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Learning from the Facebook Data Scandal

By Nakshatra Pachauri

Nakshatra Pachauri is Controller, Finance and Administration of the South Centre. The views in the article are solely those of the author. This article first appeared in No. 167 of SouthViews – a service of the South Centre to provide opinions and analysis of topical issues from a South perspective – on 28 March 2018. – The Editor

GENEVA (IDN-INPS) – Recent news about the collusion of Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and the Trump election has brought forward one of the more covert and often insufficiently discussed problem of Social Media platforms to the fore. Instead of calling out Facebook alone, I prefer to use Social Media platforms as the problems related to big data enterprise and privacy are as much a Twitter/Whatsapp/Instagram/Snapchat issue as it is for Facebook.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 30 March 2018

Photo: UNIDO Director General LI Yong and Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano, the Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna. Credit: UNIDO

Japan Supports Human Security Projects in Eight Countries

By Reinhardt Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) – Japan has announced that it will support eight UNIDO projects aimed at ensuring human security for the most vulnerable populations in Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Nigeria, Somalia and the Syrian Arab Republic.

Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano, the Permanent Representative of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna, affirmed on March 28 that the projects will "help individuals to live under healthy conditions, consolidate their livelihoods and with all of this gain optimism for their future."

: Reinhard Jacobsen; SUSTAINABILITY; Global Partnerships; 29 March 2018

Photo: But Buntenh speaks outside the Forestry Administration’s headquarters in Phnom Penh last year as monks display chainsaws seized from illegal loggers in the Prey Lang forest. Courtesy: Siv Channa | The Cambodia Daily

SE Asia's 'Environmental' Monks Need International Support

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 22nd in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

BANGKOK (IDN) – A 76-year old Buddhist monk living on his own in his forest monastery in North-eastern Thailand has appealed for international help after receiving death threats from illegal loggers according to a report in Bangkok Post.

In neighbouring Cambodia, monks who are mobilizing under the banner of ‘Independent Monk Network for Social Justice’ have regularly put their lives in danger in fighting illegal logging operators who sometimes have the protection of government officials. They also spoke out July 2016 in an appeal via the German television network Deutsche Welle (DW).

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 28 March 2018

Photo: Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, ex president of Argentina, with Pope Francis. CC BY-SA 2.0

How Francis Could Become to be Seen as One of the Greatest of all Popes

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – This present pope – Francis – is probably the most powerful man in the world, in the round.

Stalin once asked when confronted with the argument about the Pope’s reach and influence, replied, “How many divisions has the pope got?” He missed the point. The pope does not work these days in the world of hard power. He is a peddler of soft power.

Francis has much more power, maybe because of the strength of his convictions, than any of his predecessors, with the exception of the Polish pope, John Paul II, who played a front-line role in triggering the events that brought down communism.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 27 March 2018

Photo: Members of the women's cooperative use climate-resilient organic compost and biopesticides in their farm. Credit: UN Women

Women Farmers in Africa Fight Impact of Climate Change

By Ronald Joshua

NEW YORK | BAMAKO (IDN) – Fatou Dembele is a farmer in landlocked Mali, where half of the population engaged in agriculture are women. Agriculture is a key sector to lift women out of poverty. But the increasing degradation of land and natural resources caused by climate change is making women more vulnerable.

Therefore when Dembele’s plants first started dying, she thought the plot of land was ruined, and her livelihood was at risk. “We thought the land was sick. We didn’t know that there were live parasites that attacked the roots of the plants and could kill them,” says Dembele.

: Ronald Joshua; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 March 2018

Social activities with NGOs - GBSH Consult - Johannesburg (South Africa)

The Role of NGOs in Africa: Are They a Force for Good?

By Sally Matthews

Dr. Sally Matthews is Senior Lecturer in Politics, Rhodes University, South Africa. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

JOHANNESBURG (IDN) – Non-governmental organisations have become key actors in responding to poverty and related suffering. In Africa, NGOs play a leading role in providing health care and education.

The non-profit sector continues to grow rapidly in Africa and around the world. In South Africa alone, there are more than 100,000 registered non-profit organisations and in Kenya the number of NGOs grew by over 400% between 1997 and 2006. And for most observers, they seem to be well-intentioned actors who do a lot of good on the continent.

: IDN-INPS Middle East & Africa Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 26 March 2018

UNCTAD Asks the Caribbean Countries to be Weather-ready and Climate-smart

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – The Caribbean countries should be weather-ready and climate-smart in view of the rise in global temperatures and extreme weather events threatening to become frequent menacing the region, says Crispin D’Auvergne, who works on climate change and disaster risk management for the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), comprising 10 island nations.

Efforts advocated by D’Auvergne will also be backed by the 70 million Euro initiative launched by the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States in November 2017.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 25 March 2018

Experts Call For Paying Heed To Internally Displaced Persons

By Geneva Centre Staff

GENEVA (IDN) – The forced displacement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Middle East cannot be left unaddressed by decision-makers in the context of the refugee and migrant crisis, stressed a group of human rights experts during a panel debate at the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The debate entitled “Protecting people on the move: Internally displaced persons in the context of the refugee and migrant crisis” was held on March 21 at Palais des Nations in Geneva on the margins of the 37th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council. The debate was arranged by the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue (Geneva Centre) and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to UN Geneva.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 25 March 2018

Photo: Participants at the 62nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women rejoice as the Commission adopts Agreed Conclusions to ensure the rights and development of rural women and girls. Credit: UN Women/Ryan Brown.

UN Gathering Pledges to End Gender Injustice & Discrimination

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – A landmark global gathering at the United Nations headquarters in New York has come up with a blueprint to ensure the rights and development of rural women and girls around the world.

Convened on the heels of an unprecedented global activism and public clamour to end gender injustice and discrimination worldwide, the 62nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) concluded on March 23 reaching a robust agreement highlighting the urgency of empowering and supporting those who need it most and have, for too long, been left behind.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 24 March 2018

UNIDO Helps Prevent E-Waste Eiffel Towers in Latin America

By Jaya Ramachandran

VIENNA | QUITO (IDN) – Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), comprising old computers, televisions, fridges, mobile phones, and other appliances, also known as e-waste, is expected to reach 52.2 million metric tons by 2021.

It is equivalent to the weight of more than 29 million passenger cars, and would suffice to build 1,000 Eiffel towers, according to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).