African faith leaders and environmentalists push for fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty
Nairobi, Kenya RNS Faith leaders and climate activists in Africa announced their support on Friday for an international treaty to halt the production and use of fossil fuels, the main cause of climate change, analogous to non-proliferation treaties governing the production of nuclear weapons. “As people of faith, we have a moral duty to protect […]
Tuvalu politician who stood in rising sea wants changes to Australia migration treaty
Sydney, Australia Reuters The Tuvalu politician who stood knee-deep in water to focus the world’s attention on the threat of rising seas to his Pacific atoll nation says a climate migration treaty with Australia should be revised after next month’s national election. Then-Foreign Minister Simon Kofe said “we are sinking” in a 2021 video speech […]
UK Home Secretary signs new Rwanda treaty to resurrect asylum plan
Kigali, Rwanda/London, UK Reuters Britain signed a new treaty with Rwanda on Tuesday which it said would overcome a court decision blocking its plan to deport asylum seekers to the East African country, a ruling that dealt a huge blow to the government’s immigration policy. The Rwanda scheme is at the centre of the government’s […]
“War means blood”: Can a treaty stop Latin American activists being killed?
Bogota, Colombia Thomson Reuters Foundation A treaty aimed at protecting activists in Latin America could be a “life-saving” watershed in a region where scores are murdered each year, but the pact’s success will depend on the commitment of governments and big business, rights advocates said. Nicaraguan activist Lottie Cunningham, who described the Escazu treaty as […]
Essay: The nuclear weapons ban treaty is groundbreaking, even if the nuclear powers haven’t signed
In an article first published on The Conversation, TILMAN RUFF, of the School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne, says the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is a “game-changer”…
Pope Francis blesses Mozambique’s reconciliation efforts on Africa visit
Vatican City RNS Pope Francis drove home his message for lasting peace in the troubled country of Mozambique on Thursday, the first day of his three-country visit to Africa, while speaking to its leaders of today and its generation of tomorrow. “In the course of these years, you have come to realise how the pursuit […]
Churches’ body hails treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons as an “historic achievement”
In what churches have hailed as an “historic achievement”, more than 120 of the world’s governments have adopted a treaty which declares nuclear weapons illegal. Some 122 governments agreed to adopt the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons last Friday despite a boycott by the nine countries with nuclear weapons and other nations during […]
UN report recommending negotiations begin on treaty banning nuclear weapons a “high point”, says WCC
A UN working group report recommending a legally-binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons be negotiated next year has been hailed as the “highest point” in a campaign to outlaw nuclear weapons on humanitarian grounds, according to Peter Prove, international affairs director of the World Council of Churches. The final report, which was adopted on 19th August […]