be aligned with recipient countries' development priorities, and always be fully aligned with fulfilling the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement objectives.
Modernizing the Role of the IMF: The IMF should seize the opportunity of the ongoing Comprehensive Surveillance Review (CSR) (which will reform the IMF's surveillance for the next decade) to implement steps that ensure it is up to the challenge of supporting a more resilient and sustainable global economy. These steps could include:
* Strengthen the IMF's surveillance mechanisms and funding to recognize and avoid increasing risks posed by climate change and biodiversity loss. Despite the emerging threats they pose to macro-stability, the IMF has yet to include such risks into Article IV surveillance. Several publications (including from Carbon Tracker, IRENA, Mark Carney) show increasing "transition risks" due to the rapid transition to a net zero economy, including the growing risks of stranded assets estimated between $3-7 trillion by IRENA.
* The Fund's debt policies should be tailored to the challenge of addressing climate change. The joint World Bank-IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis Framework (DSA) should include climate related risks (including transition risks) and better assess the fiscal multipliers associated with green investments. With a longer term time horizon, the DSA must recognize the benefits of green (and blue) over grey investments, as recommended by the Joint V20-IMF Action Agenda, and the increasing risks of investing in unsustainable fossil-based infrastructures. Key points to support from the V20-IMF Joint Action Agenda are:
1. Mainstreaming systematic and transparent assessments of climate-related financial risks in all IMF operations.
2. Consistent, systematic, and universal appraisal and treatment of physical climate risks and transition risks for all countries in Article IV consultations and Financial Sector Assessment Programs.
3. Advancing disclosure of climate-related financial risks and promoting sustainable finance and investment practices.
4. Exploring synergies between fiscal and monetary policies.
5. Mainstreaming of climate risk analysis in public financial management and supporting the development of a climate disaster risk financing and insurance architecture.
6. Supporting climate vulnerable countries with debt sustainability problems.
7. Developing the IMF toolkit for climate emergency financing.
8. Exploring options to use Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to support climate vulnerable countries.
9. Supporting the design and implementation of carbon pricing mechanisms.
10. Institutionalizing collaboration between the Fund and the V20.
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