Rights : Inquiry set on Israeli military operations in occupied Palestine (PRIV)
(Chakravarthi Raghavan, Geneva)
The UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday established an independent, international commission of inquiry to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and concluded its Special Session on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

SDGs : Negotiations reveal hard fight for means of implementation (PRIV)
(Bhumika Muchhala, New York)
The last two days of the final session of the UN Open Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals in July witnessed a fiery debate on the means of implementation, which constitute the foundation of the goals and the ultimate test for the credibility of the goals in developing countries.

Trade : Will the WTO fast-track trade at the expense of food security? (PRIV)
(Timothy A. Wise and Jeronim Capaldo, Medford)
The General Council of the World Trade Organization begins a two-day meeting in Geneva today, with India and other developing countries threatening to block implementation of an agreement on trade facilitation. They would be justified in doing so.

United Nations : Israel's US-made military might overwhelms Palestinians (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The overwhelming Israeli firepower unleashed on the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the ongoing battle in Gaza is perhaps reminiscent of the Algerian war of independence (1954-1962) when France, the colonial power, used its vastly superior military strength to strike back at the insurgents with brutal ferocity.