Peace & Justice

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.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 04 February 2021

Photo: The youth everywhere in Africa want change. The collage of pictures shows (left) Uganda textile workers at Nytil a local factory that produces textiles for the local market and for export taken in December 2020 and (right) Uganda students (from Wikimedia Commons) taken in January 2018.

Bobi Wine and The Old African Brew

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

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

ABUJA (IDN) – After the presidential election in Uganda, it dawned on me that there are two people in the country who don’t fear President Yoweri Museveni: one is his tailor, and the other is his political rival, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, famously called Bobi Wine.

Museveni’s tailor makes his suits in complete disregard of tailoring measurements. It would appear that either the president doesn’t care anymore, or he has given up on the person who dresses him.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 03 February 2021

Photo: A collage of pictures from Wikimedia Commons of CAR President Touadera (left), President Museveni (centre) and (right) opposition leader Bobi Wine.

Two African Nations Emulate U.S. and Cry Election Fraud

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Endangered citizens of the Central African Republic are fleeing the country in the hundreds of thousands as rebel fighters seek to overturn the recent re-election of President Faustin Archange Touadera with familiar cries of fraud and demands for his ouster.

Touadera was re-elected after a vote on December 27, defeating 16 other candidates. The country’s electoral college said he captured 54 per cent of the vote – enough to make a runoff unnecessary.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 02 February 2021

Photo: The Tunisian National Army restored order in absence of police services. The picture shows a civilian who was stopped because of a weapon in his car. 15 January 2011. CC BY-SA 3.0

Activists Fear Return of Police State in Tunisia

Viewpoint by Asma Abidi*

BERLIN (IDN) – Ten years after the revolution that sparked the Arab Spring, Tunisia, often hailed as its only success story, has yet to deliver the promised freedom, jobs and prosperity to its people.

Civil unrest erupted on January 14 across the country when the authorities announced a four-day strict lockdown, ordered by Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, supposedly to combat the spread of COVID-19.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 01 February 2021

Photo: Collage of Manish Uprety with ALCAP in the backdrop.

ALCAP Sets Out into Asia and Africa To Enhance Audio Visual Exchange

By Niba Mirza *

BUENOS AIRES (IDN) – The Asociación Latinoamericana de Comunicación Audiovisual Parlamentaria, ALCAP or the Latin American Parliamentary Association of Audio-Visual Communication has ventured into Asia and Africa with the appointment of Mr. Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. as its Special Advisor for the region.

ALCAP is a project of promotion, strengthening, integration, dissemination, research, and cooperation in favour of the right to free access of public information of the parliamentary and political audio-visual communication in all deliberative fields, and in defence of the local communities, multiculturalism, social economies and unique characteristics of the Latin American countries.

: Asia Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 01 February 2021

Photo: Two boys making paper masks at the Al-Tah IDP camp in Idlib Governorate, Syria. Credit: United Nations

UN Chief Explains How to Make 2021 A Year of Transformation

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has told the UN’s 193 Member States that in the wake of an “annus horribilis” of death, disaster and despair, 2021 must be a year of transformation. “We need to move from death to health; from disaster to reconstruction; from despair to hope; from business as usual to transformation.”

Mr Guterres outlined his four priorities for the months ahead. Now is the time to secure the well-being of people, economies, societies and the planet, he accentuated, speaking from the podium in the General Assembly Hall in the UN Headquarters in New York on January 28.

: Radwan Jakeem; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 31 January 2021

Photo: Security Council chamber. Credit: UN Dispatch

Security Council to Focus on Climate Change and Security

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – "Addressing climate-related security risks to international peace and security through mitigation and resilience-building" will be the focus of a high-level open debate which the UK plans to host in February.

According to the Security Council Report, the meeting is expected to consider conflict risks, peacebuilding approaches and ways to support adaptation and resilience in climate-vulnerable contexts. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to chair the meeting. Secretary-General António Guterres is an anticipated briefer.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 31 January 2021

Photo: Protest in Nevsky Prospekt, St.Petersburg, 24 January. C BY-SA 4.0

Russia Blames U.S. for Youth Protests

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) – While Russia is currently investigating reasons behind the unsanctioned January 23 mass protest that took place in central Moscow and many other regions including the Far East, it has allegedly accused the United States of meddling in its domestic affairs.

According to human rights organisations, over 3,600 people were detained during the protest. Some have been charged with administrative violations, while others have been hit with criminal charges.