Global Peace & Justice
Nonproliferation reflections in Kosovo
Burundi withdraws from the ICC
Burundi has become the first country in the world to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The decision comes one month after the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Burundi announced that it had found evidence of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture and sexual violence in the two-and-a-half years since Burundi's president, Pierre Nkurunziza began a third term in office.
New Zimbabwean president plans to engage with the world
Following the dramatic departure of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's new President Emmerson Mnangagwa has
pledged to re-engage the country with the world. His inauguration address was seen by many as an effort to reassure foreign investors to attract investment to revive Zimbabwe's failing economy. Mr Mnangagwa's dismissal as vice-president earlier this month led the ruling party and the army to intervene.
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Human Rights
No justice for Rohingya in Burma
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Human Rights Watch
issued a strongly worded statement calling on the United Nations Security Council to do more to address the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Burma. In what many outside observers are calling "ethnic cleansing," the past two months in Burma have seen hundreds of villages burned to ashes, thousands killed, and more than half a million ethnic Rohingya Muslims fleeing for their lives.
Libya Plans Transit Center for Refugees
The United Nations refugee agency has welcomed the decision by the Libyan authorities to
set up a "transit and departure facility" in Tripoli for refugees and migrants in need of international protection - an initiative that offers viable alternatives to their dangerous journeys along the Central Mediterranean route.
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Gender Equity
The inequality of women's health
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) recently issued a new report exploring the
persistent inequalities in sexual and reproductive health around the world. Globally, women and girls in the poorest 20 percent of households have little or no access to contraception and skilled birth attendants, leading to more unintended pregnancies and higher risk of illness or death from pregnancy or childbirth. The lack of power to choose whether, when or how often to become pregnant can limit girls' education, delay their entry into the paid labor force, and reduce earnings, trapping women in poverty and marginalization.
Women must be included in peace talks
It is widely acknowledged that women often bear the brunt of violent conflict. That is why including them in peace negotiations is so vital. 17 years ago the UN passed resolution 1325, which incorporates women in the peace and security agenda, yet there is still work to be done. Improving the number of women in senior UN positions, strengthening gender capacity in peacekeeping missions and assessments, and drastically increasing funding and other support for local women's organizations would be a good start.
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Environment & Sustainable
Development
Link between hamburgers and climate change
 Popular Science
launched #NoRedOctober in an effort to encourage people to abstain from red meat for one month. The motivation behind the campaign was o address the methane footprint of cattle raised for beef. Livestock are responsible for 12 percent of planet-warming greenhouse gases and red meat animals, especially the bovine kind, are among the worst offenders.
Paris agreement only 1/3 of what is needed
The
eighth edition of UN Environment's Emissions Gap report, released ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, finds that national pledges only bring a third of the reduction in emissions required by 2030 to meet climate targets, with private sector and sub-national action not increasing at a rate that would help close this worrying gap.Should the United States follow through with its stated intention to leave the Paris Agreement in 2020, the picture could become even bleaker.
The record growth of CO2
According to the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) latest
Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) have reached 403.3 parts per million (ppm), up from 400.00 ppm in 2015. A recent UN report demonstrates a record pace of growth in 2016 to a level not seen in 800,000 years.The report underscores the need for a strong and urgent global response to meet the goals of the 2015
Paris Agreement.
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Global Governance & Connectivity
UN report on statelessness
UN agency on refugees recently released a report entitled
This Is Our Home: Stateless minorities and their search for citizenship. The report explains the circumstances that lead to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities not being recognized as citizens, drawing on discussions with four stateless or formerly stateless minority groups. The findings in this report underscore the critical need for minorities to enjoy the right to nationality.
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Poverty Reduction and Income Inequality
A long way to go to eradicate world hunger
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About Global Development Update and TGCI
The Global Development Update focuses only on what is happening at the global level in six domains: Human Rights, Gender Equity, Environment & Sustainable Development, Poverty Reduction & Income Inequality, Global Governance & Connectivity, and Global Peace & Justice.It is intended for use by anyone concerned about the direction in which the world is going and the well being of our planet. Global Development Update is a publication of
The Global Citizens' Initiative
(TGCI); the editor is Camilla B. Vogt.
TGCI is an international non-profit organization. Our mission is to promote the practice of global citizenship and bring people and their organizations together to build a sustainable world community for all. Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Please send to
[email protected].
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