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Photo: A World Food Programme (WFP) representative in Bolivia talks to Uru-Murato indigenous women about COVID-19 awareness and healthy nutrition practices. Credit: WFP/Morelia Eróstegui

The Rich-Poor Gulf Widens 5 Years After Adoption of Sustainable Development Goals

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – 2020 will be remembered as a year in which a contagious virus shut down the world, widened the gulf between the rich and the poor, triggered a spike in poverty for the first time in decades, and pushed back the United Nations efforts to create more equitable societies jeopardising the Sustainable Development Goals universally agreed in September 2015.

By early December, the United Nations was warning that a record 235 million people would require humanitarian assistance in 2021, comprising an increase of some 40 per cent on 2020 which is almost entirely a consequence of the pandemic. (P26) INDONESIAN | TAGALOG | THAI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 3; 30 December 2020

Photo: Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury at 2019 HLF-CoP observing the 20th anniversary of the culture of peace at UN on 13 September 2019. Credit: UN

The Culture of Peace: For a Safer, Saner and Sustainable World

By Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury

The author is a former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the UN, former Permanent Representative and Ambassador of Bangladesh to the United Nations, and founder of the Global Movement for The Culture of Peace (GMCoP). The following are extensive excerpts from his virtual special lecture at the International Studies Institute at University of La Verne, California on 19 November 2020. "The objective of the culture of peace," he said, "is the empowerment of people, as has been underscored time and again by the global leader for peace and Buddhist philosopher Daisaku Ikeda."

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

Photo: Barroso Agro-sylvo-pastoral System. Credit: Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System.

Portugal: Mainstreaming Food Systems in The Presidency of The European Council

Viewpoint by Paulo Caruso Dias de Lima

The writer is a Liaison Officer at the FAO Brussels Office.

BRUSSELS (IDN) – As announced two weeks ago, the Portuguese Presidency of the European Council, in the first half of next year, is set to position its priorities to promote a fair, green and digital recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19. This is in keeping with regional and global trends towards transforming the ways in which we produce and consume food. - PORTUGUESE

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 2; 23 December 2020

Photo: File photo | Karnataka State Farmers Association members take part in a protest rally | PTI

India's Farmers Fight for Their Rights and Existence

Viewpoint by Sonali Kolhatkar*

LOS ANGELES (IDN) – India’s farmers are revolting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in a mass movement that has drawn international attention. The world’s largest democracy is witnessing a collective groundswell of protest as hundreds of thousands of farmers, largely from the states of Punjab and Haryana, have laid siege to the outskirts of the capital of New Delhi, determined to occupy the edges of the city until Modi reverses unpopular new laws that they say are anti-farmer.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 8; 18 December 2020

Image credit: International Development Law Organization

Breaking the Culture of Violence to Advance SDG 16 On Peace & Security

Viewpoint by P. I. Gomes*

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (IDN) – In the Preamble of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, reference is made to what is called the 5P’s of People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership. They capture with such lucid precision what is referred to as “all areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet.”

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

Photo: Ambassador Chowdhury in a virtual address to the Israeli Knesset.

'If We Are Serious About Peace, We Must Take Women Seriously'

By Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury in New York

The following is the full text of the address by Ambassador Chowdhury at the Knesset of Israel on November 17, 2020, at 14:30 Israel Standard Time. He is former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations and initiator of the precursor decision leading to the UNSCR 1325 as the President of the UN Security Council in March 2000 at the Special Meeting of the Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality of the Israeli Knesset marking the 20th anniversary of UNSC Resolution 1325 with focus on the challenges, progress made, and way forward in its implementation.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 5; 16 December 2020

Supporting Small Island Developing States to Build Back Better in the face of COVID-19

Viewpoint by Angélica Maria Jácome Daza

The writer is FAO Director, Office for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs).

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The possible food crisis that could be triggered by the effects of COVID-19 differs significantly from traditional food crises brought on by conflict or natural disasters. In contrast to the food crisis of 2007 and 2008, the current challenge is about ensuring food access, not food availability.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 3; 15 December 2020

Photo: Ethiopian federal government's "final offensive" against Tigray regional forces. Credit: Ethiopian News Agency

African Women Stress the Need for a Horn of Africa Peace Initiative

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali "for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea." The prize was also meant to recognise all the stakeholders working for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia and in the East and Northeast African regions.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 5; 15 December 2020

Pacific SIDS Champion Oceans and Blue Economy Preparing for COP 26

Viewpoint by P.I. Gomes*

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (IDN) – On December 10, 2020, marking five years since the adoption of the landmark Paris Agreement of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Heads of Government and Leaders of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) deemed it fit to convene a High-Level Roundtable on Urgent Climate Change Action in Tuvalu.

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

Climate Action: UN Insists on Developed Countries Meeting 100 Billion Dollar Annual Pledge

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – A new report by independent experts has proposed urgent actions to meet the pledge by developed countries to mobilize at least US$100 billion a year to support developing countries in mitigating and adapting to climate change. The study released by the United Nations on December 11 accentuates that "COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered the context for international climate finance".