Viernes, 17 de junio de 2022 (Continuación)

Europa, , , ,

Russia's invasion of Ukraine came as a shock and reminded the world of the worst moments in its history. Not since the end of the second world war has Europe seen a conflict of such proportions, destruction and human suffering.

The war has also brought back fears of nuclear destruction. Vladimir Putin’s decision to increase the readiness of Russian nuclear forces in its first days, and veiled nuclear threats from Russian officials, provoked a direct response from Joe Biden. Last month he promised “severe consequences” for “any use of nuclear weapons in this conflict on any scale”.

But the war has already brought a different kind of nuclear danger.…  Seguir leyendo »

A soldier of the Syrian government army points his weapon at a large hole whose bottom is not visible

MundoOriente Próximo,

The Syrian conflict has been at the center of a number of justice efforts in the past decade, leading to the creation of an international mechanism to collect evidence on international crimes and the opening of trials under the universal jurisdiction principle in European countries, in addition to a call for the establishment of an international mechanism for the disappeared.

The prioritization of international justice venues has been justified by the absolute resistance of the Syrian regime to address its crimes. Still, it has also led to justice actors overlooking domestic developments as irrelevant to the justice struggle. However, recent developments tell us that it is crucial to monitor how the Syrian regime is trying to insert itself within the transitional justice discourse for Syria in the international arena.…  Seguir leyendo »

Ya estamos viendo los efectos del cambio climático

ReflexionesNaturaleza,

Hace unos días, The New York Times publicó un reportaje sobre la desecación del Great Salt Lake o Gran Lago Salado, una historia que me avergüenza admitir que había pasado por alto. No estamos hablando de un acontecimiento hipotético en un futuro lejano: el lago ya ha perdido dos tercios de su superficie y los desastres ecológicos —la salinidad aumenta hasta el punto de que la vida silvestre muere; las ocasionales tormentas de tierra venenosa que recorren un área metropolitana de 2,5 millones de personas— parecen inminentes.

Como nota al margen, me sorprendió un poco que el artículo no mencionara los obvios paralelismos con el mar de Aral, un enorme lago que la Unión Soviética consiguió convertir en un desierto tóxico.…  Seguir leyendo »