Reduced Inequalities

Photo: Families in Gaza receive food baskets through the UNRWA home delivery programme. Credit: UNRWA/Khalil Adwan

Gaza Strip Rapidly Becoming 'Unliveable'

By Sean Buchanan

LONDON (IDN) – “The UN said some three years ago that it expects Gaza to become ‘unliveable’ by 2020,” recalls Majed Abusalama, award-winning Palestinian journalist, scholar, campaigner and human rights defender.

“Since then, Israel not only refused to take action to reverse Gaza’s rapid deterioration into a post-apocalyptic wasteland but intensified its attacks on the Strip, hindering efforts by activists, NGOs and locals to keep this open prison habitable for a little longer. With the novel coronavirus now spreading throughout refugee camps and communities across Gaza, we cannot afford to wait any longer for the world to acknowledge our suffering and take action.”

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Middle East; 29 November 2020

Reclaiming Public Development Banks to Finance a Sustainable & Equitable Recovery Post Covid-19

Viewpoint by Thomas Marois and Maria Jose Romero *

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Those who work in the world’s public development banks will meet virtually on November 11-12 to discuss their response to the Covid-19 pandemic and their role in a more sustainable future.

This new summit, which they have called ‘Finance in Common’ (FiC), will also bring together the governments that own them and other key stakeholders from the public and private sectors, civil society, think tanks and academia.

: Europe Editor; COVID-19; 08 November 2020

Pressing Need to Ensure Responsible African Digitalisation

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The profound importance of data is underlined by the fact that the United Nations is measuring progress towards the 17 ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the help of a global network working together to ensure the new opportunities of the data revolution.

Youth are being referred to as the "torchbearers" of the 2030 Agenda and have a pivotal role to play both as beneficiaries of actions and policies under the Agenda and as partners and participants in its implementation. Indeed, both explicitly and implicitly, the 2030 Agenda calls for the development and activation of sound, evidence-based youth policies and actions to ensure its full realization.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; THE WORLD; Africa; 04 November 2020

Photo: Ivory Coast protests. Source: Euronews.

Democracy Takes A Beating in Elections Across the African Continent

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Foul play may have been the winner in recent national elections in Tanzania, where the ruling party swept up an overwhelming majority of parliamentary seats and the leaders of both top opposition parties lost theirs.

Citing “seditious language”, the election commission suspended the campaign of opposition challenger Tundu Lissu. Heavily armed police blocked his entire convoy for hours as he headed to launch new offices earlier this month. In a similar fashion, opposition candidate Seif Sharif Hamad was arrested on October 29, soon after holding a press conference in Zanzibar.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 03 November 2020

Photo: PM's wife Aliza Olmert tours along the Israeli-Egyptian border where Sudanese refugees had crossed the border. Credit: Ohayon Avi, GPO. 19/07/2007

Sudanese Refugees Face Uncertainty in Israel If Bilateral Ties Are Resumed

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Sudanese refugees who live in Israel are wondering what their future holds if ties are normalized between the two countries as predicted and the Israeli government launches deportation proceedings against them.

There are around 6,500 Sudanese nationals in Israel, representing 20 per cent of all the asylum seekers in the country. Of these, 4,500 have submitted requests for political asylum and have been awaiting a decision for many years.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 02 November 2020

How Colonial Policy Is Impoverishing Indian Ocean Coastal Communities

Viewpoint by Dr Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake

The writer is an anthropologist affiliated with the International Center for Ethnic Studies in Colombo. Read also A Hybrid Cold War Unfolding in The Indo-Pacific Beneath the Covid-19 Mask.

COLOMBO (IDN) – Like the Chagossians who were forcibly displaced to Mauritius and Seychelles, Sri Lankan and other Indian Ocean Rim coastal communities tend to experience high rates of poverty, debt and socioeconomic hardship. Fisheries are one of the most significant renewable resources that Indian Ocean countries possess to secure food supplies, maintain livelihoods and assist economic growth, in addition to non-living resources that include hydrocarbon, liquefied natural gas and valuable minerals.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 01 November 2020

Breaking Media Stereotypes with Indigenous Storytelling

By UN Academic Impact

NEW YORK (IDN) – There are an estimated 476 million indigenous peoples in the world, living across 90 countries. They speak an overwhelming majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages and represent 5,000 different cultures.

COVID-19 has posed a grave threat to Indigenous peoples around the world, who already lack access to healthcare and other essential services. Yet, Indigenous peoples are seeking their own solutions in their own languages, using divergent knowledge, practices and preventative measures to fight the pandemic.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 23 October 2020

Photo: Bloodied Nigerian flag from after the massacre. CC BY-SA 4.0

The 'Lekki Toll Gate' Massacre and What It Means for Nigeria

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) – It was hard to keep up with the torrent of posts as the power of social media was deployed in all its ferocity for good and evil. Through it all though, one thing was constant on my mind on October 20 night: the images of vulnerable, distressed youths fighting for their lives. You couldn’t make up the chaos if you tried.

[Nigerian Armed Forces shot at #End SARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos, Amnesty International states that at least 12 protesters were killed.]

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 October 2020

Image: A coloured engraving that depicts the Peterloo Massacre (military suppression of a demonstration in Manchester, England by cavalry charge on August 16, 1819 with loss of life) in Manchester, England. Richard Carlile, Manchester Libraries. Wikimedia Commons.

Ye Are Many, They Are Few!

By John Scales Avery

COPENHAGEN (IDN) – I would like to announce the publication of a new book, which discusses the question of how oligarchs maintain their grasp on an excessive share of wealth and power when, as Shelley pointed out, the have-nots are many, while the power-holders are few.

Here the link to a new freely downloadable book

http://eacpe.org/app/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Ye-are-Many-They-are-Few-by-John-Scales-Avery.pdf

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 20 October 2020

Photo: Migrants on board a boat headed for Tripoli in July 2019. Critics say the EU should not be helping the Libyan Coast Guard to intercept and return people to a war-torn country where they face abuse and extortion. (Filippo Rossi/TNH)

Migrants Face “Double Threat” Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

By Jacqueline Skalski-Fouts*

This article discusses the economic and social impacts of the coronavirus pandemic with a particular focus on refugees, asylum seekers, and migrant workers.

VIRGINIA, USA (IDN) – Migrant workers have been at the forefront of the world economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, as essential workers. And this with enormous risk to themselves. They are facing what the International Rescue Committee refers to as an “unimaginable double emergency”.