Achieving universal access to electricity by 2030 is off track
7/6/2021: During the last decade, the number of people without electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa actually increased, despite falling elsewhere. According to the latest Energy Progress Report, an estimated 660 million people will still lack access to electricity in 2030, most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the Global Goal to ensure universal access by that date.
Source: The World Bank
Sanctions: What are they good for?
4/6/2021: How to confront rogue regimes, such as Belarus and Myanmar, has long vexed governments that wish to safeguard rules-based relations and free trade. Sanctions are a popular option but are not a panacea to the world's problems. Like war, sanctions can lead to unintended consequences and collateral damage.
Source: DW
Southeast Asian states reject UN call for Myanmar arms embargo
29/5/2021: Nine Southeast Asian nations have proposed watering down a UN General Assembly draft resolution on Myanmar, removing a call for an arms embargo, in a bid to win the unanimous support of the 193-member body. The vote planned for last week was postponed at the last minute.
Source: CNA
Sanctions achieve nothing
27/5/2021: Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins argues that Belarus has become a model of the impotence of sanctions. European and American politicians reach for economic sanctions as they used to reach for gunboats or bombers. He argues for the exercise of soft power to sustain the conversation of freedom.
Source: The Guardian
Biden quadruples Trump refugee cap from 15,000 to 62,500
4/5/2021: President Joe Biden has formally raised the US cap on refugee admissions to 62,500 this year, fulfilling his promise made in February. The announcement paves the way for Biden to boost the cap to 125,000 for the 2022 fiscal year.
Source: Eyewitness News
ICC hands 25-year jail term to LRA commander
6/5/2021: The International Criminal Court has sentenced Dominic Ongwen, a Ugandan child soldier who became a commander of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), to 25 years' jail for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Source: The East African
Scientists warn of looming groundwater crisis
29/4/2021: Nearly half of the human population depends on grounwater for daily needs and for agriculture. But up to a fifth of wells worldwide that tap into these reserves are at risk of running dry, according to a recent study.
Source: Mongabay
Food systems drive a third of greenhouse gas emissions
20/4/2021: A new study concludes that food systems contribute 25% to 42% of global greenhouse gas emissions, taking account of the growing of food, its distribution, its consumption and its disposal. Experts say that reform is needed to make food systems function within the Earth’s planetary boundaries.
Source: Mongabay
Pandemic sets back sexual and reproductive health rights
15/4/2021: The UN's State of the World Population 2021 report paints a disturbing picture of maternal health. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increasing sexual violence, more unintended pregnancies, and new barriers to reproductive health services, contributing to a maternal mortality ratio of 211 for every 100,000 live births.
Source: Devex
Michael Fakhri: the new UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food
24/3/2021: The newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food offers incisive ideas on local markets, international trade reform and conflict - in the context of solving world hunger.
Source: New Internationalist