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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.


SGI Soka Gakkai International

 

Credit: UN

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

Goal 16

Photo: (from left to right) Ambassador Antonio Marcondes, Under Secretary-General for the Environment, Energy, Science and Technology, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil; Maesela Kekana, Chief Director, International Climate Change Relations and Negotiations of South Africa; Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India; and Xie Zhenhua, Special Representative for Climate Change of China. Credit: INVC

Analysis by Devinder Kumar

NEW DELHI (IDN) - The world’s four major newly industrialized countries – Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) – have in effect warned that signing the Paris Climate Agreement at the High-Level Ceremony on April 22 in New York will lead nowhere unless all elements of an ambitious accord are implemented in letter and spirit.

The High Level Signature Ceremony has been convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the world body’s headquarters. Ban’s second term as UN Chief expires end of the year.

The four BASIC countries have welcomed the adoption of the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and acknowledged that the 21st Conference of Parties (COP-21) held in Paris in December 2015 marked “a milestone in global climate cooperation”.

Goal 13+14+15

Image by courtesy of the UN

NEW YORK (IDN | GIN) – Candle lighting, a minute of silence, the laying of wreaths and other memorial ceremonies will be held on April 11 when Rwanda recalls the genocide in 1994 that took 800,000 lives.

It is also a time for diplomats and local leaders to talk with communities about the atrocities of genocide and the importance of working towards a peaceful way of life. Student conferences, exhibitions, and other commemorative activities are also held.

The activities officially last a week, but the commemoration continues up to July 4, marking 100 days of genocide.

This year, a cadre of hundreds of social workers trained to help trauma victims are expected to be available to help survivors still struggling with memories from that time.

Goal 11

Photo of Kenyan children provided by Bridge International Academies

NEW YORK | MONROVIA (IDN | GIN) - In what might be a first in Africa, Liberia will put its entire pre-primary and primary education system in the hands of a U.S. start-up that would bring a charter school model to struggling schools on the continent.

Bridge International Academies already has a presence in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. Despite a headquarters in Nairobi, a listing for the company shows a San Francisco address.

When Liberian Education Minister George K. Werner announced in January that all pre-primary and primary schools would be outsourced to Bridge to manage, he set off a furor among local and international education experts. The arrangement, they said in an interview with the New Dawn newspaper, would be a “blatant violation of Liberia’s international obligations under the right to education and have no justification under Liberia’s constitution.

Goal 4

Photo: A rice barge transporting rice on the Mekong River in Vietnam | Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the fifth in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

SINGAPORE (IDN | Lotus News Features) - China would like to project the release of Mekong River waters from its dams in March to “assist” drought-stricken farmers and fisheries further downstream, especially in Vietnam, as a magnanimous gesture from a friendly neighbour. But that action is in fact the reflection of a greater environmental and political crisis that is brewing in the region.

China announced middle of March that in response to a Vietnamese request, it will discharge from March 15 to April 10 water from the Jinghong hydropower station on the Mekong River in Yunnan province to the lower reaches of the Mekong River to alleviate drought in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Goal 6

Photo: Students engrossed in a lecture | Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the fourth in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

CHIANG MAI (IDN | Lotus News Features*) - The Mindfulness fad sweeping across the West today may be the new money-spinner for those “gurus” who charge hundreds of dollars for each session to teach its applications, often to improve one’s ability to navigate the global capitalist system to make more money for yourself. But, for the Thais it's a 2500-year old philosophy taught by Gautama the Buddha to encourage moderation, self-reliance and contentment in your daily life.

Goal 12

Photo: Youths of Rocket and Space group in Kathmandu brainstorm on how to make their presentations on Sexual and Reproductive Rights more effective. Credit: Stella Paul | IDN-INPS

โดย Stella Paul

กาฐมาณฑุ (IDN) – Pabitra Bhattarai อายุ 21 ปี เป็นหญิงสาววัยรุ่นที่มีเสียงอ่อนหวานและรอยยิ้มที่เพียบพร้อม แต่ลองถามเธอเกี่ยวกับบริการด้านสุขภาพทางเพศ แล้วความอายเหล่านั้นจะหายไปในทันทีเมื่อเธอพูดอย่างมีอารมณ์ถึงการที่เยาวชนในประเทศของเธอต้องมีสิทธิ์เข้าถึงบริการดังกล่าว

“ประเทศของเราพึ่งพาบุคคลวัยรุ่น ดังนั้น เราไม่สามารถรับความเสี่ยงให้ประเทศเต็มไปด้วยวัยรุ่นที่มีเชื้อ HIV ได้ เราจำเป็นต้องมีการเข้าถึงอย่างเต็มรูปแบบต่อบริการด้านสุขภาพทางเพศและการสืบพันธุ์ (SRHR)” เธอกล่าวและฟังดูมีวุฒิภาวะมากกว่าอายุของเธออย่างมากในทันที

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