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Thursday, April 17, 2014
Journalism and Communication for Global Change
United Nations
Afghanistan Turns a Political Corner
The Afghanistan presidential election is turning out to be a tale of two narratives. The more positive and democratic one could be winning the day.
OP-ED: Beyond the Street Protests: Youth, Women and Democracy in Latin America
Women’s empowerment and political participation are not only crucial for women: they are essential for effective democratic governance, one which promotes human rights and equity. The same can be said about the importance of boosting youth political participation.
U.N. Visa Denials Appendage of U.S. Foreign Policy
The United States has rarely, if ever, denied a visa to a head of state seeking to visit the United Nations to address the 193-member General Assembly, the highest policy making body in the organisation.
IPCC Climate Report Calls for “Major Institutional Change”
Greenhouse gas emissions rose more quickly between 2000 and 2010 than anytime during the previous three decades, the world’s top climate scientists say, despite a simultaneous strengthening of national legislation around the world aimed at reducing these emissions.
Emerging Nations Opt for Arms Spending Over Development
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has relentlessly advocated drastic cuts in global military spending in favour of sustainable development, will be sorely disappointed by the latest findings in a report released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
“Sanitation for All” a Rapidly Receding Goal
World leaders on Friday discussed plans to expand sustainable access for water, sanitation and hygiene, focusing in particular on how to reach those in remote rural areas and slums where development projects have been slow to penetrate.
Peacekeepers Greenlighted for CAR, but Mission Will Take Months
Amid alarming reports of ethnic cleansing in the Central African Republic, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to send an official peacekeeping mission to the conflict-torn country where the minority Muslim population has all but disappeared in much its Western half.
Developing Nations Seek U.N. Retaliation on Bank Cancellations
The 132-member Group of 77, the largest single coalition of developing nations, has urged Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to provide, "as soon as possible...alternative options for banking services" in New York City following the mass cancellation of bank accounts of U.N. missions and foreign diplomats.
OP-ED: The World Bank’s Waste of Energy
The World Bank’s job is to fight poverty. Key to lifting people out of poverty is access to reliable modern energy. It makes sense.
When Medicines Don’t Work Anymore
The growing crisis of antibiotic resistance is catching the attention of policy-makers, but not at a fast enough rate to tackle it. More diseases are affected by resistance, meaning the bacteria cannot be killed even if different drugs are used on some patients, who then succumb.
Indigenous Leaders Targeted in Battle to Protect Forests
Indigenous leaders are warning of increased violence in the fight to save their dwindling forests and ecosystems from extractive companies.
U.N. Non-Committal over U.S. Visa Refusal to Iranian Envoy
When New York City was picked as the location for the United Nations many moons ago, the politically-important decision was followed by the 1947 U.S.-U.N. Headquarters Agreement which obligated Washington to facilitate - not hinder - the smooth functioning of the world body.
Criminal Court a U.S.-Israeli “Red Line” for Palestinians
When Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas decided to defy the United States and Israel over stalled peace negotiations, he formally indicated to the United Nations last week that Palestine will join 15 international conventions relating mostly to the protection of human rights and treaties governing conflicts and prisoners of war.
Mercury Still Poisoning Latin America
Latin America is not taking the new global agreement to limit mercury emissions seriously: the hazardous metal is still widely used and smuggled in artisanal gold mining and is released by the fossil fuel industry.
Hard-Hit CDM Carbon Market Seeks New Buyers
Since they first emerged as a result of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, carbon offset markets have been a key part of international emissions reductions agreements, allowing rich countries in the North to invest in “emissions-saving projects” in the South while they continue to emit CO2.Next Page »
It was dubbed "The Glass House" by U.S. ambassador James Wadsworth in 1966. But how transparent are the workings of the United Nations today? From offices at Headquarters in New York, and around the globe, IPS's coverage goes beyond the edicts of the Security Council and its influential veto-wielding members to illuminate the power struggles, successes and shortcomings of the 192-member institution as it grapples with crises like climate change, conflict and poverty.
