Tuesday, October 15, 2019
News and Views from the Global South
IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse
Huge moment for Ethiopia as Abiy Ahmed wins Nobel Peace prize
Ethiopia found itself in the global spotlight for all the right reasons after Abiy Ahmed, its young, dynamic prime minister was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Wanted: Bold Leadership by António Guterres: On Sustainable Funding of United Nations
The United Nations is faced with a financial crisis once again. Leaders of as many as 64 countries who paraded and pontificated at the UN General Assembly and its multiple Summit meetings in September 2019 were deadbeats, who had not paid their dues in full to the UN for this year.
Aid Groups Warn of Humanitarian Crisis from Turkey’s Assault on Syria
Aid groups operating in northeastern Syria have been raising the alarm about civilian casualties and an impending humanitarian crisis this week, as Turkey began a military assault on the turbulent region’s Kurdish militants.
UN’s Cash Crisis Can Have Serious Consequences, Staff Unions Warn
The UN’s smoldering cash crisis, which has threatened staff salaries and payments to vendors, has triggered strong reactions and rattled the over 6,400 staffers who work in the 39-storeyed Secretariat building in New York.
“Window of Opportunity to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change is Fast Shrinking”
“The window of opportunity to avoid catastrophic climate change is fast shrinking,” executive director of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Yannick Glemarec, tells IPS. 
UN Faces its Worst Cash Crisis in Nearly a Decade
The Secretary-General wrote to Member States about the worst cash crisis facing the United Nations in nearly a decade. The Organization runs the risk of depleting its liquidity reserves by the end of the month and defaulting on payments to staff and vendors.
UN Women Ambassadors Rise to New Heights But Fall Short of Gender Parity
New York’s diplomatic community has continued to be enriched by a record number of women Permanent Representatives (PRUNs)—50 in all, as of October 2 – compared with about 15 to 20 back in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Global Climate Change Investment Heavily Tilted Towards Mitigation and Low on Adaptation
Good news: the graph depicting climate investments has been steadily increasing. Climbing from the 2012 figure of $360 billion in climate investments across the world to close to $600 billion currently.
Hollywood and Business Luminaries Spotlight World’s ‘Stateless’ Woes
Movie star Cate Blanchett and businessman Richard Branson spoke up this week for the millions of people around the world who cannot get passports and other papers because they lack an official nationality.
Reforms Will Grant Nationality to Children of Iranian Women
After more than a decade of women’s rights activism, Iran’s Guardian Council has finally approved an amendment that would grant Iranian citizenship to the children of Iranian women married to foreign men.
Afghan War Deadly for Children Despite Peace Process: UN
The United Nations has warned that the past four years were among the deadliest for children in Afghanistan since the United States-led invasion of 2001, with nearly 13,000 youngsters killed and injured in that period.
Modern Conflicts Against the Backdrop of Climate Change, Inequalities, Injustice & Human Rights Violations
We will look at how modern conflicts will be affected by the recent unprecedented technological and societal developments. The nature of conflict is also changing. It is becoming more protracted, complex and unpredictable.
Salvaging the SDGs: New Thinking to Spur Action Takes Shape
For the first time since a new development agenda was adopted in 2015 to make the world a better place for everyone, government leaders assembled at the United Nations in late September to take stock of progress. The verdict of this summit was not good.
Wall Street can Free the World’s 40 Million Modern-Day Slaves
Financiers in Wall Street, the City of London and other banking centres should play a bigger role in freeing the millions of people who endure slave-like working conditions globally, according to a new study.
Watchdog Pushes U.S. to Publish ‘Duty to Warn’ Khashoggi Files
A media watchdog has asked United States intelligence agencies to reveal whether they knew about an assassination plot against Jamal Khashoggi and failed to warn the Saudi journalist he was in mortal danger.
The Risk of Nuclear War is Increasing
Over the long course of the nuclear age, millions of people around the world, often led by a young generation of clear-eyed activists, have stood up to demand meaningful, immediate international action to halt, reduce, and end the threat posed by nuclear weapons to humankind and the planet.
Right-Wing Politicians Fear “Invasion” of Europe & US by Migrants and Refugees
The United Nations commemorated its annual World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) on September 29 ---- this time amidst rising anti-immigrant rhetoric and widespread xenophobia.
A Rising Youth Movement Picks Up Where Governments Have Failed
When the Youth Climate Summit concluded last week, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres predicted that if governments still lack the political will to make peace with nature, “there is huge hope in what the youth is doing all over the world".
Oceans in Crisis as they Absorb the Brunt of Climate Change
Warnings of strong winds, high waves and reduced visibility along the East African coastline are increasingly common. But local fisher folk like Ali Sombo from Kwale County, situated along Kenya's Indian Ocean Coastline, don't always heed the warnings by the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) to stay clear of the open sea during rough waters.
We Have Swung into the Dark Ages, Says Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams
On Monday, United States President Donald Trump continued to float the idea that he should be awarded a Nobel Prize, but that it would never happen because the system was rigged.
At the U.N., it Was the Day of Populist Strongmen
The United Nations is an institution which promotes multilateralism and preaches some of the basic tenets of multiparty democracy and liberalism, including the rule of law, universal human rights, free speech, civil liberties, the rights of refugees and freedom of the press.Next Page »
It was dubbed "The Glass House" by U.S. ambassador James Wadsworth in 1966. Half a century later, the United Nations has gradually expanded its role as agent of peace and protector of the world's vulnerable populations, while simultaneously facing internal pressures to become more inclusive, increase transparency and maintain legitimacy in the post-Cold War political and economic order. Highlighting the local impacts of global policies on economic development, environment, health and human rights, IPS's coverage goes beyond the edicts of the Security Council to illuminate the power struggles, successes and shortcomings of the 193-member institution as it grapples with crises like climate change, armed conflict, poverty and HIV/AIDS.
The Week with IPS
