 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
By Ramesh Jaura
BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) – The need to accelerate progress toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, encourage youth engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and expand the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) network of universities has been highlighted in a wide-ranging proposal by Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Buddhist movement.
By Jaya Ramachandran
GENEVA (IDN) – The convergence of several significant risks is endangering efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – the universally adopted plan containing 17 specific goals to promote prosperity and social well-being while protecting the environment, a new report has warned.
The risks with the potential to severely disrupt economic activity and inflict significant damage on longer-term development prospects include waning support for multilateral approaches; the escalation of trade policy disputes; financial instabilities linked to elevated levels of debt; and rising climate risks, as the world experiences an increasing number of extreme weather events.
This article is the second in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. This article first appeared on NDTV on 21 January 2019. – The Editor
DAVOS (IDN-INPS) – Indian billionaires saw their fortunes swell by Rs. 2,200 crore (about $309.86 millions) a day last year, with the top 1 per cent of the country’s richest getting richer by 39 per cent as against just 3 per cent increase in wealth for the bottom-half of the population, according to an Oxfam study.
By Robert Johnson
BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Dr Fatou Bensouda has expressed her profound gratitude for the ACP Group's contributions to the work of the ICC that has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. 51 out of 79 ACP States have ratified the ICC Rome Statute. Altogether 123 states are party to the Rome Statute and therefore members of the ICC.
Dr Bensouda was addressing the Committee of Ambassadors of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States on January 24. Chaired by Ambassador Ammo Aziza Baroud of Chad, the session provided an opportunity for the Prosecutor to present the activities of the ICC Prosecutor's Office and to highlight the important historical contributions of the ACP regions in the creation of the ICC, which interacts with communities affected by crime.
By Sulaiman Momodu
The writer is a public information officer with the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR. This article first appeared on Africa Renewal, December 2018-March 2019 issue.
KAMPALA (IDN-INPS) – As thousands of desperate men, women and children flee conflicts and natural disasters in search of a place of refuge, some countries are debating whether to accept or reject asylum seekers. But Uganda has opened its doors to refugees in record numbers.
Thirteen-year-old Robert Yatta was living with his aunt and going to school in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, when fighting broke out in early 2017.
By Jutta Wolf
BONN (IDN) – India will host the global Conference on desertification, land degradation and drought from October 7 to 18, 2019 in New Delhi. Participants from 197 Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will have access, for the first time, to a wealth of vital new scientific data, says the Convention secretariat.
Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, which also endorsed the climate change (UNFCCC) and biodiversity (CBD) conventions.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – The Algerian philosopher and revolutionary writer, Frantz Fanon, wrote: “Africa is shaped like a gun, and Congo is its trigger. If that explosive trigger bursts, the whole of Africa will explode.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa’s largest country, is now caught up in the aftermath of its first proper election since independence from Belgium in 1960. Towards the end of last year one could say, after years of non-stop wars and massive carnage, the country was 90 percent bereft of fighting.
The authoritarian regime of President Joseph Kabila was still in power but at last it had been pressured to call an election by the African Union, the Western aid-givers, some of the big Western businesses that mine in the mineral-rich country and, not least, the Catholic Church.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) – The Democratic Republic of Congo finally has a president. Opposition figure Felix Tshisekedi was declared winner of the presidential race by the DR Congo’s top court on January 20.
The Constitutional Court said Tshisekedi had won by a simple majority, paving the way for him to take over from the current president, Joseph Kabila.
The outcome was challenged by runner-up Martin Fayulu who claimed that the election had been stolen and called on the international community to reject the results.
Election data leaked to some news organizations suggested that he won the vote.
Viewpoint by Richard Danzinger
The writer is regional director for West and Central Africa of International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN migration agency. This article first appeared on Africa Renewal, December 2018-March 2019 issue.
DAKAR (IDN-INPS) – Without a doubt, migration is a defining issue of this century. One billion people, one-seventh of the world’s population, are migrants. Some 244 million people are international migrants, 40 million are internally displaced and 24 million are refugees or asylum seekers. In 2018, there is no longer a single state that can claim to be untouched by human mobility.
About 423 million people are living in the Economic Community of West African States, a 15-member grouping whose aim is to promote economic integration in a region where the unemployment rate is sometimes 20 percent – inevitably leading to migration.
Palestine And Its Citizens Have First-Hand Experience Of Some Of The Most Challenging And Dramatic Global Issues We Face
By António Guterres
The following are extensive extracts from UN Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks at the handover ceremony of the chairmanship of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, in New York on January 15, as the United Nations embarked on "another critical year of work".
NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – The Group of 77 and China has demonstrated strong leadership throughout 2018 and proved once again to be a central force in demonstrating that multilateralism is the only way to address our shared challenges.
This interactive WHO dashboard/map provides the latest global numbers and numbers by country of COVID-19 cases on a daily Basis.
No fake news. Facts and in-depth analysis. On issues that impact our interconnected world. Donate €5 or $5 upwards. Help guarantee an adequate fee for our colleagues. IDN is the flagship of non-profit International Press Syndicate.
