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10 to 12 million young people join the African labour force each year, yet the continent creates only 3.7 million jobs annually. Credit: Adapted from “Promulgation,” courtesy of flickr user ActionPixs (Maruko), Kenya.

The Challenge of Making Africa's 830 Million Young People 'Effective Citizens'

By John Dramani Mahama and Siddharth Chatterjee

John Dramani Mahama is the former President of the Republic of Ghana. (Follow him on twitter.) Siddharth Chatterjee is the UN Resident Coordinator to Kenya. (Follow him on twitter.)

ACCCRA | NAIROBI (IDN-INPS) - In July 2017, Spanish charity workers rescued 167 migrants arriving from Africa aboard a small boat.

2016 was the deadliest for migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean, with at least 3800 deaths recorded. Most know the dangers they face on the route, yet still choose the possibility of death in overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels over the hopelessness of life in areas they reside.

: IDN-INPS Middle East & Africa Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 25 November 2017

Photo: Emmerson Mnangagwa. Credit: NewsDay Zimbabwe

Military's Role Crucial in Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe

Viewpoint by Alemayehu G. Mariam

The writer is a professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino, a constitutional lawyer and Senior Editor of the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies. The source of this article is Pambazuka News, which republished it on November 23. It first appeared in The Hill. The views in the following article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of IDN-INPS editorial team. – The Editor

SAN BERNARDINO, California, USA (IDN-INPS) – Despite its apparently new interest in preserving democracy, for 37 years the military was an indispensable part of a fossilized oligarchy which betrayed the "revolution" and bankrupted Zimbabwe. Sadly, any post-Mugabe civilian government could only exist if it makes a Faustian bargain with the military.

: IDN-INPS Middle East & Africa Editor; OPINION; 24 November 2017

Sri Lanka’s 'Vision 2025' Development Programme Gets Going

By Indrajit Coomaraswamy

Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy is Governor of the Sri Lanka Central Bank. The following, a rather comprehensive view of the state of the Sri Lankan economy, is based on a statement made at the United Nations on 20 November 2017. – The Editor

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Sri Lanka has experienced a 27-year separatist conflict in the North and East of the country and two youth insurrections in the South (1971 and 1988-90). Tens of thousands of our people, most of them young, lost their lives. While there was complex causality behind these episodes, arguably the most significant explanatory factor was the mismatch between the expectations of and the opportunities for our young people.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 24 November 2017

The World's Poorest Need Funding for Access to Modern Energy

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – The world's 47 least developed countries (LDCs) are "the battleground" on which the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be won or lost, Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD has warned, adding that it is high time for donors to meet aid commitments.

The 2030 Agenda includes an explicit goal for energy – Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, to 'ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all'.

"The central role of access to modern energy in achieving the other SDGs means that meeting SDG 7 will be central to the success or failure of the 2030 Agenda as a whole," says Kituyi, introducing The Least Developed Countries Report 2017.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 23 November 2017

Image: Snapshot of the video statement of Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Executive Director. Source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otfF4szlESo

Violence Against Women and Girls is Not Inevitable

Viewpoint by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

The writer is UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women. Following is the text of the statement titled 'A life without the threat of violence for everyone: leave no one behind' released on 16 November launching 'Sixteen Days of Activism against Gender Violence' ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, 25 November 2017. – The Editor

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) - The initial response to the outpouring of ‘#MeToo’ around the world has been of outrage at the scale of sexual abuse and violence revealed. The millions of people joining the hashtag tide showed us how little they were heard before. They poured through the floodgate, opening up conversations, naming names and bolstering the frailty of individual statements with the robustness of a movement.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 23 November 2017

The Threat of a Nuclear War is Very High Today

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery

John Scales Avery is a theoretical chemist noted for his research publications in quantum chemistry, thermodynamics, evolution, and history of science. Presently an Associate Professor in quantum chemistry at the University of Copenhagen, since the early 1990s, he has been an active World peace activist. During these years, he was part of a group associated with the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, which in 1995 received the Nobel Peace Prize. The following are excerpts from introduction to the book NUCLEAR WEAPONS: AN ABSOLUTE EVIL that can be downloaded from http://www.fredsakademiet.dk/library/nuclear.pdf – The Editor

COPENHAGEN (IDN) - Today, because of the possibility that U.S. President Donald Trump might initiate a nuclear war against Iran or North Korea, or even Russia, the issue of nuclear weapons is at the center of the global stage.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 22 November 2017

Photo: Briefing by Nickolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

UN Envoy Expresses Hope and Concern About the Gaza Accord

By Santo D. Banerjee

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – A senior United Nations official has emphasized the urgency to resolve the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and to return the enclave to full civilian and security control of the Palestinian Authority (PA) as agreed in the Cairo accord on October 12, 2017, described as a "landmark development".

According to media reports, the agreement between the Fatah and Hamas factions allows the Palestinian government to resume its responsibilities in Gaza. A statement released by Egypt, which facilitated the accord, said the Palestinian government should assume its full responsibilities to manage the enclave by December 1, 2017.

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 21 November 2017

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in attend a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul Tuesday, November 7, 2017. Credit: Kim Hong-ji/Pool Photo

Trump’s Asian Visit Exposes U.S.-Asia Perception Gap

By Kalinga Seneviratne

BANGKOK (IDN) – It is often said that since the end of the World War II, the United States has been the pre-eminent power in the Asia-Pacific region, providing the stability needed for the economic boom of the past 70 years.

This perception is changing, however, and has intensified especially after U.S. President Donald Trump’s infamous speech at the United Nations in September where he threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea, effectively killing 25 million people and committing the worse war crime in history.

The large “No Trump, No War” demonstrations that took place across South Korea during President Trump’s visit to Seoul earlier in November reflected the South Korean peoples’ different perception to that of United States about the North Korean nuclear threat.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 21 November 2017

Religious Extremism Down The Memory Lane

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) - What drives people to extremes? Why do the people behind Wahhabism, Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State (IS) get so charged up and angry?

Perhaps to understand we should go back to the 16th century in Europe and the furious debate about the “divine right of kings”. For decades the royal houses of Europe had been becoming less accessible to their subjects. William of Orange, ruler of the powerful Netherlands, said he had “received his power from God and God alone.”

Philip II of Spain was also a principle protagonist of this theme. Indeed, when Spain conquered Holland, Philip tried to squash the new Protestant “heresy”, using the brutal practices of the Spanish Inquisition.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 21 November 2017

Photo: A new road being constructed in Bamyan in 2013. Credit: UNAMA

Religious Scholars Discuss Peace-building in Afghanistan

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Religious leaders came together in support of efforts to build a culture of tolerance and non-violence in Afghanistan at an event organized by the Bamyan regional office of UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

More than 30 scholars, including female scholars from different religious institutions attended the event to discuss and review their role in building a peaceful society, UNAMA reported on November 20, 2017.

"Religion is a key factor in peace-building," said Ibrahim Khalili, a scholar, stressing that religious leaders, by virtue of their standing in communities, can be a positive force for building peace among local communities.