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Photo: A 30-foot-high monument entitled 'Turn off the plastics tap' by Canadian activist and artist Benjamin von Wong stands outside the venue for the UN Environment Assembly that concluded on March 2, 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya. Credit: UNEP/Cyril Villemain

Striving for a Global Treaty to Combat Plastic Pollution, 'One of the Greatest Human-Made Threats our Planet Faces'

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — In the 1967 Hollywood box office hit “The Graduate”—a romantic comedy directed by Mike Nichols and based on a novel by Charles Webb—the newly-graduated Dustin Hoffman gets an unsolicited piece of advice: “The future is plastics”.

The widely disseminated one-liner was hailed as a boost for the world’s plastic industry. But 55 years later, the industry is under fire because of the environmental hazards it generates. (P33) FRENCH | ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | TURKISH

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 13+14+15; 12 March 2022

Feminist UN Campaign Report Wants UN Chief to Walk the Talk

By J C Suresh

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — “Talk less, act more …. All words are like feathers in the air,” commented an informant of the Feminist UN Campaign's report on UN Secretary-General António Guterres' commitment to gender equality in his five-year first term.

In fact, key informants reported that staff remain disillusioned with the UN’s “macho culture of impunity,” are profoundly mistrustful of reporting and justice mechanisms in the system and are fearful of retaliation. (P32) ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE | TAGALOG

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 5; 09 March 2022

Photo: Back to back hurricanes in 2020 caused destruction and flooding across Central America, leaving thousands of people homeless. Credit: UNICEF/Inti Ocon/AFP-Services

UN Scientists Warn of Climate Change Threatening People and the Planet

By Jutta Wolf

BERLIN (IDN) — People and the planet are threatened by the impact of climate change, according to UN scientists. Ecosystem collapse, species extinction, deadly heatwaves and floods are among the "unavoidable multiple climate hazards” the world will face over the next two decades due to global warming, they warn.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 13+14+15; 28 February 2022

Photo: African leaders at 35th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union. Credit: African Union.

Africa Battles for Rightful Place in the UN

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE | ADDIS ABABA (IDN) — Held in Addis Ababa the Ethiopian capital, the 35th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union early February seems long gone, with loud calls from African leaders for reform of the United Nations system.

The loudest calls came from the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed who boldly took the UN to task. (P31) FRENCH | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SPANISH | SWAHILI

: IDN-INPS Editor; Project Articles; 23 February 2022

Photo credit: Institute for Security Studies (ISS)

Drought and Hunger Stalk the Horn of Africa While the Continent Is in the Grip of Coups

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — There's a severe, earth-baking drought in the Horn of Africa. About 13 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti are in the grip of acute hunger. The rains have failed in three consecutive years, prompting the driest conditions experienced in the region in 41 years.

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 16; 18 February 2022

Photo: Local women gather at a river in Mucheni, Zimbabwe. Credit: Brent Stirton/Getty Images for FAO

The Doubling of Joint UN Fund Will Boost Sustainable Development

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) — In the race to 2030, the United Nations Joint SDG Fund  has been doubled to $114 million as a result of an additional US $54.5 million in investments for projects in five countries, to try and get the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back on track.

Selected from a global pool of submissions from over 100 countries, the proposals submitted by Kenya, Madagascar, North Macedonia, Suriname, and Zimbabwe emerged as the strongest, most impactful, and investment-ready to take public.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 17; 15 February 2022

Photo: Women travel long distances to get water in a single pump in Batugade, Bobonaro, Timor Leste. Credit: Annamarie Reyes

Timor Leste: Oil Revenue Fails to Address Child Stunting

By Annamarie Reyes

DILI, Timor Leste (IDN) — The world’s newest democracy of Timor Leste is currently confronting a surge of omicron cases after being one of the safest countries from Covid. But as it continues to manage the pandemic fairly well, the story is quite the opposite when it comes to the problem of child stunting. (P30) INDONESIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH

: IDN-INPS Editor; Project Articles; 11 February 2022

Photo: Paddy field in Polonnaruwa. Credit: L.G. Piyarathna

Sri Lanka: Government’s Badly Planned Organic Farming Policy Upsets Rice Farmers

By R.M.Samanmalee Swarnalatha

POLLONNARUWA, Sri Lanka (IDN) — Sri Lankan government’s badly planned organic farming policy that has banned the use of chemical fertilizer in farms has upset farmers in this rice-growing heartland and a political stronghold of the ruling coalition. The policy has also drawn criticism from agricultural experts, who warn that Sri Lanka’s food security is at stake. (P29) HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN | TAGALOG

: IDN-INPS Editor; Project Articles; 09 February 2022

Photo: Mahamat Saleh Haroun at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Wikimedia Commons.

Chadian Filmmaker Takes a Strong Stand for Women’s Rights

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Mahamat-Saleh Haroun was seven years old when he first heard that a newborn baby was found dead in the trash. A few weeks later, another baby was similarly found. Tragically, this was nothing out of the ordinary in a repressive society that denied women the right to control their bodies, to have babies when they were ready, or to refuse to be cut in the practice known as FGM.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 5; 07 February 2022

Is China Pursuing 'Debt-Trap Diplomacy' in Africa?

Viewpoint by Allison Lau and Lauren Gonitzke *

This article was produced by Local Peace Economy, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

NEW YORK (IDN) — In mid-December 2021, South African comedian Trevor Noah used “The Daily Show” to target China when he aired a segment titled “Why China Is in Africa”. While this segment was advertised as an informed, nuanced overview of the complex international relationship between China and many African states, it mainly reinforced the debunked myth of “debt-trap diplomacy” to its American audiences, ending with a throwaway line about #StopAsianHate.