Six key issues at stake for biodiversity COP15
2/12/2022: The 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is expected to adopt a plan to reverse the alarming trend of global biodiversity loss. Preparatory negotiations on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework have achieved some consensus on its overall approach to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030.
Source: China Dialogue
COP27 was a mirage in the Sinai deserts
29/11/2022: Sunita Narain argues that the outcome of COP27 was the worst in the history of these negotiations. Decisions were either no-decisions or regressive. There is no meaningful approach to loss and damage unless it is framed in terms of liability and compensation.
Source: Down to Earth
Proven solutions must be put in place to end AIDS by 2030
30/11/2022: The UN Secretary-General has warned that the world is off track to end AIDS by 2030. In 2021, more than 38 million people globally were living with HIV, 1.5 million people were newly infected and 650,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses.
Source: UN News
New EU migration plan, same rights violations
1/12/2022: Human Rights Watch is critical of the European Commission’s new action plan on the Central Mediterranean. The plan doubles down on support for the Libyan Coast Guard and its interceptions of migrants at sea and their return to Libya where they face arbitrary detention and horrific abuses.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Africa’s advances in maternal, infant mortality face setbacks
1/12/2022: A new Atlas of African Health Statistics 2022, published by the World Health Organization, predicts that 2030 rates of infant and maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa will fall far short of the Sustainable Development Goal targets. The slowdown has been exacerbated by the disruptive effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: UN News
UN calls for doubling of finance for nature-based solutions
1/12/2022: The second edition of the State of Finance for Nature finds that investments into nature-based solutions must double by 2025 to deliver goals for climate, biodiversity, and land degradation. Subsidies for nature-negative activities need to be phased out.
Source: UN Environment Programme
Statement of progress of Treaty to ban landmines
28/11/2022: The International Campaign to Ban Landmines has submitted analysis of the destruction of landmines, and remaining stockpiles, facilitated through the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.
Source: Human Rights Watch
AGRA gets make-Up, not make-over
29/11/2022: The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa has dropped ‘Green Revolution’ from its name and announced a new five-year strategy. The Gates Foundation will continue to provide more than two-thirds of AGRA’s funding. Is there any evidence of a new approach to sustainable agriculture in Africa?
Source: Inter Press Service
Call for integration of African Union into G20
25/11/2022: French President Emmanuel Macron told world leaders gathered at the recent Bali summit that his country supports the integration of the African Union into G20 membership. South Africa is the only current member country from Africa.
Source: The East African
Iran protests: UN Human Rights Council holds special session
24/11/2022: The UN Human Rights Council is set to hold a special session on the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran. The UN estimates that over 300 people have died since protests were triggered by the death in custody of Jina Mahsa Amini.
Source: DW