At the UN in Geneva, the Geneva Center for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue with the support of the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, arranged this panel discussion for the fight against the scourge of so called “Islamophobia”. Participants included:
Reporting the underreported about the plan of action for People, Planet and Prosperity, and efforts to make the promise of the SDGs a reality.
A project of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate Group with IDN as the Flagship Agency in partnership with Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC.
By J Nastranis
NEW YORK (IDN) – UN Women, United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, has drawn attention to three “historic firsts” achieved this year in combatting sexual violence in conflict. At the same time, the organisation’s Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri has stressed that “realizing gender equality has a deadline, and it is 2030”.
In run-up to the first International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict on June 19, United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women said all three historic firsts were “long overdue and all had one thing in common: the unstoppable force of women’s voice and leadership”.
According to the statement, in February 2016, a national court in Guatemala convicted two former military officers of committing sexual violence during the country’s civil war – the first time that a national court anywhere in the world considered charges of sexual slavery during armed conflict.
Uchambuzi na Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE (IDN) – Pamoja na vikwazo wanawake wanaendelea kukabiliana navyo nchini Zimbabwe, nchi hii imefanya mafanikio makubwa katika kufikia usawa wa kijinsia katika msitari na Lengo la 5 la Malengo Endelevu ya Maendeleo (MEM) yanayotazamiwa kupatikana ifikapo mwaka 2030.
Kuna uwakilishi bora wa wanawake bungeni na kuongezeka kwa idadi ya wasichana katika chuo kikuu kuliko wenzao wa kiume kwa sasa – na hii wanawake zaidi pia wamechukua kazi zinazoshikiliwa na wanaume.
By Jaya Ramachandran
GENEVA (IDN) - Child labour is rampant around the world: some 168 million children working in various sectors of the economy – ranging from agriculture to mining, from manufacturing to tourism – are producing goods and services consumed by millions every day.
Marking the World Day against Child Labour on June 12, the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) has drawn the focus on the plight of children toiling in some of the most hazardous jobs.
“That child labour has no place in well-functioning and well-regulated markets is evident. But the reality is that today, child labour remains widespread in supply chains,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder in a statement that focussed on child labour and supply chains.
By Rodney Reynolds
NEW YORK (IDN) – A new study on the international trade in small arms and light weapons confirms the long standing traditional secrecy in the global market place.
Released June 6 – to coincide with the Sixth Biennial Meeting on the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms – the study pointedly says “export authorizations remain the most opaque dimension of small arms reporting”.
The 2016 Transparency Barometer, which evaluated the reporting practices of 49 countries, identified only three countries – Germany, the UK and the Netherlands – as “the most transparent major small arms exporters”.
The Netherlands was among the top three, due to improvements in reporting through its monthly arms export reports, which include new information on re-exports.
Analysis by Martin Khor *
GENEVA (IDN | SOUTHNEWS) - The global health situation is facing many critical challenges, and multiple actions must be taken urgently to prevent crises from boiling over. This is the impression one gets from this year’s World Health Assembly held in Geneva on from May 23 to 28.
The WHA is the world’s prime public health event. This year 3,500 delegates from 194 countries took part, including Health Ministers of most countries. The one-week session provided a snapshot of the major medical problems and the actions being taken or proposed to deal with them.
In her opening speech, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan gave an overview of what went right and what is missing on the global health front.
Analysis by Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE (IDN) - Despite the hurdles women continue to face in Zimbabwe, this country has made significant headway in achieving gender equality in line with Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be attained by 2030.
There is improved women parliamentary representation and increased numbers of girls in university than their male counterparts now – and this as more women have also taken up once male-dominated jobs.
According to UN Women, the United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, women’s representation in Zimbabwe’s Parliament more than doubled from 17 per cent following the 2008 general elections, to 35 per cent in the elections on July 31, 2013. (P15) ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SWAHILI
By Dr Bradnee Chambers *
BONN (IDN) - Unless the science fiction of Michael Crichton’s “Jurassic Park” becomes science fact sometime soon, extinction will continue to mean gone forever; and if we want to avoid losing more species, we must start learning from the mistakes of the past; unfortunately the evidence suggests that all too often we seem determined to repeat them
Humans have hunted animals for food since time immemorial and taking “one for the pot” was not sport but quite simply the only way to feed one’s family. The artisanal methods using bow and arrow or nets made from home-spun twine and the level of the harvest meant such hunting was entirely sustainable. But now things have changed. In addition to other threats, man-made and natural, such as climate change, habitat loss, collisions with vehicles, power lines and wind turbines, wildlife faces another totally avoidable danger: illegal wildlife trade.
Analysis by Ramesh Jaura and Katsuhiro Asagiri
GYEONGJU, South Korea (IDN) - Five months after the international community began implementing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) endorsed by world leaders in September 2015, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and academia have finalized and adopted a global education action agenda.
The agenda affirming the importance of Sustainable Development Goal 4 – ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong opportunities for all – is spelt out in the Gyeongju Action Plan.
It was agreed at the 66th United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI) / NGO Conference that concluded on June 1, 2016 after three days of deliberations in Gyeongju, a city on South Korea's southeast coast. (P14) ARABIC | GERMAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH | TURKISH
Viewpoint by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director
NEW YORK (IDN | UN Women) - The drugging, abduction and violent gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, calls us all to turn the tide of sexual violence against women and girls in Brazil and in every country in the world.
Her silence was broken by the men who boastfully posted their images of the rape, deepening her abuse by showing her body to the world, in the confident expectation of approval by their peers and impunity from punishment.
This is Brazil’s moment to shake that confidence to its core and reassert the rule of law and its respect for human rights. This is the time for zero tolerance for violence against women and girls.
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