Let's finally Thai the knot

In issue this, I pay attention to Ethiopia's Tigray region that is still at war, the opposition in Thailand and its efforts to finally legalize marriage equality and a respiratory disease in Chile that the government is allegedly having trouble containing. Plus: a sensational scientific discovery at a Costa Rican zoo, Colombia's Indigenous kids who survived 40 days alone in the jungle, Somalia's first all-women newsroom, a documentary about the world's most popular video game designer from Japan, Saudi sportswashing, Lebanese artswashing, and so much more.

Another report found that Ethiopia broke international law during the war in Tigray

What happened:
According to Human Rights Watch on June 1, Ethiopia has continued to commit war crimes in Western Tigray, despite a truce agreement that was signed on November 2, 2022. Ethiopia has dismissed these findings. The government says the report was not informed by thorough and credible investigations. But the evidence of war crimes in Tigray kept pouring in. Last week, Yale University released its own report. The university's Lowenstein Human Rights Clinic found that Ethiopia, and its allies, broke international law during the Tigray war, by intentionally starving civilians.

Refresher:
A war broke out in November 2020 in Ethiopia. Who fought whom? Regional forces from Tigray took up arms against Ethiopia's federal army and its allies, including forces from the Amhara region and neighbouring Eritrea.

Why this matters:
Fighting in Ethiopia's Tigray region hasn't stopped since November 2020. In fact, there has been on-and-off conflict since then, causing the deaths of thousands of civilians and pushing hundreds of thousands towards severe hunger. By October 2022, the UN had recorded 47,000 refugees from Ethiopia in eastern Sudan (remember, there is a lot of fighting there now, too). The exact number of Tigrayans internally displaced is unknown.

Did you know that Ethiopia is one of the largest refugee-hosting countries in the world? It hosts more than 800,000 refugees and asylum seekers. More than half of them are children under 18.

Tell me more:
Western Tigray (in Northern Ethiopia) is a very fertile and popular land. It's under Tigray's authority but also claimed by ethnic Amharas as ancestrally theirs. This is not the first time forces aligned with Ethiopia's federal government have been accused of forced expulsions and other rights abuses in Western Tigray. The UN-backed Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia issued a report in September 2022 saying there was evidence of widespread human rights violations by all sides during the fighting.

What can be constructive next steps?
Interviewed Tigrayans in the Human Rights Watch report expressed the need for justice and accountability, calling on the international community and the Ethiopian government to ensure that such atrocities never happen again​. The Lowenstein Clinic urged the international community to condemn these actions and hold those responsible accountable. The report also demands an immediate stop to the conflict and unrestricted aid access to help the Tigrayan people.

Thailand is very, very close to finally legalizing marriage equality

What happened:
Bangkok Pride 2023 officially took place last week. Many thousands of LGBTQ+ people joined Pride celebrations in Bangkok last Sunday to celebrate gender diversity and advocate for their freedom and fundamental rights, such as gender recognition, same-sex marriage, the legalization of sex work and equal social welfare. Last week's Pride might be the last one before the country finally legalizes marriage equality.

Why this matters:
Many people consider Thailand to be a LGBTQ+ paradise in Asia. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Thailand, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples do not get the same legal protections as other couples. About eight percent of the Thai population of around 72 million people are thought to belong to the LGBTQ+ community, according to this article.

What's the status quo?
Thai politics hasn't been ready for marriage equality yet but last month's election showed that Thai voters said "no" to Prayuth Chan-ocha, who has ruled the country for nine years, in favour of opposition parties promising reform, including greater LGBTQ+ rights such as equal marriage. Thailand's Prime Minister-in-waiting Pita Limjaroenrat (leader of the Move Forward Party that won the most seats) has vowed to drive through an equal marriage act if he can form a government in July. Many people in Thailand believe this is a time of new hope for the LGBTQ+ community.

What problems do LGBTQ+ couples face now?
With no legal status, LGBTQ+ couples often feel insecure. If their life partner falls ill and requires an urgent operation, they do not have the right to authorize the surgery because their status is not legally recognized. Should their partner die, they have no right to a share of their assets no matter how long they lived together or if they accumulated the wealth together. And, if their partner is a civil servant, they will not enjoy the state benefits generally provided to civil servants' family members.

Did you know that people in Thailand can already thai, um, tie the knot at Buddhist temples in the country? Thesen unions are not legally recognized marriage registrations, however. Their weddings regularly make headlines. Many LGBTQ+ people don't like the fact that they do. 'This is also a form of discrimination. Hetero marriages don't receive...