Cereal production falls in Africa’s “year of nutrition”
17/2/2023: Despite promises, nearly three-quarters of African governments have reduced their agricultural budgets while paying almost double that on arms. Chronic under-investment in agriculture is a key cause of the widespread hunger experienced in 2022.
Source: Oxfam International
UN Ocean Treaty negotiations to resume
17/2/2023: Greenpeace has warned that, without a strong Ocean Treaty, it is practically impossible to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030, the target agreed at COP15 in Montreal in December 2022. Resolving impasses depends on the Global North making a fair and credible offer to the Global South.
Source: Greenpeace International
China and Russia fail to defund UN human rights work
15/2/2023: UN member states have agreed to fully fund UN human rights mechanisms that China and Russia had sought to eliminate from the 2023 budget. UN investigations in Sri Lanka, Iran, Venezuela, Russia, Ukraine, Nicaragua, North Korea, Belarus, Syria, and Eritrea will continue.
Source: Inter Press Service
UN food agencies call for action on the global food crisis
8/2/2023: A joint statement by UN food and development agencies warns that food insecurity is on the rise, with global food supplies projected to drop to a three-year low in 2022/2023. They recommend urgent action to rescue hunger hotspots, facilitate trade and reform harmful subsidies.
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Myanmar’s junta benefits from weak international response
6/2/2023: For two years, Myanmar's military junta has committed numerous crimes against humanity, widely documented by human rights groups. A wide range of responses by the international community have not been enough to change the junta’s conduct or calculations.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Will China help resolve lower-income countries’ debt crisis?
8/2/2023: It is by now clear that many low- and middle-income countries will have to restructure their debt. This situation is quite unlike the debt crisis of the 1980s, now involving a multitude of creditor groups, including China, which is the newest and largest entity, with the least experience of debt relief.
Source: Devex
UN Secretary-General calls for rights-based governance in 2023
6/2/2023: In presenting his 2023 roadmap to the General Assembly, the Secretary-General has called on member states for a transformation in policy, grounded in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He affirmed that a rights-rooted approach is central to achieving a more peaceful and sustainable world.
Source: UN News
Germany mulls sending refugees to Africa
10/2/2023: The German government has installed a special representative to make deals with African and other countries to help with asylum procedures. The country needs more regular migration into its job market on the one hand, whilst wanting to reduce irregular migration significantly.
Source: DW
African leaders meet to seek peace and security
11/2/2023: The annual assembly of the African Union will shortly be held in Addis Ababa. Aspirations to adjust from fighting colonialism to encouraging economic integration are struggling. There have been four successful coups in West Africa and an unsuccessful attempt in Niger since 2020.
Source: The East African
Will UN reform happen this year? Don’t hold your breath
1/2/2023: Everyone talks about reforming the UN Security Council but change remains elusive after decades of debates. This past year, the voices for expanding the Council became louder, yet few can agree on how to do it.
Source: PassBlue