Viewpoint by Maíra Martini * NEW YORK (IDN) — Governments gathered for the first-ever UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) against corruption June 2-4, 2021. This could have been an opportunity for the more and the less advanced economies to come to the table and discuss bold improvements to the current international anti-corruption framework and […]
What Twitter Ban Teaches the World About Nigeria
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) — The Nigerian government thinks Twitter is the greatest source of its misery. After straining at the leash for months, it couldn’t resist swatting the microblogging platform with a ban last week. But what does the […]
‘Maintaining A Sense of Hope’ In A Time of Corona
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — There’s hardly a person alive who doesn’t know that the Third World continents of Africa, Asia and Latin America are having a desperate struggle fighting the Coronavirus. At a time when the richer countries are winning the fight against the virus many Third World countries—like Brazil, India […]
The Role of Academia and Universities in Fostering Awareness of SDGs
Viewpoint by Dr. Kakha Shengelia The writer is President of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) and President of Caucasus University (CU). The following is the text of Dr Kakha’s Foreword to Striving for People, Planet and Peace, 2021 Joint Media Project Report of the Non-Profit International Press Syndicate Group with IDN as flagship […]
Make People’s Vaccine Top Priority to Fight a Mutating Virus
Viewpoint by Nicolas J. S. Davies* PORTLAND | USA (IDN) — A recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll found that worries about the COVID pandemic in the United States are at their lowest level since it began. Only half of Americans are either “very worried” (15%) or “somewhat worried” (35%) about the virus, while the other half […]
Avenues of Action: UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens GENEVA (IDN) — The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, 2021-2030 began on June 5. An ecosystem is an interaction between people, plants, animals and their surroundings. The UN Environment Programme and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization are the lead UN agencies for this Decade. However, […]
Addressing IUU Fishing in The Interest of Blue Economy and Caribbean SIDS
Viewpoint by P.I. Gomes Dr P.I. Gomes is former Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, the Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS was previously ACP Group of States). PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (IDN) — Illegal, Unreported & Unregulated (IUU) fishing continues to have serious negative effects on the management of marine ecosystems across the […]
People’s Participation Decides the World’s Environment
Viewpoint by Yossef Ben-Meir The writer is a former Peace Corps Volunteer and president of the High Atlas Foundation MARRAKECH (IDN) — Recognizing this week’s World Environment Day reminds us of the evolution of the concept of sustainable development since the phrase was coined in a 1987 United Nations report. At that time, sustainable development […]
The Russian Town Birobidzhan Is an Alternative to Jewish Settlements in Palestine
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — The Israeli government allows its settler movement to go on and on claiming more of the West Bank. Is there nothing that can be done? The might of America, combined with the influence of the European Union and the Arab world, have not been able to halt […]
Germany’s Constitutional Court Gives Teeth to Paris Climate Agreement
Viewpoint by Franz Baumann, PassBlue NEW YORK (IDN) — In September 2016, the German parliament unanimously adopted the Paris Agreement. The government then translated Germany’s commitments under the agreement into a Climate Protection Law, which was approved by the Bundestag in November 2019 with a wide majority, making Germany the first country in the world […]