Peace & Justice

Photo: In this photo from Friday, August 14, 2020, protesters supported by New Orleans Workers Group march in support of African asylum seekers — many of them from Cameroon -- who've been conducting hunger strike at the Pine Prairie ICE Procession Center in Evangeline Parish. (Photo by Jason Kerzinski) Source: Louisiana Illuminator

Deportation of Africans Cancelled After Reports of Torture by the US Immigration Service

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A plane carrying Cameroonian, Angolan and Congolese asylum seekers due to take off from Alexandria, Louisiana, was cancelled with minutes to spare after advocacy groups published affidavits by detainees of torture by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

The affidavits listed a host of violent tactics ICE officials had reportedly used to pressure the detainees to submit to their deportation. ICE agents were accused of choking, beating, and forcing the asylum seekers to agree to expulsion by threatening them placement in Covid-19 wards.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Decent Work & Economic Growth; 16 February 2021

Photo: Security forces stand outside a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, on January 14, 2021. Source: The African Report.

Ugandan Election Rights Violations Elicit Threat of European Union Sanctions

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | BRUSSELS (IDN) — As Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni bore down on rights groups and the opposition, the European Union (EU) Parliament responded with the threat of sanctions against Ugandan individuals and organizations they hold responsible for abuses during the recent general election.

Museveni apparently sparked the EU backlash when he instructed the Ministry of Finance, in a letter dated January 1, to suspend the activities of the Democratic Governance Facility, a basket fund of European countries that bankroll most Ugandan civil society organizations that work on governance, rights and related themes.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 16 February 2021

Photo: Collage of pictures from Wikipedia Commons and NationofChange.

Chocolate Multinationals Collude with Mali’s Child Slavery Rings

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A federal class-action suit filed on behalf of eight Malian citizens against Nestle SA, Cargill, Hershey and Mars, Inc. among others for their alleged complicity in the trafficking and forced labour of African children, is now under review by the US Supreme Court.

The plaintiffs are former child slaves trafficked from Mali to harvest cocoa beans in Côte d’Ivoire, the biggest exporter and producer.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Decent Work & Economic Growth; 15 February 2021

Photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump attends 'Namaste Trump' event in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Streamed live on 24 Feb 2020. Credit: Prime Minister's Office.

US and India: The Nexus Between Identity Politics and Economic Achievements

Viewpoint by Chandra Muzaffar

This article is being reproduced from the Website of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST) presided over by Dr Chandra Muzaffar.

KUALA LUMPUR (IDN) – According to official estimates, Donald J. Trump obtained a little more than 74 million votes in the November 2020 presidential election losing to Joseph Biden who secured a little more than 81 million votes. Biden won by a comfortable margin, but Trump also performed remarkably well. What explains his performance? Analysis of his performance may reveal the growing influence of a certain combination of forces that may shape elections in not only the United States but also in other parts of the world in the coming years.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 13 February 2021

Photo: Voting by secret ballot. Credit: United Nations

When UN Elections were Tainted by Bribery, Cheque Book Diplomacy & Luxury Cruises

By Thalif Deen

The following are excerpts from a just-published book “No Comment – and Don’t Quote me on That”, a collection of political anecdotes reflecting over 40 years of reporting from the United Nations*.

NEW YORK (IDN) – When UN member states compete for the presidency of the General Assembly or membership in the Security Council or in various UN bodies, the voting was largely tainted by bribery, cheque-book diplomacy and offers of luxury cruises in Europe – while promises of increased aid to the world’s poorer nations came mostly with heavy strings attached.

: Thalif Deen; UN INSIDER; 12 February 2021

Nigerian Bandits Have Their Cake and Eat It

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) – The fight against terror in Nigeria has been a theatre of the absurd. What began as a tiny spark of itinerant fanatics taking a pledge against western education mutated into a full-fledged non-state army currently ranked as the third deadliest globally. Yet, banditry is another fast-growing franchise.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 11 February 2021

Space Junk Poses Exponential Risks for Near-Earth Collisions

By Reinhard Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) – Space debris is an issue of global concern that threatens our continued use of near-Earth space for the benefit of humankind. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have joined forces to create a series of infographics and podcasts that tell the story of space debris, explain the risks and illustrate the solutions available to ensure future space exploration remains sustainable.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 10 February 2021

Photo: Memorial to the Victims of the Holocaust, Rio de Janeiro credit: UN Academic Impact

Taking Action to Repair Our World

By Ramu Damodaran

The writer is Chief, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) hosted in the Department of Global Communications. This OpEd first appeared in the #WhyWeCare, @ImpactUN on February 5.

NEW YORK (IDN | UNAI) – “Nostalgia for the present“ is a phrase I once heard (or think I have), and it came to mind when reading a response received to last week’s (January 29) column and its looking back on CTAUN’s quarter-century of affirmation and affection. The question asked was straightforward; had CTAUN (Committee on Teaching) been able to “convene” over the past year? The answer, which I missed noting in my nostalgia for the past, is yes…three times actually.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 07 February 2021

Photo source: Top of the 'Africa No Filter' Website's Home Page.

'Africa No Filter' Encourages African Media to Abandon Clichéd Narratives

Interview by Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) – Africa No Filter is a not-for-profit set up last year to help shift harmful and stereotypical narratives about Africa through research, advocacy and grant-making to storytellers. It is funded by the Ford Foundation, Bloomberg, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Luminate, Open Society Foundation, Comic Relief, the Hilton Foundation and the British Council.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; Africa; 06 February 2021

Photo: Collage of pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi (left) and Min Aung Hlaing (right) created on1 February 2021, the day of the coup. CC BY-SA 4.0

Myanmar Coup: Asian Response Echoes the Adage ‘Democracy Comes with Stability’

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – Both coverage in the Asian press and statements by neighbouring Asian governments reported in the media on the grabbing of exclusive power by the military in Myanmar, reflects the traditional Asian adage that democracy should go hand in hand with economic and political stability. Thus, sanctions and external funding of protest groups (usually urban elites and the young) are discouraged.