Russian censorship denounced on World Press Freedom Day
3/5/2022: The World Press Freedom Index reveals the dangers that journalists endure in reporting world events, in the face of increasing authoritarianism. Russia stands out over the Kremlin's wartime censorship of the Ukraine conflict.
Source: DW
This is the moment to reset our multilateral institutions
28/4/2022: In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, The UN has warned that over 100 countries face risks relating to food, energy, and finance. Mark Malloch-Brown argues that the world’s most prosperous countries must use this moment to transform our multilateral institutions.
Source: Devex
UN funding appeal for mass displacement from Ukraine
26/4/2022: The UN Refugee Agency has launched an appeal for $1.85 billion to support a projected 8.3 million refugees in countries neighbouring Ukraine. The war has uprooted more than 12.7 million people in the past two months alone – of whom 7.7 million remain displaced inside the country.
Source: UN Refugee Agency
UN calls for urgent action amid soaring deaths at sea
29/4/2022: More than 3,000 people died or went missing in 2021 while attempting to cross the Central and Western Mediterranean and Atlantic to Europe. This is almost double the comparable figure for 2020.
Source: UN Refugee Agency
UN fears UK legislation will undermine refugee protection
27/4/2022: The Nationality and Borders Bill approved by the UK Parliament will relegate the status of refugees, according to the head of the UN Refugee Agency. Filippo Grandi warns that the potential to deny refugees their right to seek asylum in the UK is potentially at variance with the Refugee Convention.
Source: UN Refugee Agency
Relief for Zambia as China joins its debt resolution
29/4/2022: Zambia’s push for a resolution to its debt crisis received a major lift after China committed to join international efforts to restructure Lusaka’s debt. Beijing has emerged as the largest lender for most African countries and Zambia’s situation may be the first of many debt crises to be resolved.
Source: The East African
World press freedom faces a perfect storm
29/4/2022: The Senior Vice President of Inter Press Service reflects on the decline in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, recently released by Reporters Without Borders.
Source: Inter Press Service
Inequality stalks high Covid death rate in Latin America
27/4/2022: With only 8.4% of the world’s population, the Latin America and Caribbean region has endured 28% of total global deaths due to COVID-19. A report by Amnesty International attributes this outcome to high inequality and low public spending on health.
Source: Amnesty International
Freshwater planetary boundary oversteps the line
27/4/2022: Humanity’s modification of the water cycle has pushed the world further beyond a safe operating space for continued life on Earth, say scientists. Water is the sixth boundary to be transgressed, out of the nine identified by the Planetary Boundaries Framework, first published in 2009.
Source: Mongabay
Degraded lands and soils under spotlight of UN Convention
27/4/2022: The Global Land Outlook published by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification calls for ambitious plans for sustainable land use to protect human health. By 2050 an additional area the size of South America will be degraded if the world continues along the current trajectory.
Source: Inter Press Service