Reduced Inequalities

Photo: West Africa has seen impressive economic growth over the past two decades, but the benefits are going just to a tiny few elites at the top. Credit: Oxfam International

West Africa ‘Least Committed’ in Africa to Fighting Inequality

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – “African countries, especially those in West Africa, are simply not doing enough” to “ensure that no one is left behind”, declares a new report, unveiling shocking figures that underline extreme inequality and poverty rampant in the region. West Africa is the African region “least committed to the fight against inequality”, says the report titled ‘The West Africa Inequality Crisis’.

And this in a year that marks the fourth year of the implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to address global challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change and environmental degradation – as envisaged in Goal 1, Goal 10 and Goal13.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; Africa; 13 July 2019

Photo: Aid for Trade discussions stressed the need for adapting to evolving needs of least developed countries and the environment. Credit: WTO

Aid for Trade Must Adapt to Needs of the Poor and Environment

By Jamshed Baruah with WTO News

GENEVA (IDN) – Aid for Trade initiatives must keep up with the evolving needs of developing countries and environmental protection to remain relevant and inclusive. Least developed countries (LDCs) will need continued support even as they graduate to a higher economic status, and climate change pressures will require targeted responses as well, says the World Trade Organization (WTO) summing up the discussions during the Aid for Trade Global Review on July 4-5, 2019.

: Jamshed Baruah; SUSTAINABILITY; Reduced Inequalities; 08 July 2019

Photo: Botswanans celebrate the high court’s decision decriminalizing homosexuality. Credit: LEGABIBO (Lesbians, Gays & Bisexuals of Botswana) via Facebook.

A Colonial-Era Law Banning Same-Sex Relations Is Defeated

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – If a democratic society is characterized by “tolerance, diversity and open-mindedness,” three countries in Africa have now reached that pinnacle.

Botswana joined Angola and Mozambique in de-criminalizing same-sex relations in June 2019. High Court Justice Michael Lebruru, in his defining decision, added: “human dignity is harmed when minority groups are marginalized.”

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 04 July 2019

There’s Only One Way Out of the Global Coffee Crisis: Pay More

Viewpoint by Darío Soto Abril & Roberto Vélez

Darío Soto Abril is CEO of Fairtrade International and Roberto Vélez is CEO of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC).

BONN | BOGOTA (IDN) – The global coffee industry is facing an unprecedented price crisis which not only threatens our daily cup of the black stuff but also – far more importantly – jeopardises the livelihoods of millions of small-scale growers around the world.

Coffee traders, roasters and retailers must face the fact that not paying a fair price to farmers risks the future economic sustainability of the global coffee business.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 02 July 2019

Photo: The Bangladeshi migrants were part of a 75-strong group stuck onboard a tugboat for weeks before being taken to Tunisia. Photograph: Courtesy of Forum Tunisien pour les Droits Economiques et Sociaux. Source: The Guardian.

Tunisia Forces Bangladeshi Migrants to Return Home

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

New York (IDN) – A shipload of desperate Bangladeshi migrants was told to turn the boat around and go home by Tunisian officials or be deprived of food, water and medicines. The migrants, trapped on a merchant ship off Tunisia for three weeks, were sent back to their home country against their will, according to relatives.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), an intergovernmental organization linked to the United Nations, said the Bangladeshis “wished to return home”.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 26 June 2019

Photo: Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia. Credit: IOM – UN Migration

Continuous Influx of Eritrean Refugees Challenges Ethiopia

Viewpoint by Kristina Melicherová

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Refugee and host communities in Ethiopia came together on June 20 to commemorate World Refugee Day through various cultural activities, organized within refugee camps as well as urban settings. But the reality behind the festivities is that hundreds of Eritrean refugees continue to cross the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia every day.

Despite the peace deal between Ethiopia and Eritrea, signed in July 2018, the internal situation and oppression of Eritrean people, mainly through the indefinite military service, remains intact. The continued inflow of young Eritreans fleeing oppression is putting strain on Ethiopia’s refugee camps.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Africa; 22 June 2019

Photo: PGA member Kilamba Kiuyima Van-Dúnem, Member of Parliament from Angola. Credit: www.pgaction.org

Orthodox Church in Ethiopia Blocks Gay Group Planning Tour

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Pride parades, gay friendly diners, movies, books and fashion.

The gay life style is coming to town but the welcome mat is still far from ubiquitous.

Ethiopia, home to Abiy Ahmed, the “hugging president”, has yet to come to terms with LGBT or Q. In fact, some Ethiopian bloggers have been openly unfriendly to say the least.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 19 June 2019

Photo: Relieved and happy to be released from detention, a refugee hugs UNHCR staff as they meet at the Gathering and Departure Facility in Tripoli, Libya. © UNHCR/Mohamed Alalem.

European Union Lambasted for 'Externalising' Migration Policy

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (IDN) – More than twenty African and international organizations have signed a letter which slates the European Union and its member states for externalizing migration policy through direct and indirect cooperation with regimes and militia forces that are utterly unaccountable for their actions, and violating its constitutional values and international obligations, including the responsibility to protect.

The letter to the European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, and High Representative of the European Union, Federica Mogherini, appeals for "an EU external policy framework based on European values".

: Reinhard Jacobsen; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 19 June 2019

Photo: Some 53,000 Nigerians displaced by conflict are living in the Minawao refugee camp in north-east Cameroon. (February 2019). Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Forced Displacement in Africa Not Just a Tale of Human Tragedy

By Sean Buchanan

NEW YORK (IDN) – The estimated 24 million and more Africans who have been forced from their homes in recent years is placing a growing burden on the continent’s economy, environment and communities hosting those displaced.

This was the backdrop to a May 21-23 event held at UN headquarters as part of the Africa Dialogue Series (ADS) focused on finding durable solution for displaced person in Africa. It brought together a wide range of actors with a stake in finding ways to deal with the issue, including representatives of national governments, the African Union, civil society, the private sector and the United Nations.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Africa; 26 May 2019

Photo: Prof. van Reisen addressing the Pan African Parliament. Credit: EEPA.

Europe Must Begin to Recognise the Dark Side of Its History

Viewpoint by Prof Dr Mirjam van Reisen

The following are extensive extracts from Prof Dr Mirjam van Reisen's presentation to the Pan African Parliament, Midrand, part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan, South Africa on May 13, 2019. She is Tilburg University's Chair ‘International Relations, Innovation and care’, Leiden University's Chair ‘Computing for Society’, Coordinator Research Network ‘Globalisation, Accessibility, Innovation and Care’, Member of the Advisory Council on International Affairs, The Netherlands, and Director and Secretary General of EEPA (Brussels).

JOHANNESBURG (IDN) – The courageous founders of the liberated African continent had a dream for a united Africa, from which the scars of European colonisation could be erased.