'Unseen' News and Views
©FAO/Khaled Desouki14 March 2021 (FAO)* — From a media bed unit start-up in Bangkok to a fully developed 120 households deep water culture (DWC) unit in Ethiopia, aquaponics is showcasing its true potential to produce sustainable food anytime, anywhere.
María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés was only the fourth woman in the 76-year history of the United Nations to be elected President of the General Assembly, the UN’s main deliberative and policy-making body. She was the Foreign Minister of Ecuador. She is being congratulated by the outgoing President Miroslav Lajčák, (centre) and the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. September 2018. Credit: UN / Loey Felipe
(UN News)* — Although the world’s indigenous peoples live in areas that contain around 80 per cent of the planet’s biodiversity, many still struggle to maintain their legal rights to lands, territories and resources, according to a new UN report published on Friday 12 March 2021.
The latest edition of the State of the World’s Indigenous People report examines challenges communities face in asserting their rights to lands, whether in the context of agribusiness, extractive industries, development, conservation and tourism.
11 March 2021 (Wall Street International)* — On 3rd March 2021, wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with the message “everything will be okay”, 19 year old dancer Ma Kyal Sin participated in a peaceful pro-democracy rally in Mandalay. The teenager was shot dead by a military sniper.
12 March 2021 (UN News)* — The United Nations entity dedicated to protection of women’s rights has voiced deep concerns over “targeted and disproportionate” violence against women being recorded during the crackdown against peaceful protesters in Myanmar.
In addition, women in detention are also reportedly experiencing sexual harassment and violence, UN-Women said in a statement on Friday 12 March 2021.
“Women have long played a celebrated and vital role in the history of Myanmar. They continue to do so and must not be attacked and punished for the peaceful expression of their views”, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of the agency, said.
According to UN-Women, at least six women lost their lives in the protests and close to 600 women, including young women, LGBTIQ+ and civil society activists have been arrested.
Almost 12,000 children killed or injured in the past decade, according to verified data – an average of more than three children a day
AMMAN/NEW YORK (UNICEF)* – The war in Syria has left the lives and futures of a generation of children hanging by a thread, UNICEF on 10 March 2021 warned, as the conflict nears the 10-year mark.
The situation for many children and families remains precarious, with nearly 90 per cent of children in need of humanitarian assistance, a 20 per cent increase in the past year alone.
NEW YORK (UNICEF)* — Ten million additional child marriages may occur before the end of the decade, threatening years of progress in reducing the practice, according to a new analysis released by UNICEF on 8 March 2021.
Commodifying Democracy is a Costly Failure in America
Everyday I receive ten to twenty times more appeals for money to support this or that political campaign than I receive any kind of serious substantive statement of explanation or concern.
Richard Falk
And because this storm has become so deadening, the language of most appeals is nearly always hysterical, wildly exaggerating good or bad marginal developments designed to create a sense of urgency on the part of recipients.
Not only can I not afford to respond to so many appeals, each insisting that the future of the republic is at stake, but the numbing effect is perhaps most disturbing, a kind of Gresham’s Law effect: bad ‘politics’ is driving out ‘good.’
Of course, these is an understandable issue at stake. The proto-fascist Republican, Trumpist side benefits from wealthy transactional donors who give vast sums with expectations of even vaster material gains, poses a challenge.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 