World

Women suffer disproportionately from ravages of drought, desertification

Published June 18, 2023 | By editor

Women collect water in drought-stricken Marsabit in northern Kenya.

Women’s land rights are in the spotlight ahead of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, observed on 17 June, at events around the world, from Kenya to Viet Nam, including a high-level event at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday. “Equal land rights both protect land and advance gender equality,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, in a video message, urging all governments to eliminate legal barriers to women owning land, and to involve them in policy making.“We depend on land for our survival, yet we treat it like dirt,” the UN chief added, emphasizing the need for action.

Women make up nearly half of the world’s agricultural workforce, yet discriminatory practices related to land tenure, credit access, equal pay, and decision-making often impede their active participation in sustaining land health. Today, less than one in five landholders worldwide are women, according to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

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Tackling marine pollution: Individual action, key to ocean restoration

Published June 18, 2023 | By editor

Ocean Image Bank/Sören Funk One of the biggest threats to our oceans is man-made pollution.

At a recent UN Ocean Conference, in Libson, Portugal, experts pushed for a new international commitment to combat pollution, including at sea. According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the amount of marine litter and plastic waste, has been growing rapidly. And without meaningful action, emissions of plastics into aquatic ecosystems, are projected to nearly triple by 2040.Following the high-level plenary, a panel of experts met to discuss the marine pollution issue, focusing on finding solutions.

Urgency of pollution crisis Pollution cuts across several sectors and is strongly interconnected with the other planetary crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Combatting marine pollution is a global challenge, that needs a global approach if it’s to be mitigated. Sea-based pollution, including discharges and spills from vessels and the presence of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear, continues to be of concern, with plastics and microplastics from numerous sources, untreated wastewater and nutrient run-off still polluting the oceans. Life below water is essential to life above water and underlined the urgency of reducing single-use plastic, and faster action.

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‘Transformative change’ needed to get Global Goals back on track, says UN deputy chief

Published May 10, 2023 | By editor

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed at the opening of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development 2023.

UN Chile: UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed at the opening of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development 2023.

Wednesday morning in the Chilean capital of Santiago, Ms. Mohammed met at the Palacio de La Moneda with President Gabriel Boric to discuss the acceleration of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country. The President delivered the National Strategy for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The UN Resident Coordinator in Chile, María José Torres, the Minister of Social Development and Family, Giorgio Jackson, the Undersecretary of International Relations, Gloria de la Fuente, and the Chilean Ambassador to the UN, Paula Narváez, were also present.

Later, Ms. Mohammed spoke with indigenous women leaders – from the Mapuche, Rapa Nui, Licanantay (Atacameños), Aymara, Diaguita, Chango, Quechua, Kawéskar and Colla peoples – at the Mahuidache Ceremonial Center, commune of El Bosque, a social advocacy space focused on the promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples and their participation. At the site, the Deputy Secretary General was received by community authorities, the Wünel Domo Elsa Quinchaleo and the management team composed of Contanza Hueche and Norma Hueche.

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UN relief chief stresses need to stay and deliver for all Afghans

Published September 27, 2022 | By editor

IOM 2021/Paula Bonstein

More than half of the population within Afghanistan depend on humanitarian assistance, and their human rights remain challenged.

Humanitarians have stayed and delivered in Afghanistan in the year since the Taliban takeover, and it is imperative that the international community continues to do the same while the de facto authorities must also do their part, the Security Council heard on Monday.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Griffiths, who briefed ambassadors, reported on the ongoing hardships and uncertainty facing Afghans, nearly half of whom – 24 million people – require aid relief to survive.

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Nero Fiddling While Rome Burns: Weapons Deals During the Climate Crisis in Pakistan

Published September 26, 2022 | By editor

by Danaka Katovich

On August 30, 2022 one third of Pakistan was underwater due to catastrophic flooding. A little over a week later on September 7, while the situation in Pakistan was still dire, the United States Department of State announced a sale of an F-16 warplane sustainment to Pakistan in which the leaders of Pakistan agreed to pay the U.S. $450 million to keep its F-16 fleet up and running. On the same day, Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif said that parts of his country were “like a sea” as the death toll of the floods rose to 1,343. Over 200 more people have been reported dead since that count, with 33 million people in Pakistan affected by the disaster.

All over the world we are seeing the devastating effects of climate change. Another hurricane has hit Puerto Rico causing flooding and a loss of electricity. Wildfires rage through California. Heat waves of historic magnitude have affected several places globally in the past few months.

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