Viewpoint by Natalia Fuller TOKYO (IDN) – Several aid groups are now looking at blockchain’s potential to improve humanitarian aid. By providing refugees with a virtual identity, and assuring the public that their money is being properly spent, aid groups are hopeful that they can attract more donors. UNICEF is one of the largest charitable […]
Multilateralism in Action is Something We Need to See More Of
By Miroslav Lajčák Miroslav Lajčák is President of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. Following are extensive excerpts from his Statement at 74th session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) with focus on Inequality in the Era of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on 14 […]
Kazakhstan Promotes Sustainable Development Goals in Global Diplomacy and International Activities
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – When Kazakhstan took over the presidency of the UN Security Council in January 2018, it set out with a seven-point agenda: a world free of nuclear weapons; preventing and ending military confrontations at regional and global levels; making Central Asia a model for a regional zone of peace, […]
Morocco Protects Traditional Crops and Wild Medicinal Plants
By Abderrahim Ouarghidi* MARRAKECH (IDN) – The Moroccan proverb ‘New things have a charm and old ones should be preserved’ has wide applicability in current Moroccan agricultural practices and attitudes toward conventional and local crop varieties. The revealing adage is part of the Moroccan identity and way of life. Moroccan people are committed to establishing […]
Dutch White Paper on Development Cooperation Beacons a New Discourse of Hope
Viewpoint by Mirjam van Reisen Prof. Mirjam van Reisen, Ph.D. is member of the Dutch Council on International Affairs and author of Human Trafficking and Trauma in the Digital Era: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Trade in Refugees from Eritrea. She is Professor International Relations, Innovation and Care at Tilburg University and Professor Computing for […]
Families in Asia-Pacific Could Benefit Much More from Growing Remittances
By Krishan Dutta KUALA LUMPUR (IDN) – Around US$6 trillion in remittances are expected to be sent to developing countries by 2030: over half of these flows will arrive in the Asia Pacific regions, very often in small towns and villages, says a new report. Remittances to the Asia-Pacific region amounted to US$ 256 billion […]
Conference Calls for Action on Access to Justice for Children in Africa
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | ADDIS ABABA (IDN) – The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child obliges all members of the world body to respect and ensure the rights of each child “within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind”. While some progress has been made to fulfil the objectives set out […]
IAEA Upgrades Tools to Prevent the Spread of Nuclear Weapons
By Reinhardt Jacobsen VIENNA (IDN) – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has revamped its tools to cope with the growing volume and variety of formats in information technologies, growing demand to harness nuclear science and technology, face the challenges of cyber security, and help prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. The UN nuclear watchdog […]
Call for Equal Citizenship Rights as Gateway to Peace
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – The Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue, Dr. Hanif Hassan Ali Al Qassim, has called upon societies worldwide to embrace models of equal citizenship and to harness the collective energy of religions, creeds and value-systems in the pursuit of equal citizenship rights. The Geneva Centre chairman Dr. […]
Africa Committed To Gender Equality, Women’s Empowerment
By Jeffrey Moyo JOHANNESBURG (IDN) – Twenty-nine year old Ruramai Gwata had no reason to celebrate the International Women’s Day observed on March 8 every year. She lay in hospital nursing her wounds following a severe assault by her husband over a domestic dispute. While licking her wounds two months later, as the world commemorated […]