Monday, August 21, 2017
News and Views from the Global South
Labour
Union Conflict Rages on in South Africa
It was two thirty at night. Inside his home, the telephone rang. Sibongile Nota’s brother’s life drew nearer its end. A few minutes passed, the telephone rang again. His brother was now dead.
Women Slowly Break Barriers in Bangladesh
When one thinks of Bangladesh, its political leadership naturally comes to mind as the leaders of the country’s major parties are women, including the Prime Minister, the Opposition Leader and the Speaker of the National Parliament.
Women Build Rural Infrastructure in Bangladesh
Breaking all the social barriers and taboos, poor women in Bangladesh are now engaged in rural development works across the country as labourers.
Promise or Peril? Africa’s 830 Million Young People by 2050
Last month, Spanish charity workers rescued 167 migrants arriving from Africa aboard a small boat.
Leadership Failure Perpetuates Stagnation
What kind of leadership does the world need now? US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s leadership was undoubtedly extraordinary. His New Deal flew in the face of the contemporary economic orthodoxy, begun even before Keynes’ General Theory was published in 1936.
World Still Lagging on Indigenous Rights 10 Years After Historic Declaration, UN Experts Warn
The world’s indigenous peoples still face huge challenges a decade after the adoption of an historic declaration on their rights, a group of United Nations experts and specialist bodies has warned. Speaking ahead of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9 August, the group says States must put words into action to end discrimination, exclusion and lack of protection illustrated by the worsening murder rate of human rights defenders.
Zaatari Camp Marks Fifth Year With 80,000 Refugees
Jordan’s Zaatari camp, which opened in 2012 as a makeshift camp to house Syrian refugees fleeing the war, marked its fifth year on June 28.
Has Disability Risen among the Elderly?
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 (or RPD Act) is laudable in its intent and procedural detail, but mostly silent on disabilities among the elderly. Indeed, for this reason alone, it is arguable that its overarching goal—“The appropriate Government shall ensure that the persons with disabilities enjoy the right to equality, life with dignity and respect for his or her integrity equally with others” —is mere rhetoric, if not a pipe dream.
“The Time is Now” to Invest in Youth, Girls
The demographic dividend: though not a new concept, it is one of the major buzzwords at the UN this year. But what does it really mean?There are 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 around the world, the most in the history of humankind.
Migrant Contributions to Development: Creating a “New Positive Narrative”
Despite the “undeniable” benefits of migration, barriers including public misconceptions continue to hinder positive development outcomes, participants said during a series of thematic consultations here on safe, orderly, and regular migration.
The Unnoticed Demise of Democracy
Politicians are so busy fighting for their jobs, they hardly seem to notice that they risk going out of business. Democracy is on the wane, yet the problem is nowhere in Parliaments. Common to all is a progressive loss of vision, of long term planning and solutions, with politics used just for power.
Parliamentarians Study Nexus of Youth, Refugees and Development
Held for the first time in the Arab world, an annual meeting of Asian and Arab Parliamentarians examined how regional conflicts hinder the development of effective policies to achieve sustainable development, particularly as they generate large numbers of refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants.
Brazil’s Shipyards – Victims of a Failed Reindustrialisation Process
“I have lived through three good periods and two bad ones,” prior to the present crisis in the Brazilian shipping industry, said Edson Rocha, a direct witness since the 1970s of the ups and downs of a sector where nationalist feelings run high.
Don’t Move Resources from Development to Security, Warns UN Chief
Twenty years ago, when I was starting my functions as Prime Minister of Portugal, the world was surfing a wave of optimism. The Cold War had ended, technological prosperity was in full swing, the internet was spreading and there was the idea that globalisation would not only increase global wealth, but that it would trickle down and would benefit everybody in our planet.
How to Achieve Universal Goals, Strategically
Discussion around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a list of 17 goals listed by the UN, was all the buzz in the conference rooms of UN headquarters this week.
Civil Society on SDG Engagement: “We Are Not Guests”
Showing up in record numbers, civil society groups are urging greater inclusion and accountability in sustainable development processes at a UN high level meeting.
The Arab Youth Bulge and the Parliamentarians
More than ever before, the Arab region now registers an unprecedented youth population growth while facing huge challenges such as extremely high unemployment rates --more than half of all regional jobless population--, and inadequate education and health provision, in particular among young women.
Climate Change-Poverty-Migration: The New, Inhuman ‘Bermuda Triangle’
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.
An African Atlas for Youth and Sustainable Development
As its population changes, Africa has the potential to transform its society into one that is productive and prosperous, according to a new report.
‘Address African Rural Youth Unemployment Now or They Will Migrate’
In 2014 alone, about 11 million young Africans entered the labour market. But many see few opportunities in the agriculture sector and are constrained by a lack of skills, low wages, and limited access to land and financial services. Combined, this makes them more prone to migrate from rural areas.
Top 300 Cooperatives Generate 2.5 Trillion Dollars in Annual Turnover
The top 300 cooperatives alone generate 2.5 trillion dollars in annual turnover, more than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of France, according to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).Next Page »
A global common denominator is the need for a decent job. The economic realities of each country determine just how difficult it is to find one. Despite the labour movement's achievements, serious challenges persist: gender discrimination, child labour, worker migration, the digital divide, evaporating pensions, unsafe workplaces, corporate pressure against union organising, negative impacts of trade agreements, and the precariousness of informal employment, among many others. IPS follows the world's workers as they confront these challenges - their setbacks and their successes.
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Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
