Goal 16 - SDGs for All

Image: World Press Freedom Day 2016 poster. Credit: UN

Little to Rejoice on World Press Freedom Day

Analysis by J Suresh

TORONTO (IDN) - In run-up to World Press Freedom Day on May 3, a new report has come up with a shocking revelation that global press freedom declined to its lowest point in 12 years in 2015, “as political, criminal, and terrorist forces sought to co-opt or silence the media in their broader struggle for power”.

An important exception to this trend, according to Freedom of the Press 2016, Freedom House’s annual report on media freedom worldwide, was Sri Lanka, which experienced a marked improvement in press freedom conditions after a new government took power in early 2015.

Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.

The report reveals another encouraging trend: Despite the many threats to press freedom, journalists and bloggers worldwide have shown resilience, often at great risk to their lives.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 16; 28 April 2016

Six Mekong Countries Reinforce Regional Drug Strategy

Analysis by J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) - The Mekong Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Drug Control, a framework that incorporates law enforcement, criminal justice, alternative development, and health responses in six countries in East and Southeast Asia continues to be of critical importance more than twenty-five years after it was signed.

Despite significant efforts, the six MOU countries – Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam – that constitute the Greater Mekong Sub-region continue to face challenges in stemming the flow of illicit drugs and precursor chemicals in, to and from the area.

After a decade of steady declines, the illicit cultivation of opium poppy has increased each year since 2006. Today, cultivation is concentrated in Myanmar and Lao PDR. Synthetic drugs, particularly methamphetamine in pill and crystal forms, have emerged as the primary drug threat in the Sub-region. The diversion and subsequent trafficking of precursors chemicals, and the emergence of new psychoactive substances, also continue to impact the area. SPANISH | GERMAN | HINDI | JAPANESE

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 16; 20 April 2016

Sustainable Development Crucial to Countering Terrorism

Analysis by Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) - Within days of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington that considered modes of averting nuclear materials falling into the hands of terrorists, possible ways of Preventing Violent Extremism drew the focus of a UN conference in Geneva.

The conference on April 7-8 was held against the backdrop that terrorist groups such as ISIL, Al-Qaida and Boko Haram have come to embody the image of violent extremism and the debate about how to address this threat.

An important element of a plan to counter all kinds of terrorism, according to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, has to be full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), because fulfilment of these goals will address many of the socioeconomic drivers of violent extremism. The SDGs highlight women’s empowerment and youth engagement, because societies with higher equality and inclusion are less vulnerable to violent extremism. (P01) HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT PDF | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH