March 19, 2019 No comments
Safe drinking water, sanitation, are ‘basic human rights’: new UN Water Development report
INTERNATIONAL, 19 March 2019, SDGs - Safe water and access to proper sanitation are essential to eradicate poverty, build peaceful societies and ensure that no one is left behind on the path towards sustainable development, according to the 2019 UN World Water Development Report, launched on Tuesday in Geneva. In collaboration with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the World Water Assessment Programme, the report Leaving no one Behind, stresses that waterfor all is “entirely achievable”. “Access to safe, affordable and reliable drinking water and sanitation services are basic human rights”, the report spells out. And yet, billions still lack these facilities. UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme coordinator Stefan Uhlenbrook launches 2019 UN World Water Development Report in Geneva, Switzerland, March 2019., by Screen capture The report underscores that exclusion, discrimination, poverty...
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March 19, 2019 No comments
First peaceful transfer of power in DR Congo ‘an extraordinary opportunity’ for advancing rights
INTERNATIONAL, 19 March 2019, Human Rights - The election of President Felix Tshisekedi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), marks “an extraordinary opportunity” for the country to advance civil and political rights, said a senior UN official, on Tuesday at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights (OHCHR), Andrew Gilmour, welcomed Mr. Tshisekedi’s inaugural speech in January, in which he made a “clear commitment” to respect citizens’ rights and end discrimination. The president’s recent decree ordering the release of all political prisoners was also to be welcomed, Mr. Gilmour said, in anticipation of their actual release and the closing of all unofficial detention centres. Mr. Tshisekedi’s unexpected election win on 30 December, despite a week’s delay due to logistical concerns, coming on...
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March 19, 2019 No comments
Cyclone Idai: emergency getting ‘bigger by the hour’, warns UN food agency
INTERNATIONAL, 19 March 2019, Humanitarian Aid - The full scale of the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Idai in south-west Africa is becoming clearer, the UN said on Tuesday, warning that the emergency “is getting bigger by the hour”. Five days after the storm made landfall in Mozambique, causing widespread damage and flooding, at least 1,000 people are feared dead there alone. Victims are reportedly trapped on roofs and clinging to trees awaiting rescue, UN agencies said, while across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, tens of thousands of people have lost their homes, while roads, bridges and crops have been washed away. “We are talking about a massive disaster right now where hundreds of thousands -in the millions of people – (are) potentially affected,” said Jens Laerke...
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March 19, 2019 No comments
UN launches ‘South-South Galaxy’ knowledge-sharing platform in Buenos Aires
INTERNATIONAL, 19 March 2019, Economic Development - When countries of the Global South forged an historic technical cooperation deal among themselves 40 years ago, digital technology was a thing of the future, but developing nations have come a long way since then. China, for example, has managed to send an exploration vehicle to the dark side of the Moon, while India has a satellite orbiting Mars. A new digital tool launched on Tuesday, just ahead of the Second High-level UN Conference on South-South Cooperation, aims to strengthen the ways countries share their technology, to benefit developing countries. The “South-South Galaxy”, is a global knowledge sharing and partnership platform, officially launched in the city hosting the “BAPA+40” conference – the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires - by the UN Office...
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March 18, 2019 No comments
What is ‘South-South cooperation’ and why does it matter?
INTERNATIONAL, 18 March 2019, Economic Development - This week in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, over one thousand people, including high level government delegations and representatives from the private sector and civil society, will gather for the Second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation, or BAPA+40. The Conference marks the 40th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Technical Cooperation Among Developing Countries, which was also held in Buenos Aires. The central theme of discussion will be how South-South cooperation represents an opportunity to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the globally-agreed blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who will participate in opening ceremony of the event, strongly believes in the importance of South-South cooperation to generate both new ideas and concrete projects and...
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