Goal 3 - SDGs for All

Photo: A glimpse of the exhibition on human rights education. Credit: NGO Working Group on Human Rights Education and Learning.

Conference Calls for Mainstreaming Human Rights Education

By Neena Bhandari

SYDNEY (IDN) – More investment is needed in human rights education and strengthening of civil society to address inequality and sustainability – the main objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This was the key message from the Ninth International Conference on Human Rights Education (ICHRE) held in Sydney, Australia.

Drawing inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which marks its 70th Anniversary this year, the ICHRE 2018 (November 26-29) recommended all stakeholders to mainstream human rights education as a tool for social cohesion towards peaceful coexistence; and strive to bridge the significant gap between integrating human rights education in the curricula and its implementation. (P18) CHINESE | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN | TURKISH

: IDN-INPS Editor; Project Articles; 03 December 2018

Asia-Pacific Reviews Ambitious Targets of 1994 Cairo Conference

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana and Natalia Kanem

Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Dr. Natalia Kanem is United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

BANGKOK (IDN) – Ministers and senior policymakers across Asia and the Pacific are gathered in Bangkok up to November 28 to focus on population dynamics at a crucial time for the region. Their goal: to keep people and rights at the heart of the region’s push for sustainable development. They will be considering how successful we have been in balancing economic growth with social imperatives, underpinned by rights and choices for all as enshrined in the landmark Programme of Action stemming from the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, or ICPD.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 3; 27 November 2018

Photo: Joyce Banda, former President of Malawi, addressing the conference. Credit: Justus Wanzala | IDN-INPS

Women Medics Pitch for Effective Role in Decision Making on Health Issues

By Justus Wanzala

NAIROBI (IDN) – Achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is crucial in attainment of not only health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) but also all SDGs.

Participants in the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) Regional Conference 2018, that was held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, from November 11-15, noted that achieving UHC can aid in tackling the growing disease burden and extreme poverty in Afrcan countries and other poor nations.

Christine Sadia, President of Kenya Medical Women's Association (KMWA) said governments, policy makers, donors and development partners should not waver in supporting women’s health issues with the aim of alleviating problems that face women and girls across the globe.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 3; 26 November 2018

Photo: Sri Lanka (Ambassador Azeez on the left) co-chaired the WHO Global Coordination Mechanism for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (GCM/NCD) along with the host country Switzerland. Credit: Sri Lanka Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva.

WHO Determined to Prevent Noncommunicable Diseases

Sri Lanka Co-Chaired Meeting Focuses on Diseases Killing the Poor

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) pose a serious global development challenge. As the year three of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) comes to a close, evidence shows that the international community is not on track to meet a vital goal. This is a disconcerting perspective because NCDs are causing far more deaths and disability than any other group of diseases, according to experts.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 3; 10 November 2018

Photo: This field visit provided a learning opportunity into two of MLife’s distribution models, micro-entrepreneurs and enterprise associations. Mlife has been in partnership with the Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business (ZFAWIB) to provide low-cost funeral insurance services since 2016. Credit: Munich Re Foundation

Insurance Essential for Sustainable Development – But Billions Still Losing Out

By Kwame Buist

LUSAKA, Zambia (IDN) – Billions of uninsured individuals, families and small businesses are exposed to risks which can result in catastrophic losses, delegates to the 14th International Microinsurance Conference (IMC) on ‘Inclusive Insurance for Emerging Markets’ in Lusaka were told.

Despite encouraging signs of increased insurance cover uptake in some markets, climate change and extreme weather events are exposing the poorest and most vulnerable to risk as never before.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 1; 07 November 2018

Photo: The two Nobel Peace laureates: and Denis Mukwege. Credit: Amnesty International.Photo: The two Nobel Peace laureates: Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege.

UN Hails Nobel Peace Prize Seeking to End Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations has extended an enthusiastic welcome to The Norwegian Nobel Committee's announcement that it has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.

The Nobel Peace Prize 2017 was awarded to ICAN, the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons "for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition on such weapons."

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 3; 06 October 2018

Photo (front l to r): High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez serving as Chairperson-Rapporteur, Human Rights Council President Vojislav Šuc, Permanent Representative of Slovenia. Credit: Sri Lanka Permanent Mission to UN in Geneva.

Sri Lanka Chaired UN Forum Focuses on Sport to Promote Human Rights

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – The Social Forum of the UN Human Rights Council serves since 2008 as a unique space for open and interactive dialogue between civil society actors, representatives of Member States, and intergovernmental organizations, on a theme chosen by the Council each year. The 2018 Social Forum, with Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez as the Chairperson-Rapporteur, distinguished itself in more than one way.

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 3; 05 October 2018

Photo: Winners of the 'SDGs and Her Competition' awards: Lucy Odiwa, owner of Tanzania-based WomenChoice Industries (right); and Mukuru Clean Stoves of Kenya owner, Charlot Magay (left). Credit: Sumaya Agha/UNDP

Sustainable Development Award Winners Celebrated at UN

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK(IDN) – Tanzania-based WomenChoice Industries and Mukuru Clean Stoves of Kenya are the global winners of the SDGs and Her Competition that seeks to increase knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their potential impact on women, as well as to encourage private sector partners and share best practices and innovative ideas.

They were celebrated at a side-event on September 24, 2018 during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly. The contest – co-sponsored by the World Bank Group, UNDP, UN Women, and the Wharton School Zicklin Center – showcases women micro-entrepreneurs who are helping to achieve the SDGs through their businesses.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 1; 25 September 2018

Photo: A glimpse of AIDS2018. Credit: AIDS2018

AIDS 2018 Concludes Underlining $6 Billion Gap In Funding

By Reinhard Jacobsen

AMSTERDAM (IDN) – Since the first cases of HIV were reported more than 35 years ago, 78 million people have become infected with HIV and 35 million have died from AIDS-related illnesses, says UNAIDS, a United Nations organization that is leading the global effort since1996 to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

According to the latest figures available, in 2017, 36.9 million people were living with HIV and 21.7 million with HIV on antiretroviral therapy. 1.8 million were newly infected with HIV in 2017.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 3; 29 July 2018

Photo: The UN General Assembly agreed May 10 to take the first step toward considering whether a new international instrument was needed to address gaps between international environmental agreements. Credit: UN

Unrestricted Economic Welfare Menaces Human Well Being

By Rita Joshi

BERLIN (IDN) – The Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate agreement set the target of prosperous development for people and our planet. Yet, it remains challenging to translate these aims into concrete policy implementations without risking human welfare and the Earth ecosystem.

A new climate study argues that optimizing economic welfare without constraints might put human well being at risk. While being successful in bringing down costs of greenhouse gas reductions for instance, the concept of profit maximization alone does not suffice to avoid the tipping of critical elements in the Earth system, which could lead to dramatic changes of our livelihoods.