– Women play a critical role in reducing disaster risk and planning and decision-making during and after disasters strike, according to senior United Nations, government and civil society representatives.
Australian PM Blasts ‘Bias’ in UN Report on Torture
By Kalinga Seneviratne | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalyis
SYDNEY (IDN) – Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot acted angrily to a United Nation Human Rights Council (UNHRC) report accusing Australia of violating the UN Convention against Torture, reproving it of bias and claiming that Australians are sick of being lectured to by the UN.
The UN’s special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, from Argentina, who investigated allegations of torture in 68 countries, tabled his report on March 9 at the UNHRC annual gathering in Geneva, where a section on Australia said that the government was systematically violating the international Convention Against Torture by confining children in immigration detention, and holding asylum seekers in dangerous and violent conditions on remote South Pacific islands.
UN Scheme to Teach ‘Respect for All’ Aims at Fighting Discrimination
By A.D. McKenzie | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
PARIS (IDN) – “What the world needs now is love, sweet love” goes a syrupy Burt Bacharach-penned song from 1965. But love is difficult, if not impossible, to teach, so education experts have come up with another solution: teaching respect for all.
“And by all, we mean all,” says Christophe Cornu, senior project officer in the Section of Health and Global Citizenship Education at UNESCO, the United Nations agency responsible for science, culture and education.
The organization, in association with the governments of the United States and Brazil, has produced specific tools and resources to fight discrimination and violence through education as well as within education, even as the level of hatred and intolerance rises in many regions.
Growing Support For Moving Away From Nuclear Weapons
By Jamshed Baruah | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
GENEVA (IDN) – Ahead of the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) scheduled for April 27 to May 22, 2015 in New York, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) has expressed a clear vision for the future of nuclear disarmament.
Dangerous Nuclear War Of Words Between NATO and Russia
By Julio Godoy | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
BERLIN (IDN) – The governments of Russia and the United States are using the Ukraine crisis as a justification for upgrading their formidable nuclear arsenals.
This escalation became evident January 25, as the conservative German Sunday newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) opened its edition with a whole page devoted exclusively to accuse Russia of “threatening gesturing” with its nuclear weapons.
Global Citizenship Education Seen as Key to Development and Peace
By A. D. McKenzie | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
PARIS (IDN) – With inequality as well as extremism a growing concern around the world, education has a crucial role to play in contributing to peace and sustainable development, experts say.
“Education is a common good, and it’s the moral responsibility of governments to provide it. But the challenge we now face is how to use education to have peaceful and sustainable societies,” said Peter deSouza, professor at the India-based Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
New Zealand Robustly Defends Nuclear Ban
By Neena Bhandari | IDN-InDepth NewsFeature
SYDNEY (IDN) – The small Pacific island country of New Zealand has punched above its weight in the international disarmament debate. For nearly three decades it has pursued an active nuclear free policy, banning entry of US warships carrying nuclear weapons or propelled by nuclear power into its ports despite being part of the ANZUS Treaty.
Good News For Oil-Importing Developing Countries
J C Suresh with UN News | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
TORONTO (IDN) – Decline in oil prices, a stronger U.S. economy, and continued low global interest rates will help fuel the growth of the world economy in 2015, says a new study issued by the World Bank Group on January 13.
The Global Economic Prospects report, published every two years, predicts a global economic expansion of 3 per cent for 2015, 3.3 per cent for 2016, and 3.2 per cent in 2017 – a boost following last year’s disappointing 2.6 per cent growth.
Driving Home The Concept Of Global Citizenship
By Jaya Ramachandran | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
NEW YORK (IDN) – Education for Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development (EGCSD) is far from having become a buzzword. In fact, beyond the domain of experts, the concept has yet to gain currency. Though, while explaining it, even those well versed in the theme do not find it easy to drive home the message.
“As technology advances and governance is increasingly conducted beyond the parameters of the nation-state, the concept of global citizenship remains mysteriously absent. What does the term mean in historical terms and what practices might help its evolution into a coherent and democratic political practice?” asked Ron Israel, co-founder of The Global Citizens’ Initiative (TGCI), in a recent article.
2015 Crucial For A Nuclear Weapon Free World
By Jamshed Baruah | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
BERLIN (IDN) – 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and promises to be a crucial year for moving toward a world without nuclear weapons. While indications are that the global movement for banning the bomb is gaining strength, attempts to open a new chapter in nuclear arms race should not be underestimated, a close look at developments in 2014 shows.
A sign of growing awareness of the need to abolish atomic weapons is that 155 governments – more than 80 percent of the members of the United Nations – supported the Joint Statement on the Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Weapons tabled at the General Assembly in October 2014.