SUSTAINABILITY

Image: The Belt and Road Initiative includes one-third of world trade and GDP and over 60% of the world's population, says the World Bank.

Silk Road: A Debt 'Trap' or an Opportunity for the West Joining China to Assist Developing Countries?

By Dr. Palitha Kohona

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

COLOMBO (IDN) – "Any conflict between the U.S. and China, including a trade war, would do irreparable damage to both, not to mention the rest of the world. However, the two giants have a unique opportunity in history to get away from traditional power based competition to cooperate for the common good of humanity, especially the developing countries whose primary interest is in progressing economically. Such cooperation may not happen any time soon but a golden opportunity exists."

: Dr. Palitha Kohona; OPINION; 07 December 2018

IFAD President Gilbert Houngbo being interviewed by IDN-INPS Southern Africa correspondent Jeffrey Moyo in Harare, Zimbabwe, on December 3, 2018.

UN Specialised Agency IFAD Joins 79-nation ACP to Rescue African Agriculture

IDN interviews IFAD President Gilbert Houngbo

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE (IDN) – Smallholder rural farmers in Zimbabwe are set to benefit from international funding intended to improve access to inputs, irrigation and the adoption of smart farming practices in the face of predicted El Nino-induced drought.

On the first visit to Zimbabwe of a president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) at the beginning of December, it was made known that the Rome-based specialised agency of the United Nations is making 51 million dollars available for development of the agricultural sector in remote areas of the country.

: Jeffrey Moyo; THE WORLD; Africa; 06 December 2018

Leaders Pledge to Boost Blue Economy, Protect Water Bodies

By Justus Wanzala

NAIROBI (IDN) – The Kenyan capital was literally painted ‘blue’ for the first-ever global conference on the blue economy attended by over 18,000 participants from 180 countries.

Running from November 26 to 28, the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference ended with various countries signing commitments to ensure that humanity benefits from the blue economy – or the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs.

Participants discussed a host of topics around the issue of sustainable use of oceans, seas and inland water bodies, and a joint communiqué issued by leaders undertook to utilise their countries' water resources for the benefit of their people.

: Justus Wanzala; SUSTAINABILITY; Oceans, seas and marine resources; 05 December 2018

Photo: Deputy Executive Secretary Giovanie Biha of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Credit: Encomium Magazine.

Africa Should Focus on Young People – Say Experts

By Ronald Joshua

KIGALI (IDN) – Africa’s “easy decade” of accelerated economic growth is coming to an end, and only accelerated job creation and integration will ensure sustainable growth and development across the continent, Prof. Paul Collier, one of the world’s most influential development economists has warned.

A Professor of Economics and Public Policy in the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, Collier was delivering a keynote address at the African Economic Conference 2018, hosted by the African Development Bank, the Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kigali, Rwanda.

: Ronald Joshua; THE WORLD; Africa; 04 December 2018

ICC Leaders Join in Global Initiative to Break Down Gender Barriers

By Robert Johnson

THE HAGUE (IDN) – Top officials of the International Criminal Court ("ICC" or "the Court") – President Chile Eboe-Osuji, Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and Registrar Peter Lewis – have joined the International Gender Champions network, an important initiative to break down gender barriers at all levels.

This global leadership network brings together decision-makers determined to break down gender barriers and make gender equality a working reality in their spheres of influence.

The network was launched in July 2015 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva and hubs have been established in New York, Vienna, and Nairobi. It counts over 200 active Champions and Alumni worldwide, including the UN Secretary General, heads of UN offices and organizations, ministers, ambassadors and permanent representatives, and NGO, academic and business leaders.

: Robert Johnson; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 04 December 2018

Photo: Seyni Nafo (left), spokesman of the African delegation to the COP24, with Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, at a meeting in 2016. Credit: World Bank

Africa Seeks Commitments to Fight Climate Threat at COP24

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Seyni Nafo, spokesman of the African delegation at the UN Climate Change Conference COP24 taking place in Katowice in southern Poland from December 2-14 is not one to mince words about the serious climate threat now facing the African continent.

"We are the most vulnerable, we are the least responsible but we will suffer the most," the Malian-born Nafo summed up in an interview with Germany’s international broadcaster DW. The African continent is already experiencing the effects of climate change. In many places drought, torrential rainfall or flooding are regular occurrences.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 04 December 2018

Photo: UN Chief Opening COP24. Credit: UNFCCC.

UN Chief Calls for Katowice to Lay Down Ground Rules for the Paris Agreement

By António Guterres

Following are extensive excerpts from the UN Secretary-General's remarks at the opening ceremony of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP14) from December 2-14 in Katowice, Poland.

KATOWICE (IDN-INPS) – We are in trouble. We are in deep trouble with climate change.

Climate change is running faster than we are and we must catch up sooner rather than later before it is too late.

For many, people, regions even countries this is already a matter of life and death.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 04 December 2018

Photo: COP24 Opening Ceremony. Credit: UNFCCC.

Polish Perspectives of the UN Climate Change Conference

By Aleksandra Gadzinski

KATOWICE (IDN) – "We can't afford to fail in Katowice," declared UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his opening remarks to the two-week-long 24th session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24) in southern Poland.

The political will to fight climate change had faded since the Paris Agreement three years ago. The accord in December 2015 saw countries agree to step up efforts to fight the pressing problem of global warming. But with temperatures rising, oceans warming and glaciers receding faster than expected, climate change was running away from us.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 03 December 2018

Photo: A glimpse of the exhibition on human rights education. Credit: NGO Working Group on Human Rights Education and Learning.

Conference Calls for Mainstreaming Human Rights Education

By Neena Bhandari

SYDNEY (IDN) – More investment is needed in human rights education and strengthening of civil society to address inequality and sustainability – the main objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This was the key message from the Ninth International Conference on Human Rights Education (ICHRE) held in Sydney, Australia.

Drawing inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which marks its 70th Anniversary this year, the ICHRE 2018 (November 26-29) recommended all stakeholders to mainstream human rights education as a tool for social cohesion towards peaceful coexistence; and strive to bridge the significant gap between integrating human rights education in the curricula and its implementation.

: Neena Bhandari; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 03 December 2018

Photo: The 35th plenary session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels from June18-20, 2018, in the presence of MEPs and their counterparts from the national parliaments of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Credit: multimedia.europarl.europa.eu

Towards an Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – As negotiators inch towards updating the most comprehensive but 20-year old partnership agreement between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, they have a broad array of issues on their plate.

These include the name change to the 'Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACP)', ensuring the consistency of participation in parliamentary assemblies, establishment of the ACP Information Centre for South-South and Triangular Cooperation, and enhancing ACP's financial stability.