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36 Sunday, 21 July 2019- edited by Ilaria
Saltarelli and Martina Paterna
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On
Wednesday 17th July, Rita Bernardini, leader of
the Radical Party, was taken to the barracks by
the carabinieri to report after the seizure of 32
marijuana plants that she is commonly known to
grow as act of civil disobedience to allow access
to therapeutic cannabis for patients in need. The
Public Prosecutor of Rome, contrary to what
normally happens, did not consider it necessary to
proceed with the arrest. Rita Bernardini
made a spontaneous statement in the seizure report
in which she expressed her disappointment for the
decision not to proceed with her arrest, as is the
case for all citizens who are caught growing
marjiuana plants. "In this way double standards
are being used and the law is, therefore, not
equal for everyone. True civil disobedience
requires that there are no political exemptions
made when someone decides to violate the law in
force. Thousands of sick people are unable to
access cannabinoid drugs because of the
inefficiency of the state and this is simply
intolerable, especially as the law stipulating
their administration dates back to
2007". | | |
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Radical
Party supports the petition “Cambodian
government locks out LI parliamentarians for
backing” launched by Liberal International. Cambodia’s
authoritarian government, led by hard-line prime
minister Hun Sen, has reacted furiously to the
endorsement of liberals and human rights defenders
who pledged support to opposition leader Sam
Rainsy’s right to return to his country,
blacklisting entry for six European lawmakers who
publicly declared their readiness to accompany Mr
Sam
home. | | |
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FAO,
IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO have published a new edition of the
annual The State of Food Security and
Nutrition in the World 2019 (SOFI 2019).The
report is part of tracking progress towards
Sustainable Development Goal 2 Zero Hunger, which
aims to end hunger, promote food security and end
all forms of malnutrition by 2030.
An
estimated 820 million people (in Asia: 513.9
million, in Africa: 256.1million, in Latin America
and the Caribbean: 42.5 million) did not have
enough to eat in 2018, up from 811 million in the
previous year, which is the third year of increase
in a row.
The
situation is most alarming in Africa, as the
region has the highest rates of hunger in the
world and which are continuing to slowly but
steadily rise in almost all subregions. In Eastern
Africa in particular, close to a third of the
population (30.8 percent) is undernourished.
The
report estimates that over 2 billion people,
mostly in low- and middle-income countries, do not
have regular access to safe, nutritious and
sufficient food. But irregular access is also a
challenge for high-income countries, including 8
percent of the population in Northern America and
Europe.
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On
wednesday 17th july WHO declared the Ebola virus
disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of
International Concern (PHEIC). The declaration of
the Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus followed a meeting of the
International Health Regulations Emergency
Committee for EVD in the DRC.
The
Committee cited recent developments in the
outbreak in making its recommendation, including
the first confirmed case in Goma, a city of almost
two million people on the border with Rwanda, and
the gateway to the rest of DRC and the
world.
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The
European Commission has decided on a series
of measures to further strengthen the rule of law
in Europe, a prerequisite for citizens to enjoy
their rights under EU law and for mutual trust
among Member States.
These initiatives
are grouped around 3 pillars:
promoting
a rule of law culture;
preventing
rule of law problems: the Commission has decided
to set up a Rule of Law Review Cycle,
including an annual Rule of Law
Report covering all EU Member States;
responding
effectively to breaches of the rule of law: the
Commission will continue to make full
use of its enforcement powers, if early detection
and prevention measures are not effective. The
Commission will adopt a strategic approach to
infringement proceedings, bringing cases to the
Court of Justice of the EU as necessary. In the
light of the time sensitivity of such cases, the
Commission will request interim measures and
expedited procedures when needed.
In
addition, the Commission calls on the European
Parliament and the Council to reflect on a
collective approach to managing Article 7 TEU
cases with clear procedural rules.
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European
Parliament resolution on the situation in Hong
Kong.
The
European Parliament calls on the Government
of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (HKSAR) to withdraw the proposed
and highly controversial amendments to its
extradition law. MEPs also call on the Hong
Kong authorities to immediately release and drop
all charges against the peaceful protesters and
for an independent, impartial and effective
investigation into the use of force by the Hong
Kong police against protesters.
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