Campaigners warn of $343 billion climate finance ‘black hole’
30/11/2023: Donor countries are expected to announce at COP28 that they have hit a target to deliver $100 billion of annual climate finance. New analysis of data reported to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development casts doubts on whether the figures really stand up.
Source: Devex
Security Council agrees to terminate UN mission in Sudan
1/12/2023: The Security Council has decided to terminate the mandate of the UN political mission in Sudan, after Khartoum said that it was failing to meet expectations. It was established in June 2020 as a special political mission, to provide support to Sudan during its political transition to democratic rule.
Source: UN News
Central Niger celebrates junta’s repeal of migration law
29/11/2023: Niger's military junta has signed an order revoking a law to curb the smuggling of migrants from West Africa heading north toward Europe. The law was enacted in 2015, under heavy pressure from the European Union, at the height of the European migrant crisis.
Source: DW
Richest 1% emit as much as two-thirds of humanity
20/11/2023: A new Oxfam report, drawing on research by the Stockholm Environment Institute, exposes the stark gap between the carbon footprints of the super-rich and the bulk of people across the world. Oxfam calls on governments to dramatically reduce inequality.
Source: Oxfam International
Greenpeace identifies nine principles for societies beyond GDP
23/11/2023: Greenpeace has published “Growing the Alternatives: Societies for a Future Beyond GDP”, a set of principles that put the wellbeing of nature, people and society before the need for making profit and growing Gross Domestic Product. GDP rewards waste and pollution and does not take into account vital aspects such as people’s wellbeing or the limits of nature.
Source: Greenpeace International
What does success look like for next WTO ministerial?
19/11/2023: Prospects seem slim for even a low-ambition outcome at the ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization due in February 2024. Recent developments suggest that there is no political will among the major players to restore genuine multilateralism, let alone to address the long list of outstanding promises to developing countries.
Source: AfronomicsLaw
Health needs to be embedded in national climate change plans
23/11/2023: Ahead of COP-28, the World Health Organization has published its 2023 review of actions needed to ensure that people’s health is fully integrated into national plans to fight climate change. 91% of countries' nationally determined contributions now include health considerations, compared to 70% of those reporting in 2019.
Source: World Health Organization
Rights concerns over Ugandan license plate tracking
14/11/2023: Uganda’s new surveillance system allows the government to track the real time location of all vehicles in the country. Human Rights Watch has called for the system to be scrapped, on grounds of privacy and rights to freedom of association.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Global refugee indicators show progress on improving lives
17/11/2023: The world has made tangible progress in laying the groundwork for improving refugees’ lives, according to a report by the UN Refugee Agency. Four key indicators focus on easing pressure on host countries; enhancing refugee self-reliance; expanding access to third-country solutions; and supporting conditions in countries of origin.
Source: UN Refugee Agency
UNHCR welcomes UK judgement on transfer of asylum-seekers
15/11/2023: The UN Refugee Agency has welcomed the UK's Supreme Court ruling that transfers of asylum-seekers from the UK to Rwanda would breach international and UK law. The Agency advised the Court under its mandate to supervise the application of the 1951 Refugee Convention worldwide.
Source: UN Refugee Agency