THe Week with IPS 9/11

2015/9/11	Click here for the online version of this IPS newsletter
	Africa Sees U.N. Climate Conference as “Court Case” for the Continent Isaiah Esipisu As the clock ticks towards the United Nations climate change conference (COP21) in Paris in December, African experts, policy-makers and civil society groups plan to come to the negotiation table prepared for a legal approach to avoid mistakes made during formulation of the Kyoto Protocol. The ... MORE > >
Strong Climate Deal Needed to Combat Future Refugee Crises Andreas Sieber Climate change has been held responsible many of the social and economic woes affecting mainly the poorest in the global South and now many are seeing it as one of the root causes of refugee crises. In his State of the Union speech here Sep. 9 to the European Parliament, even European Commission ... MORE > >
	G20 Finance Ministers Committed to Sustainable Development Jaya Ramachandran Finance ministers and central bank governors of the world’s 20 major economies, accounting for 66 percent of world population, have pledged to “promote an enabling global economic environment for developing countries as they pursue their sustainable development agendas”. In this context, they ... MORE > >
	In and Behind the Trenches Against ISIS Karlos Zurutuza Reminders of the last occupants of camp K1 in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk are only visible on the murals at the main gate leading into the compound: Iraqi soldiers saluting the flag, pointing their weapons or being cheered on by grateful families. But Iraq’s 12th Infantry Division fled, ... MORE > >
Opinion: A Call for Public Participation in National Budget Processes Amitabh Mukhopadhyay After forming governments, authorising them to tax us and to spend on our collective needs, do we remain watchful about our money? No, we don’t. Not even when we know governments borrow from money markets on the strength of the tax fund created, often beyond our means to repay. Why? Because we ... MORE > >
	Mental Health Another Casualty of Changing Climate Jed Alegado and Angeli Guadalupe Jun* is in chains, tied to a post in the small house that resembles a fragile nipa hut. His brother did this to prevent him from hurting their neighbours or other strangers he meets when he’s in a ballistic mood. Jun has been like this for three years now, but since Typhoon Haiyan hit the ... MORE > >
	Opinion: From Inequality to Inclusion Jomo Kwame Sundaram Recent years have seen a remarkable resurgence of interest in economic inequality, thanks primarily to growing recognition of some of its economic, social, cultural and political consequences in the wake of Western economic stagnation. The unexpectedly enthusiastic reception for last year’s ... MORE > >
	Rich Gulf Nations Tight-Lipped on Growing Refugee Crisis Thalif Deen As Western and Central European nations seem overwhelmed by the growing refugee crisis – triggered mostly by the inflow of hundreds and thousands of displaced people largely from Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq – one lingering question remains unanswered: why aren’t some of the rich Arab Gulf ... MORE > >
	Opinion: Women’s Major Role in Culture of Peace - Part Two Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury Another reality that emerges very distinctly in culture of peace is that we should never forget when women – half of world’s seven billion plus people - are marginalised and their equality is not established in all spheres of human activity, there is no chance for our world to get sustainable peace ... MORE > >
	Opinion: Promoting Culture of Peace Through Dialogue - Part One Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury This week, for the fourth time in a row, the annual gathering of the apex intergovernmental body of the United Nation deliberating on peace and non-violence will take place at the U.N. headquarters in New York. Photo Courtesy of Ambassador Chowdhury President of the ongoing 69th session of ... MORE > >
	Women Revolutionise Waste Management on Nicaraguan Island José Adán Silva A group of poor women from Ometepe, a beautiful tropical island in the centre of Lake Nicaragua, decided to dedicate themselves to recycling garbage as part of an initiative that did not bring the hoped-for economic results but inspired the entire community to keep this biosphere reserve ... MORE > >
	Opinion: Protecting Lives Must Come First in Law Enforcement Dr. Anja Bienert Everyone has the right to life. This principle is enshrined in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and appears in numerous international treaties and national laws. Yet this notion was sorely absent the day police fatally shot Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy, in a public park in ... MORE > >
	Q&A: “We Must Put Everything Aside and Just Focus on Water” Stella Paul Globally, more than 748 million people do not have access to safe drinking water. That is more than double the population of the entire United States. United Nations data suggests that 1.8 billion people – that is 500 million more than the population of China – drink water that is faecally ... MORE > >
	Crisis in Brazil Hampers Infrastructure under Construction Mario Osava Besides suffering from macroeconomic imbalances, like a drop in GDP, a high inflation rate and a large public deficit, Brazil is experiencing heavy losses as many oil industry and logistical works grind to a halt. Much of the infrastructure under construction is part of a cycle that is coming to ... MORE > >
	Migrants Waiting Their Moment in the Moroccan Mountains Andrea Pettrachin In the middle of the mountains behind the border fence of Ceuta, the Spanish enclave in Morocco, and eight kilometres from the nearest Moroccan village of Fnideq, an uncertain number of migrants live in the woods. No one knows exactly how many they are but charity workers in Melilla, Spain’s other ... MORE > >