Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Sierra Leone - Why Everyone is Not Celebrating the New Media Law Mohamed Fofanah Last week, Sierra Leone’s parliament voted to repeal the country’s 55-year-old libel law, which criminalised the publication of information that was deemed defamatory or seditious, and which had been used by successive governments to target and imprison media practitioners and silence dissenting ... MORE > >

Only Governments Can Prevent Covid-19 Recessions Becoming Depressions Jomo Kwame Sundaram Covid-19 threatens economic life the world over. The most urgent and important need is for governments, businesses and families to survive. Governments must revive economies and livelihoods to prevent Covid-19 recessions from becoming protracted depressions. The Covid-19 crisis is clearly a ... MORE > >

Food Security Threats: Now a Warning and Later May Be Too Late Mario Lubetkin Recent world reports confirm that the goals set by the international community to end poverty and hunger, and create a more balanced, sustainable and fair world by 2030, are currently in danger. If effective and rapid global action is not taken, the goals will not be met and the results in just 10 ... MORE > >

Coronavirus - Urban Areas Face the Brunt of the Pandemic Samira Sadeque The effect of the coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent global lockdown might have a graver effect on cities and urban areas than on rural areas, possibly making women more susceptible to violence. According to a United Nations Policy Brief on the impact of COVID-19 on the urban world, urban ... MORE > >

Solar Energy Expands in Brazil Despite the Pandemic Mario Osava Solar energy has continued to expand in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic and should contribute to the economic recovery in the wake of the health crisis. That is the assessment of Bárbara Rubim, vice-president of the Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy (Absolar), in charge of ... MORE > >

Neglected, Sacrificed: Older Persons During the COVID19 Pandemic Isabel Ortiz Failing to help those in most need COVID19 is devastating on older persons. The numbers are staggering, more than 80 percent of the fatalities due to coronavirus in the US and East Asia occurred among adults aged 65 and over. In Europe and Australia, the figures are even higher, 94 and 97 per ... MORE > >

Myanmar's Protection Bill falls Short of Addressing Violence against Women Samira Sadeque A legislation that aims to protect women against violence in Myanmar, while long overdue, is raising concern among human rights advocates about its inadequate definition of rape, vague definition for “consent”, and anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rhetoric. Myanmar is soon to see the ... MORE > >

The Charter of the United Nations After 75 Years: Personal Reflections Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf The Charter of the United Nations is not only the constituent instrument of the United Nations as an organization. It is a multilateral legal manifesto encompassing a set of basic principles and norms aimed at ensuring peace, freedom, development, equality and human rights throughout the world. ... MORE > >

If UN is Working “Full Throttle” While Locked Down, Shouldn’t Most Staffers Work from Home –Permanently? Thalif Deen When the coronavirus pandemic delivered a mortal blow to the United States, grounding the country to a virtual standstill and throwing its economy into a deep recession, hundreds and thousands were forced to work “remotely” while offices remained shuttered, beginning late March. The United ... MORE > >

Rohingya Women Take a Seat at the Table & Share Stories in a Growing Rights Movement Samira Sadeque Rohingya women are coming together to feature their own work, plight and stories in mainstream conversations about their community — a space they say they’ve been left out of. “If we think of revolutions or liberty or think of any ways to liberate ourselves from the shackle of suffering and ... MORE > >

How Smart Investments in Technology Can Beef up Africa’s Economy There is no shortage of technological innovations designed to boost animal agriculture in Africa. These range from GPS tracking systems which identify and trace pastoralists’ herds to livestock vaccine SMS services that alert farmers to disease outbreaks. But to unlock the economic potential of ... MORE > >

It was Meant to Be a Ground-breaking Year for Gender Equality but COVID-19 Widened Inequalities Neena Bhandari Sixteen-year-old Suhana Khan had just completed her grade 10 exams in March, when India imposed a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown. Since then, she has been spending her mornings and evenings doing household chores, from cooking and cleaning to fetching drinking water from the tube well. “I am ... MORE > >

Trinidad Skilfully Handles COVID-19 but Falls Short with Wildlife Jewel Fraser Most of the countries in the Caribbean have done a great job of containing the COVID-19 pandemic, with a few notable exceptions, namely, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. A University of Oxford study highlighted Trinidad and Tobago as being among the most successful. However, management of ... MORE > >