Sanctions achieve nothing
27/5/2021: Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins argues that Belarus has become a model of the impotence of sanctions. European and American politicians reach for economic sanctions as they used to reach for gunboats or bombers. He argues for the exercise of soft power to sustain the conversation of freedom.
Source: The Guardian
Biden quadruples Trump refugee cap from 15,000 to 62,500
4/5/2021: President Joe Biden has formally raised the US cap on refugee admissions to 62,500 this year, fulfilling his promise made in February. The announcement paves the way for Biden to boost the cap to 125,000 for the 2022 fiscal year.
Source: Eyewitness News
ICC hands 25-year jail term to LRA commander
6/5/2021: The International Criminal Court has sentenced Dominic Ongwen, a Ugandan child soldier who became a commander of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), to 25 years' jail for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Source: The East African
Scientists warn of looming groundwater crisis
29/4/2021: Nearly half of the human population depends on grounwater for daily needs and for agriculture. But up to a fifth of wells worldwide that tap into these reserves are at risk of running dry, according to a recent study.
Source: Mongabay
Food systems drive a third of greenhouse gas emissions
20/4/2021: A new study concludes that food systems contribute 25% to 42% of global greenhouse gas emissions, taking account of the growing of food, its distribution, its consumption and its disposal. Experts say that reform is needed to make food systems function within the Earth’s planetary boundaries.
Source: Mongabay
Pandemic sets back sexual and reproductive health rights
15/4/2021: The UN's State of the World Population 2021 report paints a disturbing picture of maternal health. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increasing sexual violence, more unintended pregnancies, and new barriers to reproductive health services, contributing to a maternal mortality ratio of 211 for every 100,000 live births.
Source: Devex
Michael Fakhri: the new UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food
24/3/2021: The newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food offers incisive ideas on local markets, international trade reform and conflict - in the context of solving world hunger.
Source: New Internationalist
China considers new actions to lift flagging birth rate
19/2/2021: China's National Health Commission has issued a statement saying it will conduct research to “further stimulate birth potential". Despite ending its controversial one-child policy four years ago, the plunging birth rate continues to threaten to economic progress and social stability, .
Source: CNA
Aid groups praise Colombia for Venezuelan migrant move
10/2/2021: Aid groups welcomed Colombia’s offer of temporary legal status for a decade to more than 1.7 million Venezuelan migrants. The UN estimates that around 5.4 million Venezuelans have fled President Nicolás Maduro’s increasingly authoritarian government since 2015.
Source: The New Humanitarian
Hunger deaths aren’t simply about famine or no famine
3/2/2021: The “f-word” has been on the tongues of leading humanitarians lately, with particular concerns about potential famine in South Sudan and Yemen. But a declaration of famine – or the lack thereof – doesn’t tell the whole story.
Source: The New Humanitarian