UK set to renege on 1951 Refugee Convention
17/12/2021: The UK Borders Bill works to dismantle the international refugee protection regime and renege on the fundamental principles underpinning the 1951 Refugee Convention. The Bill empowers the UK Government to send asylum seekers to a "safe" third country for offshore asylum processing and to push back boats at sea.
Source: Human Rights Watch
World Inequality Report 2022
15/12/2021: The latest World Inequality Report reveals that the richest 10% of the global population currently takes 52% of global income, whereas the poorest half of the population earns 8% of it. Addressing the challenges of the 21st century is not feasible without significant redistribution of income and wealth inequalities.
Source: FP2P
IMF and indebted Zambia move towards rescue package
7/12/2021: Zambia was the first African country to default in the COVID-19 era. Its new government is close to a deal with the IMF that would restore Zambia's international funding opportunities.
Source: Devex
Unbridled loss of freedoms as Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced
6/12/2021: Amnesty International has condemned the sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in prison as the latest example of the military's determination to eliminate all opposition and suffocate freedoms in Myanmar. It is clear that intervention by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has failed to yield truly meaningful results.
Source: Amnesty International
Soil salinization threat to global food security
3/12/2021: A UN report estimates that more than 10% of the world's cropland is salt-affected, posing a major risk to global food security. The worst affected regions are in Central Asia, the Middle East, South America, North Africa and the Pacific.
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Delay casts pall over WTO bid to end harmful fishing subsidies
2/12/2021: Hopes that the World Trade Organization would finally reach an agreement to ban subsidies that cause overfishing have been dashed by the indefinite postponement of the ministerial meeting due to the Omicron variant. The latest draft agreement shows considerable progress over the last year.
Source: Mongabay
Conflict and climate change impede Africa’s Great Green Wall
26/11/2021: Fourteen years since the launch of Africa's Great Green Wall project only 4% of the land restoration in the Sahel region has been completed. Billions of dollars in new funding announced this year have raised hopes that the initiative to combat desertification will gain momentum.
Source: Mongabay
Poverty in Nigeria linked to fuel subsidies
25/11/2021: The World Bank has urged Nigeria to increase its revenue streams by removing subsidies on petroleum products. The poorest Nigerians do not benefit from the subsidy regime.
Source: The East African
Making agrifood systems more resilient to shocks
23/11/2021: The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major driver of the latest rise in global hunger estimates. A new report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization warns that risks of further unpredictable shocks should be addressed in global agrifood systems.
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Brazilian deforestation surges 22% to highest level since 2006
18/11/2021: Deforestation has been on an upward trend in the Brazilian Amazon which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the entire Amazon rainforest since 2012. It has accelerated particularly sharply under the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro.
Source: Mongabay