'Unseen' News and Views – By Baher Kamal & The Like
– The UN’s highly-touted socio-economic agenda, which lays out an ambitious global plan for “people, planet and prosperity”, has been dominated by “goals, targets and deadlines.”
Credit: IPBES
But regrettably, most developing nations are struggling to reach these goals—due largely to a shortfall in much-needed funding or lack of political will on the part of most governments.
18 February 2020 (UN Environment)* — More than 90 per cent of rice is produced and consumed in Asia. Prior to the green revolution in the 1960s, India was home to more than 100,000 rice varieties, encompassing a stunning diversity in taste, nutrition, pest-resistance and, crucially in this age of climate change and natural disasters, adaptability to a range of conditions.
Photo by RCDC
Today, much of this biodiversity is irretrievably lost, forced out by the quest for high-yield hybrids and varieties. Nevertheless, a significant number of traditional varieties of rice are still grown by small and marginal farmers across India, where they cater for local consumers’ quality preferences and market niches.
20 February 2020 (UN News)* — A new study conducted by researchers from the United Nations health agency revealed that bladder cancer mutations can be detected in urine up to 10 years before clinically diagnosing the disease.
The test is based on detecting mutations in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene – a crucial element for cancer genesis and progression – the most common mutations in bladder cancer, according to the report conducted by the UN World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and international partners.
The new evidence is detailed in an article published by The Lancet, which highlights the potential of early detection.
18 February 2020 (IWGIA)* — The situation for Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh in many ways echoes the situation of other Indigenous Peoples in Asia: they face heavy militarization; they are stigmatized as anti-national for wanting to be included in decisions affecting their lives – such as industrial development taking place on their ancestral lands, lands which they depend on for their livelihood; and their lands are grabbed at the speed of light, and with their land goes a huge part of their identity. Indigenous women are targeted, and rape is used systematically as a weapon to suppress them. The misery seems to be unending. Yet they are still here; alive, struggling, fighting, uniting.
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Geneva (IOM)* – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on 19 February 2-2o called on the international community including the European Union to find an alternative safe disembarkation mechanism for migrants rescued fleeing Libya by boat after roughly 200 migrants were returned to Tripoli, hours after the city’s main port was heavily shelled on Tuesday [18 February 2020].
IOM Libya staff assist migrants at a disembarkation point in Tripoli. Photo credit: IOM 2020
20 February 2020 (United Nations)* — Social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations. We uphold the principles of social justice when we promote gender equality, or the rights of indigenous peoples and migrants. We advance social justice when we remove barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability.
For the United Nations, the pursuit of social justice for all is at the core of our global mission to promote development and human dignity.
The adoption by the International Labour Organization of the Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization is just one recent example of the UN System’s commitment to social justice.
If the future is going to work for everyone, it will mean putting people and planet first. But how? Tell policymakers what you think!
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© Ronn aka “Blue” Aldaman
(UN News)* — Malnutrition, disease, floods, droughts and displacement in Niger have put nearly three million people, more than half of them children, in need of humanitarian assistance, UNICEF on 19 February 2020 said, calling for increased attention to their plight.
19 February 2020 (UN News)* — The world’s survival depends on children being able to flourish, but no country is doing enough to give them a sustainable future, dozens of highly respected international health experts on 19 February 2020.
In a UN-backed report assessing the capacity of 180 countries to ensure that their youngsters can survive and thrive, the authors highlight numerous “immediate” threats to their health, environment and opportunities.
March to May is the main cropping season for many countries in Eastern Africa (most of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, southern South Sudan, southern Ethiopia and southern Somalia).
The swarms of locusts, which have now spread to eight countries (Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan and Eritrea), have been laying eggs along their migratory paths. The eggs are expected to hatch between March and April, posing serious risks to the upcoming cropping season.
