Global Partnerships

Photo: Flags of CARIFORUM Member States. Credit: SKNIS

Caribbean States Share Common Values & Interests with Other ACP Countries

By Reinhardt Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (IDN) – As the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP) girds up its loins for talks on future relations with the European Union (EU) after the Cotonou Agreement expires in February 2020, the Caribbean Forum of the ACP States (CARIFORUM) has resolved that a new pact must take into account "the inherent and exogenous vulnerabilities" of the Caribbean region as critical elements in the negotiations.

The ACP Group of 79 States, constitutes 48 countries from Sub-Saharan Africa, 16 from the Caribbean region and 15 from the Pacific. Together they make up nearly 41 percent of 193 member countries of the United Nations. Besides, Africa with a population of 1.28 billion is home to 16.64 percent of the world population and accounts for more than 87 percent of 55 members of the African Union. Nearly 44 million people who live in the Caribbean countries make up 0.58 percent of the world population.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 01 April 2018

Photo: Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed visits a rehabilitation centre for disabled children in Belarus. © Egor Dubrovsky/UN Photo

Realising the SDGs Will Require Action in Five Key Areas

By Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations

This article first appeared in Sustainable Development Goals: Delivering Change, UNA-UK publication providing analysis and recommendations in achieving Sustainable Development Goals on 19 March 2018. – The Editor

LONDON (IDN-INPS) – In this third year of global efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, there are encouraging signs of momentum. The hope that accompanied the Agenda’s adoption in 2015 is still with us. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have captured the imagination of leaders and general public alike. Member States are showing strong ownership – including through personal engagement by heads of state and government – and are aligning their plans and strategies accordingly.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 31 March 2018

Photo: UNIDO Director General LI Yong and Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano, the Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna. Credit: UNIDO

Japan Supports Human Security Projects in Eight Countries

By Reinhardt Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) – Japan has announced that it will support eight UNIDO projects aimed at ensuring human security for the most vulnerable populations in Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Nigeria, Somalia and the Syrian Arab Republic.

Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano, the Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna, affirmed on March 28 that the projects will "help individuals to live under healthy conditions, consolidate their livelihoods and with all of this gain optimism for their future."

: Reinhard Jacobsen; SUSTAINABILITY; Global Partnerships; 29 March 2018

Social activities with NGOs - GBSH Consult - Johannesburg (South Africa)

The Role of NGOs in Africa: Are They a Force for Good?

By Sally Matthews

Dr. Sally Matthews is Senior Lecturer in Politics, Rhodes University, South Africa. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

JOHANNESBURG (IDN) – Non-governmental organisations have become key actors in responding to poverty and related suffering. In Africa, NGOs play a leading role in providing health care and education.

The non-profit sector continues to grow rapidly in Africa and around the world. In South Africa alone, there are more than 100,000 registered non-profit organisations and in Kenya the number of NGOs grew by over 400% between 1997 and 2006. And for most observers, they seem to be well-intentioned actors who do a lot of good on the continent.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 26 March 2018

Economic Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region and the One Belt One Road Initiative: A Threat or an Opportunity?

Viewpoint by Dr Palitha Kohona

The writer is former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations and former Foreign Secretary. – The Editor

COLOMBO (IDN) – The Indian Ocean region is experiencing a fondly anticipated luxury. Almost every one of the economies of the region is expanding at a rate that gives hope to the entire region, especially to its poor and marginalised. The promise of prosperity enthusiastically proclaimed at independence from colonial rule, so many decades ago, may at last become a reality. India is powering ahead with an anticipated growth rate of 7.3% and now is ahead of China.

: Dr. Palitha Kohona; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 19 March 2018

Photo: Boy stands in front of debris as hurricane Irma moves off from the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. Credit: UNICEF

Caribbean Faith Leaders Call for Debt Relief and More

By J C Suresh

TORONTO (IDN) – Ahead of the next hurricane season in the Caribbean, faith leaders are calling for action from government leaders, the United Nations system, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and regional development institutions.

A statement signed and endorsed by 22 religious leaders from Grenada to Saint Lucia is urging the establishment of debt relief as an instrument for emergency support and reconstruction.

"Across the Caribbean, we still see immense suffering from the hurricanes that landed last year," said Jubilee USA Executive Director Eric LeCompte who endorsed the statement. "Islands that are struggling to recover after natural disasters and meet basic needs of their people should not be making debt payments."

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 18 March 2018

Photo: Opening session of 61st Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on March 12, 2018 in Vienna by UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov (fourth from left). Credit: UNODC

UN Achieves Consensus on Addressing the Drug Menace

By Jaya Ramachandran

VIENNA (IDN) – Enhancing international cooperation to combat the synthetic opioid crisis, removing stigma as a barrier to the availability and delivery of health care and social services for people who use drugs is part of eleven resolutions the 61st session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) has endorsed. The five-day gathering from March 12-16 in Vienna also started preparations for the CND's ministerial segment at the 2019 session.

Secretary-General António Guterres said in a video message at the opening session of the 61st Commission on Narcotic Drugs: "With the UN General Assembly special session consensus as our blueprint, we can promote efforts to stop organized crime while protecting human rights, enabling development and ensuring rights-based treatment and support."

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 17 March 2018

Photo: John Bob Ranck, Chief Executive Officer and President at Orbis International. Credit: Naimul Haq | IDN-INPS

Why Eye Care is Important – for Bangladesh and Other Countries

By Naimul Haq

DHAKA (IDN) – John Bob Ranck, also known as Bob, Chief Executive Officer and President at Orbis International, recently visited Bangladesh on a special mission. He travelled to some of the hospitals where Orbis as a partner has been supporting Bangladesh’s efforts in addressing avoidable blindness.

Bob, a retired United States Air Force Brigadier General, came to Bangladesh a few weeks after the memorable visit of the teaching hospital or better known as the Flying Eye Hospital’s (FEH) training programme in Bangladesh.

: Naimul Haq; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 16 March 2018

G20 Urged to Root Out Corruption in State-Owned Enterprises

By Sean Buchanan

LONDON (IDN) – One of the many challenges facing today's world is corruption and one sector in which this is particularly evident is that of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Controlled by national governments, SOEs rank among the largest companies in the world, often serving as some of the biggest employers in their country. They are central to the daily lives of citizens, providing critical goods and public services in sectors such as transport, utilities, telecommunications and health. If they are corrupt, the impact filters down to all aspects of society.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 14 March 2018

Kazakhstan to Chair WTO Negotiations on Trade in Services

ASTANA (IDN | KazInform) – The General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has on March 7 approved the candidacy of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the chairmanship of the Special Session of the WTO Council for Trade in Service, reports Kazinform International News Agency citing a press release of the the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

According to the MFA, "Kazakhstan's chairmanship testifies to the WTO member states' confidence in the reforms aimed at creating a favourable investment climate and developing the services market in Kazakhstan conducted under the leadership of President Nursultan Nazarbayev."