SUSTAINABILITY

Photo: Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia. Credit: IOM – UN Migration

Continuous Influx of Eritrean Refugees Challenges Ethiopia

Viewpoint by Kristina Melicherová

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Refugee and host communities in Ethiopia came together on June 20 to commemorate World Refugee Day through various cultural activities, organized within refugee camps as well as urban settings. But the reality behind the festivities is that hundreds of Eritrean refugees continue to cross the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia every day.

Despite the peace deal between Ethiopia and Eritrea, signed in July 2018, the internal situation and oppression of Eritrean people, mainly through the indefinite military service, remains intact. The continued inflow of young Eritreans fleeing oppression is putting strain on Ethiopia’s refugee camps.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Africa; 22 June 2019

Photo: Foreign corporations exploit Africa's mineral resources leaving a big hole for the people. Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Pillaging of Mineral Resources Leaves Behind Poverty Holes for Africans

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE (IDN) – More than a decade ago, he lost his home as diamond miners from China razed it to the ground searching for the gems. Still, today, 74-year old Tobias Mukwada lives with his family in shanty thatched huts they erected hoping that perhaps one day the Chinese diamond merchants would remember them and offer them a decent home.

But for the poverty-stricken Mukwada and his family, it may be a wait in vain.

Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe ordered Chinese diamond miners out of the mining fields in the country’s eastern highlands in 2016.

: Jeffrey Moyo; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 June 2019

Russia and Africa Gearing for Inter-Parliamentary Conference

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW, (IDN) – With high optimism, Russian legislators plan to use the forthcoming Russia-Africa inter-parliamentary conference scheduled for July 3 to discuss effective ways of strengthening Russia-African relations with a focus on new mechanisms for exploring business opportunities in Africa.

More than 30 African countries will take part in the conference in Moscow, an indication that African governments have a renewed interest in and looking forward to developing policy ties that could foster greater economic engagement and investment in sustainable development on the continent.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 21 June 2019

Photo: Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque during the violent dispersal of pro-Morsi sit-ins, 14 August 2013. CC BY-SA 3.0

Speculations about Ousted Egyptian President's Death in Court Hearing

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Egyptian ex-president Mohammed Morsi, persecuted by the current military regime according to rights activists, collapsed on the stand and died after giving testimony in his trial, the state TV reported.

Morsi, 67, had been speaking from the glass “cage” where he was confined during sessions. He warned of “many secrets” he could reveal, when suddenly he collapsed. The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood was stricken by a heart attack, sources said. State TV said Morsi died before he could be taken to the hospital.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 20 June 2019

Photo: PGA member Kilamba Kiuyima Van-Dúnem, Member of Parliament from Angola. Credit: www.pgaction.org

Orthodox Church in Ethiopia Blocks Gay Group Planning Tour

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Pride parades, gay friendly diners, movies, books and fashion.

The gay life style is coming to town but the welcome mat is still far from ubiquitous.

Ethiopia, home to Abiy Ahmed, the “hugging president”, has yet to come to terms with LGBT or Q. In fact, some Ethiopian bloggers have been openly unfriendly to say the least.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 19 June 2019

Photo: Close up of drying cocoa beans. CC BY 2.0

African Cocoa Growers Demand Better Prices or No Sale!

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Strike! That’s the sound of the world's top two producers of cocoa who say they are suspending their sales for better prices.

The governments of Ivory Coast and Ghana are trying this time-honored strategy to address the imbalance between farmers’ income and money made by foreign commodity markets who scoop up most of the profit.

If the strategy sounds familiar, it’s the same one described in the Greek play Lysistrata where the women withheld affection from their husbands in order to secure peace and end the Peloponnesian War.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 19 June 2019

Photo: Relieved and happy to be released from detention, a refugee hugs UNHCR staff as they meet at the Gathering and Departure Facility in Tripoli, Libya. © UNHCR/Mohamed Alalem.

European Union Lambasted for 'Externalising' Migration Policy

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (IDN) – More than twenty African and international organizations have signed a letter which slates the European Union and its member states for externalizing migration policy through direct and indirect cooperation with regimes and militia forces that are utterly unaccountable for their actions, and violating its constitutional values and international obligations, including the responsibility to protect.

The letter to the European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, and High Representative of the European Union, Federica Mogherini, appeals for "an EU external policy framework based on European values".

: Reinhard Jacobsen; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 19 June 2019

Photo: Karakul Lake, Tajikistan. Credit: UNCCD

Pressing Need to Put Degraded Lands Back to Life

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | ANKARA (IDN) – Profoundly concerned that "desertification and drought are problems of global dimension in that they affect all regions of the world," the international community adopted the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Paris on June 17,1994. Twenty-five years later, on the World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) on June 17 celebrated this year in the Turkish capital Ankara, the 'Hama Arba Diallo Foundation for the Environment and Education' has been launched at a special event.

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 18 June 2019

Photo: Mary Robinson and Deon Shekuza. Credit: GlobalGoalsUN

Former Irish President Joins a Namibian Youth in Conversation on Climate Justice

From GlobalGoalsUN

This article is part of reports by the UN SDG Media Compact of which IDN is a member. Watch video.

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Science continues to show that as the impacts of climate change accelerate, extreme weather events are taking a major toll in developing countries, particularly in Africa and Asia, home to some of the world’s largest youth populations.

Global warming of 2˚C would put over half of Africa’s population at risk of undernourishment, as as of today, we have already reached about 1°C above pre-industrial levels (1850–1900). Global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 18 June 2019

Photo: UNEP Chief Inger Andersen (left) and her deputy Joyce Msuya. Credit: UN Environment

Danish Environmentalist Takes Over as UNEP Chief

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK | NAIROBI (IDN) – Danish economist and environmentalist Inger Andersen, who took over as Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, brings to the role a passion for conservation and sustainable development, promising to prioritize greater action on climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution during her four-year tenure.

“I am proud and excited to begin work at the UN Environment Programme in beautiful Kenya at a critical time for humanity,” she said. “Good environmental stewardship has never been more important. Climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution in all its forms pose a clear and present danger to human and planetary health, and to prosperity."