Articles by Inter Press Service
We found 334 results.
UN Arms Embargo on Israel: Dead on Arrival
Thalif Deen | Inter Press Service – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Nov 2024
8 Nov 2024 – When the United Nations imposes sanctions or penalizes a member state – be it the General Assembly or the Human Rights Council – the resolutions are “non-binding” and often remain unimplemented. But the Security Council resolutions are “binding.”
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79 Years after Hiroshima & Nagasaki: A Grim Reminder of Nuclear Annihilation
Thalif Deen | Inter Press Service – TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Aug 2024
The upcoming 79th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which took place on 6 and 9 Aug 1945, remains a grim reminder of the destructive consequences of nuclear weapons. The US bombings killed an estimated 90,000 to 210,000.
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A Desperate Plea from Palestinians: Drop Your Nuclear Bomb on Gaza–and Exterminate Us
Thalif Deen | Inter Press Service - TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Dec 2023
18 Dec 2023 – The unrestrained destruction of Gaza and the disproportionate killings of over 20,000, mostly civilians, in retaliation for 1,200 killings and 120 hostages by Hamas, have left the Palestinians in a state of deep isolation and a feeling of being deserted by the world at large.
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UN’s Most Powerful Political Body Remains Paralyzed Battling a U.S.-scripted New Cold War
Thalif Deen | Inter Press Service - TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Apr 2021
14 Apr 2021 – A new Cold War – this time, between the US and China —is threatening to paralyze the UN’s most powerful body. The sharp divisions between China and Russia, on one side, and the Western powers on the other, are expected to continue, triggering the question: Has the Security Council outlived its usefulness or has it lost its political credibility?
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Indigenous Peoples Least Responsible for the Climate Crisis
Jamison Ervin – Inter Press Service-IPS,
20 Aug 2018
9 Aug 2018 – Indigenous peoples have the world’s smallest carbon footprint and are the least responsible for our climate crisis. Yet because their livelihoods and wellbeing are intimately bound with intact ecosystems, they disproportionately face the brunt of climate change, which is fast becoming a leading driver of human displacement.
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Human Trafficking for Organs: Ending Abuse of the Poorest
Maged Srour – Inter Press Service-IPS,
7 May 2018
30 Apr 2018 – Organ trafficking, also defined as ‘illegal organ trade’, ‘transplant tourism’ or ‘organ purchase’ describes the phenomenon of trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal, a grim reality in the 21st century. “People who are rich are able to buy organs and it’s the poor who end up being the source of these organs.”
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The Nowhere People: Rohingyas in India
Neeta Lal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
30 Apr 2018
25 Apr 2018 – Persecuted in their country of origin, Rohingyas — the largest stateless population in the world at three million — have found shelter across vast swathes of Asia including in India. “Rather than resent their presence, India should accept the Rohingyas as it has other migrants. As a big regional player, the refugee crisis presents India with a unique opportunity to set an example and work out a long-term resolution to this humanitarian crisis which will usher in peace and stability in the region.”
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Ten Reflections on Today’s Crisis
Roberto Savio – Inter Press Service-IPS,
16 Apr 2018
10 Apr 2018 – It is now clearly evident that we are in a period of transition, even though we remain uncertain as to its outcome. The political, economic and social system that has accompanied us since the end of the Second World War is no longer sustainable. The exponentially growing inequalities have taken us back to levels seen in Victorian times.
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Yemen the World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis, Says UN Chief
António Guterres | The United Nations – Inter Press Service-IPS,
9 Apr 2018
4 Apr 2018 – Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. As the conflict enters its fourth year, more than 22 million people – three-quarters of the population – need humanitarian aid and protection. Some 18 million people are food insecure. And a horrifying 8.4 million of these people do not know how they will obtain their next meal. Millions of Yemenis do not have access to safe drinking water. Last year, 1 million people suffered from watery diarrhea and cholera. Half of all health facilities are shut or not working properly, meaning there is a high risk of another cholera epidemic.
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India: Dowry Death or Murder?
Geetika Dang, Vani S. Kulkarni and Raghav Gaiha – Inter Press Service-IPS,
26 Mar 2018
19 Mar 2018 – Dowry deaths rose from about 19 per day in 2001 to 21 per day in 2016. As dowry deaths are embedded in archaic community and family norms, and in a corrupt and ineffective judicial and police system, curbing of this heinous crime remains a daunting challenge.
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Male Survivors of Sexual Violence Suffer in Silence Due to Stigma
Zack Baddorf – Inter Press Service-IPS,
19 Mar 2018
“I was first abused and beaten and weakened,” recounted Theodore, who fishes and farms for subsistence. “After five days of detention, I no longer had strength to resist so they took advantage of my powerlessness and had sex with me like a woman.”
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Merchants of Death Ultimate Winners in Escalating Military Conflicts
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Servicel-IPS,
19 Mar 2018
13 Mar 2018 -The world’s five major arms suppliers include the four permanent members of the UN Security Council: USA, Russia, France and China–plus Germany. Together, these five biggest exporters have accounted for about 74 per cent of all arms exports during 2013–17.
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Wealth Concentration Continues to Increase
Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram – Inter Press Service-IPS,
29 Jan 2018
23 Jan 2018 – As the ‘masters of the universe’ gather for their annual retreat at Davos, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has just published its Inclusive Development Index (IDI) for the second time.
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US Faces Collective Defiance at UN over Jerusalem
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
25 Dec 2017
22 Dec 2017 – Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, said: “We will remember it (the voting against the US), when we are called upon once again to make the world’s largest contribution to the UN”. The final tally on the vote was 128 in favour to 9 against (Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Togo, United States), with 35 abstentions.
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Trump-Mideast: Much More than a ‘Kiss of Death’ to Palestinians
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
11 Dec 2017
7 Dec 2017 – US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital does not represent only a ‘kiss of death’ to the two-State solution, but also a strong blow in the face of 57 Muslim countries, let alone igniting fire in this easily inflammable region, providing more false arguments to criminal terrorist groups to escalate their brutal attacks, in addition to taking a step further in Washington’s new conflict with Iran and the ‘restructuring’ of the Middle East.
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South-South Cooperation Key to a New Multilateralism
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
11 Dec 2017
4 Dec 2017 – South-South and triangular cooperation can contribute to a new multilateralism and drive the revitalisation of the global partnership for sustainable development… Solutions and strategies created in the South are delivering lasting results around the world.
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Six ‘Signature Solutions’ – New Development Plan for a New Era
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
4 Dec 2017
30 Nov 2017 – ‘The new challenges that have emerged show the need to adapt the actions necessary to face them’–is the key rationale behind the 21 century development plan, which identifies six “signature solutions”: poverty, governance, energy access, gender equality, resilience and environmental sustainability.
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Good to Know (Perhaps) That Food Is Being ‘Nuclearised’
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
20 Nov 2017
16 Nov 2017 – It might sound strange, very strange, but the news is that scientists and experts have been assuring, over and again, that using nuclear applications in agriculture –and thus in food production—are giving a major boost to food security. So how does this work?
→ read full articleFourth Industrial Revolution & Its Dramatic Impact on Society
António Guterres, UN Secretary-General – Inter Press Service-IPS,
13 Nov 2017
Based on an address on Web Summit Day, 6 Nov 2017, Lisbon, Portugal – I am an engineer and, for the time being, I am also Secretary-General of the UN and we are all here because we believe in the force of Science, Innovation and Technology. From my perspective, what is important is to combine innovation and technology, innovation and public policy to make sure that innovation works for the good of humankind.
→ read full articleClimate Change Summit a Step Further, Yes… But Where To?
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
13 Nov 2017
6 Nov 2017 – The UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn is the next step for governments to implement the Paris Climate Change Agreement. The central aim should definitely be to prevent the growing everyday human dramas such as the loss of food security and means of survival, the forced need to abandon their homes and families to face death and brutality at the hands of smugglers and human traffickers, to be exploited as “modern” slaves, and to prevent the world’s seas and oceans from being home to more plastic than fish.
→ read full articleNations without Nationality – An ‘Unseen’ Stark Reality
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
13 Nov 2017
10 Nov 2017 – Here’s another ‘unseen’ stark reality—that of millions of people around the world who are deprived of their identity, living without nationality. Their total number is by definition unknown and their only ‘sin” is that they belong to an ethnic, religious or linguistic minority in the country where they have often lived for generations.
→ read full articleSlave Labour, another Setback for the Government of Brazil
Mario Osava – Inter Press Service-IPS,
6 Nov 2017
31 Oct 2017 – The wave of conservativism is testing its limits in Brazil, as reflected by a Labour Ministry decree that seeks to block the fight against slavery working conditions. The powerful “ruralist” parliamentary bloc that represents agribusiness has been chalking up victories, such as keeping Michel Temer in the presidency, despite the disapproval of more than three-quarters of the population who see him as corrupt and are calling for his resignation.
→ read full articleHistoric Resolution on Women & Peacekeeping Remains Mostly Unimplemented
Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury – Inter Press Service-IPS,
6 Nov 2017
30 Oct 2017 – Seventeen years since the passage of resolution 1325, our own implementation remains too often ad hoc. We need to understand that 1325 envisages a broad-based conceptual transformation of the existing international policies that deny women’s equality of participation, basically as a result of the Security Council’s support of the existing militarized inter-state security arrangements.
→ read full articleBangladeshis Open Their Hearts, Homes to Rohingya Refugees
Hala Jaber – Inter Press Service-IPS,
30 Oct 2017
26 Oct 2017 – An estimated 603,000 refugees have arrived in Cox’s Bazar since Aug 25, joining some 200,000 others already sheltering in the settlements. They come with nothing but the clothes on their back, often having walked for days without food or water. Many have experienced devastating physical and emotional trauma.
→ read full articleEnding the Male Monopoly on Peace: Women Still Need More Seats at the Table
Shaheen Chughtai – Inter Press Service-IPS,
30 Oct 2017
26 Oct 2017 – Whether targeted for sexual violence, oppressed by ideological extremists or bombings of hospital maternity units, women often bear the brunt of violent conflicts. In a world frayed by growing divisions with record numbers of people forced from their homes, the continued male monopoly on resolving and preventing conflicts is not just anachronistic – it is a danger to us all.
→ read full articleWhat Do You Really Eat When You Order a Steak, Fish or Chicken Filet?
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
23 Oct 2017
18 Oct 2017 – The world is running out of antibiotics to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, the World Health Organization warned. This was not the first time UN agencies have sounded the alarm about the misuse and abuse of antibiotics both in humans and animals.
→ read full articleHow to Eradicate Rural Poverty, End Urban Malnutrition – A New Approach
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
16 Oct 2017
9 Oct 2017 – Population growth, increasing urbanisation, modern technologies, and climate change are transforming the world at a fast pace. But what direction are these transformations headed in? “Unless economic growth is made more inclusive, the global goals of ending poverty and achieving zero hunger by 2030 will not be reached,” warned FAO head Graziano da Silva.
→ read full articleNuclear Weapons Ban Treaty a Significant Milestone
Jonathan Granoff – Inter Press Service-IPS,
2 Oct 2017
Since 20 Sep 2017, 53 nations have signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, popularly known as the Ban Treaty. It will enter into force after it is ratified by 50 states. UN Secretary General Guterres opened the signing of what he referred to as a “milestone” worthy of celebration.
→ read full articleWhere Do 50 Million Tonnes a Year of Toxic E-Waste Go?
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
2 Oct 2017
27 Sep 2017 – Each year, the electronics industry generates 41 million tonnes of e-waste, but as the lifespan of devices shrinks in response to demand , that figure could reach 50 million tonnes this year. A staggering 60-90 per cent of that –worth nearly 19 billion dollars– is illegally traded or dumped, often with the involvement of transnational criminal gangs.
→ read full articleAlert: Nature, on the Verge of Bankruptcy
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
25 Sep 2017
12 Sep 2017 – Pressures on global land resources are now greater than ever, as a rapidly increasing population coupled with rising levels of consumption is placing ever-larger demands on the world’s land-based natural capital, warns a new United Nations report.
→ read full articleFloods, Hurricanes, Droughts… When Climate Sets the Agenda
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
18 Sep 2017
11 Sep 2017 – When officials and experts from all over the world started the first-ever environmental summit hosted by China, they were already aware that climate and weather-related disasters were already seriously beginning to set the international agenda – unprecedented floods in South Asia, strongest ever hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and catastrophic droughts striking the Horn of Africa, among the most impacting recent events.
→ read full articleDear Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi
Farhana Haque Rahman - Inter Press Service-IPS,
18 Sep 2017
11 Sep 2017 – So far, you have warned against “fake information” and “terrorists”. We have not, however, heard a word of support or even comfort for the people that, as amply documented by international organizations and media, are subject to a campaign leading to death, widespread suffering and desperate escapes over the border. The 1991 Nobel Prize was given to honor your heroic and unflagging efforts for peace and prosperity in your country and, let’s remember, to support efforts to achieve “ethnic conciliation by peaceful means.”
→ read full articleClimate Migrants Might Reach One Billion by 2050
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
28 Aug 2017
21 Aug 2017 – Currently, forecasts vary from 25 million to 1 billion environmental migrants by 2050, moving either within their countries or across borders, on a permanent or temporary basis, with 200 million being the most widely cited estimate, according to a 2015 study carried out by the Institute for Environment and Human Security of the United Nations University.
→ read full articleQuantitative Easing for Wealth Redistribution
Jomo Kwame Sundaram – Inter Press Service-IPS,
28 Aug 2017
22 Aug 2017 – Following the 2007-2008 global financial crisis and the Great Recession in its wake, the ‘new normal’ in monetary policy has been abnormal. At the heart of the unconventional monetary policies adopted have been ‘asset purchase’ or ‘quantitative easing’ (QE) programmes. Ostensibly needed for economic revival, QE has redistributed wealth – regressively, in favour of the rich.
→ read full articleMinamata Convention, Curbing Mercury Use, Is Now Legally Binding
IPS-Inter Press Service – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Aug 2017
16 Aug 2016 – The Minamata Convention — a legally-binding landmark treaty, described as the first new environmental agreement in over a decade – entered into force today. The primary aim of the Convention is “to protect human health and the environment” from mercury releases, which are considered both environmental and health hazards, according to the United Nations.
→ read full articleMillions of Women and Children for Sale for Sex, Slavery, Organs…
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
7 Aug 2017
28 Jul 2017 – It is happening now. Millions of humans are forced to flee armed conflicts, climate change, inequalities, and extreme poverty. They fall easy prey to traffickers lurking anyone who can be subjected to sexual exploitation, forced labour and even sell their skin and organs.
→ read full articleChina Seeks to Export Its Green Finance Model to the World
Daniel Gutman – Inter Press Service-IPS,
31 Jul 2017
26 Jul 2017 – Hand in hand with UN Environment and the Inter-American Development Bank, the People’s Bank of China disembarked in the Argentine capital to prompt this country to adopt and promote the agenda of so-called green finance, which supports clean or sustainable development projects and combats climate change.
→ read full articleYemen Records 400,000 Cholera Cases
Roshni Majumdar – Inter Press Service-IPS,
31 Jul 2017
27 Jul 2017 – The directors of the UN Children’s Fund, World Food Programme and World Health Organization released a joint statement today shedding light on a deadly cholera epidemic engulfing war-torn Yemen. More than 400,000 cases of cholera are suspected, and nearly 1,900 people have died from associated cases in the last three months alone.
→ read full articleLawmakers in Europe Want the UN to Debate a Parliamentary Assembly. When Will Governments Follow?
Andreas Bummel – Inter Press Service-IPS,
31 Jul 2017
20 Jul 2017 – The document pointed out that the EU “should play a proactive part in building a United Nations that can contribute effectively to global solutions, peace and security, human rights, development, democracy and a rule-of-law-based international order.”
→ read full articleNuclear Ban Approved, Now What?
Tharanga Yakupitiyage – Inter Press Service-IPS,
17 Jul 2017
12 Jul 2017 – More than seven decades after the deployment of deadly atomic bombs in Japan, the UN has passed a historic treaty banning nuclear weapons around the world. Though it has sparked hope for a future without nuclear weapons, uncertainty in the success of the treaty still lingers.
→ read full articleClimate Change-Poverty-Migration: The New, Inhuman ‘Bermuda Triangle’
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
10 Jul 2017
7 Jul 2017 – World organisations, experts and scientists have been repeating it to satiety: climate change poses a major risk to the poorest rural populations in developing countries, dangerously threatening their lives and livelihoods and thus forcing them to migrate.
→ read full articleTop 300 Cooperatives Generate 2.5 Trillion Dollars in Annual Turnover
Inter Press Service-IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
3 Jul 2017
3 Jul 2017 – The top 300 cooperatives alone generate 2.5 trillion dollars in annual turnover, more than the GDP of France. Cooperatives help to build inclusive economies and societies, and can help to eliminate poverty and reach the other Sustainable Development Goals, the head of the UN Labour Agency said on 1 July, marking the International Day of Cooperatives.
→ read full articleThe ‘Water-Employment-Migration’ Explosive Nexus
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
5 Jun 2017
30 May 2017 – Water–everybody talks about it, warns against its growing scarcity, excessive waste, the impact of climate change, the frequent severe droughts and so on. Now, a global action network with over 3,000 partner organisations in 183 countries comes to unveil the dangerous nexus between water, employment and migration, in particular in the Mediterranean region.
→ read full articleA Grisly Tale of Children Falling Easy Prey to Ruthless Smugglers
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
29 May 2017
22 May 2017 – Among a raft of alarming statistics, a new UN report has just found that children account for around 28 per cent of trafficking victims globally. And that Sub-Saharan Africa and Central America and the Caribbean have the highest share of children among detected trafficking victims, at the rates of 64 and 62 per cent, respectively.
→ read full articleGenetically Engineered Disappointments
Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Tan Zhai Gen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
22 May 2017
16 May 2017 – Advocates of genetically engineered crops have long claimed that it is necessary to raise crop yields and reduce human exposure to agrochemicals. GE promised two major improvements: improving yields affordably to feed the world, and making crops resistant to pests to reduce the use of commercial chemical herbicides and insecticides. There has been little compelling evidence to this effect after two decades.
→ read full articleAgony of Mother Earth: The Unstoppable Destruction of Forests (I)
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
22 May 2017
The world’s forests are being degraded and lost at a staggering rate of 3.3 million hectares per year. While their steady destruction in many Asian countries continues apace, deforestation of the world’s largest tropical forest – the Amazon – increased 29 per cent from last year’s numbers. And some of the most precious ecosystems in Africa are threatened by oil, gas and mineral exploration and exploitation.
→ read full articleAfrican Migrants Bought and Sold Openly in ‘Slave Markets’ in Libya
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
15 May 2017
9 May 2017 – Hundreds of migrants along North African migration routes are being bought and sold openly in modern day ‘slave markets’ in Libya, survivors have told the United Nations migration agency, which warned that these reports “can be added to a long list of outrages” in the country. The International Criminal Court is now considering investigating.
→ read full articleGrowing Inequality under Global Capitalism
Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram – Inter Press Service-IPS,
8 May 2017
4 May 2017 – Income and wealth inequality has increased in recent decades, but recognition of the role of economic liberalization and globalization in exacerbating inequality has never been so widespread. The guardians of global capitalism are nervous, yet little has been done to check, let alone reverse the underlying forces.
→ read full articleMiddle East, Engulfed by a ‘Perfect Storm’
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
1 May 2017
21 Apr 2017 -Reporting to the UN Security Council on the “dire situation across the Middle East region, marked by the largest refugee crisis since the Second World War, fractured societies, proliferation of non-State actors and unbelievable human suffering,” Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, reiterated the need for a surge in diplomacy for peace to ease the suffering of innocent civilians.
→ read full articleIndigenous Peoples – Best Allies or Worst Enemies?
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
1 May 2017
25 Apr 2017 – It all happened on the very same day—4 April. That day, indigenous peoples were simultaneously characterised as fundamental allies in the world’s war on hunger and poverty, while being declared as collective victims of a “tsunami” of imprisonments in Australia…. The Rome meeting of the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus coincided with the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Right of Indigenous Peoples.
→ read full articleYemen, World’s Largest Humanitarian Crisis
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
24 Apr 2017
19 Apr 2017 – With 18.8 million people –nearly 7 in 10 inhabitants– in need of humanitarian aid, including 10.3 million requiring immediate assistance, Yemen is now the largest single-nation humanitarian crisis in the world, the UN informs. According to OCHA, over 17 million people are currently “food insecure,” of whom 6.8 million are “severely food insecure” and require immediate food assistance, and two million acutely malnourished children. The Yemeni population amounts to 27.4 million inhabitants.
→ read full articleDisease Burden Growing as Vector Insects Adapt to Climate Change
Zadie Neufville – Inter Press Service-IPS,
24 Apr 2017
18 Apr 2017 – There were surprised gasps when Prof. John Agard told journalists at an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that mosquitoes were not only living longer, but were “breeding in septic tanks underground”. For many, it explained why months of fogging at the height of Zika and Chikungunya outbreaks had done little to reduce mosquito populations in their various countries.
→ read full articleAfrican, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States: One Billion People to Speak to Europe with One Voice
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
17 Apr 2017
14 Apr 2017 – Seventy-nine countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, which are home to around one billion people, will speak with one voice as they prepare to negotiate a major partnership agreement with the European Union (500 million inhabitants) in May.
→ read full articleHumanity and Social Justice, a Must for the Future of Work – Ryder
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
17 Apr 2017
10 Apr 2017 – “The future of work must be inspired by considerations of humanity, of social justice and peace. If it is not, we are going to a dark place, we are going to a dangerous place,” said the head of the leading world body specialised on labour issues.
→ read full articleDon’t Understand Clouds? But You Should!
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
27 Mar 2017
Today scientists understand that clouds play a vital role in regulating the Earth’s energy balance, climate and weather, says the UN World Meteorological Organization.
→ read full articleResponding to US Budget Cuts for United Nations
Kul Chandra Gautam – Inter Press Service-IPS,
27 Mar 2017
20 Mar 2017 – Donald Trump’s budget proposing a drastic reduction in US funding for the UN has caused much alarm and anxiety. But instead of lamenting and pleading for restitution of proposed cuts, friends of UN should welcome it as a strong incentive for seriously reducing the UN’s over dependence and vulnerability to blackmail by US and occasionally by some other donors.
→ read full articleNo Water, No Life – Don’t Waste It!
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
27 Mar 2017
This story is part of IPS coverage of World Water Day, observed on March 22. “Water is finite. It has to serve the need of more and more people and we only have one ecosystem from which to draw our water,” says the UN-Water’s Chair Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization.
→ read full articleUN Farms to Create One Million Days of Work for Mideast Migrants
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
20 Mar 2017
15 Mar 2017 – The problem is rather complex and often not recognised: in one of the major regions of both origin and destination for migrants and refugees — the Near East and North of Africa, 10 per cent of rural communities is made up of forcibly displaced persons, while more than 25 per cent of the young rural people plan to emigrate.
→ read full article“Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50:50 by 2030”
Lakshmi Puri – Inter Press Service-IPS,
6 Mar 2017
With the United Nations Observance of International Women’s Day, we celebrate the tectonic shift in the way that gender equality and women’s economic empowerment has been prioritized and valued in the international development agenda and express the resolve that we will all do everything it takes including transformative financing to achieve the ambitious goal of Planet 50/50 in the world of work by 2030.
→ read full articleAvoid Patent Clauses in Trade Treaties That Can Kill Millions
Martin Khor – Inter Press Service-IPS,
6 Mar 2017
27 Feb 2017 – Recently a very interesting article on why there are inequalities in access to health care and how medicine prices are beyond the reach of many people was published in The Lancet, one of the most prestigious medical journals in the world. The authors, who are eminent experts in development and public health, pinpointed trade and investment agreements for being one of the greatest health threats.
→ read full articleSouth Sudan Declares Famine, Other Countries May Follow Warns UNICEF
Lyndal Rowlands – Inter Press Service-IPS,
27 Feb 2017
South Sudan Monday [20 Feb] became the first country to declare famine since 2012, as UNICEF warned that 1.4 million children are at risk of dying from starvation with famine also imminent in Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen. Protracted conflict is the root cause of the food crises in all four countries, reflecting the reality that famine is more often than not man-made.
→ read full articleUN Declares War on Ocean Plastic
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
27 Feb 2017
According to estimates, at the rate we are dumping items such as plastic bottles, bags and cups after a single use, by 2050 oceans will carry more plastic than fish and an estimated 99 per cent of seabirds will have ingested plastic. Microplastics in oceans outnumber stars in our galaxy by 500 times.
→ read full articleThe Rise of One-Person Households
Joseph Chamie – Inter Press Service-IPS,
27 Feb 2017
The proportion of people who live alone has grown steadily over the recent past. Since the 1960s one-person households in many countries have increased substantially. In many European countries as well as in Australia, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States, the proportion of one-person households has more than doubled.
→ read full articleIndigenous Peoples Lands Guard 80 Per Cent of World’s Biodiversity
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
20 Feb 2017
9 Feb 2017 – They are more than 370 million self-identified peoples in some 70 countries around the world. In Latin America alone there are over 400 groups, each with a distinct language and culture, though the biggest concentration is in Asia and the Pacific– with an estimated 70 per cent. And their traditional lands guard over 80 per cent of the planet’s biodiversity.
→ read full articleWashington Rules Change, Again
Jomo Kwame Sundaram – Inter Press Service-IPS,
20 Feb 2017
16 Feb 2017 – Over the last four decades, the Washington Consensus, promoting economic liberalization, globalization and privatization, reversed four decades of active state intervention… More than ever, it will be crucial for developing countries to work together, not only to ensure that South-South and ‘triangular’ (with the North) cooperation represents a progressive alternative to the Washington Consensus and its national chauvinist successors. Such solidarity will determine how well the South — and the world as a whole — will fare during the coming eclipse.
→ read full articleA Dire Vacuum in a World in Crisis
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
13 Feb 2017
The Geneva Centre for the Advancement of Human Rights and Global Dialogue will launch a new initiative during the current session of the UN Human Rights Council: a panel discussion around the theme “Islam and Christianity, The Great Convergence: Working jointly towards equal citizenship.”
→ read full articleKenyans Turn to Wild Fruits and Insects as Drought Looms
Miriam Gathigah – Inter Press Service-IPS,
6 Feb 2017
Too hungry to play, hundreds of starving children sit by the fire, watching the pot boil, in the hope that it is only a matter of minutes before their next meal. Unbeknownst to them, the food cooking inside the pot is actually a toxic combination of wild fruits and tubers mixed with dirty water, as surrounding rivers have all run dry.
→ read full articleInsecurity Fuelling Food Shortages in Lake Chad Basin: UN Coordinator
Lyndal Rowlands – Inter Press Service-IPS,
6 Feb 2017
“I saw adults sapped of energy who couldn’t stand up, I saw an entire town devoid of two-year olds, three-year olds, four-year olds, and when we asked where the children are – and I get upset when I say this – we were told that they had died, they had starved.”
→ read full articleWant to Prevent Stroke, Diabetes, Cancer? Get Moving… Now!
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
6 Feb 2017
2 Feb 2017 – Tired, lazy, bored, laying down long hours watching TV or seated checking your email? Wrong. And dangerous: not enough exercise contributes to cancer, diabetes, depression and other non-communicable diseases.
→ read full articlePlease, Do Not Get Offended, But:
Roberto Savio – Inter Press Service-IPS,
23 Jan 2017
With the inauguration of Donald Trump on Jan. 20, the new leadership of the most powerful nation has signaled it is breaking away from the rest of the world. Here, a few thoughts…
→ read full articleInequality (I): Half of World’s Wealth in the Pockets of These Eight Men
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
23 Jan 2017
Article I of a three-part series focuses on the alarmingly deepening inequality. Part II deals with the staggering impact of inequality on women, and Part III with the future and quality of jobs.
→ read full articleInequality (II): “It Will Take 170 Years for Women to Be Paid as Men Are”
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
23 Jan 2017
Article II of this three-part series on inequality, focuses on the impact of discrimination on women. Part III will tackle the issue of the future and quality of jobs. Part I has dealt with the alarming deepening inequality worldwide.
→ read full articleInequality (III): Less Employment… And More ‘Junk’ Jobs
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
23 Jan 2017
Article III of of this three-part series on inequality tackles the issue of the future and quality of jobs. Part II focused on the impact of inequality on women. Part I dealt with the alarming deepening inequality worldwide.
→ read full articleTrump, the Banks and the Bomb
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
9 Jan 2017
7 Jan 2017 – When pro-nuclear disarmament organisations last October cheered the UN decision to start in 2017 negotiations on a global treaty banning these weapons, they did not expect that the US would elect Donald Trump. Much less that he would rush to advocate for increasing the US nuclear power.
→ read full articleNew UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Takes Office
Andy Hazel – Inter Press Service-IPS,
9 Jan 2017
Antonio Guterres of Portugal officially took up his position as ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations Tuesday [3 Jan 2017] morning. “We live in a world where problems became global and there is no way they can be solved on a country by country basis” — Antonio Guterres
→ read full articleISDS Corporate Rule of Law
Jomo Kwame Sundaram – Inter Press Service-IPS,
5 Dec 2016
Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions in ostensible free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties have effectively created a powerful, privileged system of protections for foreign investors that undermine national law and institutions.
→ read full articleChildren of the ‘Others’, Sons of Minor Gods
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
5 Dec 2016
In December 1946, “faced with the reality of millions of children suffering daily deprivation after World War II,” the General Assembly created the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Seventy years later, as Europe copes with a refugee crisis not seen since it was founded, the organisation remains an ever-present advocate for children’s rights.
→ read full articleBattle of the Desert: UNCCD ‘s Louise Baker on the Silk Road (III)
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
28 Nov 2016
23 Nov 2016 – Marking this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification last June, the United Nations announced the launch of a China-United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification to curb desertification along the Silk Road.
→ read full articleBattle of the Desert: To Fight or to Flee? (I)
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
21 Nov 2016
“As the effects of climate change undermine livelihoods, inter-ethnic clashes are breaking out within and across states and fragile states are turning to militarisation to control the situation.” UNCCD
→ read full articleBattle of the Desert: A ‘Great Green Wall for Africa’ (II)
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
21 Nov 2016
Desertification, land degradation, drought, climate change, food insecurity, poverty, loss of biodiversity, forced migration and conflicts, are some of the key challenges facing Africa—a giant continent home to 1,2 billion people living in 54 countries.
→ read full articleTrump – The Symptom
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
14 Nov 2016
11 Nov 2016 – The electoral victory of U.S. Republican Donald Trump — many have said — is an alarming signal that heralds new, difficult times. Maybe. Anyway, this victory could –and should-be seen as a symptom not as a disease. Such disease consists of a widespread malaise, the feeling of frustration and even oppression that the majority of citizens shelter in their hearts and minds worldwide.
→ read full articleToxic Air – The ‘Invisible Killer’ That Stifles 300 Million Children
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
14 Nov 2016
Children Breathe Faster, Take in More Air than Adults – UNICEF further stressed that children are more susceptible than adults to both indoor and outdoor air pollution as their lungs, brains and immune systems are still developing and their respiratory tracks are more permeable.
→ read full articleDying to Get to Europe
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
14 Nov 2016
They are not just data or numbers for statistical calculations. They are desperate human beings fleeing wars, violence, abuse, slavery and death. They hear and believe the bombastic speeches about democracy and human rights and watch the many images of welfare and good life in Europe.
→ read full articleWorld to Cut Gas Emissions by 25 Percent More than Paris Agreement
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
7 Nov 2016
4 Nov 2016 – On the eve of the entry into force of the Paris Agreement today, the United Nations sounded new climate alarm, urging the world to ‘dramatically’ step up its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions by some 25 per cent more.
→ read full articlePrivatization Cure Often Worse Than Malady
Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Anis Chowdhury – Inter Press Service-IPS,
7 Nov 2016
Privatization of SOEs has been a cornerstone of the neo-liberal counterrevolution that swept the world from the 1980s following the economic crisis. Developing countries, seeking aid from the IMF and the World Bank, often had to commit to privatization as a condition for credit support.
→ read full articleClimate Doomsday – Another Step Closer
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
31 Oct 2016
Globally averaged concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has surged again to new records in 2016… and will not dip below pre-2015 levels for many generations. The warning comes from the United Nations weather agency–the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and further confirms the alarm of climate experts and world specialised organisations.
→ read full articleIndigenous Land Rights Bring Economic, Not Just Environmental Benefits
Lyndal Rowlands – Inter Press Service-IPS,
24 Oct 2016
The report, Climate Benefits, Tenure Costs: The Economic Case for Securing Indigenous Land Rights, describes how local communities can sustainably manage forests and generate economic growth when given tenure rights to their land. In Guatemala, Indigenous communities have successfully created sustainable income from the forest, while treating it as a renewable resource.
→ read full articleWorld Must Tackle the Biggest Killer of Whales – And It’s Not Whaling
Leigh Henry – Inter Press Service-IPS,
24 Oct 2016
24 Oct 2016 – Every two years, governments from across the globe gather to debate the fate of the world’s whales. And every two years, Japan, Norway and Iceland find themselves in the firing line for their refusal to end commercial whaling. But while the divisive debate on whaling rages, the IWC has the chance to unite behind efforts to tackle the most immediate 21st century threat to whales – bycatch.
→ read full articleFreedom of the Press Faces Judicial Harassment in Brazil
Mario Osava – Inter Press Service-IPS,
24 Oct 2016
The latest high-profile case involves the Gazeta do Povo, the main daily newspaper in Curitiba, the capital of the southern state of Paraná, which is facing 48 lawsuits from judges and public prosecutors who are suing the paper and several of its employees for reporting their incomes in February.
→ read full articleLow Food Prices: Good for Your Pocket, Bad for Small Farmers
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
17 Oct 2016
10 Oct 2016 – What would be your reaction if you were told that food prices are steadily declining worldwide? Good, very good news, you may say. But do the 600 million small, family farmers, those who produce up to 80 per cent of food in some regions, think the same way? Definitely not at all.
→ read full articleTrump, Clinton, Obama and the TPP
Jomo Kwame Sundaram – Inter Press Service-IPS,
17 Oct 2016
Americans and Europeans are increasingly convinced that while elite interests are well served by ‘globalization’, the public interests of consumers and working people are not. The strong American popular opposition to the TPP, the Brexit vote and other recent developments in the West suggest growing rejection of the myth that national public and corporate elite interests are identical.
→ read full articleWhat Happens When a Small Farmer Migrates?
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
17 Oct 2016
With 2 in 3 people estimated to be living in towns and cities by the year 2030, an old “equation” jumps rapidly to mind: each time a small farmer migrates to an urban area, equals to one food producer less, and one food consumer more.
→ read full articleAntonio Guterres: New UN Secretary General
Farhana Haque Rahman – Inter Press Service-IPS,
17 Oct 2016
13 Oct 2016 – The new UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who takes office on January 1, arrives with strong credentials — both as a former Prime Minister of Portugal and an ex-UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
→ read full articleAntonio Guterres Selected as Next UN Secretary-General Faces Tremendous Challenges
Lyndal Rowlands – Inter Press Service-IPS,
10 Oct 2016
The 15 members of the UN Security Council jointly announced Wednesday [5 Oct 2016] their decision to select Antonio Guterres of Portugal as the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 Guterres was later UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015, during a time when the number of displaced people worldwide grew to its highest level since the end of the Second World War.
→ read full articleThe UN’s Blind Spot for Conflict Prevention
Jonathan Rozen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
10 Oct 2016
3 Oct 2016 – As the world struggles to respond to conflicts and the people fleeing them, UN insiders are also struggling to advance a ‘shift in mindset’ to help prevent these crises from happening. “Part of the challenge is the way we have characterised the UN as a first responder, fire-fighter, as an organisation that comes in when things fall apart. So the UN tends to be more reactive than preventive.”
→ read full articleTake a Deep Breath? But 9 in 10 People Worldwide Live with Excessive Air Pollution!
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
10 Oct 2016
29 Sep 2016 – The warning is sharp and the facts, alarming: 92 per cent of the world’s population lives in places where levels exceed recommended limits. And 6.5 million people die annually from air pollution: UN WHO.
→ read full article‘The Earth Is Not Flat; It Is Urban’
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
10 Oct 2016
4 Oct 2016 – When the United Nations elaborated its latest report on the impact of what it calls “the dramatic shift towards urban life,” it tried to draw a balanced portrait of both the opportunities and the challenges of the fact that 1 in 2 world inhabitant already lives in urban areas and what this implies.
→ read full articleEuropean Security with or without Russia?
Roberto Savio – Inter Press Service-IPS,
26 Sep 2016
Consequences of the Chinese-Russian Alliance on the Relationship between USA and EU
→ read full articleConservation Congress Votes to Ban All Trade in Elephant Ivory
Guy Dinmore – Inter Press Service-IPS,
19 Sep 2016
11 Sep 2016 – The international conservation community has taken an important step towards saving African elephants from mass slaughter by voting at a major congress to call on all governments to ban their domestic trade in ivory.
→ read full articleConservation Congress Sets Ambitious Target to Protect Oceans
Guy Dinmore – Inter Press Service-IPS,
19 Sep 2016
Without consensus, and with major nations opposed, delegates said privately the vote could prove to be largely symbolic.
→ read full article