Will the New Forest Deal Deliver? Daily Brief

More than 100 global leaders have pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by the end of the decade. The joint statement at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow was backed by the EU, China, whose imports drive 24% of the world’s deforestation, and the US alongside Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia. The latter collectively account for 85% of the world’s forests. In addition, five countries and a number of philanthropist organizations pledged to give at least $1.7 billion to indigenous peoples and local communities in support of forest conservation. But for the forest deal to actually stop the destruction it needs to commit to goals that are more ambitious, such as concrete short- and long-term targets to reduce deforestation, moratoriums on clearing primary forests; and investigations of violence and intimidation against forest defenders. 

Today is the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. More than 1200 journalists have been murdered between 2006 and 2020 for doing their job. In 9 out of 10 cases the killers walk free according to the UNESCO observatory for killed journalists. In response to this ongoing impunity crisis, three leading press freedom groups, the Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), have launched the People’s Tribunal on the Murder of Journalists to investigate and hold governments accountable. The tribunal, which opened today in The Hague, will hear witnesses and present evidence on global developments, the role of states, and the impact of impunity on journalists.  

A 16-year-old Cambodian teenager has been sentenced to eight months in prison over messages he shared on Facebook and Telegram which insulted ruling party officials. The sentencing of Sovann Chhay, who rights group say has autism spectrum disorder and is the son of a detained political opposition member, comes amid a broad crackdown in Cambodia on the opposition, civil society and the media. 

Eswatini authorities should ensure accountability for their security forces’ crackdown on protesters in June, during which at least 46 people died and hundreds were injured. The Southern African Development Community (SADC), which deployed special envoys to Eswatini in October, and the international community should press Eswatini to agree to an independent, international investigation into the killings and any other human rights violations resulting from excessive use of force. 

Since banning its sole remaining opposition party, the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), in 2015, the Tajik government has jailed hundreds of political activists, journalists, and lawyers. In light of Tajikistan having admitted thousands of Afghan refugees since the start of the year, international leaders seem to have forgotten this grim reality. At the United Nations this week in Geneva, the country’s international partners should seize the opportunity to address this rights crisis. 

The number of confirmed Covid-19 deaths worldwide has topped 5 million, a number that is likely to significantly underestimate the pandemic’s true death toll. High vaccination rates in the west have helped keep deaths and hospitalisations low even in the face of rising case numbers. But stark global vaccine access and distribution inequalities have resulted in far higher death rates in low-income countries than in rich countries, which have given out more booster shots in the last 3 months, than poor countries have given out total doses all year. 

And lastly: While access to safe abortion is threatened from the United States to China, the “Marea Verde,” or Green Wave, women’s movement has helped deliver groundbreaking reforms and progress on reproductive health and rights in Latin America.