The next US administration can end HIV worldwide
9/1/2025: The first Donald Trump administration committed to end the HIV epidemic in the US by 2030. If his next administration extended this to a global goal, the legacy could rank among the most important American public health achievements. Despite significant progress, HIV/AIDS claimed over 630,000 lives and there were 1.3 million new infections in 2023 alone.
Source: Devex
William Ruto calls for action on Africa’s debt burden
2/1/2025: The President of Kenya is concerned that 19 of Africa’s 35 low-income countries are in debt distress, obliged to pay interest rates of between 5% and 16% on loans and 10-year government bonds. He calls for a review of current credit ratings whilst welcoming the recent $100 billion replenishment of the World Bank's International Development Association.
Source: Devex
Rights investigators in Syria call for protection of evidence
20/12/2024: A team from the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria has called on caretaker authorities to take immediate measures to protect mass grave sites and preserve critical evidence. The Commission was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011 to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law in Syria.
Source: UN News
No agreement on global droughts at desertification COP
19/12/2024: COP16 of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, held in Saudi Arabia, has concluded with no agreement on the major global issue of drought. This outcome echoed similar difficulties with multilateral megotiations at recent UN conferences on biodiversity and climate change.
Source: Passblue
Legal noose tightens on Myanmar junta
19/12/2024: Following numerous atrocities including alleged genocide against the Rohingya minority, the International Criminal Court’s Prosecutor has lodged an application for an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s military junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing. But the practical impact of the potential arrest warrant remains to be seen.
Source: East Asia Forum
Israel’s crime of extermination and acts of genocide in Gaza
19/12/2024: A report by Human Rights Watch alleges that Israeli authorities have intentionally deprived Palestinian civilians in Gaza of adequate access to water since October 2023, most likely resulting in thousands of deaths and thus committing the crime against humanity of extermination and acts of genocide.
Source: Human Rights Watch
How to take back control of UN climate negotiations
18/12/2024: The fingerprints of the fossil fuel industry were all over the Azerbaijan COP, the third repressive petrostate to host UN climate negotiations in as many years. The vulnerabilities of climate diplomacy to climate corruption can no longer be ignored.
Source: Climate Home News
Montana supreme court upholds right to ‘stable climate system’ for youngsters
18/12/2024: Montana's supreme court has upheld a landmark trial court decision last August in favour of 16 young people who said their health and futures were being jeopardized by climate change, which the state aggravates through its permitting of energy projects.
Source: The Guardian
6 good news stories from 2024
17/12/2024: Concern for global development is invariably tested by incessantly difficult news. This year has seen relentless stories of budget cuts and ineffective multilateral negotiations. It’s important to remember that there is good news out there, too.
Source: Devex
UN urges parties to re-engage on Iran nuclear deal
17/12/2024: The UN resolution that established the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the international agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, is due to expire in 2025. The UN is concerned at the diplomatic impasse on the breakdown caused by US withdrawal in 2018.
Source: UN News