Reduced Inequalities

Photo: Transporting new migrant workers to Doha, Qatar. Source: tellmemoreblogger.com

COVID-19: Should Economy Have Priority Over Migrant Workers' Health?

Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – Many critics have described labour migration as the 21st-century slave trade and Covid-19 crisis has exposed this stark reality. Eastern European migrant labour in Europe. Unpaid construction workers on the brink of starvation in the Middle East. Hundreds of South Asian dormitory locked down migrant labourers infected with Covid-19 in Singapore. Global economy’s lack of compassion for the migrant workers that drives its engines is very much in display today.

Speaking on Al Jazeera’s Inside Story, Thulsi Narayanasamy, head of labour rights at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) argued that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the structural inequalities that face migrant workers all over the world.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 13 May 2020

Photo: A detention camp for immigrants and asylum seekers in Greece. Source. Human Rights Watch.

Greece Extends COVID-19 Lockdown at Refugee Camps

Viewpoint by Eva Cossé, Human Rights Watch

The writer is Western Europe researcher, works on issues related to discrimination, migration, asylum and minority rights, with a focus on Greece. This article first appeared on Human Rights Watch, and is being reproduced with the author's permission.

LONDON | ATHENS (IDN) – The Greek government has begun easing lockdown measures, given the country’s success in keeping Covid-19 under control. Starting last week, people could leave their homes without authorization, most shops have re-opened, and older students have returned to the classroom.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 12 May 2020

Photo: The unsung heroes of Majengo slums | YouTube screenshot.

Two 'Unsung Heroes' Helping Kenya's Slum Dwellers Facing Coronavirus

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Journalists who step out of their high-floor offices or manage to escape from their coronavirus confinement sometimes find a great story right on the street below. Such was the story discovered by Kevin Phillips Momanyi, a reporter with Kenya’s Tuko news channel.

: THE WORLD; Africa; 29 April 2020

Collage with map of Brazilian states by population (from Wikimedia Commons) and Basic Income card (from Vox).

COVID-19: Brazil Implements Basic Income Policy Following Massive Civil Society Campaign

By Pedro Telles

The writer is 2018-19 Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity at the International Inequalities Institute, London School of Economics.

SÃO PAULO (IDN) – Tens of millions of Brazilians have begun receiving basic income payments aimed at addressing the economic impact of COVID-19, following Congress' approval of a bill prompted by a country-wide grassroots campaign that began just three weeks ago.

: J C Suresh; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 17 April 2020

Photo: IOM Libya staff assist migrants at a disembarkation point in Tripoli, Libya. Credit: IOM.

UN Migration Ramps Up Coronavirus Response Worldwide

By Jaya Ramachandran with IOM Press Release

GENEVA (IDN) – In the face of the number of rising new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has expanded the scope of its Global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) to include far-reaching interventions that aim to mitigate the dire health and socio-economic impacts of the pandemic. A revised appeal was launched on April 15 for $499 million to support vital preparedness, response and recovery activities in over 140 countries.

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 16 April 2020

Photo: A drone photo of Mumbai from the series highlighting wealth inequality in cities around the world. Credit: MatadorNetwork

Ponder Who We Are and the World We Live In

Viewpoint by Roberto Savio*

ROME (IDN) – If you could fit the entire population of the world
into a village consisting of 100 people,
maintaining the proportions of all the people living on
Earth, that village would consist of

: Roberto Savio; SUSTAINABILITY; Reduced Inequalities; 10 April 2020

Photo: Tents of the homeless on the sidewalk in Skid Row, Los Angeles. CC BY-SA 4.0

Interconnected Dangers to Civilization

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*

COPENHAGEN (IDN) – Cultural evolution depends on the non-genetic storage, transmission, diffusion and utilization of information. The development of human speech, the invention of writing, the development of paper and printing, and finally, in modern times, computers and the Internet: all these have been crucial steps in society's explosive accumulation of information and knowledge. Human cultural evolution proceeds at a constantly-accelerating speed, so great in fact that it threatens to shake society to pieces.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 13 March 2020

Photo: Marega against Lokomotiv Moscow in October 2018. CC BY-SA 3.0

Red Card for Portugal Over Racist Abuse of Malian Soccer Star

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Racism is rife in international soccer, with fans taking physical and verbal aim at players of the opposing team.

After the routine apologies of the coaches and local officials, what has really been done to end the frequent racist outbursts, often accompanied by flying chairs or banana peels? This week, star striker Moussa Marega of Mali brought the unpleasant behaviour to world attention as he stalked off the field when his successful play scoring the winning goal sparked an avalanche of ugly chants and racist taunts.

: THE WORLD; Africa; 18 February 2020

Photo: A Syrian father stands with his children at Bardarash camp in Duhok, Iraq, a day after arriving. © UNHCR/Hossein Fatemi.

More Offers Needed to Resettle Refugees Around the World

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – A continuing shortage of offers of sanctuary from governments across the world is a vital impediment to the resettlement of refugees. Nearly 1.4 million refugees are estimated to be in urgent need of resettlement worldwide, but only 63,696 or 4.5 per cent were relocated through the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in 2019.

Though the number of refugees resettled in 2019 increased modestly by 14 per cent compared to the previous year, when 55,680 people were relocated, the agency maintains that “a tremendous gap remains between resettlement needs and the places made available”.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 05 February 2020

Photo: Millions of people are not benefiting from progress, with the gap set to widen unless deep-rooted development barriers, including discrimination and unequal political participation, are tackled. Credit: UNDP Peru/Mónica Suárez

High Levels of Inequality Can Escalate Political Instability

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the United Nations prepares to mark its 75th anniversary in September, the Organisation has yet to fulfil the obligation enshrined in the mandate of the Charter: “to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom“ by employing “international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples“.

The authors of the landmark World Social Report 2020 point out that fifteen years ago, the Report on the ‘World Social Situation‘ had warned that growing inequality could jeopardize the achievement of internationally agreed development goals.