UN Begins Talks on World’s First Treaty to Regulate High Seas
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 07 (IPS) – After several years of preliminary discussions, the United Nations has begun its first round of inter-governmental negotiations to draft the world’s first legally binding treaty to protect and regulate the “high seas”—which, by definition, extend beyond 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) and are considered “international waters” shared globally.
The US vs. UNRWA: Who’s the Real Loser?
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 07 (IPS) – Mona Ali Khalil, PassBlue*It is entirely the United States’ prerogative to cut off its voluntary contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA.
Read the full story, “The US vs. UNRWA: Who’s the Real Loser?”, on globalissues.org →
”In two years, Duterte has crushed all the progress we’ve made”
Sep 05 (IPS) – The Philippines has been ranked one of the world’s ten worst countries for workers’ rights. Arbetet Global reports from a country which labour union activists brand as fascist.”Isn’t it cool? I get some hostile looks when I walk around in it, but other people come up asking where they can buy one,” Josua Matas says of his T-shirt, which reads “Resist dictatorship”. He is the Secretary General of the labour union umbrella organisation Sentro and does not hold back when he speaks about the Philippines’ hard-line president, Rodrigo Duterte.
Climate Change Becomes a Reality Check for the North
WAGENINGEN, The Netherlands, Sep 05 (IPS) – “This season, the month of May was particularly hot and dry,” says Leo De Jong, a commercial farmer in Zeewolde, in Flevopolder, the Netherlands. Flevopolder is in the province of Flevoland, the largest site of land reclamation in the world. Here a hectare of land costs up to 100,000 Euros. “At the moment, we are spending between 20,000 and 25,000 Euros per week on irrigation.”
Read the full story, “Climate Change Becomes a Reality Check for the North”, on globalissues.org →
Culture of Peace Embedded in Every Word on the UN Charter
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 05 (IPS) – Miroslav Lajčák, President of the current 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, in his address to the Forum on a Culture of PeaceAs we open this Forum, I will make three main points. First, I want to ask: what does a culture of peace actually mean?
And, frankly it might be different for every person in this room. But I will share some elements, which have stuck with me.
Can the U.S. and Russia Avert a New Arms Race?
WASHINGTON DC, Sep 04 (IPS) – Daryl G. Kimball is Executive Director, Arms Control Association Five long years have passed since U.S. President Barack Obama proposed and Russian President Vladimir Putin unfortunately rejected negotiations designed to cut their excessive nuclear stockpiles by one-third below the limits set by the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).
Read the full story, “Can the U.S. and Russia Avert a New Arms Race?”, on globalissues.org →
New Rules for High Seas Must Include Needs of Poorest Nations
LONDON, Sep 04 (IPS) – Essam Yassin Mohammed is Principal Researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)Over-fishing, warming oceans and plastic pollution dominate the headlines when it comes to the state of the seas. Most of the efforts to protect the life of the ocean and the livelihoods of those who depend on it are limited to exclusive economic zones – the band of water up to 200 nautical miles from the coast.
“We Should Not Wait” — Action Needed on Myanmar
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 04 (IPS) – After the release of a scathing report on Myanmar’s human rights violations, next steps to achieve accountability and justice remain elusive and uncertain.
Read the full story, ““We Should Not Wait” — Action Needed on Myanmar”, on globalissues.org →
Equality and Territory: the Common Struggle of Indigenous Women in the Andes
LIMA, Sep 04 (IPS) – This article is published ahead of the International Day of Indigenous Women, celebrated September 5, which marks the execution of indigenous guerrilla leader Bartolina Sisa.”At the age of 18 I was the first female leader in my organisation, my grandfather who was a male chauvinist demanded that I be beaten because I was sitting among men,” said Teresita Antazú, an indigenous leader of the Yanesha people in Peru’s Amazon region.