SUSTAINABILITY

Photo: Clockwise, from top left: U.S. combat operations in Ia Đrăng, ARVN Rangers defending Saigon during the 1968 Tết Offensive, two A-4C Skyhawks after the Gulf of Tonkin incident, ARVN recapture Quảng Trị during the 1972 Easter Offensive, civilians fleeing the 1972 Battle of Quảng Trị, and burial of 300 victims of the 1968 Huế Massacre. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

The Secret of Greatness Lies in 'Net Resources'

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Let’s make America great again! Or as the prime minister of France said: Let’s make France great again. Or, as President Donald Trump conceded, let every nation in the world announce that they are going to be great again. But what makes for greatness? Over that there is a big dispute.

Strategists say that power has to be measured carefully because “the balance of power is the motor of world politics, playing a role as central as the role of energy in physics and money in economics”, as writes Professor Michael Beckley of Tufts University.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 23 April 2019

Zambian Villagers Win Landmark Ruling in Water Poisoning Case

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Zambian villagers whose livelihoods were turned upside down by a toxic spill from a copper mine will finally have their day in court. They succeeded against the odds in a case pitting their claims against a worldwide mining company which denied responsibility for the spill caused by a local Zambian company it controlled.

It wasn’t the first claim against the Vedanta company, based in the UK. In January, a factory in Tamil Nadu, India, was ordered closed by the local pollution board for having “irreversibly polluted the groundwater in and around the Thoothukudi district”.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 23 April 2019

Photo: German Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas chairs the Security Council meeting on Non-proliferation and supporting the Non-proliferation Treaty ahead of the 2020 Review Conference. 02 April 2019. United Nations, New York. Photo # 802676. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.

UN Eager to Advance Commitment to Nuclear Non-Proliferation

By Jamshed Baruah

NEW YORK (IDN) – Deeply concerned about the erosion of the disarmament and arms control framework that reaped significant post-cold-war-era gains, the United Nations is keen to ensure the continued viability of the landmark Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

With an eye on the fiftieth anniversary of the Treaty’s entry into force and the twenty-fifth celebration of its indefinite extension, the 15-nation Security Council – chaired by Germany’s Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas – convened a high-level meeting at the UN Headquarters on April 2, 2019.

: Jamshed Baruah; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 23 April 2019

Photo: An ad of a skin whitening cosmetic product in Kumasi, Ghana. Source: Africa Renewal.

Huge Risks Accompany the Desire for Fair Skin in Africa

By Pavithra Rao*

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – "I’ve been dark skinned for many years and I wanted to experience the other side. I wanted to see what it would be like to be white and I’m happy," says South African singer Mshoza, whose real name is Nomasonto Mnisi.

Mshoza is famous for her music – and now for her bleached skin. She initially sought to bleach her hyperpigmentation (dark patches on the skin) but then decided to maintain a light complexion overall.

: Africa Renewal; THE WORLD; Africa; 22 April 2019

Photo: Nuclear disarmament in the Middle East. Credit: USA Air Force.

New Attempt to Tackle Nuclear Proliferation Threat in the Middle East

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – A conference on the establishment of a Weapons of Mass Destruction-Free Zone (WMDFZ) and a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East appeared to have been consigned to oblivion until the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) decided in December 2018 "to entrust to the Secretary-General the convening" of an international meeting to address the risk of nuclear proliferation in one of the world's most volatile regions.

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; Middle East; 21 April 2019

Photo: Women discuss politics at a women’s conference in Darfur, Sudan. Credit: UN

Women in Politics: Miles to Go Before Parity Is Achieved

By Zipporah Musau

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – In the fight for gender equality, women around the world have advanced in small and large ways. Yet for women in Africa, progress is measured in micro steps, and the struggle has a long way to go.

The good news is that women’s representation in political decision making has been on the rise globally. The not-so-good news is that the increase has been stubbornly slow, barely 1% in 2018 compared with the previous year. In 2018 the number of women ministers worldwide reached an all-time high at 20.7% (812 out of 3922).

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Africa; 19 April 2019

Photo: IDN-INPS collage of pictures by from Commonwealth Secretariat. Left: Aelan Ltd hires local women from the next village to make organic products. Right: Adding value to coconut. Bottom: Vanuatu Deputy Prime Minister Bob Loughman wants the country to focus on value addition and moving up global value chains.

Ensuring the Future of Coconut, the 'Tree of Life'

By Josephine Latu-Sanft

For the eminent American actor and director Dustin Hoffman sunshine and coconut milk are "the two basic items necessary to sustain life". The German playwright and poet Bertolt Brecht compared love to a coconut "which is good while it is fresh". In the Pacific, coconut is king, writes Josephine Latu-Sanft.

LONDON | PORT VILA (IDN) – Known as the ‘tree of life’, locals make use of every part of the tree to survive – the fruit for eating, husks for fuelling fires, fronds for making multiuse baskets, and the trunk for building houses.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 18 April 2019

Photo: Bogolo Kenewendo of Botswana is also adviser to the UN Secretary-General on digital cooperation. Credit: UN

Young Botswana Minister Is Opening Doors for Women and Girls

By Baboki Kayawe*

GABORONE (IDN-INPS) – Bogolo Kenewendo describes herself as having been “an ordinary Botswana child with an ordinary upbringing”. Kenewendo, poised and focused beyond her years, is being modest. At 32 she is Botswana’s youngest minister, in charge of investment, trade and industry.

She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics, specializing in macroeconomic policy, public debt management, export development and other trade-related fields.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Africa; 18 April 2019

WHO Forum on Medicines Calls for Fair Prices

By Ronald Joshua

JOHANNESBURG (IDN) – Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being at all ages is essential to sustainable development, according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) scheduled to be realized by 2030. Goal 3 cannot however be achieved as long as people have to pay for medicines out-of-pocket and fall into poverty. This happens to 100 million each year.

With this in view, Dr Mariângela Simão, Assistant Director General for Medicines and Health Products at the World Health Organization (WHO) says: “Medical innovation has little social value if most people cannot access its benefits,” adding: “This is a global human rights issue – everyone has a right to access quality healthcare.”

: Ronald Joshua; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 17 April 2019

Photo: Secretary-General António Guterres (on screen) makes remarks at the Financing for Development Forum of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Session 2019 on April 15. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

2019 A Defining Year for Implementing SDGs and the Paris Agreement

By António Guterres

The following are extensive excerpts from opening remarks of the UN Secretary-General to the 2019 ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum on April 15. This, he said, was “critical moment for governments, businesses, and societies to accelerate action for sustainable development”.

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – We have the tools to tackle poverty, inequality, climate change and environmental pressures. They were defined in the great multilateral agreements reached in 2015: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Agenda for Action, and the Paris Agreement on climate change.