Development & Aid

Great Recession, greater illusions

By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram
In 2009, the world economy contracted by -2.2%. Growth in all developing countries declined from around 8% in 2007 to 2.6% in 2009 as the developed world contracted by -3.8% in 2009. The collapse of the Lehmann Brothers investment bank in September 2008 symbolized the US financial crisis that triggered the Great Recession of 2008-2009.

International Law Experts Warn Europe’s ‘Pull Back’ of Migrants is Illegal – Part 2

By Maged Srour
“The Italian and other European authorities are engaging – on the migration issue – in a policy which has the foreseeable results of numerous deaths.” It is a grim warning from expert on international law, refugees and migration issues, and member of the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Itamar Mann.

Salmon Farming, Questioned in Chile, Arrives to Argentina

By Daniel Gutman
Questioned for its environmental and health impacts in Chile, where it is one of the country's main economic activities, salmon farming is preparing to expand in Argentina from Norway, the world's largest farmed salmon producer. The news has triggered a strong reaction from civil society organisations.

‘All the Roads Leading to Agadez and Italy are Dangerous’

By Issa Sikiti da Silva
El Adama Diallo left his home in Senegal on Oct. 28, 2016, with dreams of reaching Europe in his heart and a steely determination that made him take an alternative, dangerous route to get there despite the absence of regular migration papers in his pocket.

Four-Year Drought Forces Cuba to Find Ways to Build Resilience

By Ivet González
Eastern Cuba has suffered drought since time immemorial. But the western and central regions of the island used to be almost free of the phenomenon, until the latest drought that plagued this country between 2014 and 2017.

Migrants as Messengers Explain the Dangers of Irregular Migration

By IPS World Desk
Migrants as Messengers is a peer-to-peer messaging campaign by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) where returning migrants share with their communities and families the dangers, trauma and abuse that many experienced while attempting irregular migration.

Climate Change Becomes a Reality Check for the North

By Friday Phiri
“This season, the month of May was particularly hot and dry,” says Leo De Jong, a commercial farmer in Zeewolde, in Flevopolder, the Netherlands. Flevopolder is in the province of Flevoland, the largest site of land reclamation in the world. Here a hectare of land costs up to 100,000 Euros. “At the moment, we are spending between 20,000 and 25,000 Euros per week on irrigation.”

Maya Farmers in South Belize Hold Strong to Their Climate Change Experiment

By Zadie Neufville
In one of Belize’s forest reserves in the Maya Golden Landscape, a group of farmers is working with non-governmental organisations to mitigate and build resilience to climate change with a unique agroforestry project.

Equality and Territory: the Common Struggle of Indigenous Women in the Andes

By Mariela Jara
"At the age of 18 I was the first female leader in my organisation, my grandfather who was a male chauvinist demanded that I be beaten because I was sitting among men," said Teresita Antazú, an indigenous leader of the Yanesha people in Peru's Amazon region.

Revisiting privatization’s claims

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Several arguments have been advanced to justify privatization since the 1980s. Privatization has been advocated as an easy means to: 1. Reduce the government’s financial and administrative burden, particularly by undertaking and maintaining services and infrastructure; 2. Promote competition, improve efficiency and increase productivity in providing public services; 3. Stimulate private entrepreneurship and investment to accelerate economic growth; 4. Help reduce the public sector’s presence and size, with its monopolistic tendencies and bureaucratic support.

New Rules for High Seas Must Include Needs of Poorest Nations

By Essam Yassin Mohammed
Over-fishing, warming oceans and plastic pollution dominate the headlines when it comes to the state of the seas. Most of the efforts to protect the life of the ocean and the livelihoods of those who depend on it are limited to exclusive economic zones – the band of water up to 200 nautical miles from the coast.

“We Should Not Wait” — Action Needed on Myanmar

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
After the release of a scathing report on Myanmar’s human rights violations, next steps to achieve accountability and justice remain elusive and uncertain.  

China-Africa Cooperation a Vibrant Partnership for Sustainable Development

By António Guterres
This Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is an embodiment of two major priorities of the United Nations: to pursue fair globalization and to promote development that leaves no one behind in the context of a rules-based system of international relations supported by strong multilateral institutions.

Addressing Bangladesh’s Age-Old Public Transportation System

By Naimul Haq
After the recent student uprising in Bangladesh, and despite increased policing on the streets and amendments to the traffic laws, there has been criticism that things have not changed significantly enough to make the country’s roads safer.

The Plight of Women & Young People in the Rohingya Refugee Crisis

By Asa Torkelsson
August 25, 2018 marked one year since violence erupted in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, triggering the massive Rohingya exodus to neighbouring Bangladesh. As the crisis continues with no immediate end in sight, it is crucial to expand and sustain health and life skills services for Rohingya women, girls and youth to locate opportunities amid challenges.

Land, Water and Education, Priorities for Chile’s Mapuche People

By Orlando Milesi
The right to land and water, as well as to multicultural education, are the top priority demands of Mapuche leaders working with their communities in the Araucanía region and in Santiago, Chile’s capital.

Amid Chronic Violence, Millions of Afghans Face Risks of Drought Related Displacement

By Enayatullah Azad
Amid a precarious security situation in Afghanistan, the worst drought in recent history, that hit two out of three provinces in Afghanistan in July, has destabilized the lives of tens of thousands of civilians, some of whom have already been displaced.

How Accurate Information About the Weather is Yielding Resilience for Zambia’s Smallholders

By Friday Phiri
Just having better information about when and for how long it will rain is proving the difference between success and failure among smallholder farmers in southern Zambia. Empowered with timely information about the weather ahead of the 2017/18 farming season, 56-year-old Fainess Muzyamba of Pemba district ditched her traditional maize crop for sweet potatoes.

UN Seeks Probe into Saudi Bombing of Civilian Targets

By Thalif Deen
Saudi Arabia, which has been accused of relentlessly bombing civilian targets in strife-torn Yemen and threatening executions of human rights activists, is fast gaining notoriety as a political outcast at the United Nations.

Striking the Right Note: a History of Paper Money

By Tadeusz Galeza and James Chan
From strings of shells in the Solomon Islands to large stone disks on the Micronesian isle of Yap or wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in Italy, money has taken many forms throughout history.

14-Point Recommendation of UN Fact-Finding Mission

By Editor, The Daily Star, Bangladesh
GenocideThere is sufficient information to warrant the investigation and prosecution of senior officials in the armed forces' chain of command, so that a competent court can determine their liability for genocide in relation to the situation in Rakhine State.
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