MADRID, Oct 25 2021 (IPS)* – Hadn’t it been so worrisome, it would be ironic to hear that humanity is to mark theWorld Disarmament Week (Oct 24 to 30, 2021) barely six months after learning that the world’s biggest military powers had spent last year some 2,000,000,000,000 US dollars on killing machines.
World military spending rose to almost two trillion dollars in 2020, an increase of 2.6 percent in real terms from 2019. Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas
And that the world’s nuclear arms arsenal is stuffed with some 150 atomic weapons, hundreds of which can be launched in just minutes. Continue reading →
Regenerating Biodiversity in our farms, forests, and our Gut Microbiome for Zero Hunger and Good – Health for All
Mother Earth is self-organised. Mother Earth has created and sustained Diversity.
The web of life is a web of diversity woven through the flow of Nutrition.
Colonialism transformed Mother Earth, Vasundhara, Pachmama , Terra Madre, into Terra Nullius, the empty earth. Our living, bountiful earth, rich in Biodiversity and Cultural Diversity was reduced to an empty earth.
People of the colonised lands were denied their humanity to justify the appropriation of the their lands, their homes, their resources.
The Biodiversity of the earth disappeared in the minds of men who reduced the earth to private property to be owned, and raw material to be extracted.
In February 2020, an agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban was signed in Doha, Qatar, promising the complete withdrawal of American and NATO troops from Afghanistan in May 2021. This agreement was supposed to put an end to an endless war, having claimed the lives of nearly 46,000 Afghan civilians and more than 2,500 American soldiers (1). Continue reading →
(UN News)*— Independent UN human rights experts on Monday 25 October 2021 strongly condemned the decision by the Israeli Minister of Defence to designate six Palestinian human rights and civil society groups as terrorist organisations.
25 October 2021 (UN News)* — A group of UN human rights experts have condemned the United States of America’s recent and ongoing systematic mass deportation of Haitian migrants and refugees, declaring them a violation of international law.
IFRC | Haiti remains one of poorest countries in the world, where many people are forced to live from handouts from humanitarian agencies.
According to their analysis, US policies have also deterred Haitians from pursuing protection including asylum claims and forced them to return to other countries, “where they face an atmosphere of racial discrimination, gender violence and xenophobic violence”, said a news release issued on behalf of the experts, on Monday 25 October 2021. Continue reading →
(UN News)* — The combined shocks of drought, conflict, COVID-19 and an economic crisis in Afghanistan, have left more than half the population facing a record level of acute hunger, according to a new UN assessment published on Monday 25 October 2021.
The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report co-led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP), revealed that the lives, livelihoods and access to food for 22.8 million people will be severely impacted.
One of the lingering effects of the food price crisis of 2007-08 on the world food system is the proliferating acquisition of farmland in developing countries by other countries seeking to ensure their food supplies. Credit: Bigstock
MADRID, Oct 22 2021 (IPS)* – “Imagine that the land your family has worked for generations is suddenly stripped away from you, purchased by wealthy companies or governments to produce food or bio-fuels or simply as a profitable investment for other people, often far away. You watch on helplessly as vast tracts of land are cleared for mono-culture crops and rivers are polluted with run-off and chemicals.”
NAIROBI, Oct 21 2021 (IPS)* – In a time when the world’s scientific community sounds louder, and stronger than ever, the alarm about the fast growing climate crisis and its destructive impacts, governments still plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030.
The world’s governments plan to produce around 110% more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C, and 45% more than consistent with 2°C. Credit: Bigstock
MADRID, Oct 20 2021 (IPS)* – While Africa reportedly causes just 4 percent of global emissions of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) —an acidic colourless gas with a density about 53% higher than that of dry air, causing climate change—, this vast continent, home to over 1.300 billion inhabitants in 52 countries, bears the heaviest brunt of 80 percent of the climate crisis destructive impacts.
Increased weather and climate variability is disrupting lives and economies in the continent;. Credit: Campbell Easton/IPS
Rather than looking to ‘save’ others, we should aim to dismantle the hatred and exploitation of those who reject property and national borders
A mural by Eduardo Kobra in Rio de Janeiro | Donatas Dabravolskas/Alamy Stock Photo.
17 October 2021 (openDemocracy)* — It is commonplace in Brazil for people or institutions to make a symbolic gesture towards an Indigenous community, and then frame it as a major advance for their rights.
PORTLAND, USA, Oct 18 2021 (IPS)* – Probably no country is more closely associated with the hamburger than the United States. It’s fair to say that the hamburger is the country’s culinary icon. It’s the most popular fast food consumed and readily available from coast to coast.
Will the United States and the other major meat consuming countries choose to significantly reduce their beef consumption and move to plant-based diets as part of measures to address climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss? Credit: Bigstock
Why is the UN Human Rights Council Silencing Yemeni Human Rights Victims?
*Kathy Kelly
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, with the cooperation of the U.S. succeeded this week in killing off a little known U.N. agency that for nearly four years has courageously advocated for hundreds of thousands of Yemenis suffering immensely in the civil war that is being driven forward by Saudi Arabia.
Monday, October 11, marked the official closure of the UN Group of Eminent Experts (Group of Experts or GEE) on Yemen.
For close to four years, this highly respected investigative body scrupulously examined alleged violations and abuses of human rights suffered by Yemenis whose basic rights to food, shelter, safety, health care and education are being horribly violated even as they have been bludgeoned by Saudi and U.S. air strikes.
18 October 2021(UN News)* — UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, has urged greater international support for the more than 13 million Syrians who’ve been displaced in the past 10 years.
Currently, around 6.7 million have been displaced inside the country and 5.5 million refugees are being hosted in five neighbouring countries, Mr. Grandi said after a visit to the country.
15 October 2021 (FAO)*— An agri-food system is a complex term that may seem far from your reality, but do you know our lives depend on them? Every time you eat, you participate in the system. The food we choose and the way we produce, prepare, cook and store it make us an integral and active part of the way in which an agri-food system works.
15 October 2021 (UN News)* —World Food Day is not only a reminder of the importance of what we eat to everyone on the planet, but also “a call to action to achieve food security around the world”, the UN chief said in his message marking the day on Friday.
World Food Day is not only a reminder of the importance of what we eat to everyone on the planet, but also “a call to action to achieve food security around the world”, the UN chief said in his message marking the day on on 15 October 2021.
Across the world, food systems depend on the daily work of rural women. They play a variety of essential roles, from raising crops and processing their harvest, to preparing food and distributing their products, ensuring that both their families and communities are nourished.
15 October 2021 (United Nations)* — Achieving gender equality and empowering women is not only the right thing to do but is a critical ingredient in the fight against extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
On average, women make up more than 40 percent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries, ranging from 20 percent in Latin America to 50 percent or more in parts of Africa and Asia.
Rome, 15 October 2021 (IFAD)* – We need a significant boost in investments to close the gender gap otherwiserural communities will never bounce back from the impacts of climate change, warned Gilbert F. Houngbo, the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
LONDON, Oct 12 2021 (IPS)* – During the pandemic, we learnt a new word – at least I did: comorbidity. It means that one or more additional conditions co-occur (all happen at the same time for a person) alongside a primary condition – in this case the virus.
Credit: UNDP
And we learnt that when a person has significant comorbidities, the path of the virus can be tragic.
We therefore learned to be highly alert for diabetes, for lung conditions, and medical histories, and to protect vulnerable people in our circles carefully.
As time went on, our circle of attention expanded – to handwashing, to overcrowding, to water and nutrition, or informal work – or risks like domestic violence, that make lockdown unbearable.
The report calls for a total transformation of our way of life if we wish to avoid catastrophe.
The window of opportunity is closing rapidly. Urgent action must be taken within less than a decade.
.
The report states that,
“We need transformational change operating on processes and behavior at all levels: individual, communities, business, institutions and governments. We must redefine our way of life and consumption.”
(UNEP)* — Today [11 October 2021], world leaders are gathering in Kunming, China and virtually for the first phase of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP-15) to agree on a new set of goals for nature over the next decade. The second phase will be held in April-May 2022 due to the pandemic.
Shutterstock / 11 Oct 2021
Nature and biodiversity loss are accelerating the triple planetary crisis we face, along with climate change and pollution waste.
(UN News)* — With more than a million species at risk of extinction, countries must work now to achieve a sustainable future for people and the planet, Secretary-General António Guterres told leaders attending the UN Biodiversity Conference, which opened on Monday 11 October 2021 from Kunming, China.
(UN News)* — Economies in the Asia-Pacific region need to urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including to maintain their trade competitiveness as carbon taxes at borders threaten to rise, according to a new United Nations report.
.
UN Photo/Kibae Park | Climate friendly transportation is one of the proposals of the report
.
Around 16 million new jobs could be created in clean energy, energy efficiency, engineering, manufacturing and construction industries in the Asia-Pacific region, more than compensating for the estimated loss of five million jobs by downscaling industries.
10 October 2021 (Wall Street International)*— With weather disasters becoming the rule rather than the exception worldwide, two inconvenient realities are clear.
First, the climate is changing faster than scientists and computer models predicted. Rather than exaggerating the threat of global warming, the experts have been too conservative.
NAIROBI, Oct 7 2021 (IPS)* – Smelly, boggy, and full of bugs, mangroves’ superpowers are well hidden. However, there is rising confidence that mangroves are the silver bullet to combat the effects of climate change.
Mangroves could be the silver bullet needed to mitigate climate change, however, approximately 75 percent of mangrove forests globally remain unprotected and overexploited. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
9 October 2021 (UNEP)* — This month’s oil spill in California and the sinking of the X-Press Pearl off the coast of Sri Lanka in July have renewed attention to the environmental dangers of such disasters, especially the toll they take on marine and coral life.
.
Photo by Shutterstock / 07 Oct 2021
In this question and answer segment, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) explores the dire impact of oil spills, the cost of clean-ups and what can be done to limit damage to the environment and ecosystems.
While many developed nations have pledged to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles in the next two decades, the transition will be more complicated in developing countries, where old cars imported from Europe, Japan and the United States are often the only affordable option.
Many of these used cars emit dangerous fumes, exposing people to high levels of air pollution, and they are often not roadworthy, resulting in more accidents and fatalities.
7 October 2021 (United Nations)* — Cotton is one of the most common fabrics in our wardrobes. It is comfortable, hypoallergenic, breathable and durable.
5 October 2021 (Wall Street International)* — Human evolution, as in all species on Earth, is driven by stress – as all are challenged by continually changing conditions and environments.
Like all species, we humans become habituated to our current situations and cultural norms. Our reactions to change range from outright denial to reluctant acceptance and attempts at adaptation.
A chilling account of how corruption has become institutionalised at the heart of America’s war machine – with consequences for us all
Andrew Cockburn’s book offers a guide to understanding the irrationalities of the US war machine | Al Drago/Pool via CNP/AdMedia/Newscom/Alamy Live News
(openDemocracy)* — Why is Joe Biden claiming that America’s ‘forever wars’, have ended? He withdrew 2,500 troops from Afghanistan and allowed the Taliban to take over the country, but the US continues to send drones to kill alleged terrorists in Afghanistan and in large parts of Africa and the Middle East.
(UN News)* — An estimated 3.2 million Afghan children under five, are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition by the end of the year, UN agencies on 5 October 2021 warned, adding that without immediate treatment, at least a million are at risk of dying.
Acute food insecurity is affecting 14 million people in Afghanistan who are without reliable access to water, food and basic health and nutrition services, following years of conflict and the economic crisis, which has been exacerbated following the Taliban takeover in August.
The alarm was sounded following a two-day visit to the city of Herat by Hervé Ludovic De Lys, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Afghanistan and Mary-Ellen McGroarty, World Food Programme’s (WFP) Afghanistan Representative and Country Director.
SAN FRANCISCO, USA, Oct 6 2021 (IPS)* – It’s bad enough that mainstream news outlets routinely call the Pentagon budget a “defense” budget. But the fact that progressives in Congress and even many antiwar activists also do the same is an indication of how deeply the mindsets of the nation’s warfare state are embedded in the political culture of the United States.
(UN News)* — Africa’s film and audiovisual industries could create over 20 million jobs and contribute $20 billion to the continent’s combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the UN cultural agency, UNESCO, said on Tuesday 5 October 2021 in a new report highlighting this untapped potential.
Toyin Abraham | Nigerian film actress Toyin Abraham was among entertainers who helped the UN share messages to address myths surrounding COVID-19.
(UN News)* — Between 2009 and 2018, the continuous rise in sea temperature cost the world 14 per cent of its coral reefs – that’s more than the size of Australia’s reefs combined – a UN-backed report revealed on 5 October 2021.
.
UNDP | Reef fish and corals in the waters of the Seychelles archipelago.
In the Sixth Status of Corals of the World: 2020 Report, experts from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, funded by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), collected data from more than 300 scientists from 73 countries, over a span of 40 years, including two million individual observations.
(UN News)* — Improved water management, monitoring and forecasting are needed in the face of a looming global water crisis, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and partners said in a report published on Tuesday 5 October 2021.
The warning comes as floods, droughts and other water-related hazards increase due to climate change, while the number of people experiencing “water stress” continues to rise amid population growth and dwindling availability.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct 5 2021 (IPS)* – As finance ministers and central bank governors gather next week for the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in the US capital, the first shots of a new putsch against multilateralism have been fired. The target: Kristalina Georgieva, Fund Managing Director (MD) since 2019.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Georgieva’s sins
She has tried to enhance multilateral coherence by aligning the Fund with the United Nations, as envisaged by then US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Like predecessor Christine Lagarde, the former Bank environmental economist is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals and addressing global warming. Continue reading →
How eco-labelling can drive consumer decision-making
Unsplash/Viki Mohmad / 04 Oct 2021
5 October 2021 (UNEP)* — Each year, 17 per cent of total global food available at retail may be wasted, including 11 per cent at the household level, says the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP’s) Food Waste Index Report 2021.
(UN News)* — The world currently faces unprecedented catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity, according to UN agencies, and around $6.6 billion is needed urgently, to support 41 million in danger of sliding into famine.
WFP/Simon Pierre Diouf | Thousands of displaced women in Nigeria suffering from hunger and food insecurity rely on the UN to survive.
.
To ramp up support, the United Nations on 4 October 2021 convened a high-level event, calling for international action, before it is too late.
(UN News)* — COVID-19 has taken a toll on the mental health of children and young people, and impacts could be felt for many years to come, UN children’s agency, UNICEF, on 5 October 2021 warned.
Even before the crisis, children and youth were already carrying the burden of mental health conditions and without significant investment in addressing them, according to the latest edition of its flagship report, the State of the World’s Children.
First launch from site Vostochny, Russia. | PHOTO:ROSCOSMOS
4 October 2021 (United Nations)* — By resolution 54/68 of 6 December 1999, the General Assembly proclaimed World Space Week, to celebrate the contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition.
World Space Week is the largest annual space event in the world. the weeks helps build up the workforce of tomorrow by inspiring students; demonstrates visible public support for the space programme; educates the public about space activities; and fosters international cooperation in space outreach and education.
3 October 2021 (UN News)* — A September to remember, a pivotal month for climate action commitments. From the United Nations General Assembly week to the final pre-COP meeting, last month was an important time to build momentum before the decisive UN Climate Conference COP26 in early November.
(FAO)* — With climate change, conflict, hunger and environmental crises regularly in the news and social media every day, the younger generation is more aware than ever of global issues and arguably also more active than ever. And why shouldn’t they be? It is their future at risk.
3 October 2021 (UN News)* — A Spanish artist is using a giant 40-metre-high artwork painted on the side of a building in the Belgian capital, Brussels, to pose questions about climate change and the effect it’s having on global ecosystems.
.
@superkant for @StreetArtMankind | The Alchemist is a 40-metre-high mural which has been painted onto the side of a property in Brussels.
.
‘The Alchemist’ by Lula Goce, has been created in collaboration with the United Nations and non-profit organisation Street Art for Mankind (SAM) and is the first in a series of 50 murals which will be painted over the next 10 years in cities across the world to encourage the ecological restoration of damaged or dying ecosystems.
The theme recognizes that cities are responsible for some 70 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions with transport, buildings, energy, and waste management accounting for the bulk of urban greenhouse gas emissions.
Unsplash/chuttersnap | Sustainable cities are helping in the battle against climate change.
4 October 2021 (UN News)* — For the UN Secretary-General, the benefits of making cities more environmentally friendly are “enormous”, and include reduced climate risk, more jobs, and better health and well-being.
29 September 2021 (UNEP)* — Despite being responsible for only around 3 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions, experts say that Africa will be the region hardest hit by climate change.
Credit: UNEP / GEF / Aidan Dockery
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) latest major report, the continent is warming faster than the global average, which is likely to bring devastating impacts, from extreme rainfall to drought to coastal flooding.
SAN FRANCISCO, USA, Sep 29 2021 (IPS)* – The September 16, 2021 announcement from the World Bank that it had discontinued publication of the Doing Business Report (DBR) marked a major victory for people and planet.
Since 2002, the DBR has scored and ranked countries on the “ease of doing business,” i.e. on regulatory changes and reforms that make them more attractive to private investors.
These “reforms” have included lowering corporate taxes, slashing environmental safeguards, social and labor standards, cutting administrative procedures, and removing restrictions to trade and business.
Cancellation of the DBR comes after data irregularities were found in the 2018 and 2020 reports.
(UN News)* — Urgent support is needed for tens of thousands of missing migrant families who are often forced to rely on smugglers and other informal networks, to trace loved ones, the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) said on 29 September 2021.
Despite human rights obligations, their perspectives are being ignored in government debates about safe migration. This results in persistent exclusion and marginalization, which has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(UN News)* — Nationally-owned solutions must be found for more than 55 million people displaced within their own countries, according to a new report presented to the UN Secretary-General by the High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement, released on 29 September 2021.
“For several decades, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) around the world has been growing, reaching record highs year after year”, Secretary-General António Guterres said, receiving the Panel’s report, Shining a Light on Internal Displacement: A Vision for the Future.
While many developed nations have pledged to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles in the next two decades, the transition will be more complicated in developing countries, where old cars imported from Europe, Japan and the United States are often the only affordable option.
Since 2002, the DBR has scored and ranked countries on the “ease of doing business,” i.e. on regulatory changes and reforms that make them more attractive to private investors.
