Viewpoint by Karim Ismail on behalf of G-77

The following are extensive extracts from the statement on behalf of the “Group of 77”, comprising 134 member countries including China, by Karim Ismail, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations, at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) of the UN General Assembly on 15 November 2018, urging the Secretariat to ensure that the  world body’s staff reflects equitable geographic representation, as more women and young people are hired to shape a dynamic Organization with a mobile and multitalented workforce. – The Editor…

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – The African, Caribbean and Pacific-European Union Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program (ACP-EU NDRR) launched in 2011 has worked to build climate and disaster resilience in ACP countries, where the impacts of climate change are increasingly visible, says a new report.

The Program is an initiative of the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Group of States, in partnership with the European Union (EU), and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).

According to the Activity Report 2017-2018 for Fiscal Year 18 (1 July 2017-30 June 2018), development stakeholders, governments, and civil society organizations have become increasingly aware of the importance of partnerships in meeting these challenges.…

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Finally, finally, the over-long, ten year trials of the leaders of the murderous Khmer Rouge leadership of Cambodia, are over. The two defendants, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, were each given a life sentence at the end of the first trial in August 2015 for crimes against humanity. Now they have been convicted of genocide.

Of the other three that were tried, one, the ex-foreign minister, Ieng Sary died in 2013, one, Ieng Thirith, the wife of Ieng Sary, was too ill with Alzheimer’s to appear and one, Kaing Guek Eav (“Duch”), voluntarily confessed three years ago and was sent to jail for 35 years.…

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – “I love you, that’s why I beat you.” So ends a poem by the Ghanaian writer Mariska Araba Taylor-Darko about a violent spouse and an abused woman who lays the blame of the daily beating on herself.

The poem, A Beating for Love, takes special significance, particularly as this year’s UN theme for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25) and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (November 25-December 10) – “Orange the World: #HearMeToo” – aims to support women and girls around the world.…

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – Worldwide movements and corporate walk-outs have exposed the magnitude of violence against women and girls and highlighted how often such violence is normalized. Research shows that violence against women and girls affects one in three women worldwide and that no country is immune to this pandemic. Yet instead of holding perpetrators accountable, women and girls who experience violence are often blamed and their testimonies systematically called into question.…

By Anna Kucirkova

UNIVERSAL CITY, Texas (IDN-INPS) – Fresh water is the most important resource for human life on earth. People can survive far longer without food than without water, and virtually all of our food sources require fresh water to grow or create.

Global climate change and the exponential increase in population has led to water scarcity and recent headline-grabbing water shortages in major urban centres like Cape Town and Sao Paulo.

As water scarcity or cleanliness continue to present major issues to humanity’s survival, communities across the globe are turning to technology to help access more fresh water – or create it using seemingly ‘magic’ techniques.…

By J Nastranis

Fourteen million civilians are on the edge of famine in Yemen. Starvation is on the horizon, warns WFP‘s chief David Beasley. What he has seen during a recent visit to the country is “the stuff of nightmares, horror, deprivation and misery”. UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy Martin Griffiths is therefore at pains to bring the conflict parties to a negotiating table. “We as women have the highest stake in peace,” vows civil society leader Rasha Jarhum.

NEW YORK (IDN) – Yemen is no longer “the forgotten war” that it has long been, Special Envoy for the UN Secretary-General, Martin Griffiths has told the 15-nation Security Council. This is underlined, among others, by the fact that the United Nations plans to convene peace talks on Yemen soon after receiving firm assurances from the conflict parties that they will attend negotiations in Sweden.…