Update:

Comments are closed on this post, and the nominations are included in the poll.

Cast your vote on this post . The results are out - see this post.





Let's make a list, our very own Top 10, our "

2009 Humanity's Shame Top 10

": things "we" -humanity as whole- should be ashamed of. What shameful 2009 event should we highlight, so we can improve in 2010?



I will take nominations for the "Shame List", as comments to this post. Deadline December 24th midnight EU time. So start posting your comments on this post NOW. The nominations should concern an event that happened, or peaked, or had a significant humanitarian impact in 2009.

On Dec 26th, I will put out a post with a poll with all nominees on the top 10 "Shame List". Then you can vote for those which you think we should be the most ashamed of until Dec 31st midnight. On Jan 2nd, I will publish the top 10 with a summary of each "Shame".



To kick off the list, here are the "Shames" I have collected so far:

DRC: shame on us , on the international community to ignore the violence against civilians, mostly women and children, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Shame on the UN in its inability to do anything significant about it. Sudan: shame on us , the international community in failing to execute the international arrest warrant for the Sudanese President, on account of genocide and crimes against humanity, allowing him to continue his government's genocide in Darfur and arming fractions in South Sudan, preparing for a new war.

Copenhagen: shame on our political leaders to come up with a significant agreement during the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit. Somalia: shame on us , on the international community to stop the politicization of the civil war supported by the US through its proxy Ethiopia, and supported by some Arab states through their proxy Eritrea. Shame on the donor community in its failure to provide sufficient aid to sustain the support of the feeding centers and refugee camps. Zimbabwe: shame on us , the international community in failing to pressure Zimbabwe's government to provide sufficient social security, social safety nets and proper social welfare to its citizens, turning what once was the breadbasket of Subsaharan Africa into a well of hunger. Afghanistan: shame on us , the international community, and the UN, in underestimating the level of corruption during the elections, trying to cover it up while supporting Karzai, ignoring all reports of large scale fraud. Pakistan: shame on the Pakistani government into armed interventions in the Swat province, plunging the country into chaos, riddled with suicide attacks, displacing over 2 million people, with no hope of a longer term peace settlement. Shame of on the US government in bribing the Pakistan's ruling elite to take up arms

Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq: shame on the US for continuing the short sighted armed interventions, plunging any country they touch, into chaos. Sri Lanka: shame on us , the international community in failing to highlight the crimes against humanity and genocide the Sri Lankan government covered up during the last weeks of their civil war. Shame on the Lanka government in trying to exterminate the Tamil population as a whole, locking up all civilians in camps which are rated as 'inhumane'. H1N1: shame on WHO , for their inability to correctly estimate, leave alone forecast, the impact of H1N1 (not sure about this one. If you agree/disagree, leave a comment)

Palestine: shame on Hamas and the Israeli government in equally ignoring the rights of the civilian population during the recent Gaza conflict. Guinee: shame on the Guinean government in violently suppressing protests through whatever means, including widespread rape. World hunger record: shame on all of us allowing a record of 1 billion people to go hungry, while the world is producing sufficient food. Seed and GMO market manipulation: shame on Monsanto and Cargill for monopolizing the seed market, using the US government to introduce GMO-food and seeds into developing countries. Shame on Monsanto for singlehandedly causing the autumn corn harvest in South Africa to fail.

So add your suggestions as a comment to this post. Nominations end Dec 24th midnight!



Picture courtesy David Gray/Reuters. Here is how we will do this:To kick off the list, here are the "Shames" I have collected so far:So add your suggestions as a comment to this post. Nominations end Dec 24th midnight!Picture courtesy David Gray/Reuters.

Imagine we have an official mission from outaspace. As they get out of their spacecraft the leaders of our earth welcome them. For two months, the aliens will tour around the world, at their free will. Observing, asking, questioning,...What according to you would be the things we -as a human race-, we -humanity as a whole- would be ashamed of? Things we would be unable to explain, to justify? Things we would have to bow our head with shame?In this post , I had a go at MSF's top 10 humanitarian crisis highlights for 2009. So now is the time to prove WE can do better: