Evidence may not support criticism of China debt traps
12/4/2022: China is often accused of extracting economic or political concessions through conditions attached to generous loans to poor countries. Such allegations may be unhelpful at a time when global warming, the pandemic and Ukraine war escalate the needs for finance for sustainable development.
Source: Inter Press Service
Drought is driving up acute hunger in Somalia
12/4/2022: The latest food security assessment in Somalia indicates that the number of people experiencing the most serious levels of hunger is poised to surpass 38 percent of the country’s population. Aid to keep agriculture-dependent families on their feet is needed at massive scale to stave off catastrophe.
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Russia shuts down Human Rights Watch office
8/4/2022: Russia has cancelled the registration of Human Rights Watch, along with Amnesty International and 13 other offices of foreign NGOs. Russia has also adopted laws that criminalize independent war reporting, the latest in 10 years of repressive measures aimed to decimate civil society.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Poland has worked a refugee miracle
6/4/2022: About one in 10 people in Poland is now Ukrainian. In six weeks, 2.5 million Ukrainians (along with thousands of pets) have arrived in the country. As war grinds on, some fear the ‘full’ sign must go up soon.
Source: The Guardian
UN and its leadership challenged by Russia’s status
8/4/2022: The UN General Assembly has effectively excluded a state on three occasions: Cambodia in 1997, Yugoslavia in 1992 and South Africa in 1974. Expulsion of Russia is much more difficult because it has veto rights in the Security Council.
Source: Inter Press Service
Worrying insights from assessment of water security in Africa
6/4/2022: Only 29 African countries have made progress in water security over the past three to five years. Twenty-five have made none. The UN’s concept of water security encompasses various criteria and more effort is needed to establish global standards for data and assessment.
Source: The Conversation
UN General Assembly suspends Russia from Human Rights Council
7/4/2022: The resolution received a two-thirds majority of those voting in the 193-member Assembly. Under the 2006 resolution that established the Council, the General Assembly can suspend a country from membership if it commits gross and systematic violations of human rights.
Source: UN News
Sharing cross-border water resources: Cooperation or conflict?
6/4/2022: From the Euphrates to the Mekong, dams that ensure one country's water supply risk leaving others parched. With 40% of the global population dependent on rivers that cross international borders, climate change is aggravating tensions.
Source: DW
Crimes against humanity in Western Tigray Zone
6/4/2022: Amhara regional security forces and civilian authorities in Ethiopia’s Western Tigray Zone have committed widespread abuses against Tigrayans since November 2020 that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to a report by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Ethiopian authorities have severely restricted access and independent scrutiny of the region.
Source: Human Rights Watch
What can the UN do to stop the war?
5/4/2022: The current war in Ukraine, following the Russian invasion, has sparked all sorts of questions about the United Nations, particularly the role of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Secretary-General. The UN Charter informs answers to five key questions.
Source: UN News