Monday, January 26, 2015
Turning the World Downside Up
After Nine Years of Foot-Dragging, U.N. Ready for Talks on High Seas Treaty
After four days of intense negotiations - preceded by nine years of dilly-dallying - the United Nations has agreed to convene an intergovernmental conference aimed at drafting a legally binding treaty to conserve marine life and govern the mostly lawless high seas beyond national jurisdiction.Think Tanks Discuss Role In Global Issues
A panel discussion last week focused on the connection between inter-governmental organisations and think tanks, especially how think tanks help to shape transnational policy issues at institutions like the United Nations and governments around the world.
OPINION: Greece Gives EU the Chance to Rediscover Its Social Responsibility
The European Union should not be afraid of the leftist opposition party Syriza winning the Greek election, but see it as a chance to rediscover its founding principle - the social dimension that created it and without which it cannot survive.U.N. Emergency Fund Doles Out $100 Million for Aid Operations
The U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has earmarked about $100 million to boost life-saving relief work in Syria and 11 other countries where humanitarian needs are high but financial support is low.2014 Worst on Record for Rhino Poaching in South Africa
Last year was the worst on record for rhino poaching in South Africa, with a total of 1,215 rhinos poached in 2014, an average of more than three animals per day or 100 per month.General Assembly Holds Informal Meeting on Anti-Semitism
Responding to an increase in violence against members of the Jewish faith, the General Assembly Thursday held an informal meeting to discuss concerns about the rise in anti-Semitism worldwide.
Forced Disappearances Are Humanitarian Crisis in Mexico
The Mexican government will face close scrutiny from the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances – a phenomenon that made international headlines after 43 students from a rural teachers college were killed in September in Iguala, in a case that has not yet been fully clarified.
Obama-Congress Iran Sanctions Battle Goes International
While it’s anyone’s guess whether a final deal will be reached over Iran’s nuclear programme this year, a number of key international actors have forcefully weighed in on calls from within the U.S. congress to impose more sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
U.S. May Soon Stand Alone Opposing Children’s Treaty
When the East African nation of Somalia, once described as a "lawless state", ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) early this week, it left two countries in splendid isolation from the rest of the world: South Sudan and the United States.
Three Minutes Away from Doomsday
Unchecked climate change and the nuclear arms race have propelled the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock forward two minutes closer to midnight, from its 2012 placement of five minutes to midnight.
A “Rosetta Stone” for Conducting Biodiversity Assessments
This month saw an important milestone reached by the U.N.’s young Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES): Publication of its first public product.
OPINION: Banks, Inequality and Citizens
Every day we receive striking data on major issues which should create tumult and action, but life goes on as if those data had nothing to do with people’s lives.
Africa Needs to Move Forward on Renewable Energy
Diversification of Africa’s electricity sources by embarking on renewable energy solutions – such as solar, wind, geothermal and hydro power – is being heralded as a solution to the continent’s energy poverty.Global Civil Society Launches Internet Social Forum
A group of civil society organisations from around the world has announced the Internet Social Forum (ISF), to bring together and articulate bottom-up perspectives on the 'Internet we want'. Taking inspiration from the World Social Forum, and its clarion call, 'Another World is possible', the group seeks to draw urgent attention to the increasing centralization of the Internet for extraction of monopoly rents and for socio-political control, asserting that 'Another Internet is possible'!Asylum Seekers at Australian Offshore Detention Facility on Hunger Strike
A candlelight vigil was held Wednesday outside the Australian Mission to the United Nations in support of more than 900 asylum seekers who have been on hunger strike at Australia’s offshore detention centre in Manus Island, Papua New Guinea for at least nine days.Next Page »
The UN Terraviva Newsletter is designed to keep you up to date on the latest developments from within the United Nations and the work of its myriad agencies in the field. UN Terraviva goes beyond the resolutions and press conferences to bring you stories on how UN development initiatives and policies affect communities around the world and how local actors, in turn, influence decision-making at the global level. It is sent to more than 3,000 subscribers, with an estimated readership of over 5,000, many of whom located in New York and other cities hosting U.N. organisations.
