IFAD ROME | 20 December 2024 (IDN) —The steep mountainsides of Yunnan province are green with orchards that supply sweet mangoes to eager shoppers across China. But getting the fruit to markets in the valleys is not a straightforward matter. Most farm vehicles can’t navigate the terrain, leaving farmers to carry heavy baskets down steep […]
UN SDG Action Awards: Global Sustainability Changemakers Take Top Prize
By SDG ACTION CAMPAIGN* ROME (IDN) — Some of the world’s leading changemakers in sustainable development have been recognized at the UN SDG Action Awards Ceremony on 29ö October honouring those using creativity and innovation to advance a more sustainable, equitable and peaceful world. This year, the call for submissions drew an astounding 5,500 responses […]
UN Pleads for Elimination of Nuclear Weapons as the Goal Goes on Distance
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 29 September 2024 (IDN) — Global nuclear disarmament has been the highest arms control priority of the United Nations since 1946 when the General Assembly resolved to establish the Atomic Energy Commission (dissilved in 1952), with a mandate to make specific proposals for the control of nuclear energy and the […]
If the Summit is to Achieve Change, the UN Chief Needs to Play Hard Ball
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 21 September 2024 (IDN)—The United Nations is hosting one of the most important events in the history of the world body. This is the importance that Secretary General António Guterres has placed on the Summit of the Future September 22-23. The meeting is supposed to endorse key blueprints like […]
UN Projects World Population to Rise: from 8.2 to 10.3 billion in mid-2080s
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 11 July 2024 (IDN) — The world’s population is expected to rise—from the current 8.2 billion people to around 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s—and eventually stabilize at around 10.2 billion by the end of the century. The new projections were released on July 11 by the United Nations in […]
EU-UNESCO Dialogue on Human Rights-based Digital Transformation
By Reinhard Jacobsen BRUSSELS | 7 July (IDN) — At a pivotal dialogue, leaders from the European Union and UNESCO have committed to “responsibly harness” digital innovation for sustainable development, cultural diversity, human rights and gender equality. The event on 5 July was co-chaired by Zazie Schafer, Director of UNESCO’s Bureau of Strategic Planning, and […]
UN Conference Assures Small Island Developing States a New Era Of Resilience
By J C Suresh TORONTO | ST. JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda | 1 June 2024 (IDN) — The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has emphasized the need for investment in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). She made these remarks as the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) wrapped up on 30 […]
Buddhists Keen to Build Global Partnerships But Cautious to Launch Peace Movement
A Lotus Communication Network Feature by Kalinga Seneviratne BANGKOK | 24 May 2024 (IDN | LCN) — At this year’s United National Day of Vesak event in Bangkok on 19 and 20 May, over a thousand Buddhist delegates from across Asia, Europe and even South America and Africa, discussed the value of the Buddhist philosophy […]
War Culture Hates the Ethical Passion of the Young
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO | 9 May 2024 (IDN) — Persisting in his support for an unpopular war, the Democrat in the White House has helped spark a rebellion close to home. Young people—least inclined to deference, most inclined to moral outrage—are leading public opposition to the ongoing slaughter in Gaza. The campus upheaval […]
An International Treaty to Fight Plastic Pollution is Heading Towards its Final Run
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 18 April 2024 (IDN) — The overwhelming threat of plastic pollution, mostly on high seas and oceans, has long been described as one of the world’s impending environmental disasters. “With a garbage truck worth of plastic entering the ocean every minute, the ocean has long been ground zero for […]