By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Africa’s infection rates are still relatively low to the wonderment of some in the western world who predicted infection rates in the billions. In fact, African governments in many cases took preventative steps – from closing borders, social distancing, shutting educational institutions and banning mass […]
Fake News Is ‘Infodemic’ That Puts Lives at Risk
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – While Americans hotly debate the subject of “fake news,” Africans and others around the world marked a day for reflection on press freedoms in theory and in practice. The theme for this year’s event launched by the UN agency UNESCO was “Journalism without fear or […]
UN Chief Highlights the Virtues of Multilateralism & Diplomacy
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – “The COVID-19 pandemic is a tragic reminder of how deeply connected we are. The virus knows no borders and is a quintessential global challenge. Combatting it requires us to work together as one human family,” says UN Secretary-General António Guterres on International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy […]
A Nobel Peace Laureate Calls for Slashing Military Spending and Investing in Healthcare
By Jutta Wolf BERLIN (IDN) – The world’s oldest peace NGO, the 1910 Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Peace Bureau (IPB), is calling for a “dramatic reduction” of military spending in favour of healthcare and meeting social needs. A petition launched on March 27 and signed by all interested will be submitted to the United Nations […]
Amnesty Accuses Facebook, Google of Harming Human Rights
By J W Jackie RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) – Facebook and Google play an important role in the lives of people across the globe – too big a role, according to Amnesty International. The pro-human rights organization recently published a report entitled, Surveillance Giants, which critiques the “insidious” surveillance exercised by these two digital giants.
The Civil Society Prepared for Intra-Afghan Peace
By Bernhard Schell DOHA | KABUL (IDN) — Women, youth as well as community and religious leaders in Afghanistan have been craving for peace and earnestly preparing for it long before the United States signed a landmark agreement with the Taliban on February 29. The deal sets the stage to end America’s longest war stretching […]
Mauritanian Anti-Slavery and Iranian Women Rights Activist Presented Awards
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – Biram Dah Abeid, a descendant of former slaves who has been called “the Nelson Mandela of Mauritania”, and Shaparak Shajarizadeh, a prominent Iranian women’s rights activist have been honoured for their courage to fight gross violations of human rights Abeid, founder of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the […]
Politics-Big Money Nexus Feeds Corruption
By Sean Buchanan LONDON (IDN) – In the last year, anti-corruption movements across the globe have gained momentum as millions of people joined together to speak out against corruption in their governments. Protests from Latin America, North Africa and Eastern Europe to the Middle East and Central Asia made headlines as citizens marched in Santiago, […]
UN Court Censures Myanmar for Violating Genocide Convention
Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens GENEVA (IDN) – On January 23, 2020, a panel of 17 judges of the World Court (ICJ) voted unanimously calling on Myanmar (formerly Burma) to take all measures in its power to prevent genocide of the remaining 600,000 Rohingya that the Court stated were extremely vulnerable […]
The World’s Poorest Need Bold Actions by the Better Off
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – As the United Nations launches an ambitious global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, the fate of the world’s 47 most impoverished nations – the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) – has assumed added importance. UNCTAD, an organization of the UN, is therefore urging them to […]