Articles by IPS
We found 512 results.
Inequality (III): Less Employment… And More ‘Junk’ Jobs
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
23 Jan 2017
Article III of of this three-part series on inequality tackles the issue of the future and quality of jobs. Part II focused on the impact of inequality on women. Part I dealt with the alarming deepening inequality worldwide.
→ read full articleTrump, the Banks and the Bomb
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
9 Jan 2017
7 Jan 2017 – When pro-nuclear disarmament organisations last October cheered the UN decision to start in 2017 negotiations on a global treaty banning these weapons, they did not expect that the US would elect Donald Trump. Much less that he would rush to advocate for increasing the US nuclear power.
→ read full articleNew UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Takes Office
Andy Hazel – Inter Press Service-IPS,
9 Jan 2017
Antonio Guterres of Portugal officially took up his position as ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations Tuesday [3 Jan 2017] morning. “We live in a world where problems became global and there is no way they can be solved on a country by country basis” — Antonio Guterres
→ read full articleISDS Corporate Rule of Law
Jomo Kwame Sundaram – Inter Press Service-IPS,
5 Dec 2016
Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions in ostensible free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties have effectively created a powerful, privileged system of protections for foreign investors that undermine national law and institutions.
→ read full articleChildren of the ‘Others’, Sons of Minor Gods
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
5 Dec 2016
In December 1946, “faced with the reality of millions of children suffering daily deprivation after World War II,” the General Assembly created the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Seventy years later, as Europe copes with a refugee crisis not seen since it was founded, the organisation remains an ever-present advocate for children’s rights.
→ read full articleBattle of the Desert: UNCCD ‘s Louise Baker on the Silk Road (III)
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
28 Nov 2016
23 Nov 2016 – Marking this year’s World Day to Combat Desertification last June, the United Nations announced the launch of a China-United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification to curb desertification along the Silk Road.
→ read full articleBattle of the Desert: To Fight or to Flee? (I)
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
21 Nov 2016
“As the effects of climate change undermine livelihoods, inter-ethnic clashes are breaking out within and across states and fragile states are turning to militarisation to control the situation.” UNCCD
→ read full articleBattle of the Desert: A ‘Great Green Wall for Africa’ (II)
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
21 Nov 2016
Desertification, land degradation, drought, climate change, food insecurity, poverty, loss of biodiversity, forced migration and conflicts, are some of the key challenges facing Africa—a giant continent home to 1,2 billion people living in 54 countries.
→ read full articleTrump – The Symptom
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
14 Nov 2016
11 Nov 2016 – The electoral victory of U.S. Republican Donald Trump — many have said — is an alarming signal that heralds new, difficult times. Maybe. Anyway, this victory could –and should-be seen as a symptom not as a disease. Such disease consists of a widespread malaise, the feeling of frustration and even oppression that the majority of citizens shelter in their hearts and minds worldwide.
→ read full articleToxic Air – The ‘Invisible Killer’ That Stifles 300 Million Children
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
14 Nov 2016
Children Breathe Faster, Take in More Air than Adults – UNICEF further stressed that children are more susceptible than adults to both indoor and outdoor air pollution as their lungs, brains and immune systems are still developing and their respiratory tracks are more permeable.
→ read full articleDying to Get to Europe
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
14 Nov 2016
They are not just data or numbers for statistical calculations. They are desperate human beings fleeing wars, violence, abuse, slavery and death. They hear and believe the bombastic speeches about democracy and human rights and watch the many images of welfare and good life in Europe.
→ read full articleWorld to Cut Gas Emissions by 25 Percent More than Paris Agreement
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
7 Nov 2016
4 Nov 2016 – On the eve of the entry into force of the Paris Agreement today, the United Nations sounded new climate alarm, urging the world to ‘dramatically’ step up its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions by some 25 per cent more.
→ read full articlePrivatization Cure Often Worse Than Malady
Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Anis Chowdhury – Inter Press Service-IPS,
7 Nov 2016
Privatization of SOEs has been a cornerstone of the neo-liberal counterrevolution that swept the world from the 1980s following the economic crisis. Developing countries, seeking aid from the IMF and the World Bank, often had to commit to privatization as a condition for credit support.
→ read full articleClimate Doomsday – Another Step Closer
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
31 Oct 2016
Globally averaged concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has surged again to new records in 2016… and will not dip below pre-2015 levels for many generations. The warning comes from the United Nations weather agency–the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and further confirms the alarm of climate experts and world specialised organisations.
→ read full articleIndigenous Land Rights Bring Economic, Not Just Environmental Benefits
Lyndal Rowlands – Inter Press Service-IPS,
24 Oct 2016
The report, Climate Benefits, Tenure Costs: The Economic Case for Securing Indigenous Land Rights, describes how local communities can sustainably manage forests and generate economic growth when given tenure rights to their land. In Guatemala, Indigenous communities have successfully created sustainable income from the forest, while treating it as a renewable resource.
→ read full articleWorld Must Tackle the Biggest Killer of Whales – And It’s Not Whaling
Leigh Henry – Inter Press Service-IPS,
24 Oct 2016
24 Oct 2016 – Every two years, governments from across the globe gather to debate the fate of the world’s whales. And every two years, Japan, Norway and Iceland find themselves in the firing line for their refusal to end commercial whaling. But while the divisive debate on whaling rages, the IWC has the chance to unite behind efforts to tackle the most immediate 21st century threat to whales – bycatch.
→ read full articleFreedom of the Press Faces Judicial Harassment in Brazil
Mario Osava – Inter Press Service-IPS,
24 Oct 2016
The latest high-profile case involves the Gazeta do Povo, the main daily newspaper in Curitiba, the capital of the southern state of Paraná, which is facing 48 lawsuits from judges and public prosecutors who are suing the paper and several of its employees for reporting their incomes in February.
→ read full articleLow Food Prices: Good for Your Pocket, Bad for Small Farmers
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
17 Oct 2016
10 Oct 2016 – What would be your reaction if you were told that food prices are steadily declining worldwide? Good, very good news, you may say. But do the 600 million small, family farmers, those who produce up to 80 per cent of food in some regions, think the same way? Definitely not at all.
→ read full articleTrump, Clinton, Obama and the TPP
Jomo Kwame Sundaram – Inter Press Service-IPS,
17 Oct 2016
Americans and Europeans are increasingly convinced that while elite interests are well served by ‘globalization’, the public interests of consumers and working people are not. The strong American popular opposition to the TPP, the Brexit vote and other recent developments in the West suggest growing rejection of the myth that national public and corporate elite interests are identical.
→ read full articleWhat Happens When a Small Farmer Migrates?
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
17 Oct 2016
With 2 in 3 people estimated to be living in towns and cities by the year 2030, an old “equation” jumps rapidly to mind: each time a small farmer migrates to an urban area, equals to one food producer less, and one food consumer more.
→ read full articleAntonio Guterres: New UN Secretary General
Farhana Haque Rahman – Inter Press Service-IPS,
17 Oct 2016
13 Oct 2016 – The new UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who takes office on January 1, arrives with strong credentials — both as a former Prime Minister of Portugal and an ex-UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
→ read full articleAntonio Guterres Selected as Next UN Secretary-General Faces Tremendous Challenges
Lyndal Rowlands – Inter Press Service-IPS,
10 Oct 2016
The 15 members of the UN Security Council jointly announced Wednesday [5 Oct 2016] their decision to select Antonio Guterres of Portugal as the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 Guterres was later UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015, during a time when the number of displaced people worldwide grew to its highest level since the end of the Second World War.
→ read full articleThe UN’s Blind Spot for Conflict Prevention
Jonathan Rozen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
10 Oct 2016
3 Oct 2016 – As the world struggles to respond to conflicts and the people fleeing them, UN insiders are also struggling to advance a ‘shift in mindset’ to help prevent these crises from happening. “Part of the challenge is the way we have characterised the UN as a first responder, fire-fighter, as an organisation that comes in when things fall apart. So the UN tends to be more reactive than preventive.”
→ read full articleTake a Deep Breath? But 9 in 10 People Worldwide Live with Excessive Air Pollution!
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
10 Oct 2016
29 Sep 2016 – The warning is sharp and the facts, alarming: 92 per cent of the world’s population lives in places where levels exceed recommended limits. And 6.5 million people die annually from air pollution: UN WHO.
→ read full article‘The Earth Is Not Flat; It Is Urban’
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
10 Oct 2016
4 Oct 2016 – When the United Nations elaborated its latest report on the impact of what it calls “the dramatic shift towards urban life,” it tried to draw a balanced portrait of both the opportunities and the challenges of the fact that 1 in 2 world inhabitant already lives in urban areas and what this implies.
→ read full articleEuropean Security with or without Russia?
Roberto Savio – Inter Press Service-IPS,
26 Sep 2016
Consequences of the Chinese-Russian Alliance on the Relationship between USA and EU
→ read full articleConservation Congress Votes to Ban All Trade in Elephant Ivory
Guy Dinmore – Inter Press Service-IPS,
19 Sep 2016
11 Sep 2016 – The international conservation community has taken an important step towards saving African elephants from mass slaughter by voting at a major congress to call on all governments to ban their domestic trade in ivory.
→ read full articleConservation Congress Sets Ambitious Target to Protect Oceans
Guy Dinmore – Inter Press Service-IPS,
19 Sep 2016
Without consensus, and with major nations opposed, delegates said privately the vote could prove to be largely symbolic.
→ read full articleJapan and South Africa Try to Block Proposed Ban on Domestic Ivory Trade
Guy Dinmore – Inter Press Service-IPS,
19 Sep 2016
8 Sep 2016 – Japan and South Africa have ignited a furore at a major conservation congress by coming out against a proposed appeal to all governments to ban domestic trade in elephant ivory.
→ read full articleMyanmar Turns to Nobel Peace Laureate Kofi Annan for Help on Festering Rohingya Crisis
Sara Perria – Inter Press Service-IPS,
29 Aug 2016
“The Myanmar government wants to find a sustainable solution to the complicated issues in Rakhine State, that’s why it has formed an advisory commission,” the office of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto head of government, said in a statement announcing Annan’s appointment on Aug. 24.
→ read full articleOne Humanity? Millions of Children Tortured, Smuggled, Abused, Enslaved
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
22 Aug 2016
Children are being smuggled, sexually abused, maimed, killed for their vital organs, recruited as soldiers or otherwise enslaved. And 750 million women will have been married as children by 2030. These are just some of the dramatic figures that UNICEF and other UN and international bodies released few weeks ahead of the World Humanitarian Day marked every year on August 19.
→ read full articleIran: Children at the Gallows
Rose Delaney – Inter Press Service-IPS,
22 Aug 2016
12 Aug 2016 – Iran currently executes the highest number of juvenile offenders in the world. Rights groups have reported it executed at least 230 people since the beginning of 2016. At least 160 youths under the age of 18 currently await execution.
→ read full articleAfrican Farmers Can Feed the World, If Only…
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
22 Aug 2016
Can African farmers feed the world?. Apparently the answer is “yes.” Bold as it may sound, this statement is based on specific facts.
→ read full articleOlympic Games – More Media Show than Sports Event
Mario Osava – Inter Press Service-IPS,
22 Aug 2016
Brazil’s first gold medal of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics gave it a new multipurpose heroine, Rafaela Silva, whose defeat of the favourites in judo has made her a strong voice against racism and homophobia. Not only is she black and poor, but she just came out as gay. Colourful figures like Silva or Jamaican runner Usain Bolt, or unbeatable U.S. swimming legend Michael Phelps, are crucial in the Olympics, which have become a huge global media event, more than the leading international sports competition.
→ read full articleDeveloping Nations Seek UN Tax Body to Curb Illicit Financial Flows
Thalif Deen – Inter Pres Service-IPS,
15 Aug 2016
8 Aug 2016 – Despite Western opposition, the 134-member Group of 77 is continuing to pursue a longstanding proposal for an inter-governmental UN-affiliated tax body aimed at combating corporate tax dodging and curbing illicit financial flows, including money laundering and offshore banking.
→ read full articleWar on Climate Terror (I): Deserts Bury Two Thirds of African Lands
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
15 Aug 2016
9 Aug 2016 – Two-thirds of the African continent is already desert or dry-lands. But while this vast extension of the second largest continent on Earth after Asia is “vital” for agriculture and food production, nearly three-fourths of it is estimated to be degraded to varying degrees.
→ read full articleThe Historic Reversal of Populations
Joseph Chamie – Inter Press Service-IPS,
15 Aug 2016
It first happened in Italy in 1995. Five years later, it happened in six additional countries, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Japan, Portugal and Spain. Today the total number of countries where it has occurred stands at 30, including most members of the European Union. In fifteen years that number is expected to nearly double and include Australia, Canada, China, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
→ read full articleThe UN Steps Up Efforts to End Child Marriage
Babatunde Osotimehin – Inter Press Service-IPS,
15 Aug 2016
This year, more than 60 million 10 year-old girls worldwide will have started their journey through adolescence. Sadly, millions of them will be forced into adult responsibilities. Puberty brings a whole host of risks to girls’ lives and their bodies, including child marriage and all its consequences.
→ read full articleWar on Climate Terror (II): Fleeing Disasters, Escaping Drought, Migrating
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
15 Aug 2016
11 Aug 2016 – “No one can deny the terrible similarities between those running from the threat of guns and those fleeing creeping desertification, water shortages, floods and hurricanes.”
→ read full articleColombia Includes Gender Focus for a Stable, Lasting Peace
Patricia Grogg – Inter Press Service-IPS,
8 Aug 2016
29 Jul 2016 – The novel inclusion of a gender perspective in the peace talks that led to a historic ceasefire between the Colombian government and left-wing guerrillas is a landmark and an inspiration for efforts to solve other armed conflicts in the world, according to the director of U.N.-Women in Colombia, Belén Sanz.
→ read full articleThe UN Human Rights Council Adopts the Declaration on the Right to Peace
Christian Guillermet Fernández and David Fernández Puyana – Inter Press Service-IPS,
1 Aug 2016
On 1 July 2016, the UN Human Rights Council adopted the Declaration on the Right to Peace by a majority of its Member States. It is the result of three years of work with all stakeholders led by Costa Rica, through its Ambassador Christian Guillermet-Fernández.
→ read full articleRights of Indigenous Peoples ‘Critical’ to Combat Climate Change
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
1 Aug 2016
25 Jul 2016 – No longer it is about restoring the legitimate rights of over 370 indigenous peoples spread across 70 countries worldwide, many of them living in dire situation, but now about their central, critical role in combating climate change.
→ read full articleUS Government Report Exposes Exaggerated TPPA Growth Claims
Jomo Kwame Sundaram – Inter Press Service-IPS,
1 Aug 2016
28 Jul 2016 – The 2016 report by the US International Trade Commission acknowledges that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will not deliver many economic benefits promised by its cheerleaders. Implementing the TPP will greatly profit some large corporations, especially those getting IPR and financial rents.
→ read full articleForests: To Farm or Not to Farm? This Is the Question!
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
1 Aug 2016
19 Jul 2016 – The dilemma is critical: on the one hand, there is an absolute need to produce more food for the world’s steadily growing population; on the other, there is pressing urgency to halt -and further revert- the increasing trend to deplete the forests, which are as necessary for human survival as it is for ensuring their dietary needs. So what is at stake ?
→ read full article400 Million People Live with Hepatitis but They Do Not Know
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
1 Aug 2016
26 Jul 2016 – With some 400 million people around the world infected with hepatitis B or C, mostly without being aware, the United Nations top health agency encourages countries to boost testing and access to services and medicines for people in need to combat the ‘ignored perils’ of this disease.
→ read full article‘Monster’ El Niño Subsides, La Niña Hitting Soon
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
25 Jul 2016
Now that the 2015-2016 El Niño –one of the strongest on record– has subsided, La Niña – El Niño’s ‘counterpart’– could strike soon, further exacerbating a severe humanitarian crisis that is affecting millions of people in the most vulnerable communities in tens of countries worldwide, especially in Africa and Asia Pacific.
→ read full articleWe Ignore Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Livestock Industry at Our Own Peril
Risto Isomaki – Inter Press Service-IPS,
25 Jul 2016
According to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, the production of meat and other animal-based products is responsible for around 18 to 20 percent of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. If FAO’s assessment is correct, animal waste and the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers to grow fodder annually create about 6 million tons of nitrous oxide–65-70 percent of our total emissions.
→ read full articleInternational Trade Favours Multinational Corporations
Roberto Azevêdo – Inter Press Service-IPS,
25 Jul 2016
The reality of international trading is often harder and more expensive for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The smaller the business, the bigger the barriers can seem. MSMEs are responsible for the largest share of employment opportunities in most economies, up to 90% in some countries; this is especially true when looking at equal opportunities for young workers and women.
→ read full articleHuman Security a Must in a Chaotic, Confused World – Japan
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
18 Jul 2016
“Human security” is strongly linked to food and nutrition security. In fact, on-going man-made disasters—such as armed conflicts and climate change—are the very direct cause of the current, unprecedented levels of human suffering. The United Nations estimates that the number of refugees, migrants and forcibly displaced at home has now hit all-high record: 160 million worldwide.
→ read full articleFirst UN Independent Expert to Tackle LGBTI Discrimination: “Historic Victory”
Phillip Kaeding – Inter Press Service-IPS,
11 Jul 2016
Human rights groups have described the UN Human Rights Council’s decision on Thursday [30 Jun] to appoint an independent expert to target the ongoing discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people all over the world as a “historic victory.”
→ read full articleXenophobic Rhetoric, Now Socially and Politically ‘Acceptable’ ?
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
4 Jul 2016
“Xenophobic and racist rhetoric seems not only to be on the rise, but also becoming more socially and politically acceptable,” warns Mogens Lykketoft, president of the UN General Assembly. On World Refugee Day, June 20, he reacted to the just announced new record number of people displaced from their homes due to conflict and persecution.
→ read full articleSuspend Saudi Arabia from Human Rights Council, Human Rights Groups Say
Tharanga Yakupitiyage – Inter Press Service-IPS,
4 Jul 2016
Saudi Arabia’s membership in the Human Rights Council should be suspended by members of the UN General Assembly, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said on Wednesday [29 Jun]. They joined forces to make the exceptional call for action, noting that it is based on Saudi Arabia’s “gross and systematic violations of human rights” in Yemen and domestically.
→ read full articleXenophobia: ‘Hate Is Mainstreamed, Walls Are Back, Suspicion Kills’
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
27 Jun 2016
“The roll-back of violent extremism calls for an in-depth approach informed by the genesis and evolution of radicalisation, its link with citizenship and possible tipping point into violence… There also needs to be a better understanding of short-cuts to violent extremism that do not transit through radicalisation.” — UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
→ read full articleChildren of a Lesser God: Human Trafficking Soars in India
Neeta Lal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
27 Jun 2016
The Global Slavery Index released recently by the human rights organisation Walk Free Foundation states that globally, India has the largest population of modern slaves. Over 18 million people are trapped as bonded labourers, forced beggars, sex workers and child soldiers across the country. They constitute 1.4 percent of India’s total population.
→ read full articleWhat If Turkey Drops Its “Human Bomb” on Europe?
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
27 Jun 2016
The question is anything but trivial—it is rather a source of deep concern among the many non-governmental humanitarian organisations and the United Nations, which are making relentless efforts to fill the huge relief gaps caused by the apparent indifference of those powers who greatly contributed to creating this unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
→ read full articleWorld’s Nuclear Arsenal Declines but Multi-Billion Dollar Modernization Continues
Thalif Deen – Inter Press Service-IPS,
20 Jun 2016
The bad news is the continued modernization of nuclear weapons both by the US and Russia. Although details of the Russian program are not public, the US plans to spend $348 billion during 2015–24 on maintaining and comprehensively updating its nuclear forces. Some estimates suggest that the US nuclear weapon modernization program may cost up to $1 trillion over the next 30 years, according to SIPRI. Russia and the US together account for more than 93 per cent of all nuclear weapons on the planet.
→ read full articleWorld Oceans Day, 8 Jun – A Death Sea Called Mediterranean
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
13 Jun 2016
It is also a huge salty lake, being a semi-enclosed sea with only two tiny points of contact with open oceans-the Suez Canal in the East and the Gibraltar Straits in the West. Its waters need between 80 and 150 years to be renewed in contact with open oceans. In other words, a drop of polluted water remains there, circulating for a whole century on average.
→ read full articleHumanitarian Aid – Business as Unusual?
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
13 Jun 2016
9 Jun 2016 – Big business is most often seen by human rights defenders and civil society organisations as “bad news,” as those huge heartless, soulless corporations whose exclusive goal is to make the biggest profits possible. Too often and in too many cases this is a proven fact.
→ read full articleWildlife Trafficking Needs to Be a Policy Priority in Asia Pacific before It Is Too Late
Isabelle Louis and Jeremy Douglas – Inter Press Service-IPS,
6 Jun 2016
5 Jun 2016 – – This year’s World Environment Day on June 5 puts the spotlight on the illegal trade in wildlife. The problem has particular significance in Asia, which is the destination for most of the ivory taken from 20,000 to 25,000 elephants and the horns of more than 1,200 rhinos killed in Africa every year. Demand in the region is driven by fast growing middle and upper classes with an appetite for exotic pets, décor, food and fashion.
→ read full articleClosing the Gaps in Fight against Wildlife Trafficking in Latin America
Emilio Godoy – Inter Press Service-IPS,
6 Jun 2016
Despite the magnitude of the damage to biodiversity, Latin America and the Caribbean have made scant progress in fighting wildlife trafficking. The theme of this year’s World Environment Day, celebrated on Jun. 5, is Go Wild for Life.
→ read full articleHumanitarian Summit, the Big Fiasco
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
30 May 2016
The World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul on May 23-24 failed to achieve the objective of attracting the massive funds needed to alleviate the humanitarian drama, as neither the leaders of the Group-of-7 richest countries nor of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council attended, with the exception of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
→ read full article‘We Cannot Keep Jumping from Crisis to Crisis’
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
23 May 2016
20 May 2016 – “We cannot keep jumping from crisis to crisis. We have to invest in long-term development that helps people cope with shocks so that they can continue to grow enough food for their communities and not require emergency aid.” — Josefina Stubbs, Chief Strategist of the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development message to the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul.
→ read full articleMiddle East – The Mother of All Humanitarian Crises
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
23 May 2016
The Istanbul World Humanitarian Summit will focus on five key areas: to prevent and end conflict; to respect the rules of war; to leave no one behind; to work differently to end need, and to invest in humanity.
→ read full article‘Human Suffering Has Reached Staggering Levels’: UN Ban Ki-moon
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
23 May 2016
17 May 2016 – “Human suffering from the impacts of armed conflicts and disasters has reached staggering levels.” With these one dozen or few words, the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, briefly but sharply portrayed the current humanitarian drama, explaining why the UN has decided to hold the first ever World Humanitarian Summit on May 23-24 this year in Istanbul, Turkey.
→ read full articleGreece, the Punching Ball of Germany
Roberto Savio – Inter Press Service-IPS,
16 May 2016
11 May 2016 – Greece is again in the media, because a new negotiation is due between the embattled country and its creditors. The North-South divide of Europe is coming back with force (while the East-West relationship is increasingly looking as beyond repair).
→ read full articleHow Can We Keep Press Freedom from Withering Away?
Farhana Haque Rahman – Inter Press Service-IPS,
2 May 2016
While a free press means that a journalist has rights, it does not mean that she or he is right.
→ read full articleClimate Change: Will the Middle East Become ‘Uninhabitable’? (I)
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
25 Apr 2016
This is the first of a two-part series of reports focusing on the impact of climate change on the Middle East & North of Africa region, ahead of the signing ceremony of the Paris climate agreement, on 22 April 2016 in New York.
→ read full articleClimate Change and the Middle East: No Water in the Kingdom of the Two Seas—Nor Elsewhere (II)
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
25 Apr 2016
This is part II of a two-part series of reports focusing on the impact of climate change on the Middle East & North of Africa region, ahead of the signing ceremony of the Paris climate agreement, on 22 April 2016 in New York.
→ read full articleWhat the Panama Papers Mean for Global Development
Tharanga Yakupitiyage – Inter Pres Service-IPS,
25 Apr 2016
The financial secrecy and tax evasion revealed by the Panama Papers has an extraordinary human cost in developing countries. “Tax havens are at the heart of a global system that allows large corporations and wealthy individuals to avoid paying their fair share, depriving governments – rich and poor – of the resources they need to provide vital public services and tackle rising inequality,”
→ read full articleClimate: Africa’s Human Existence Is at Severe Risk
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
25 Apr 2016
This is how clear the Nairobi-based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is when it comes to assessing the negative impact of climate change on this continent of 54 countries with a combined population of over 1,200 billion inhabitants. “No continent will be struck as severely by the impacts of climate change as Africa.”
→ read full articleStrange Spectacle: Nuclear Security Summit 2016
Dr. John Burroughs – Inter Press Service-IPS,
11 Apr 2016
Nuclear Security Summit Fails to Address Existing Nuclear Weapons
→ read full article(Castellano) Situación de los refugiados, peor que la Primera Guerra Mundial
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
21 Mar 2016
14 mar 2016 – Cuando los líderes de la Unión Europea disfruten el jueves 17 y el viernes 18 de sus vuelos exclusivos, sus suites de lujo y sus limusinas oficiales, en una nueva cumbre en Bruselas, para adoptar una decisión final sobre su propuesto plan de usar los refugiados como moneda de cambio, es probable que 20.000 sirios sigan aún en el campo de refugiados de Idomeni en Grecia, en una situación descrita como “peor que la Primera Guerra Mundial”.
→ read full article(Castellano) Europa a Turquía: Tome mis iraquíes y deme algunos sirios
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
14 Mar 2016
8 mar 2016 – En otra violación de las leyes internacionales y sus propios valores humanos, 28 países europeos acaban de acordar con Turquía abrir un nuevo “bazar” de refugiados, esta vez utilizando el viejo sistema de trueque: iraquíes y afganos a cambio de sirios y algo de dinero.
→ read full article(Castellano) Nueva Histeria Nuclear en Medio Oriente
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
7 Mar 2016
Ahora que el Organismo International de Energía Atómica anunció, el 18 de enero, que había verificado que Irán completó los pasos que aseguran que su programa nuclear será exclusivamente pacifico, una nueva ola de histeria nuclear parece haberse desatado ahora en la región. Véase de que se trata.
→ read full articleBig War Lords Playing Brinkmanship Game in Syria
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
22 Feb 2016
The biggest “official” warlords on Earth—the Russian military apparatus and the US Pentagon and its “allies”–Europe, the US-led NATO, the Saudi Arabia-led Gulf countries, and Turkey, have just walked a step closer to the edge of the Middle East abyss over the weekend during their Munich Security Conference.
→ read full article(Castellano) Los grandes señores de la guerra, listos para invadir Siria
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
22 Feb 2016
Los grandes señores de la guerra “oficiales”, es decir el aparato militar ruso y el Departamento de Defensa de Estados Unidos y sus “aliados” -Europa, la OTAN, los países del Golfo liderados por Arabia Saudita, y Turquía- dieron el último fin de semana un paso más hacia el abismo de Medio Oriente durante su Conferencia de Seguridad de Múnich.
→ read full articleResearch Paper: ISIS-Turkey Links
David L. Phillips – Columbia University Institute for the Study of Human Rights,
15 Feb 2016
Is Turkey collaborating with the Islamic State (ISIS)? Allegations range from military cooperation and weapons transfers to logistical support, financial assistance, and the provision of medical services. It is also alleged that Turkey turned a blind eye to ISIS attacks against Kobani.
→ read full articleThe Trans-Pacific Partnership Fraud
Jomo Kwame Sundaram – Inter Press Service-IPS,
8 Feb 2016
The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement privileges foreign investors while imposing substantial costs on partner countries. The TPP has, in fact already been used to try to kill the Doha ‘Development’ Round of multilateral trade talks, but may well also undermine multilateralism more broadly in the near future.
→ read full articleCameron At Large: Want Not to Become a Terrorist? Speak Fluent English!
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
8 Feb 2016
4 Feb 2016 – “Do you speak English fluently? No? Then you risk becoming a terrorist.” IPS posed this dilemma to some young Muslim women living in Cairo, while explaining that this appears to be David Cameron’s formula to judge the level of Muslim women’s risk to fall, passively, into the horrific trap of extremism.
→ read full article(Castellano) África, ¿es noticia solo si sangra?
Baher Kamal – Inter Press Service-IPS,
25 Jan 2016
Las raíces profundas que yacen debajo de la mayoría de los dramas africanos: largos siglos de colonialismo, esclavitud, empobrecimiento, dilapidación de los recursos naturales por corporaciones transnacionales, millonarias ventas de armas a las partes en conflicto, extendido acaparamiento de tierras y el grave impacto del cambio climático, causado lejos de África por los países industrializados, son solo algunos de ellos.
→ read full article… And All of a Sudden, Syria!
Baher Kamal, IPS - Human Wrongs Watch,
11 Jan 2016
5 Jan 2015 – The “big five” – i.e., the most military powerful states on earth (US, UK, France, Russia and China) have just agreed that it would be about time to end the Syrian five-year long human tragedy.
→ read full articleSilence, Please! A New Middle East Is in the Making
Baher Kamal, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Dec 2015
When, in June 2006, former US National Security adviser and, later on, Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, spelled out the George W. Bush administration new, magic doctrine for the Middle East, tons of ink was poured and millions of words said in a harsh attempt to speculate with what she really did mean by what she called “Creative Chaos.”
→ read full article(Castellano) Medio Oriente: Toneladas de tinta y millones de palabras pero…
Baher Kamal, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Dec 2015
Este es un análisis de Baher Kamal, periodista de nacionalidad española y origen egipcio, donde desmitifica alguno de los estereotipos más comunes sobre los árabes, la región de Medio Oriente, los musulmanes y el islam.
→ read full articleThe Over-Written, Under-Reported Middle East – Part I: Of Arabs and Muslims
Baher Kamal, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Dec 2015
Egyptian-born, Spanish-national, secular journalist Baher Kamal tries to demystify some of the most common stereotypes circulating around the Middle East region.
→ read full articleThe Over-Written, Under-Reported Middle East – Part II: 99.5 Years of (Imposed) Solitude
Baher Kamal, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Dec 2015
Baher Kamal tries to demystify some of the most common stereotypes circulating around the Middle East region. Here he explains some of the roots of its drama.
→ read full articleFrom European Union to Just a Common Market
Roberto Savio, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
2 Nov 2015
Europe will have to accept that it is not going to be the homogenous and white society that the right wing and xenophobic parties dream of reestablishing. The lack of global governability has created a staggering figure of 60 million refugees. Solidarity or not, Europe demography will require the arrival of some million. What will be the Europe of 2030?
→ read full articleElectoral Revolution in Brazil Aimed at Neutralising Corporate Influence
Mario Osava, IPS – Human Wrongs Watch,
5 Oct 2015
29 Sep 2015 – From now on, elections in Brazil will be more democratic, without corporate interference, which had become decisive and corruptive. A September 17 Supreme Court ruling declared unconstitutional articles of the elections act that allow corporate donations to election campaigns.
→ read full articlePope Francis Joins Battle against Transgenic Crops
Emilio Godoy, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Aug 2015
Aug 11 2015 – A few centuries ago, the biotechnology industry would have been able to buy a papal bull to expiate its sins and grant it redemption. But in his encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si”, Pope Francis condemns genetically modified organisms without leaving room for a pardon.
→ read full articleCrisis, Emergency Measures and Failure of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement System: The Case of Argentina
Federico Lavopa, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
17 Aug 2015
The way in which the ISDS system was used to handle a spate of claims from foreign investors against Argentina following its economic and financial crisis of 2001/2002 has shown up flaws in the system and the need for its reform.
→ read full articleEuropean Federalism and Missed Opportunities – United States of Europe?
Emma Bonino, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
3 Aug 2015
Emma Bonino, a leading member of the Radical Party, former European Commissioner and a former Italian foreign minister, argues that serious problems affecting Europe, like the Greek crisis and waves of migration, could have been addressed more quickly and efficiently if the European Union had embraced federalism.
→ read full articleObama Walks Fine Line in Kenya on LGBTI Rights
Aruna Dutt, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Jul 2015
But LGBTI [Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex] Kenyans are not in agreement about whether Obama’s presence will help or hurt their struggle, according to the Executive Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Jessica Stern.
→ read full articleMideast Arms Build-up Negative Fallout from Iran Nuclear Deal
Thalif Deen, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Jul 2015
Jul 23 2015 – The nuclear agreement concluded last week between Iran and six big powers, the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany, is threatening to trigger a new Middle East military build-up – not with nuclear weapons but with conventional arms, including fighter planes, combat helicopters, warships, missiles, battle tanks and heavy artillery.
→ read full articleHomosexuality Will Never Be Eliminated. How About Eliminating Homophobia?
Neela Ghoshal, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Jul 2015
Jul 17 2015 -A report published in June by the Academy of Science of South Africa, in collaboration with the Uganda National Academy of Sciences, could help reshape understandings of human sexuality – if African policymakers take the time to consider the report’s findings.
→ read full articleCivilian Killings? West Literally Gets Away with Murder
Thalif Deen, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Jul 2015
Jul 16 2015 – The United Nations continues to come under heavy fire for singling out mostly non-Western states for human rights violations while ignoring the misdeeds of Western nations or big powers.
→ read full articleDemocracy on the Retreat in Over 96 of the 193 U.N. Member States, Says New Study
Thalif Deen, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jun 2015
“Legitimate civil society activities are worryingly under threat in a huge number of countries in the global North and South, democratic and authoritarian, on all continents.”
→ read full articleSecurity Council Action on Gaza War Crimes a Non-Starter
Thalif Deen, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jun 2015
The chances of Security Council action are remote because of the traditional U.S. commitment to stand by Israel – right or wrong, mostly wrong. “When Israeli officials are put in the dock, U.S. officials ought to be right in there with them. Their conduct is inexcusable.”
→ read full articleCorporate Interests Dominate Lobbying with EU Policy-Makers
Sean Buchanan, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jun 2015
“There is a strong link between the amount of money you spend and the number of meetings you get [with European Commission officials]. Those organisations with the biggest lobby budgets get a lot of access, particularly on the financial, digital and energy portfolios” – Daniel Freund, Transparency International EU
→ read full articleDonors Pledge Over 4.4 Billion Dollars to Nepal – But With a Caveat
Thalif Deen, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jun 2015
“It is critical that the international community and Nepal learn from the mistakes of past emergencies, where up to half of pledges are never delivered on.”
→ read full articleThe University for Peace, Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Oliver Rizzi Carlson, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Jun 2015
Like an engineering school building crumbling under the weight of its own tectonic deficiencies, the University for Peace in Costa Rica is dying of its own, festering conflicts.
→ read full articleWhy Are Threats to Civil Society Growing around the World?
Mandeep S.Tiwana, IPS – TRANSCEND Media Service,
15 Jun 2015
“It is increasingly evident that the dangers to civic freedoms come not just from state apparatuses but also from powerful non-state actors including influential business entities and extremist groups subscribing to fundamentalist ideologies”
→ read full article