Reduced Inequalities

Photo: Cover of ‘The Disaster Riskscape Across Asia-Pacific: Pathways for resilience, inclusion and empowerment’. Credit: ESCAP

Asia-Pacific Faces a Daunting Spectrum of Natural Hazards

New UN Report Warns of Huge Economic Losses

By Devinder Kumar

NEW DELHI | BANGKOK (IDN) – Vulnerable and marginalized communities are among the hardest hit by natural disasters that occurred in a relentless sequence in Asia and the Pacific in the past two years, beyond what the region had previously experienced or was able to predict. This, according to the latest report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), is “a sign of things to come in the new climate reality” where economic losses are set to quadruple.

: Devinder Kumar; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 23 August 2019

Image credit: Cambridge Science Festival.

Artificial Intelligence Offers Benefits for Africa

By Hugo Bourhis *

NEW YORK (IDN | Africa Renewal) – When some people think of artificial intelligence (AI), they think of humanoid robots turning against their creators in an apocalyptic science fiction movie. In reality, AI is already playing an increasing role in many existing and evolving technologies, from driverless cars to translation software, virtual assistance devices and monitoring agriculture and biodiversity.

Satellite images provided by AI can assist policymakers in finding solutions to problems of hunger, drought and climate change, to name only a few.

: Africa Renewal; THE WORLD; Africa; 22 August 2019

Photo: Artwork from the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018, UNODC.

Human Trafficking Is A Crime, Deserves Zero Tolerance

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – "On this World Day against Trafficking in Persons, let us reaffirm our commitment to stop criminals from ruthlessly exploiting people for profit and to help victims rebuild their lives," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a message for the July 30 World Day against Trafficking in Persons.

“Armed conflict, displacement, climate change, natural disasters and poverty exacerbate the vulnerabilities and desperation that enable trafficking to flourish,” Guterres said, adding: “Human trafficking is a heinous crime that affects every region of the world.”

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 30 July 2019

Collage of photos from FAO (left to right from top to bottom): farmer from DR Congo, a child eating rice, farmers from Kenya, and from Viet Nam. Credit. IDN-INPS

UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Remain Largely in Limbo

By Shanta Roy

NEW YORK (IDN) – When a High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) concluded its four-day ministerial meeting assessing the current status of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one irrefutable fact stood out: despite “encouraging progress”, many of the goals were lagging far behind in their implementation since they were adopted by the General Assembly back in 2015.

After four long years, the UN’s much-touted development agenda, described as a panacea for some of the world’s socio-economic ills, remains in limbo.

: Shanta Roy; UN INSIDER; 23 July 2019

Photo (right to left): ECOSOC President Inga Rhonda King; Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed; Under-Secretary-General of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Liu Zhenmin. Credit: UN

Community-Based Engagement Critical to Achieving SDGs

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – The eight-day High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development was eclipsed by reports indicating that current efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are being undermined by climate change and escalating inequalities. Yet, the situation is not irredeemable, concluded the Forum and called for an increased critical role for local communities and civil society in getting the world back on track to achieving the SDGs by 2030.

: Santo D. Banerjee; SUSTAINABILITY; Reduced Inequalities; 20 July 2019

Photo: Philippine overseas workers assembling the tent for an event in the capital city of Brunei. Credit: jyppe.com CC BY-SA 3.0

Scepticism About President Duterte's New Unit to Protect Overseas Filipinos

By Kalinga Seneviratne

MANILA (IDN) – With his approval ratings at an all-time high for a Filipino leader, President Rodrigo Duterte has thrown his weight behind a proposal by his former aide and newly-elected Senator Christopher “Bong’ Go to create a new government department for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) who are the major foreign exchange earner for the Southeast Asian nation.

Addressing the OFW Summit here on July 12, President Duterte vowed that he will not tolerate the abuse of Filipino workers overseas anymore. They voted in droves for him in the 2016 elections.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 20 July 2019

New Data Illuminates Inequalities Among the Poor Worldwide

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – A new report released at the UN High-Level Political Forum challenges the traditional concept of poverty and sheds light on the number of people experiencing poverty at regional, national and subnational levels, and reveals inequalities across countries and among the poor themselves.

Findings from the 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and the publication "Illuminating Inequalities" – jointly developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), and released on July 11, 2019 – offers data for 101 countries, covering 76 percent of the world population.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 15 July 2019

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.”