IDN-InDepthNews

Africa2016-05-312023-07-10

Anti-Mugabe Movement Takes on New Life Not Seen in Decades

HARARE (IDN | GIN) – A “Million Men” march in support of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe that drew thousands in support of the aging leader failed to diminish the impact of an opposition rally last month that brought out thousands of citizens concerned with the country’s troubled economy.

Despite his advanced age, Mugabe has vowed to run for another term in office at the next election in 2018 when he will be 94.

At the “Million Men” march, Mrs Mugabe declared that her husband would rule Zimbabwe even from the grave.

The opposition, meanwhile, has been energized by a Twitter campaign called #ThisFlag, or what The Guardian newspaper called “an accidental movement for change”.

Africa2016-05-312023-07-10

Ghana Still Target of Lethal e-Waste Dumping

LONDON (IDN | GIN) – Digital dumping ground, world’s largest e-waste dump – whatever you call it, Agbogbloshie, a former wetland and suburb of Ghanaian capital Accra, is one the top ten “worst polluted” places on earth where tonnes of discarded electronics, refrigerators, microwaves and televisions, also known as e-waste, end up decomposing in a massive scrap heap.

“Mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic – these are the four most toxic substances [in the world], and they are found in e-waste residues in very large quantities,” Atiemo Sampson, an environmental researcher at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, who has conducted several studies of the Agbogbloshie site, said in an interview with the BBC.

Exposure to these toxins is known to cause a whole range of illnesses from cancers to heart disease and respiratory illnesses.

Africa2016-05-312023-07-10

Chad’s Former Ruler Given Life Sentence for Brutal Crimes

DAKAR (IDN | GIN) – Former president of Chad, Hissène Habré, was sentenced May 30 to life behind bars, ending a long journey for justice by his victims and victims’ relatives who filled the court.

The specially convened African Union-backed court in Senegal convicted him of rape, sexual slavery and ordering killings during his rule from 1982 to 1990.

Victims and families of those killed cheered and embraced each other in the courtroom after the verdict was read.

ARMAMENTS2016-05-312023-07-10

If Provoked, U.S. Public Likely to Support Nuclear Attack

Analysis by Rodney Reynolds

NEW YORK (IDN) – When President Barack Obama made a historic visit on May 27 to Hiroshima – where a U.S. nuclear attack on Japan in 1945 resulted in over 200,000 casualties – he offered no apologies for the human devastation nor provided any justification for the first and only use of nuclear weapons ever.

But he reiterated his call for a world without nuclear weapons – even as the U.S. continues to modernize its nuclear programme at a cost of over $1 trillion dollars proving there is still a widening gap between pledges and deliveries.

Despite all the good intentions, are we any closer, are we far removed, from a future nuclear war that could annihilate millions?

In a projection into the future, the Wall Street Journal on May 19 posed a more relevant question: “Would we drop the bomb again?”

UN INSIDER2016-05-302023-07-10

NEWSBRIEFS: Ban Praises NGOs, carps Opponents – Mid Term Review in Antalya

GYEONGJU – Addressing the UNDPI/NGO Conference in Gyeongju, South Korea, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on May 30: “This is a powerful gathering of representatives of non-governmental organizations, or NGOs.

“You have such a positive impact – to my mind, NGOs really stands for Networks of Global Opportunities! NGOs are on the vanguard of international action. Throughout history, when governments reach a stalemate, NGOs work to break it.

“Your tireless advocacy helped the world adopt international bans on landmines and cluster munitions. Your relentless drive has promoted gender equality, climate [action] and human rights.

“. . .Without the participation of non-governmental organizations and civil society groups, no initiative, however visionary, is not possible, can be fully achieved. That’s a very valuable lesson I have learned.

UN INSIDER2016-05-302023-07-10

Countdown Begins for Kazakhstan’s Election to Security Council

Analysis by J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – As countdown begins for the election of five non-permanent members to the UN Security Council for 2017-2018, Kazakhstan – an unrelenting campaigner for a nuclear weapons free world and diverting funds to sustainable development – is strengthening its bid for a single seat reserved for the Asia-Pacific Group. The Central Asian country is pitted against Thailand.

Kazakh diplomats argue that as a regional leader and global partner, Kazakhstan supports peace, prosperity, individual opportunity and economic development, and that its government upholds these values and beliefs both in word and deed.

In matters of energy security, and a valuable contributor to international peacekeeping missions, Kazakhstan wishes to bring its “unique experience and expertise” to bear on some of the pressing challenges currently facing the UN Security Council.

UN INSIDER2016-05-302023-07-10

Humanitarian Summit in Perspective: Faith Communities Crucial for Disaster Prevention

Analysis by Jacques N. Couvas

ISTANBUL (IDN) – While most of the world’s political leaders shunned the United Nations’ first World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) on May 23-24, the international religious community was alive and kicking in the congress halls and exhibition grounds of the event in Istanbul.

A series of meetings and activities gathered personalities representing a variety of faith movements from the very first hour of the Summit, with the WHS Side Event on ‘One Humanity, Shared Responsibilities: Evidence for Religious Groups’ Contributions to Humanitarian Response’.

Two panels of experts, coordinated by Jean Duff, president of the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLIF&LC) and Manu Gupta, head of the Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network (ADRRN), examined the evidence for the contributions made by faith-based organizations (FBO) to humanitarian assistance.

UN INSIDER2016-05-292023-07-10

Bonn Session Takes Forward Landmark UN Climate Agreement

By Rita Joshi

BONN (IDN) – The first UN climate change meeting since governments adopted the landmark Paris Agreement in December 2015 concluded on May 26 with “a set of positive outcomes that will support the treaty’s widely anticipated early entry into force and stronger, sustained action world-wide into the future”.

Affirming this optimistic claim by the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), David Waskow, International Climate Director of the World Resources Institute (WRI) said: “This is the only formal round of international negotiations between the Paris climate summit last December and the forthcoming climate summit in Marrakech, Morocco (COP22) in November.”

The nearly two-week long gathering saw countries push ahead with implementing stronger climate action and constructing what the UNFCCC called the global climate regime “rule book” in order to guarantee the treaty’s fairness, transparency and balance between nations.

UN INSIDER2016-05-282023-07-10

World’s Seven Rich Pledge Gender Equality Everywhere

By Jaya Ramachandran

ISE-SHIMA | Japan (IDN) – Stressing that the empowerment of women and girls and gender equality are indispensable for their equal participation as agents of economic, social and political changes in their societies, the Group of 7 industrial nations have pledged to promote Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) of UN Women, the organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women.

A declaration by the leaders of Japan, USA, Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Italy noted that “globally, women and girls still face barriers and discrimination that prevent them from realizing their full potential”.

The Leaders’ Declaration comprises decisions of the two-day G7 summit that concluded on May 27. It focussed to a significant extent on the ways and means of implementing the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aiming at 17 Goals and 169 targets.

EU & Europe2016-05-282023-07-10

Democracy Dream is Fading Away in Former Yugoslavia

Analysis by Vesna Peric Zimonjic

BELGRADE (IDN) – The right to vote for any party they like has existed in former Yugoslavia for more than a quarter of a century, but genuine democracy remains a dream for many as the region remains split along ethnic lines and lags in sustainable economic development. In fact, that dream seems to be vanishing.

Recent studies in Serbia have shown that only one-third of its 7,2 million citizens believe democracy is better than non-democratic rule.

“Unfortunately, introduction of democracy in 1990 is closely related, among ordinary people, to disintegration of former Yugoslavia, international sanctions that crippled Serbia and an unfulfilled promise of better life,” says Djordje Vukovic, head of prominent non-governmental (NGO) organisation CeSID that carried the survey titled “Democracy still does (not) live here”.