UN reports forced displacement of 110 million people in 2022
14/6/2023: According to the UN Refugee Agency's 2022 report, 35.3 million displaced individuals were categorized as refugees, having crossed international borders. A larger portion — 58% and representing 62.5 million people — were displaced within their own countries. The war in Ukraine caused the largest refugee outflow since World War II.
Source: DW
Calls grow to reform UN peacekeeping missions
12/6/2023: A ministerial meeting on UN Peacekeeping has addressed recent challenges, including reputational damage and mistrust, particularly in Africa. Member countries also pledged more women's participation and providing training that would benefit troops.
Source: DW
Nuclear diplomacy takes a hit amid Ukraine war
12/6/2023: The annual assessment of the state of arms and disarmament by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute finds that there are more usable nuclear warheads in military stockpiles in the world than last year. Communication and relations between the main nuclear powers is at its lowest point for decades.
Source: DW
Rich countries fail to honour $100 billion climate finance
5/6/2023: Rich polluting countries are now three years overdue on their promise to mobilize $100 billion a year in climate finance for low- and middle-income countries. Oxfam's latest report shows that while donors claim to have mobilized $83.3 billion in 2020, the real value of their spending was at most $24.5 billion.
Source: Oxfam International
Nigeria’s Happy City close to being swallowed by the sea
6/6/2023: A 0.5-meter rise in sea level could force 27-53 million Nigerians to relocate by the end of the century. Developed economies have agreed to set up a loss and damage fund but questions remain over its implementation. Meanwhile the city of Ayetoro is disappearing in rising ocean surges.
Source: African Arguments
Why low-income nations are cracking under debt pressure
6/6/2023: Debt interest payments for the world’s poorest 28 nations have doubled over the last decade, according to World Bank data. The Bank is calling for creditors from the Group of 20 major economies to offer debt relief to these countries.
Source: Devex
India’s population question
1/6/2023: India is expected to overtake China to become the world’s most populous country sometime in July. However, India's total fertility rate has dropped below the replacement level of 2.1 and population is not the only determinant of environmental problems; it is their consumption pattern that leads to environmental degradation.
Source: Down to Earth
UN agency for Palestine refugees close to financial collapse
2/6/2023: Chronic underfunding over the past decade has put the lifesaving programmes of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees at risk. Nearly six million people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, depend on its services.
Source: UN News
Top five arms exporters hit yearly sales of $85 billion
22/5/23: Global military spending reached a record $2.2 trillion in 2022, enough to cover the year’s UN global humanitarian appeal more than 42 times. Across the world, ongoing conflict has been the primary driver in pushing 117 million people in 19 countries to extreme hunger.
Source: Oxfam International
Last chance to save the Amazon
22/5/2023: The Amazon biome has already lost about 20 per cent of its original area, and experts say it is rapidly reaching a "point of no return", pushing it towards becoming a savannah. There are four key elements that could trigger a rapid and systemic transformation for the protection of the Amazon and its peoples.
Source: UN Environment Programme