'Unseen' News and Views
– The Middle East, one of the world’s most politically-volatile and war-ravaged regions, has doubled its arms imports during the past five years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
UN Security Council in session.
In fighting the global drug problem, the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent underscored that States must acknowledge and amend the devastating impact of judicial policies on people of African descent, who are more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, convicted, and harshly sentenced for drug crimes, in many countries.
ROME, March 2019 (Other News)* – There is a huge debate on anti-Semitism. I think we need to make a systematic analysis that makes the problem simple and clear. Obviously, the subject is very complex and produces so many urges that any attempt of schematization is inevitably incomplete. However, outlining some broad traits can be useful. Let us try it.
Roberto Savio
First, we must remember that there is an historical anti-Semitism, which is at the root of the wave of anti-Semitism that is waking up throughout Europe.
This has precisely historical reasons, caused by the resentment towards the Jews, starting from the Middle Ages at least until the beginning of the Renaissance, when the Roman Catholic Church lost its power of absolute control.
The Jews have been the only non-Christian minority in Europe for 1,400 years, more literate and brilliant than the uneducated, barbaric and violent Christians. A feudal prince who could read and write was suspicious.
Nairobi, 13 March 2019 (UN Environment)* – Even if the world were to cut emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, winter temperatures in the Arctic would rise 3-5°C by 2050 and 5-9°C by 2080, devastating the region and unleashing sea level rises worldwide, finds a new report by UN Environment.
Photo: Pixabay | Photo from UN Environment.
Meanwhile, rapidly thawing permafrost could even accelerate climate change further and derail efforts to meet the Paris Agreement’s long-term goal of limiting the rise in global temperature to 2°C, warns Global Linkages – A graphic look at the changing Arctic.
Women are agents of change in improving their families’ and community’s nutrition.
“Before, our food was like poison in our bodies, but now it is like medicine,” says Eunice Wango Manga. ©FAO/Sven G. Simonsen
14 March 2019 (FAO)* — “Before, our food was like poison in our bodies, but now it is like medicine,” says Eunice Wango Manga, a farmer in Kitui County in Eastern Kenya.
Her family and community are among the beneficiaries of an FAO project to make smallholder households eat better and grow foods that are more nutritious.
13 March 2019 (UN Women)* — At a side event during the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women, youth leaders from 100 countries urged political leaders and senior UN officials to make strong commitments that safeguard and improve access to social protection, public services and sustainable infrastructure for women and girls, including young women and girls, worldwide. Equally important, they said, was to engage young people in shaping the solutions that affect their lives.
GENEVA, 13 March 2019 (The Geneva Centre)* – Multilateralism must be people-driven. The current rise of populism around the world is inextricably linked to a feeling of being excluded and kept out of decision-making processes broadly shared by ordinary people.
These were the main conclusions of a joint event between the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue and the UNOG Library entitled Leadership in Modern Multilateralism.
The debate was held on 12 March 2019 at the United Nations Office in Geneva in the Library Events Room at Palais Des Nations.
At a time when the UN and other international organizations in Geneva are actively celebrating “100 years Anniversary of Multilateral Diplomacy in Geneva” to mark the Centenary of the founding of the League of Nations, multilateralism is under important strain.
After hearing from many of the world’s top women politicians on Tuesday [13 March 2019] in a session on “Women in Power”, Secretary-General António Guterres, held a Town Hall meeting for civil society activists where he underscored the importance of women seizing the initiative in the struggle for gender equality.
Despite a decline in new HIV infections globally, a UN report launched on Wednesday [13 March 2019] highlights that nearly all people who inject drugs live in countries that do not provide suitable harm-reduction service coverage, meaning they are denied adequate access to essential health services.*
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 