January 8 – Save The Children
Save The Children charitable organization, known for fighting to save children from poverty and discrimination, issues a report that takes a hard look at the factors that rob children of their childhoods. These “childhood enders” include lack of access to healthcare, conflict, extreme violence, child marriage, early pregnancy, malnutrition, exclusion from education, child homicide, and child labor. Many children suffer from a toxic mix of poverty and discrimination – excluded because of who they are: a girl, a refugee, an ethnic minority, or a child with a disability. These threats to fulfilling childhood are also present in high-income countries. The organization says that when taken together, these factors have created a global childhood crisis of massive proportions. The End of Childhood Report and Index explore in detail these factors and rank 172 countries based on where childhood is most protected and where it is most eroded.
The findings in the report include the following statistics: 263 million children worldwide do not go to school; 165 million are used as child labor; 28 million children have fled violence becoming refugees or internally displaced; 40 million girls (aged 15-19) were forced into marriages; 156 million children under age 5 have stunted growth due to malnutrition; and 8 million children die each year prematurely.
Norway, Slovenia, Finland, Netherlands, and Sweden are the top five countries where children have the best childhoods. The index score is based on eight indicators: child health, education, labor, marriage, childbirth, and violence. The United States ranks only 36th.[1] Its low position is due to rising child mortality rate (the highest among the top wealthy democratic countries). Some of the factors behind it are related to infant deaths, automobile accidents, and firearm assaults. The U.S. has also higher rate of teenage pregnancy.[2]
Full Report: “Stolen Childhoods”
March 4 – North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are critically ill after being found on a bench in the United Kingdom’s city of Salisbury. The British authorities determined that the couple was poisoned with a rare military-grade nerve agent developed in secret by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s. It is part of a group of nerve agents known as Novichok. It was designed to escape detection by international inspectors, but its existence was revealed by defectors.[3] Russia denies any involvement. Sergei Skripal is a retired Russian military intelligence colonel who was jailed for 13 years by Russia in 2006 for passing secrets to the British intelligence. In 2010, he was given refuge in the UK as part of a “spy swap” in exchange for Russian spies arrested by the FBI.[4]
(March 15): The leaders of the UK, the U.S., France, and Germany sign an extraordinary joint statement that holds Russia responsible for the attempted murder of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter on British soil. It also urges Russia to provide full disclosure about the Novichok nerve agent and its program to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.[5]
(March 26): The UK expels 23 Russian diplomats in response to Russia’s alleged use of a nerve agent to poison Sergei Skripal, a British citizen, on British soil. In a joint action, more than 100 Russian diplomats from 22 European countries, the U.S. and Canada are expelled.[6] NATO also expels seven Russian representatives and limits the size of Russia’s mission to 20, down from 30.[7]
What is the Novichok nerve agent?
Putin, power and poison: Russia’s elite FSB spy club
April 16 – The Commonwealth
The United Kingdom hosts the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting where leaders address the shared global challenges and agree to actions on how to create a better future for all. The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 53 independent and equal sovereign states and is home to 2.4 billion people.[8] At the close of the summit, the leaders issue a Communiqué that outlines the Commonwealth’s agreements and commitments. Some of them include an agreement to ratify and implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, to address the stigma around disability, to strengthen the international response to the movement of refugees, to adopt a Declaration on the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda for Trade and Investment, to adopt the Commonwealth Blue Charter on sustainable development and protection of the world’s oceans, to implement the Chemical Weapons Convention, to work together to combat climate change – particularly with reference to small island developing states, as well as to counter extremism and human trafficking.[9]
About the Commonwealth
July 2 – UNESCO
The United Nations UNESCO organization places Colombia’s Chiribiquete National Park, also called “The Maloca of the Jaguar”, on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites.[10] Located in the northwestern part of Colombian Amazon, the park is the country’s largest protected area. One of the defining features of the park are sandstone table-top mountains featuring over 75,000 paintings on the walls of the 60 rock shelters that go back more than 20,000 years. The paintings depict hunting scenes, battles, dances and ceremonies. The place is a sacred region for indigenous people.[11]
More about UNESCO World Heritage List
July 9 – United Nations
Hamas, which controls Gaza, is accused of inciting the violence at the Israeli border fence for months encouraging rockets attacks and flying flaming kites into Israel that target civilians and property. In response, the United States proposed an amendment to the United Nations resolution on Protecting Palestinian Civilians adopted on June 13 that holds Hamas responsible for recent violence. Although the amendment did not pass, 59 countries voted for it (78 against and 26 abstained), recognizing Hamas’s role in the skirmishes.[12]
July 11-12 – North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
The Heads of State and Government of the 29 member-states of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) gather in Brussels, Belgium for the 29th formal summit meeting. These summits are an opportunity for NATO members to evaluate and provide strategic direction for Alliance activities. They are often used to introduce new policy, invite new members into the alliance, launch major new initiatives, and build partnerships with non-NATO countries. During the summit, U.S. President Donald Trump clashes with the NATO members over their contributions to the organization’s spending, accusing them of not spending their fair share. Members have committed to reach or maintain defense spending of at least 2 percent of GDP by 2024. So far, a few have reached that threshold: the US, Greece, Estonia, the UK and Latvia.[13]
10 things you need to know about NATO
Defense expenditure of NATO countries (2010-17)
Is the US NATO’s piggy bank? Here’s what America gives and takes
August 28 – UN Human Rights Council
A detailed report for the United Nations Human Rights Council published by experts who carried out a comprehensive examination of the human rights situation in civil war-torn Yemen concludes that all sides to the conflict—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, seven other Arab states in their coalition, and government and rebel forces in Yemen—may have committed war crimes. The report notes that coalition air strikes have caused most direct civilian casualties, hitting residential areas, markets, funerals, weddings, detention facilities, civilian boats, and even medical facilities. From March 2015 to June 2018, at least 6,475 civilians have been killed and 10,231 injured in the conflict. All sides are also accused of arbitrary detentions, torture, enforced disappearances, and recruiting children.[14]
Full report
September 10 – United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
According to a Food Security and Nutrition in the World report prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), world hunger is on the rise again, after a continuous decline in previous years, with 821 million people undernourished (about one person in nine) and 151 million children under five (over 22 percent) affected by stunted growth. Because poor access to food increases the risk of low birthweight and stunting in children, which are associated with higher risk of overweight and obesity later in life, one in eight adults in the world – or more than 672 million – are classified as obese. Conflict, climate variability and extremes, such as floods, heat, storms and droughts are among the key drivers behind the recent rise in global hunger and one of the leading causes of severe food crises.[15]
To access the full report
October 5 – Nobel Peace Prize
Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict”.[16] Denis Mukwege is a physician who devoted his practice to helping the victims of sexual violence committed in the context of a long-lasting civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He has repeatedly condemned impunity for mass rape and criticized the Congolese government and other countries for not doing enough to stop the use of sexual violence against women as a strategy and weapon of war. Nadia Murad is a member of the Yazidi minority in Iraq who was abducted by the terrorist Islamic State (IS) and held as sex slave. After escaping, she established an organization opposing violence against women and committed to helping victims of mass atrocities.[17]
More about the Nobel Peace Prizes
November 4 – Amnesty International
The Bahraini Court sentences opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman to life in prison finding him guilty of spying for Qatar. Bahrain severed its relations with Qatar in 2017. Human rights group, Amnesty International, calls the verdict a travesty of justice that demonstrates the Bahraini authorities’ relentless and unlawful efforts to silence any form of dissent.[18] Ali Salman led the now outlawed Al-Wefaq movement, which called for reforms including a constitutional monarchy and elected prime minister. The movement was dissolved in 2016.[19] Amnesty also calls on the international community to stop ignoring the continued crackdown on dissent in Bahrain because of its strategic location and value as a defense and security hub.[20]
November 6 – United Nations
The Human Rights Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) release a report documenting a discovery of 202 mass graves with more than 12,000 victims in the areas of Iraq that fell under the occupation of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) between June 2014 and December 2017. The graves were found in the north and western governorates of Nineveh, Kirkuk, Salahuddin and Anbar. The ISIL militants were known for brutal rule and widespread violence that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide under international criminal law.[21] Iraqi forces captured ISIL last stronghold in Iraq in November 2017 although pockets of resistance still exist and the group controls some parts of the deserts of western Iraq.[22]
Full UNAMI/OHCHR Report
November 16 – United Nations
The United Nations-backed Cambodia Tribunal finds two leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime guilty of genocide. Nuon Chea, age 92, and Khieu Samphan, age 87, were top leaders in the brutal regime led by Pol Pot in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. Considered one of the bloodiest regimes of the 20th century, it is responsible for killing up to two million people in those four years. Nuon Chea was found guilty of genocide for the attempt to wipe out Cham Muslims and ethnic Vietnamese Cambodians, and Khieu Samphan was found guilty of genocide against the ethnic Vietnamese. It is estimated that 36 percent of the Cham population was wiped out, while most of the Vietnamese minority deported, and those who remained were all killed. The two men are already serving life sentences for other crimes.[23]
What is genocide
November 26 – United Nations
The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which analyzes human-induced and natural trends in global climate change and projects major trends for the next 25 to 100 years, issues the Fourth National Climate Assessment report. The report stresses that “Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activity. The impacts of global climate change are already being felt in the United States and are projected to intensify in the future—but the severity of future impacts will depend largely on actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the changes that will occur.”[24] It concludes that “with continued growth in emissions at historic rates, annual losses in some economic sectors are projected to reach hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century—more than the current gross domestic product (GDP) of many U.S. states.” It also notes that the impacts of climate change are already being felt across the country. More frequent and intense extreme weather and climate-related events will continue to damage infrastructure, ecosystems, and social systems.[25]
Full Climate Assessment report
On October 8, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C, which discusses the impacts of global warming of 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways. The report summarizes the findings of scientists, showing that maintaining a temperature rise to below 1.5°C remains possible, but only through rapid and far-reaching transitions in energy, land, urban and infrastructure, and industrial systems. In order to achieve the 1.5°C target, CO2 emissions must decline by 45 percent (relative to 2010 levels) by 2030, reaching net zero by around 2050, but also deep reductions in non-CO2 emissions. A warming of even 1.5 degrees will result in large-scale drought, famine, heat stress, species die-off, loss of entire ecosystems, and loss of habitable land, throwing more than 100 million people into poverty. The areas especially affected will be in arid regions including the Middle East and the Sahel in Africa, where fresh water is expected to dry up completely if the rise reaches 2°C.[26]
Full IPCC Climate Report
Five things we have learned from the IPCC report
December 3 – Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
Qatar announces it will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) effective January 2, 2019 after 57 years as a member. The OPEC cartel, whose mission is to coordinate and unify the oil production and stabilize oil markets, was founded in 1960 and will have now 14 country-members. Qatar states the reason for the departure is to focus on gas production (Qatar is the world’s second largest exporter of liquefied natural gas[27]); however, it is also seen that its decision is in response to the ongoing boycott of Qatar by Saudi Arabia (OPEC’s de facto leader), United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt.[28]
Qatar crisis explained