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Viewpoint by Simone Galimberti*
KATHMANDU (IDN) — A recent UNESCO Forum provided some impetus to the fight against racism and discrimination, but the level of the problems involved required a much bigger commitment.
It is unfortunate that the second edition of the Global Forum against Racism and Discrimination, organized by UNESCO in Mexico City on November 28-29, did not get the attention and visibility it should have commanded.
By Jaya Ramachandran
GENEVA | LONDON (IDN) — Climate uncertainty is creating health threats for thousands of migrants as overcrowding and pollution place huge stresses on humanitarian organisations’ ability to provide sanctuary in refugee camps, a new study reveals.
Locating camps in disaster-prone or climate hotspot areas increases their vulnerability and, coupled with stress from overcrowding that increases pressure on water, sanitation, and hygiene resilience (WaSH), leads to the overexploitation of resources.
By Ramesh Jaura
BERLIN | NEW DELHI (IDN) — India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is confronted with an increasing demand to join the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which was adopted in January 2021 by 122 members of the UN General Assembly—a clear majority. The Treaty entered into force after ratification by 50 member-States of the UN. The number of signatories has since risen to 91. The TPNW bans the use, possession, testing, and transfer of nuclear weapons under international law.
Climate Change, Human Mobility and Peacebuilding Draw the Focus
Viewpoint by Volker Boege
Toda Peace Institute issued this article, and it is being republished with their permission.
BRISBANE, Australia (IDN) — While UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his opening speech at this year’s COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh on November 7 stated that humanity is “on the highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator”, a workshop held in Wellington, New Zealand, just a few days before, explored the consequences of this hellish trip for the security and peace of communities and countries in the Pacific region.
The Importance of Loss and Damage Fund (LDF)
Viewpoint by Inge Kaul
The author is a fellow at the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany. Comments are welcome and can be addressed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
BERLIN (IDN) — For decades, there have been non-conclusive deliberations regarding how the international community can support poor and vulnerable countries in their efforts to cope with and recover from the havoc wreaked on their territory by the ill-effects of global warming, such as severe droughts, floods, storms, or rising sea levels.
By Somar Wijayadasa*
Last year, every two minutes one person got infected with HIV, and every minute one person died of AIDS-related causes.
NEW YORK (IDN) — Every year on December 1, people throughout the world commemorate World AIDS Day to raise awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection.
The day is earmarked to educate people about the disease’s causes and early symptoms, to eliminate the stigma associated with it, to support those who are HIV positive, and pay tribute to those who lost their lives to the disease.
Viewpoint by Sima Bahous
The following is the text of the statement by Ms Bahous, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November 2022.
NEW YORK (IDN) — Five years ago, the global #MeToo movement brought new urgency and visibility to the extent of violence against women and girls. Millions of survivors came forward to share their experience. They forced the world to recognise a reality that shames every one of us. Their courage and voice led to a powerful collective activism and a sea-change in awareness.
By Jaya Ramachandran
PARIS (IDN) — The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the OECD Development Centre are joining hands efforts to implement the Equitable Framework and Finance for Extractive-based Countries in Transition (EFFECT), which was launched on November 15 at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
By Kalinga Seneviratne
SYDNEY (IDN) — Welcome to our 15th issue of Sustainable Development Observer, focusing almost exclusively on COP 27—or what is known as the annual UN climatic change conference.
Three decades after small island states introduced the term "loss and damage" to the United Nations, the world has finally agreed to set up a fund to help vulnerable countries cope with climate risks. But who pays, who receives and how much money should be raised are all open questions to be settled in the next year or so (at COP28?). At this year’s talkfest, rich nations insisted that the payments should not be seen as an admission of liability.
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — A longstanding proposal for a nuclear-weapons-free-zone (NWFZ) in the politically and militarily volatile Middle East has been kicked around the corridors—and committee rooms—of the UN since the 1960s.
A joint declaration by Egypt and Iran in 1974 resulted in a General Assembly resolution. But it never reached the stage of political reality.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.