Billions pledged, but UN food summit fails to heal divisions
28/9/2021: The UN Food Systems Summit has encouraged countries to implement their declared “national pathways” to food security, supported by a new coordination hub led by the three Rome-based UN food agencies and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. But fundamental disagreements about global food strategies remain.
Source: The New Humanitarian
Food Systems Summit urges swift action by 2030
24/9/2021: The troubled UN Food Systems Summit has been held on the sidelines of the General Assembly. The US government has committed $5 billion over 5 years for USAID’S Feed the Future program. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also announced a $922 million, five-year commitment.
Source: Devex
The biodiversity crisis is a global security crisis
23/9/2021: Environmental degradation is a key driver of insecurity. To achieve peace, we must protect the planet and finance these efforts accordingly. It is no coincidence that 6 of the 10 largest UN-led peacekeeping operations currently exist in areas highly exposed to the impact of climate change.
Source: African Arguments
UN chief appeals for countries to sign nuclear test-ban treaty
23/9/2021: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged eight key countries which have not yet signed or ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, to do so without delay. He stated that a prohibition on nuclear testing is an essential element of a nuclear weapons-free world.
Source: UN News
Is China's pledge to cut overseas coal funding a game-changer?
22/9/2021: China's pledge to stop funding overseas coal has been welcomed - but the world's top polluter has not set out a timetable. Other questions remain, not least why private banks and institutional investors from Japan, the US and the UK bankroll so many coal projects in the developing world.
Source: CNA
UN report calls for repurposing of agricultural subsidies
14/9/2021: A new UN report finds that 87% of annual government farm subsidies totalling $540 billion includes measures that are both price distorting and harmful to nature and health. Reform of support for the agricultural sector will benefit our planet.
Source: UN Environment Programme
The future of international cooperation
10/9/2021: The UN Secretary-General has released Our Common Agenda, a landmark report setting out his vision of a new era for multilateralism, in which countries work together to solve global problems, with the UN universally recognized as a trusted platform for collaboration. He recommends a Summit of the Future to forge a new global consensus.
Source: UN News
The 'war on terror' and the consequences for the world
10/9/2021: Twenty years ago terrorists challenged the world's only remaining superpower. In response, the United States declared a "war on terror." The world continues to struggle with the consequences.
Source: DW
Making the case for CEDAW ratification by the United States
7/9/2021: The US is one of only a handful of countries that has yet to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), in common with Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Tonga, and Palau. There are good reasons why the Biden administration should rally bipartisan support to ratify CEDAW to advance the human rights of women around the world.
Source: Inter Press Service
More than 4 billion people still lack any social protection
1/9/2021: A new report by the International Labour Organization finds that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the social protection gap between countries with high and low income levels. Currently, only 47 per cent of the global population are covered by at least one social protection benefit. The rate in Africa is 17 per cent.
Source: International Labour Organization