The economic and social integration of Venezuelan migrants into Dominican society is currently being supported through culture and music. The Acting Head of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Mission in the Dominican Republic, Josué Gastelbondo, says it is essential to support the activities of economic and social integration of Venezuelan migrants into the society. ‘’No better way to do it than through culture and music’’, Josué Gastelbondo, said Already, a charity musical gala has been held by the Venezuelan-Dominican Chamber of Commerce and supported by IOM. It provided a perfect occasion to present the Dominican-Venezuelan Symphonic Orchestra that delight…
Author: Akanimo Sampson
The Senior Disability Rights Researcher at Human Rights Watch, Emina Ćerimović, has taken President Muhammadu Buhari to task, claiming that the Nigerian leader is not doing anything yet on torture chambers in the country. President Buhari said in October 2019 of the Islamic rehabilitation centers that he will not ‘’tolerate the existence of the torture chambers and physical abuses of inmates in the name of rehabilitation.’’ According to the global rights group, the Buhari administration was yet to acknowledge that the abuse of people with mental health conditions was even rife in government-run facilities. ‘’People with mental health conditions should…
The war-torn Central African Republic (CAR) is being ravaged by flood that has already displaced around 30,000 persons with scores struggling to cope with the disaster of nature. CAR has been mired in a brutal civil war since the 2013 ouster of President Francois Bozizé by a coalition of rebel groups. The militias have been fighting each other or the government, forcing around a quarter of the country’s 4.7 million people to flee their homes. Last September, the United Nations estimated that two-thirds of CAR’s population requires humanitarian aid to survive. At the moment, the flooding has hit residents of…
By March this year, Ethiopia recorded 3.04 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) due to ethnic conflict and environmental shocks over the past year. Since April, the government of Ethiopia, according to International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) has rolled out a phased plan to return, relocate and integrate those displaced, resulting in tens of thousands of IDPs returning to their places of origin The global migration agency and its humanitarian partners are now scaling up use of the Community-Based Planning (CBP) approach to support the government’s return initiative, and to strengthen sustainable return, recovery, and social integration. This approach encourages…
Members of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have decided that the agenda of the 109th Session of the ILC (2020) should include a general discussion on skills and lifelong learning. They also requested the ILO to initiate work on proposals for possible standard-setting items on biological hazards, ergonomics and manual handling, chemical hazards and guarding of machinery, for future consideration by the governing body and the International Labour Conference (ILC).In reviewing the implementation of the ILO’s enhanced programme of development cooperation in the occupied Arab Territories , the governing body took note of the deteriorating labour and employment situation in…
Most of the Kilinochchi District’s 400 irrigation tanks in Sri Lanka have fallen into disrepair due to three decades of conflict in the country. The climate has also changed. While some areas of Sri Lanka experience floods, in others dryness has turned to drought.It is more than six months since Mrs Murugesu Nagulambigai last saw rain. Her hometown, Arasapuram, in the northern Kilinochchi district, is a naturally dry area and traditionally local farmers coped with the lack of rainfall by irrigating crops from artificial village reservoirs, known locally as “tanks”.In Nagulambigai’s village the only water source came from one of…
Before several financial crises hit the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2014, causing many businesses to fail, Shalaw Abdulstar owned a clothing shop for four years. According to him, “after the crises hit, I was barely making any money. I couldn’t pay the shop’s rent to continue my business, let alone other expenses. I had no choice but to close the shop and stay at home.” Shalaw, 35, is from Erbil. He decided to emigrate to Europe with his brother in late 2017, and sold his car and other belongings to collect money for the journey. Continuing, he said, “we…
An additional $61.5 million, not budgeted within the current Humanitarian Response Plan for South Sudan, is needed to support flood-displaced citizens most in need of assistance, and ensure protection of the most vulnerable and avert loss of life. Heavy rains have hit areas that were already facing high humanitarian needs. Across the 32 flooded counties, more than three million people were in need of assistance even before the rains. Sixty-three per cent of the flood-affected counties are classified as facing extreme levels of Acute Malnutrition Phase 4 (critical), mostly impacting children and new mothers. Critical needs include access to safe…
There will be an annual Awards Ceremony of the Plural Plus Youth Video Festival (PLURAL+) on Wednesday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) have announced. The goal of PLURAL+ is to ensure youth engagement in pressing social issues, both at local and global levels, by making their videos available through a variety of media platforms and distribution networks. Since 2009, UNAOC and IOM annually have invited youth filmmakers from around the world to submit short videos exploring the topics of migration, diversity, social inclusion,…
The International Trade and Commodities Director of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Pamela Coke-Hamilton, says the creative economy and its industries are strategic sectors that if nurtured can boost competitiveness, productivity, sustainable growth, employment and exports potential. But, creativity does not seem to be a panacea for economic diversification. The many challenges the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) face are a microcosm of the swath of global challenges today. However, the creative economy, in some ways, defies definition almost by definition. But its significant 3.00% contribution to global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) makes it a powerful…
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Chief of Mission for Costa Rica, Roeland De Wilde, says community stabilisation projects are strengthening the social fabric and are essential for socio-economic development of communities in Costa Rica. “The care of common spaces promotes coexistence between migrant residents and their neighbours”, he said. To this end, two parks abandoned to the sale and consumption of drugs and alcohol have been revitalised with colourful murals and a skatepark for children by a project that brought together the local community and migrant population. Located in Los Laureles and July 25 neigbourhoods in San Jose, the neglected parks remained…
A study, Trade and Trade Diversion Effects of United States Tariffs on China, shows that the ongoing US-China trade war has resulted in a sharp decline in bilateral trade, higher prices for consumers and trade diversion effects (increased imports from countries not directly involved in the trade war). By analysing recently released trade statistics, the study finds that consumers in the US are bearing the heaviest brunt of the US tariffs on China, as their associated costs have largely been passed down to them and importing firms in the form of higher prices. However, the study also finds that Chinese…
A new report says the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) specification change will shift a large amount of bunker demand from high-Sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) to low-Sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) and gasoil across regions, especially in China. IMO is out to limit Sulphur content in ships’ fuel oil from 3.5 to 0.5 percent from this coming January 1, 2020. Already, the accumulated growth rate for US inbound containers has almost been cut in off half from 5.1% in 2018 to 2.6% in August of 2019. However, ESAI Energy’s newly published China’s Changing Bunker Market Special Report is expecting the production to…
More than eight months after Cyclone Idai devastated Sourthern Africa, the affected communities in Zimbabwe are currently desperate for permanent shelter and the resumption of livelihoods. The Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) conducted by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) indicated that 270,000 individuals were affected by the cyclone and that 50,905 people in 12 districts were displaced while 223 households still reside in displacement sites. A grandmother of four, who lost her two sons during the cyclone, Johana, said “we live in constant fear of another disaster. The rainy season is upon us; some of our tents are giving in…
Over 100 policy-makers, civil society, trade unions, business associations, and knowledge and research institutes from 34 countries, together with United Nations practitioners converged in Italy in search of environmentally viable and socially inclusive economies. It was the third edition of the Global Academy on the Green Economy which took place in Turin, Italy last October 14-18 2019. The Global Academy on the Green Economy is organised every two years by the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE). PAGE which was launched in 2013 as a response to the call at Rio+20 to support those countries wishing to embark on greener…
Some strategic trade and development agencies of the United Nations are currently locked in a project aimed at supporting developing countries in realising economic benefits from the sustainable use of marine resources. To this end, more than 50 government representatives, key fisheries actors and other development partners were brought together in the last two days of October by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to discuss and validate a strategy during a workshop held in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. With UNCTAD at the event was the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea…
Conversations at the 2019 Green Economy Academy have contributed to spread greater understanding of innovative policies, strategies and tools, and more importantly, on the different ways in which they are being shaped, adopted and implemented. Insiders say the event which took place in Turin, Italy from October 14-18, was very successful in delivering individual and institutional capacity development for Inclusive Green Economies. Among the series of side events, the 2019 academy featured a knowledge fair. In this space, the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) country partners, PAGE agencies, development cooperation agencies, civil society organisations and academic institutions discussed…
Human Rights Watch, a global rights group has said in a report that important social reforms enacted under Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, have been accompanied by deepening repression and abusive practices meant to silence dissidents and critics. The 62-page report, The High Cost of Change’: Repression Under Saudi Crown Prince Tarnishes Reforms, documents ongoing arbitrary and abusive practices by Saudi authorities targeting dissidents and activists since mid-2017 and total lack of accountability for those responsible for abuses. Human Rights Watch said it found that despite landmark reforms for Saudi women and youth, ongoing abuses demonstrate that the rule…
Legislator Jairo “Bolota” Salazar last October 29 barred a group of protesters outside the Panamanian National Assembly from entering the building, claiming, “they are gay and they cannot enter.” For Cristian González Cabrera, a researcher, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Programme of Human Rights Watch, this affront encapsulates the grievances of protesters who have taken to the streets of Panama City to protest against constitutional reforms preliminarily approved by the legislature last week. One of these would amend the constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. Panama already excludes same-sex couples from marriage under Article…
There are concerns about how other nations will react after US President Donald Trump formally notified the United Nations of the US withdrawal from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. This is coming amid alarming assessments that governments are failing to address the climate crisis, says a new study, which is based on 40 years of data on a range of measures. Another team said: Paris carbon-cutting pledges are “too little, too late”. While the new study warns: Without deep and lasting changes, the world is facing “untold human suffering”, the scientists say they have a moral obligation to warn of…
Defaulters of Nigeria’s Gas flaring laws are now going to pay for their environmental sins in the vastly polluted oil and gas region of the country. The Red Chamber of the country’s bicameral Legislature has mandated its Committee on Gas to immediately review and recommend upwards penalty for the polluters. This is coming as the Senate also urged the newly established Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking-in-Persons (NAPTIP) and other relevant government agencies to intensify surveillance towards curbing modern slavery. The senate mandated its Committee on Sustainable Development Goals…
At the 36th meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) last October ending in Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) announced winners of the second edition of the ISAR Honours The ISAR Honours seek to support efforts on enhancing the quality and comparability of companies’ reporting on sustainability issues and on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its usefulness for monitoring the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This year’s honours were scooped by five national and two international initiatives that assist enterprises to publish data on their…
The rising cases of human rights violations against legislators around the world is currently a major cause of worry to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). At the 141st IPU Assembly in Belgrade, Serbia, member parliaments strongly condemned the record number of new cases of abused lawmakers. The IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, the only international body with an exclusive remit to support legislators in danger, examined the cases of 305 parliamentarians in 10 countries whose human rights had been allegedly violated. Full details of all the decisions are here. Over half the cases are new complaints mainly from Venezuela, Yemen, the…
Labour does not seem to be ready to shift ground on their insistence for the 36 governors of the federation to pay their workers the disturbing N30,000 minimum wage. For the insisting labour leaders, it is either the governors pay or brace to face the wrath of the workers. The Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC) wants the governors to commence immediate payment of the new minimum wage of N30,000 with effect from April 18. This implies that the governors are already owing their workers more than six months arrears of the new pay. The Council which has negotiated the…
In 2018, the global maritime trade lost momentum as heightened uncertainty, escalating tariff tensions between the US and China and mounting concerns over other trade policy and political crosscurrents, notably a no-deal Brexit, sent waves through global markets, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) Review of Maritime Transport 2019. Volumes in the sector grew by only 2.7% last year, below the historical averages of 3.00% and 4.1% recorded in 2017, according to the report. “The dip in maritime trade growth is a result of several trends including a weakening multilateral trading system and growing protectionism”, said…
The Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, about 25 African-Americans from United States and some other dignitaries from all walks of life are billed to be in Anambra State to grace the Eri Festival. The African-Americans, according to the traditional ruler of Eri Kingdom of Enugwu Aguleri community, Eze Chukwuemeka Eri, are those who have traced their roots to the Igbo racefollowing DNA test. He pointed out that the visitors will be taken to the Aganabo Ezu n’ezu Omamala Confluence to pay homage to Eri, the father of the Igbo race. The Eri Festival / Olili-Obibia-Eri is however, an ancient festival celebrated by Eri…
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Republic of Azerbaijan have sealed an agreement to help the country better manage its public debt. In 2018, the country’s public debt was $8.80 billion. This implies that the debt in 2018 reached 18.75% of Azerbaijan GDP, a 3.76 percentage point fall from 2017, when it was 22.51% of GDP. The evolution of Azerbaijan debt rose since 2008 in global debt terms, when it was $1.6 billion and also in terms of GDP percentage, when it amounted to 3.22%. According to the last data point published, Azerbaijan per capita debt in 2018 was…
The ability of countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is being threatened by illicit financial flows, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said, pointing out that as these flows are intended to be hidden, measuring them is extremely difficult. To arrest the situation, UNCTAD has been working with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) over the past 18 months to prepare a methodological approach for the measurement of the flows to address SDG indicator 16.4.1. The indicator attempts to measure the total…
The International Organisation for Migration is appealing for urgent humanitarian support to thousands of flood-affected people in Somalia. Flash floods following heavy rains in parts of Somalia have displaced thousands of vulnerable people. In some of the worst hit areas, farms, infrastructure and roads have been destroyed, and livelihoods disrupted. An estimated 182,000 people have so far been displaced, according to humanitarian partners. The Shabelle and Juba rivers in Hirshabelle Sate and South West State, respectively, have risen and inundated many surrounding towns. With another tropical storm forecast, the possibility of further damage remains a concern. With funding from partners such as…
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State is currently pressing for the arrest of the National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Abdullahi Bodejo, for describing a statement he made on the controversial RUGA of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration as a threat to the country. Though Bodejo was quoted in some dailies to have threatened that governors that refused to establish cattle colonies, also known as RUGA settlements, will not know peace in their states, the establishment is not likely to act in spite of the weighty security implications of such a threat. The obviously unguarded outburst is re-echoing as…
