Goal 16 - SDGs for All

Photo: On May 30, 2016, former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré was convicted of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture, including sexual violence and rape, by the Extraordinary African Chambers in the Senegalese court system and sentenced to life in prison.Source: Human Rights Watch.

World Court Gives Myanmar 4 Months to Put Its House in Order

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – Let’s cut to the chase – there is no question, no doubt, that the government of Myanmar and the army which controls it have committed the most vile atrocities against the Rohingya people, a Muslim minority that lives in the West of the Buddhist-dominated country.

The International Court of Justice (the World Court) which ruled on January 23 against the Myanmar government, may not have concluded it was genocide as some say but it did unreservedly condemn the government for its atrocious sowing of violent mayhem against the Rohingya.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 16; 28 January 2020

Photo: A view of participants in the UN Youth Climate Summit on 21 September 2019. Credit: UN.

Climate and Nuclear Weapons Are the Focus of Buddhist Leader's Peace Proposals

By Taro Ichikawa

TOKYO (IDN) – Climate action and nuclear weapons abolition, with a focus on the individual lives and suffering often hidden behind macroeconomic indices, is the main theme of the 38th annual peace proposal by Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Buddhist network.

Titled 'Toward Our Shared Future: Constructing an Era of Human Solidarity', the proposals were released on January 26 marking the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Soka Gakkai and the 45th anniversary of the founding of SGI.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 13+14+15; 27 January 2020

Image credit: Transparency International

Politics-Big Money Nexus Feeds Corruption

By Sean Buchanan

LONDON (IDN) – In the last year, anti-corruption movements across the globe have gained momentum as millions of people joined together to speak out against corruption in their governments.

Protests from Latin America, North Africa and Eastern Europe to the Middle East and Central Asia made headlines as citizens marched in Santiago, Prague, Beirut and a host of other cities to voice their frustrations in the streets.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 16; 26 January 2020

[IDN-InDepthNews – 20 January 2020] Photo: The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, addresses the Berlin Conference on Libya alongside the UN Secretary-General António Guterres (r). Credit: Federal Government/Guido Bergmann.

Berlin Conference on Libya Sparks Expectations of an End to Protracted Conflict

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN (IDN) – A tiny glimmer of hope has emerged for Libya which has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Participants in a high-level ‘Berlin Conference on Libya’, hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on January 19, gave the go-ahead for the comprehensive ‘Berlin Process’ to put an end to the conflict and bring lasting peace to the oil-rich North African country trapped in clashing interests of Russia and Turkey – and other countries.

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 16; 20 January 2020

Photo: After the police pouncing on People Power leader Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu aka Bobi Wine at the start of his countrywide consultations on January 6, his supporters are devising new ways to go past the police. Source: The Independent.

Militant Youth Pin Hopes on Uganda’s ‘New Nightmare’

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – He’s elusive. He escapes, he hides. Police keep chasing him like a video game character or a superhero in a movie.

But despite their best efforts, authorities have been unable to stop Robert Kyagulanyi – a member of parliament and a popular reggae singer who records under the stage name Bobi Wine. He plans to seize the seat held by aging President Yoweri Museveni when elections are held in 2021.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 16; 16 January 2020

Photo: Screenshot UN Video ‘Least Developed Countries’. Credit: UN

The World’s Poorest Need Bold Actions by the Better Off

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – As the United Nations launches an ambitious global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, the fate of the world’s 47 most impoverished nations – the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) – has assumed added importance. UNCTAD, an organization of the UN, is therefore urging them to use external aid to structurally transform their economies. Donors, it adds, should align their support with the national development plans of the poorest nations.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 16; 14 January 2020

Photo: UN chief Guterres told the noon stakeout for correspondents at UN Headquarters in New York on January 6, that a “cauldron of tensions” could lead countries to unpredicted decisions with unpredictable consequences. Credit: United Nations.

Guterres Calls For De-escalating 'Dangerous' Geopolitical Tensions

Iran Ambassador Meets With UNESCO Chief Amid Trump Threats

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK | PARIS (IDN) – “Stop escalation. Exercise maximum restraint. Re-start dialogue. Renew international cooperation.” This is the four-point message of UN Secretary-General António Guterres spelling out what needs to happen now, in capitals across the world, to de-escalate geopolitical tensions, which he described as being “at their highest level this century” as the new decade dawns. RUSSIAN

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 16; 07 January 2020

Collage by IDN-INPS: With images from Wikimedia Commons – Scared Child (left), 1909 painting ‘The Worship of Mammon’ (centre), and Hate (right) from CMON.

Fear, Greed and Hate as We Enter the 2020s

Viewpoint by Roberto Savio*

ROME (IDN) – In a world in which the institutions that govern us are rapidly losing their moral compass, it is difficult not to realise that in 2020 we are now entering – or have already entered – a new low point in the history of humankind.

Today, for example, we face an unprecedented existential threat brought about by the climate crisis. According to scientists, we have until 2030 to stop climate change, after which the writing is on the wall for the planet. Yet, we have just had a world conference in Madrid on climate change, which ended in nothing. (P25) FRENCH | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 16; 03 January 2020

Photo: The second training on Conflict Prevention through Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-proliferation jointly organized by UNODA and the OSCE in May 2019 at Vienna International Centre. Credit: UNODA, Vienna Office.

Youth to The Front for Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his Agenda for Disarmament on May 24, 2018 underlined the need to establish a platform for youth engagement. This would include “a cadre of youth from around the world,” who will work assiduously to promote disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control in their communities.

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 10; 28 December 2019

Photo: Child labor in the mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Credit: UNICEF

Five Tech Giants Linked To ‘Cruel and Brutal Use of Children’ In Congo Mines

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Do kids work in coal mines?

In 1910, an estimated 2 million American children under the age of 15 were working in factories and mines for low wages and long shifts. Photographs by Lewis Hine of New York revealed the depraved exploitation of children, some as young as 8 years of age, in fields and in mines. Child labor was finally outlawed in 1938.