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 […]
Nigerian Girls Who Stayed with their Captors and Found Love
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 15 April 2024 (IDN) — Today marks 10 years since 276 girls were abducted from the Chibok secondary school in Borno state in one of the most high-profile mass abduction cases in Nigeria. About 90 of the girls are still missing. Fifty-seven escaped as they were […]
Roundtable on Current U.S. Foreign Policy: Militarism Unhinged
By Phyllis Bennis, Jackson Lears and Jeffrey Sachs* NEW YORK | 12 April 2024 (IDN) — I invited three insightful analysts of present-day U.S. foreign policy to share their thoughts in a roundtable discussion. Here are excerpts from Phyllis Bennis, Jackson Lears and Jeffrey Sachs. — Norman Solomon. Question: How would you assess the most important aspects of current […]
Israel’s Gaza Genocidal Tragedy: Accountability and Accomplices
By P.I Gomes The writer is a Former Cooperative Republic of Guyana Ambassador to the European Union and ACP Group of States, Brussels (2005 -2015) and Secretary-General of the ACP Group of States (2015-2020). PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago | 11 April 2024 (IDN) — As Malta presides over the United Nations Security Council […]
Are Voluntary National Reviews Helping Achieve UN’s Development Goals?
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 7 April 2024 (IDN) — What do jargons like “whole of government” or “whole of the society” approach or really mean when we talk about implementing the SDGs? What about “multi stakeholders’ engagement”? These are some key questions that UN policymakers should ask when they encourage member states to […]
Will Agenda 2030 be Postponed to 2062?
By Jan Servaes BANGKOK| 28 March 2024 (IDN) — The widening gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ is reflected in the progress reports on the feasibility of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After the African Union already postponed the date for achieving their development goals to 2063, the United Nations Economic and Social […]
Spending Billions Preparing for Hot Wars When Water Wars are Looming
Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE | 27 March 2024 (IDN) — Since the pandemic, governments have been spending billions on arming themselves for imagined hot wars when billions of dollars are needed to mitigate a global water crisis that needs the building of sustainable water infrastructure and management regimes. Presenting a series of articles from […]
Leaky Roof: Melting Himalayas in the ‘Asian Century’
By Robert Mizo* This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. NEW DELHI | 27 March 2024 (IDN) — The roof of the world is leaking; melting to be more precise. The fragile Himalayan ecosphere is facing an imminent threat from warming temperatures induced by climate change. […]
Multilateral Development Banks Play Crucial Role in Financing Global Public Goods
By José Antonio Ocampo and Karla Daniela González, Columbia University This article was first published in the 2023/2024 UNDP Human Development Report – Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining cooperation in a polarized world –on 13 March 2024. NEW YORK | 14 March 2024 (IDN) — There is broad-based agreement among the United Nations and the Group […]
Resources and New Forms of Governance Are Needed to Achieve SDGs
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, 27 February 2024 (IDN) — To help understand the abysmal state of affairs in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) around the world, it might be helpful to recall a major report published last year, which went primarily unnoticed by policymakers. It might also be valuable to refer to […]