FAO outlines five urgent steps to address global food crisis
24/6/2022: The G7 ministerial conference "Uniting for Global Food Security” hosted in Germany was addressed by the Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. He outlined five urgent steps to halt the global food crisis.
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization
South Africa to develop first African-owned Covid-19 vaccine
23/6/2022: A South African biotech company has teamed up with a Belgium-based firm to develop an African Covid-19 vaccine. The partners said they will seek to develop vaccines that are cheaper to produce and easier to store and distribute in rural and remote locations.
Source: The East African
The UK government’s Bill of wrongs
22/6/2022: The UK government has proposed legislation to replace the Human Rights Act with a so-called “British” Bill of Rights. Designed to reduce constraints of the European Convention on Human Rights, the new Bill would significantly weaken rights across the board for all.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Landmines: US moves closer toward global ban
21/6/2022: The Biden administration has stated that the US will destroy stocks of antipersonnel mines except those needed for the Korean peninsular. The policy sets the goal of ultimately joining the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Eliminate nuclear weapons before they eliminate us
21/6/2022: The UN Secretary-General has addressed the First Meeting of States Parties to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, taking place in Vienna. The treaty was adopted in July 2017 and entered into force in January 2021.
Source: UN News
Glencore pleads guilty to bribery in African operations
21/6/2022: Glencore has pleaded guilty to paying millions of dollars in bribes to secure crude oil in five African countries. It is the mining company's latest mea culpa in a series of bribery investigations worldwide.
Source: DW
WTO finally nets deal curbing fisheries subsidies
17/6/2022: The World Trade Organization has reached a multilateral agreement that bans government subsidies for fishing of already-overfished stocks and curbs those that contribute to illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing. Governments spend around $35 billion annually on fishing subsidies, with $22 billion of that amount regarded as harmful.
Source: Mongabay
Not everyone is happy with WTO TRIPS deal
17/6/2022: After heavily contested negotiations, the World Trade Organization has agreed to allow low- and middle-income countries to temporarily waive protections on patents to produce COVID-19 vaccines. Critics argue that the deal offers little that is different from exemptions already available.
Source: Devex
WTO secures package of trade outcomes
17/6/2022: The 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization has secured multilateral agreement on a series of difficult issues. The “Geneva Package” contains decisions on fisheries subsidies, food safety and agriculture, and a waiver of certain requirements concerning compulsory licensing for COVID-19 vaccines.
Source: World Trade Organization
Is Tunisia’s democracy slipping away?
16/6/2022: President Saied has been running Tunisia unilaterally for almost a year. The July referendum will further strengthen his rule without resistance.
Source: African Arguments