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 […]
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 […]