Africa grapples with perfect storm of crises
20/4/2022: Disruptions to grain and fuel supplies caused by the Ukraine war could turn back the clock on the progress Africa has made in recent years. Africa is dealing with six major crises simultaneously; a situation it has probably never faced.
Source: The East African
UN and its leadership challenged by Russia’s status
8/4/2022: The UN General Assembly has effectively excluded a state on three occasions: Cambodia in 1997, Yugoslavia in 1992 and South Africa in 1974. Expulsion of Russia is much more difficult because it has veto rights in the Security Council.
Source: Inter Press Service
UN General Assembly suspends Russia from Human Rights Council
7/4/2022: The resolution received a two-thirds majority of those voting in the 193-member Assembly. Under the 2006 resolution that established the Council, the General Assembly can suspend a country from membership if it commits gross and systematic violations of human rights.
Source: UN News
What can the UN do to stop the war?
5/4/2022: The current war in Ukraine, following the Russian invasion, has sparked all sorts of questions about the United Nations, particularly the role of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Secretary-General. The UN Charter informs answers to five key questions.
Source: UN News
DRC to become 7th member of East Africa trading bloc
23/3/2022: Ministers of the East African Community have recommended the admission of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The bloc has been implementing protocols on a customs union and a common market in order to improve trade and investments in the region.
Source: The Conversation
NGOs seek a summit on financing for development
23/3/2022: Twenty years ago, world leaders adopted the UN’s Monterrey Consensus, with commitments to financing for development of an equitable global economic system. The hard lessons that led to the Monterrey Consensus are still very valid, namely that non-inclusive decision-making leads to an unfair global economic system and never-ending political power struggles between countries.
Source: Inter Press Service
Environmentalism after Ukraine
21/3/2022: The modern environmental movement has taken the rules-based system for granted, trusting in national commitments even when they came from authoritarian states. But Russia has exposed the fragility of the global order, what now?
Source: Eco-Business
Why we must remember Afghanistan
17/3/2022: There was no reference to Afghanistan in US President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech. The chaotic US withdrawal of August 2021 sent Afghanistan’s already flagging economy into freefall. Women’s rights activists have been jailed by the Taliban without explanation. Several have disappeared. Press freedom has undeniably been rolled back.
Source: Inter Press Service
UN chief wants Amisom to remain in Somalia
10/3/2022: UN chief Antonio Guterres has recommended to the Security Council that the African Union maintains its current Mission in Somalia. Amison is tasked with supporting the country's fragile government in the fight against insurgents.
Source: The East African
Is Russia sabotaging the Iran nuclear deal?
9/3/2022: After eleven months of talks negotiators appear close to striking a deal to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal which lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. But the negotiations have been complicated by a last-minute demand from Russia which the US has rejected.
Source: DW