Latin America Faces Uphill Energy Transition

Latin America is facing challenges in energy efficiency, transportation and power generation to move towards a low carbon economy and thus accelerate that transition, which is essential to cut emissions in order to reduce global warming before it reaches a critical level.

New Platform Will Support Youth Projects on Water and Climate

Young people around the globe with good ideas on how to deal with water and climate challenges now have a platform to show their projects to the world and attract funding and other contributions to realise their dreams.

Working Together Is Key to Meeting Water Targets by 2030

Mutual collaboration and coordination among the various stakeholders are tools to accelerate the actions necessary to meet the 6th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) in the 2030 Agenda, which states the need to ensure access to clean water and sanitation for all.

Crowd-Sourced Data and a Mobile Phone Application Are Making Cities Safer for Women

When Shiba Kurian alighted from Chennai’s city train, the evening office-returning crowd was thick and jostling. Having booked a ride-hail cab she walked out to the entrance. Instead of the cab for which she had to wait an hour, ribald comments and derisive laughter came her way from a group of roadside Romeos.

Geneva Centre ED Jazairy meets Grand Imam of Al-Azhar

In the wake of the Al-Azhar sponsored international conference on the situation in Jerusalem held from 17 to 18 January 2018 in Cairo, the Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue (“the Geneva Centre”) Ambassador Idriss Jazairy was received in a private audience by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar His Eminence Dr. Ahmed al-Tayeb.

Equal citizenship rights is another name for peace: Idriss Jazairy, Geneva Human Rights Centre

During a panel intervention at the 3rdannual dialogue in commemoration of the 2018 World Interfaith Harmony Week held on 9 February at the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG)- organized by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Permanent Mission of Jordan to UN Geneva on 9 February at the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), Idriss Jazairy, Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue appealed to decision-makers and religious leaders to “find appropriate ways to denounce and bring an end to practices that hinder equal citizenship rights in their societies.”

Strengthening the Integrity and Transparency of Elections in the Age of Social Media

UNESCO and the Global Network Initiative (GNI)* are co-hosting a symposium that will examine ways to maximize the benefits of digital technology in enhancing the transparency and integrity of elections, on 8 February at UNESCO’s Headquarters (10 am to 1 pm, Room XI).

Tackling Inequality – The Myth that Davos Can Change the World

When the World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded in Davos, Switzerland last week, the outcome of the annual talk-fest was seemingly predictable—plenty of unrestrained platitudes but, surprisingly, less of the American populist, protectionist rhetoric.

Biodiversity and Food Security: the Dual Focus of the World Potato Congress

Potatoes were first taken out of Peru, where they originated, 458 years ago to feed the world. Half a millennium later, potatoes have spread throughout the planet but there are challenges to preserve the crop’s biodiversity as a source of food security, as well as the rights of the peasants who sustain this legacy for humanity.

“The Situation in Jerusalem Is a Textbook Case of Multi-Faceted and Cross-Cutting Violations of Human Rights” Idriss Jazairy

During a speech at the Al-Azhar conference in Cairo on the situation in Jerusalem, the Executive Director of the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue Ambassador Idriss Jazairy appealed to the international community, and in particular the Arabic and Muslim community, “to join forces and act in concert in order to halt the violations of Palestinians’ human rights.

Using Data to Combat Prejudice Against Immigrants

What are the contributions of migrants to trade, to the economy of their countries of destination and origin? This is an angle that is generally ignored in the international debate on the subject, which usually focuses more on issues such as the incidence of foreigners in crime or unemployment.

Civil Society Meeting Calls for Solidarity, Radical Change to Deal with Global Crises

Our strategies have failed us. We can no longer respond to the crises facing us in the same way. We have to be more radical, more creative — together — to build the future we want.This was one of the resounding messages to emerge from a key global gathering of more than 700 leading thinkers, influencers and doers from more than 100 countries in Suva, Fiji in early December.

A Voice of Inspiration

More than 700 activists gathered in Suva, Fiji's capital, to explore the latest trends – from climate change to human rights, from innovation to social justice. Anything that can help empower and mobilise citizens. The lively debates in panel discussions, workshops and lectures made the event look like a carnival of creative new ideas and tested knowledge.

The Journey to Oslo

On December 10 in Oslo, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. ICAN started as a grassroots campaign in 2007. Its aim was to shift the paradigm of discussion about nuclear weapons from security and deterrence to the environmental and humanitarian effects of nuclear explosions. As the prize demonstrates, ICAN has succeeded brilliantly. But, as ICAN acknowledges, this is still only the beginning of the end of nuclear weapons.

Global Initiative to Relieve Pressure on Mountains

International Mountain Day and the Mountain Partnership’s 15th anniversary coincided on December 11, kicking off a three-day Mountain Partnership Global Meeting at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome.

Women Activists are Targets of Gender-Biased Violence

Veiled and direct threats, defamation, criminalisation of activism, attacks on their private lives, destruction of property and assets needed to support their families, and even murder are some forms of gender violence that extend throughout Latin America against women defenders of rights.

New Study Concludes Europe’s Mediterranean Border Remains ‘World’s Deadliest’

IOM, the UN Migration Agency’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC), today (24/11) released a new report reviewing the evidence of Four Decades of Cross-Mediterranean Undocumented Migration to Europe and concludes that Europe’s Mediterranean border is “by far the world’s deadliest.”

The World is Losing the Battle Against Child Labour

The IV Global Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labour,  which drew nearly 2000 delegates from 190 countries to the Argentine capital, left many declarations of good intentions but nothing to celebrate.

A Trump Doctrine of Hypocrisy

In his first address on the global stage of the General Assembly, United States’ President Donald Trump touted an “America First” approach at the very institution that is meant to inspire collaboration between nations.

Secretary-General Talks Myanmar, Trump Ahead of General Assembly

In an environment full of major threats, countries must work together towards peace and stability, the Secretary-General said ahead of the General Assembly.