'Unseen' News and Views
UNHCR asked youth to draw in solidarity with refugees amid the pandemic. We received 2,000 drawings from 100 countries, chose seven and brought them to life. | Español | Français | عربي
Faida in Rwanda submitted this drawing, called ‘Rain of Love’, for UNHCR’s Youth with Refugees Art Contest. © UNHCR
What Change Toward a New Necessary Normal Will Have to Look Like
Prof. Jan Oberg
Connecting dots is neither the trend of our times nor of day-to-day political decision-making.
Over the years, time, space and intellectual focus has shrunk. It’s deplorable and dangerous for an increasingly complex world facing increasingly existential challenges.
For instance, during the European refugee crisis the dots between wars and refugee movements were hardly ever made. The focus was on how to limit refugees getting into Europe but hardly ever on the wars from which they fled. Western wars are untouchables.
– Developing country debt has continued to grow rapidly since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis (GFC). Warnings against debt have been reiterated by familiar prophets of debt doom such as new World Bank chief economist, Carmen Reinhart, once dubbed the ‘godmother of austerity’.
Growing debt burden
Falling commodity prices, dwindling foreign reserves, slower global growth and weakening currencies have made it harder for developing countries to meet external debt payments.
This has involved economies of all income categories, reaching historical highs even before the pandemic. By early May, more than 100 countries had asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help.
12 August 2020 (UN Environment)* — At the turn of the 20th century, there were 10 million elephants in Africa. But decades of poaching and habitat loss have taken a heavy toll on these smart, highly social creatures. Today just 415,000 remain.
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August 12 is World Elephant Day, celebrated to honour the iconic animals, to spread awareness about the critical threats elephants are facing, and to support solutions that will help ensure their survival.
In a major essay to mark the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, John Pilger describes reporting from five ‘ground zeros’ for nuclear weapons – from Hiroshima to Bikini, Nevada to Polynesia and Australia. He warns that unless we take action now, China is next.
– As the world marks International Youth Day on August 12, it is difficult to ignore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people – particularly on efforts towards youth economic inclusion in Africa. Meaningful and swift action is needed from African states to ensure the damage is not long-lasting.
Youth at the Grand Médine town hall in Dakar, Senegal. Senegal has a large youth population, half of which is under the age of 18. By 2025, 376,000 youth are expected to enter the job market that offers only 30,000 jobs. And this number will rise to 411,000 in 2030, according to the Wilson Centre. Credit: Samuelle Paul Banga/IPS
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This is the conclusion of a first-of-its-kind study to analyse the health and environmental outcomes of national dietary guidelines in 85 countries around the world.
11 August 2020 (ILO)* — The universal ratification of the ILO Convention on the Worst forms of Child Labour is a milestone, says the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Tomoya Obokata. However countries need to intensify efforts to eradicate child labour in all its forms.
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HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 