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Photo: Omid, ten months malnourished child suffering from pneumonia is treated in Mofleh Pediatric Hospital in the province of Herat province, west of Afghanistan on January 29, 2019. © UNICEF/UN0280720/Hashimi AFP-Services

Pneumonia the Number One Killer Disease of Children

By Sean Buchanan

NEW YOK (IDN) – Pneumonia, an entirely preventable disease, claimed the lives of 800,000 children – or one child every 39 seconds – under the age of five last year, but funding to improve survival rates continues to lag, according to a new analysis.

Most deaths occurred among children under the age of two, and almost 153,000 within the first month of life, says a UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) analysis produced in September 2019, based on estimates from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Maternal and Child Epidemiology Estimation Group (MCEE) and the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 13 November 2019

Photo: Proceedings instituted by the Republic of The Gambia against the Republic of the Union of Myanmar on 11 November 2019. Source: ICJ.

The Importance of Gambia Invoking Genocide Convention Against Myanmar

Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens

GENEVA (IDN) – The Government of Gambia on November 11, 2019 has brought to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague a complaint against the Government of Myanmar (formerly Burma) for violation of the 1948 Convention on Genocide concerning actions against the Rohingya. Under the rules of the ICJ, Member States can bring action against other Member States over disputes alleging breaches of international law, in this case the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

: Rene Wadlow; OPINION; 13 November 2019

Photo credit: Institute for Security Studies.

$78 Billion a Year Will Suffice to Abolish Extreme Poverty

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

“Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere” is the first of 17 Goals of the United Nations. The latest data indicate that it would cost only $78 billion a year – less than 0.1% of Global GDP – to abolish extreme poverty. Indeed, there is an argument for giving the abolition of the worst poverty priority over funding the combating of global warming. It’s a much, much cheaper cause than what is being estimated as necessary for stalling global warming – $2.5 trillion each year on the energy issue, overwhelmingly targeted on renewables.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 12 November 2019

Photo: Rohingyas at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh, October 2017. CC BY 4.0

Gambia Sues Myanmar at UN Court with Rohingya Genocide

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Few countries are standing up to Myanmar, formerly Burma, for its mistreatment of the Muslim community known as Rohingya. On November 11, Gambia – the smallest nation in mainland Africa – came to the defense of the persecuted minority, filing a lawsuit with the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, charging Myanmar with genocide.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 November 2019

Photo: Afro-Latinos. Source: World Bank.

Fulfil the Rights of Afro-descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean

Viewpoint by Natalia Kanem

Following are extensive extracts from the Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem at the High-level Meeting on "Accelerating global action for the fulfilment of rights for Afro-descendant people in Latin America and the Caribbean", San José, Costa Rica, in October 2019.

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Leave no one behind – that is the global community’s ambitious pledge. And the Sustainable Development Goals call on us to reach those furthest behind first.

How do we accelerate global action to fulfil the rights of Afro-descendants, who are often among those furthest behind in Latin America and the Caribbean?

How do we combat discrimination, inequalities and the root causes of exclusion?

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 11 November 2019

Photo: Agnès Callamard, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, OHCHR. Source: UN News.

The UN Experts Shining a Light on Human Rights Violations

By Sean Buchanan

NEW YORK (IDN) – The experts who fan out across the world to research, hold consultations and gather information on a vast range of human rights violations often find themselves caught in the crosshairs of international and domestic politics. Independent of governments and institutions – including the UN’s Human Rights Council which appoints them.

They occupy a unique investigative role that allows them to shine a light on alleged violations perpetrated across the world, with mandates to “report and advise”, both as specialists focusing on specific forms of abuse of international human rights law such as torture, human trafficking or the right to privacy, but also to carry out country-specific investigations.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 10 November 2019

Photo: U.S. political scientist Francis Fukuyama (left) and DW's Simon Young at the Berlin Wall Memorial. Source: SDYoung Twitter

Fukuyama Expects People to Still Mark 1989 in 100 Years

Deutsche Welle Interview

BERLIN (IDN-INPS) – "I think democracy has got a lot of strengths that may not be evident in the short run, but will play out over the longer run because the ability to change your leaders, ability to hold them accountable is really important," American political scientist and writer Francis Fukuyama, author of the much debated 1989 "The End of History" article, told Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 10 November 2019

Photo: CSO Roundtable with Executive Directors at 2019 Annual Meetings. © World Bank.

Four Reasons the World Bank Should Engage More with Civil Society

Viewpoint by Patricia Moreira

Patricia Moreira is Managing Director of Transparency International, the global civil society organisation at the forefront of the fight against corruption. This viewpoint originally appeared on the World Bank blog.

BERLIN (IDN) - In recent years, we have witnessed a significant shift in approach of both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to addressing the concerns of civil society and recognising their contribution to development outcomes.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 10 November 2019

India To Host the UN Conference on Migratory Species

By Rita Joshi

BONN (IDN) – Based on an ancient Sanskrit saying, the theme ‘Migratory species connect the planet and together we welcome them home’ will guide the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS COP13) in Gandhinagar, a planned city in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

Some 1,500 representatives of national governments, international organizations, scientists, conservation groups and other wildlife experts – together with the associated meetings of the Standing Committee – will discuss the topic from February 15 to 22, 2020.

: Rita Joshi; SUSTAINABILITY; Forests, desertification, land degradation & biodiversity; 09 November 2019

Photo: Secretary-General António Guterres delivers a keynote address at the 81st Anniversary Commemoration of Kristallnacht at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, in New York. Credit: UN/Antonio Ferrari.

Holocaust Is Not Long Ago and Not Far Away

Viewpoint by António Guterres

Following are extensive extracts from UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ speech on 7 November 2019 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York which was marking the 81st anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom carried out by the Nazi regime. Underlining his continued fight to stamp out antisemitism, racism and other forms of hatred, he accentuated that since nobody is born to hate, intolerance can be prevented and unlearned.

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Kristallnacht was not just the night of broken glass; it was the night of broken lives, broken families, broken societies, broken dreams.