The same justice that exists to ensure rights can become a tool to violate them and restrict freedom of the press, as seen with the recent wave of lawsuits against journalists and the media in Brazil. The latest high-profile case involves the Gazeta do Povo, the main daily newspaper in Curitiba, ... MORE > >

Farmers are already experiencing the effects of climate change but can also help to fight it, according to a new report released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). “All farmers have to both adapt to climate change and will have to make a contributions to mitigate the ... MORE > >

“The rain was our nemesis as well as our saviour,” says Kanniappan, recalling the first week of December 2015 when Chennai was flooded. “Kind neighbours let us stay in the upper floors of their houses as the water levels rose. The rainwater was also our only source of drinking water,” he ... MORE > >

Experts and activists greeted with a mixture of hope and skepticism the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), which opened Monday Oct. 17 in the capital of Ecuador, and which seeks to produce a new urban agenda for cities and their ... MORE > >

When Antonio Guterres, the former Prime Minister of Portugal, takes office as the new UN Secretary General on January 1, his top management team is likely to be dominated by nominees from the five big powers, namely the US, Britain, France, China and Russia (P5). As befits tradition, the ... MORE > >

One of the critical challenges facing the world today is that emerging migration patterns are increasingly rooted in the depletion of natural resources. Entire populations are being disempowered and uprooted as the land that they rely on for their survival and for their future no longer provides ... MORE > >

Urban development ministers, mayors from all over the world, city planners, architects and municipal authorities, civil society and private sector will meet in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, for Habitat III, the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development ... MORE > >

Why do people go hungry? Mainly because they do not have the means to get enough food, whether by producing it themselves or by purchasing it. There is more than enough food to feed the world. All those who currently go hungry can be adequately fed with about two percent of current food production, ... MORE > >

The Pan African Parliament (PAP) concluded its session in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh Monday with initiatives on PAP’s identity, counter-terrorism challenges in the continent and joint development plans, particularly the question of food security. The session, themed "Taking the PAP to the People of ... MORE > >

Secure indigenous land rights not only bring environmental benefits, they can also foster economic development, according to a new report released by the World Resources Institute. The report, Climate Benefits, Tenure Costs: The Economic Case for Securing Indigenous Land Rights, describes ... MORE > >

The first Sustainable Development Goal calls for us to end poverty in all its forms everywhere by 2030. The goal and the deadline are ambitious - and they need to be. We do not have the luxury of time. Poverty is so intertwined with hunger, migration, forced displacement, conflict and ... MORE > >

When the water in Flint, Michigan was found to be corroding cars at a General Motors’ (GM) factory, government officials agreed to change the factory's water source, yet the same water source continued to poison the residents of Flint for another year. From 17 to 20 October governments will ... MORE > >

“Humiliation and exclusion” – what a fascinating thematic twist to the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty! Too often, discussion of poverty focuses entirely on material resources. Those play an important role, but are only part of the story. We all know people who seem happy with very ... MORE > >

Of the world’s 2.3 billion children 14 percent - or 320 million - are living in single-parent households, most often headed by single mothers. Those children aged 0 to 17 years and their single mothers and single fathers face special challenges, including economic hardships, social stigma and ... MORE > >

Higher food prices are supposed to induce farmers to increase production for sale. In reality, however, their supply responsiveness is influenced by many factors, including their ability to respond to price changes. With food production growth in OECD countries slowing down, developing ... MORE > >

One word could undoubtedly summarize the past year with painful precision: Refugees. We all have seen the heartbreaking images of men, women and children desperately jumping on makeshift boats in the Mediterranean or the Andaman Seas, narrowly escaping death in search for a safer future. The ... MORE > >

Two years ago at the 31st African Union Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, heads of state and government endorsed the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) programme on agriculture and climate change with the bold vision of at least 25 million smallholder households practicing Climate ... MORE > >