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Gifted African Filmmaker Leaves Behind an Impressive Legacy

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Just days before a major retrospective of his cinematic work in Brazil, Idrissa Ouedraogo passed away in his home country of Burkina Faso on February 18. He was 64.

"We talked two weeks ago," said a grieving Janaina Oliveira of Brazil's Center for Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous Studies in a Facebook post. "I was bringing him to Brazil. Tickets, screening, tribute…it was all set. He was so happy."

Ouedraogo was born on January 21, 1954, in Banfora, Burkina Faso. His parents were farmers, and he grew up in a village outside Ouagadougou.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 February 2018

Photo: DR Congo Human Rights Minister Marie Ange Mushobekwa. Credit. actualite.cd

DR Congo Calls Deportation of Refugees by the U.S. 'Inhumane'

By Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Six nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and two Zambian citizens were sent back to the U.S. after Congolese officials called their deportations "inhumane".

The six arrived on February 21 aboard an American aircraft at Ndjili airport, said Congolese Human Rights Minister Marie Ange Mushobekwa, "handcuffed, chained to the ankles and hips as slaves". Further, the expelled persons were given "diapers" as they were prohibited from getting up from their seats to use the toilet.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 February 2018

Photo: African Union Commission chief M.F. Mahamat, former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and his wife, Grace Mugabe. Credit. ityazo.com

Mugabe, In Rare Outburst, Slams Former Allies Who Ousted Him

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | HARARE (IDN) – After weeks of silence, former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe came out of his shell and delivered a furious tirade against his one-time party allies who engineered his ouster in November 2017 in an action they called 'Operation Restore Legacy'.

Mugabe, in a rare display of resentment and bitterness, called his removal by military members of his own Zanu-PF party "unconstitutional". He was speaking at a private party at his Harare mansion where guests had gathered to celebrate his 94th birthday, according to the Standard newspaper which attended the event.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 February 2018

ACP Group Joins with OCTs to Fight Illegal Fishing and Other Threats to Life Below Water

By Dr Patrick I. Gomes, ACP Secretary-General

The following is a slightly modified version of remarks by the ACP Secretary General to the High-Level Forum of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) and the European Union in Brussels on 23 February 2018 on 'Engaging the OCTs and SDGs and the Post-Cotonou Process'. – The Editor

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Together the ACP Group of States and the European Union constitute a unique partnership grounded in the task of making lives of all humanity meaningful, secure, peaceful and prosperous.

It is for this reason that my remarks wish to express a commitment of the ACP Group of States to build on and strengthen the provisions in the Cotonou Agreement for relations of the ACP with OCTs.

: Dr. Patrick Gomes; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 27 February 2018

Photo: (L to R): Urs Wiesmann, Co-Chair of SDSN Switzerland; Katrin Muff, Conference Facilitator; Bertrand Piccard, Solar Impulse Foundation; Jacques Dubochet, University of Lausanne; Océane Dayer, Co-Chair of SDSN Switzerland; Michael Bergöö, Acting Managing Director of SDSN Switzerland. Credit: Peter Lüthi, Biovision.

Switzerland Joins Sustainable Development Solutions Network

By Jaya Ramachandran

BERN (IDN) – The global Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has launched its 25th network, SDSN Switzerland, co-hosted by the Centre for Development and Environment at the University of Bern and BIOVISION Foundation, foundation for ecological development, with a view to shaping multi-stakeholder dialogue, fostering sustainable development solutions, and advising decision-makers on the implementation of the Agenda 2030 and the Paris Climate Agreement.

SDSN Switzerland was officially launched on February 15 with a conference under the banner 'Where Society, Science and Politics Create Solutions.' The network claims to have 19 members from key institutions around Switzerland who are committed to implementing SDGs at the local level.

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 26 February 2018

UNESCAP, Islamic Development Bank Sign Landmark Agreement

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – One of the world’s largest multilateral development banks, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), has launched 'Engage', a new digital platform which will promote technological and scientific solutions to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

IsDB President Dr. Bandar Hajjar announced on February 21 the launch of the new platform at an event hosted at Bloomberg's European Headquarters in London, together with UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Dr. Hayat Sindi, Chief Scientific Advisor to IsDB, and a group of business, innovation and development experts.

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 25 February 2018

Photo: Opening session of the fifty-sixth session of the Commission for Social Development. Credit: UN

Social Development Commission Stresses Global Goals

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – While progress has been achieved in realizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the United Nations in September 2015, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has warned that "the drop in extreme poverty remains uneven across regions, within countries and between various social groups."

Addressing the opening of the fifty-sixth session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD56), she however remarked: "At the global level, we have experienced impressive reductions in extreme poverty. Significant progress has also been made in improving access to schooling and healthcare, promoting the empowerment of women, youth, persons with disabilities, older persons and indigenous populations."

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 25 February 2018

Photo: Jean-Luc Stalon, UNDP Country Director in Senegal (in September 2012). Credit: UNDP

Ending Persistent Inequality in Africa a Top Priority

Viewpoint by Jean-Luc Stalon

Jean-Luc Stalon is UNDP Country Director in Senegal. This article first appeared on January 31, 2018 on Africa Review. – The Editor.

DAKAR (IDN-INPS) – The defeat of Keynesianism in the 1980s witnessed an increase in income and social inequalities associated with the domination and monopoly of neoliberalism.

Neoliberalism advocates a free market that would promote growth through public spending cuts, deregulation of the economy, lower taxes on business, reduction of restrictions capital movement and global open markets.

Consequently, it seemed to have conquered the world through the transfer of power from the public to private sector.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 25 February 2018

Photo: Protestors wear masks of Gautam Adani and Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull, depicting the unpopular billion dollar government subsidy. Credit: Stop Adani Alliance

Australians Mobilise to Stop Indian Coal Project

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – A peoples’ movement is gathering steam across Australia to stop a project by an Indian company to establish Australia’s biggest ever coal mining project that is supposed to create 10,000 jobs in a remote region of northern Queensland.

The protest movement – which distrusts politicians – argues that Australia needs to cut greenhouse gas creating coal exports rather than opening more mines.

“The more I tried to engage in democracy the more I found democracy to be broken,” said Lilli Barto, member of the ‘Stop Adani’ Sydney campaign team addressing a film screening and a protest meeting at inner-Sydney Newtown Neighbourhood Centre on February 22, that was attended by over 200 people.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 24 February 2018

Photo: Panel Debate about Veiling/Unveiling at UN Office in Geneva

Experts Stress Acceptance of Headscarf in Abrahamic Faiths

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – The headscarf that sparks heated debates in Europe is a source of commonality between the three main Abrahamic religions Islam, Christianity and Judaism, according to experts who participated in a debate at the United Nations office in Geneva.

The event on February 23 focused on: Veiling/Unveiling: The Headscarf in Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue (Geneva Centre) and the Permanent Mission of Algeria to the UN in Geneva organized the discussion in the run-up to the 37th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council scheduled for February 26 to March 23, 2018.