By J C Suresh TORONTO (IDN) – As this year’s World AIDS Day campaign – My Health, My Right – kicks into high gear, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has called on The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to end the use of Gross National Income (GNI) per capita as part of […]
The World’s Poorest Need Funding for Access to Modern Energy
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) – The world’s 47 least developed countries (LDCs) are “the battleground” on which the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be won or lost, Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD has warned, adding that it is high time for donors to meet aid commitments. The 2030 Agenda includes an explicit goal […]
Violence Against Women and Girls is Not Inevitable
Viewpoint by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka The writer is UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women. Following is the text of the statement titled ‘A life without the threat of violence for everyone: leave no one behind’ released on 16 November launching ‘Sixteen Days of Activism against Gender Violence‘ ahead of the International Day for the […]
Religious Scholars Discuss Peace-building in Afghanistan
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Religious leaders came together in support of efforts to build a culture of tolerance and non-violence in Afghanistan at an event organized by the Bamyan regional office of UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). More than 30 scholars, including female scholars from different religious institutions attended the event […]
COP23 Finally Provides a Platform for Indigenous People on Climate Talks
By Stella Paul BONN (IDN) – Patricia Gualinga has been coming to the UN climate change conferences for several years. She usually receives 2-3 minutes on a panel of a side event on indigenous issues during which she tells about the struggles of her community – the Kichwas of Ecuador. The struggles are, typically, of […]
Further, Faster, Together On Climate – From Bonn To Katowice
By Ramesh Jaura BONN (IDN) – The two-week long intensive and multilevel talks concluded in Germany’s former capital city in the early hours of November 18 tasking the negotiators to focus on ‘Where are we, where do we want to go and how do we get there?’ before they meet in Poland in December 2018. […]
Inaction is Not an Option in the Face of Climate Emergency
By John Scales Avery* John Scales Avery is a theoretical chemist noted for his research publications in quantum chemistry, thermodynamics, evolution, and history of science. Presently an Associate Professor in quantum chemistry at the University of Copenhagen, he is working on a book with the title ‘THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY: Two time scales’. A first draft […]
Rich Countries Criticised For Lack of Serious Action on Climate Change
By Jaya Ramachandran BONN (IDN) – As the UN climate talks in Bonn (COP23) drew to a close, Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) bashed the rich countries for once again showing poor leadership by not taking serious action on climate change – despite new evidence showing emissions are on the rise. FoEI’s Dipti Bhatnagar […]
Fijian Presidency Lends New Dimension to Climate Negotiations
By Ramesh Jaura BONN (IDN) – Twenty-five years ago, governments came together at the Earth Summit in Rio driven by the idea that the world needed to change the way it was treating its environment. From that idea, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted – “and a movement began. A […]
Building a Secure World and a Healthy Planet for All
By António Guterres, UN Secretary-General Following are extensive excerpts from UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks on November 15, 2017 at the Opening of the High-level Segment of COP23, the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). – The Editor BONN (IDN-INPS) – It […]