By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | 12 September 2024 (IDN) — A comprehensive report by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has urged immediate international intervention to stabilize the economy of Gaza and support peace efforts. The report describes the economic destruction wrought to the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) in the aftermath of the Israeli military operation […]
Land Grabs Target Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka
By Rodney Reynolds NEW YORK, 12 September 2024 (IDN) — As the 57th session of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) addresses the human rights situation in Sri Lanka next week, a new report from the Oakland Institute, Trincomalee Under Siege: Land Grabs Target the Tamil Homeland in Sri Lanka uncovers the rapidly escalating colonization […]
OECD Criticises Lack of Equality in Educational Opportunities and Employment
By Jaya Ramachandran PARIS | 10 September 2024 (IDN) — Women out-perform men in education, but this does not translate into corresponding job opportunities. The lack of equality of opportunity is reflected in students from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds performing worse in standardised assessments. Early childhood education is key for reducing the impact of family […]
Pursuing Transitional Justice in the Aftermath of Peace in Nepal
By Simone Galimberti* KATHMANDU, Nepal | 9 September 2024 (IDN) — Ending a civil conflict is always an incredibly daunting task but ensuring a permanent peace that would enable the peace dividend to trickle down can often prove to be even more challenging. The unbalanced power dynamics and the inequities at the foundation of the […]
Kazakhstan Proposes a Digital Solutions Centre for Sustainable Development
By Aar Jay BERLIN | ASTANA | 6 September 2024 (IDN) — The Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan has proposed the establishment of a Digital Solutions Centre for Sustainable Development at a high-level conference organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Government of Kazakhstan. The […]
Africa: Agricultural Future Lies in Agroecology
By Million Belay* This article was orignally published in a dossier from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and Alameda. BRUSSELS | ADDIS ABABA | 5 September 2024 (IDN) — A premise which has its roots in traditional knowledge and ecological principles, some people may find the term agroecology mysterious or esoteric. However, far from being an […]
It Is Time We Embrace Politics to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
By Minh-Thu Pham, Co-founder and CEO, Project Starling This article was originally published as SDG BLOG in the September issue of UN DESA Voice. NEW YORK | 4 September 2024 (IDN) — Despite being an inherently political institution, the United Nations is not a place where we like to talk about politics—at least explicitly. And […]
Global Heating Threat Calls for Warlike Measures
By Franz Baumann The writer is President, Academic Council on the United Nations System and Adjunct Professor, Department of Government, Georgetown University, Washington DC. The following text is adaptation of an article from Global Governance Journal. WASHINGTON, DC | 3 September 2024 (IDN) — For nearly half a century, negotiations in the context of the […]
Ukraine Policy Could Break the European Union
By Michael von der Schulenburg and Ruth Firmenich* BRUSSELS | 2 September 2024 (IDN) — On 1 September, we commemorated the beginning of the Second World War 85 years ago with Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland. It developed into the cruellest and bloodiest wars in modern history, costing the lives of around 75 million people […]
UN Chief Assures Support as Timor-Leste Marks 25 Years of Self-Determination
By Michele Zaccheo* DILILI, Timor-Leste | 2 September 2024 (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres told parliamentarians in Timor-Leste on 30 September the world has much to learn from their inspirational struggle for self-rule, 25 years to the day since the historic referendum which paved the way for independence in 2002. In a surprise move, […]