GPHC In-class/Homework: 1.3 Interdependence

Zoey Weinstein
Mr. Roddy
GPHC
10/1/19
GPHC In-class/Homework: 1.3 Interdependence
1. UN Human Rights Council
Highly disputed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is likely to gain a seat on the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva within the coming weeks. U.S. officials say that handing a human rights violator a seat on the top human rights protecting council is a perfect example of why the United States withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council. U.N. rules state that two of the 14 open seats must be filled by countries in the Latin American and the Caribbean group (GRULAC,) who submitted Brazil and Venezula as their candidates. The United States, as well as over 50 other countries no longer rcognize Maduro’s regime as the legitimate govrnmnt of Venezuela. The Maduro regime is currrently garunteed the slot unless it is pressured to withdraw, another GRULAC country enters the race or the regime does not meet the required amount of votes. As of now, two weeks away from the election, there is no sign of Maduro dropping out or another country declaring candidacy. 
2. World Trade Orgasnization (WTO)
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has decreases their trade forecasts for trade growth in the remainder of 2019 and for 2020. Trade volume for world merchandice is only expected to rise 1.2%  this year, compared to April’s forecast of 2.6%. The 2020 increase prediction has gone from 3% to 2.7%. This update in the trade forecast is bcause of the world GDP growth for 2019 and 2020 has gone from a 2.6% growth to a 2.3% growth. Rising trade tension is a contributor of the slow economic growth, but is also country specific. For example, uncertainties cause due to Brexit in the European Union. Another example is the shifting of stances on monetary policy in developed economies, for example in North America, the Federal Reserve softening their monetary stance
3. European Union (EU)
One of the hottest news topics pertaining to the European Union (EU) is Brexit, referring to the UK leaving the EU. A referendum was held in 2016 about the stance of the UK in the EU, with leave winning by 4%, with 17.4 million people voting for Brexit. Brexit was supposed to occour on 29 March 2019, but the date has been delayed twice. The Brexit agreement consisted of the rights of EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in the EU, how much money the UK needed to pay thw EU, as well as the backstop for the Irish border, which was the Parliment’s main “sticking point” with the Brexit deal. There are no barriers on people or cargo when crossing the border of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The backstop was designed to ensurethe continuation of this after the UK leaves the EU. This only comes into effect when a free trade deal is not agreed between both parties. This would keep the United Kingdom inside the EU's customs union but having Northern Ireland conform to single market rules. 
4. The Paris Agreement
The Paris Climate Change Agreement was establised in 2015, but what is its’ effect now in 2019? This month United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hosted a Summit in New York on September 23rd of Presidents and Prime Ministers goal on increasing action taken on climate change. Here are some examples of country’s updates on the agreement. Finland announced, just in time for the summit that the country would be carbon neutral by 2035, implementing it into their law. China is confident that their carbon dioxide emissions will peak in 2022, leading them to sepreate carbon pollution from their economic growth. 2022 is eight years before China’s target year that they signed onto in the Paris Agreement. Prime Minister Modi of India said in August thart India would meet the majortiy of its’  2030 goals under its existing plan within the next two years: the implimentation of installed solar power, stemming from French-Indian partnership forged in Paris in 2015. There is minimal updates from the summit availible currently because it was just over a week ago, but I will update when the results and more updates are released to the public. 




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