UN experts condemn shutdown of Russian civil society
13/7/2022: Most independent Russian media outlets have closed down to avoid prosecution. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have been blocked. Many thousands of Russians who protested peacefully against the war have been detained.
Source: UN News
Private lenders should participate in African debt relief
11/7/2022: African governments owe three times more debt to Western banks, asset managers and oil traders than to China, and are charged double the interest. Campaigners are calling on private lenders to take part in the G20’s debt relief scheme.
Source: Debt Justice
Securing food supply with wheat alternatives
12/7/2022: As war in Ukraine strangles global wheat supplies, hardy and climate-resilient wild grains could bring greater food security. For example, millet requires far less water than wheat, rice or corn, and can be grown on relatively poor soils.
Source: DW
The world is burning. We need a renewables revolution
12/7/2022: The only true path to energy security, stable power prices and a livable planet lies in abandoning fossil fuels and accelerating the renewables-based energy transition. The UN Secretary-General calls on G20 countries to kick their addiction to fossil fuels.
Source: Inter Press Service
50,000 wild species meet needs of billions worldwide
8/7/2022: Billions of people benefit daily from the use of wild species for food, energy, materials, medicine, recreation and inspiration. A new UN report finds that the accelerating global biodiversity crisis, with a million species of plants and animals facing extinction, threatens these contributions to well-being.
Source: IPBES
Could armed force mandate solve Mali’s insecurity?
7/7/2022: Despite the renewal of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, the UN Secretary-General has suggested a new force may be required to end the spiral of instability. He advised that such a mission would have to be led by the African Union.
Source: African Arguments
Global crises impede the Sustainable Development Goals
8/7/2022: This week marks the mid-way point between the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 and their 2030 target date. Progress data shows that intersecting global crises are impacting food and nutrition, health, education, the environment, and peace, undermining accomplishments towards the SDGs.
Source: Inter Press Service
Global cost-of-living crisis sending tens of millions into poverty
7/7/2022: 71 million people in the developing world have fallen into poverty in the last three months as a direct consequence of global food and energy price surges. A UN report finds that cash transfers targeted to poor households are more equitable and cost-effective than blanket subsidies.
Source: UN Development Programme
Victory for asylum seekers in US Supreme Court
6/7/2022: The US Supreme Court has ruled that President Joe Biden can end the Migrant Protection Protocols. These allowed US border officers to send non-Mexican asylum seekers to Mexico while their claims were adjudicated in US immigration courts.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Sanctions are a boomerang
7/7/2022: The most extensive current economic sanctions are deployed against Russia, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela, Myanmar, and Cuba. Intended as a punishment, they have a track record of failure in their declared political objectives.
Source: Inter Press Service