International News
Iraq: As Conflict Abates, Iraqi Villages Begin to Tackle “Huge” Problem of Rubble
                    Jun 19, 2020
                    
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                    UN Environment
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
On the ground, the level of destruction seems endless. Homes, schools and shops have been reduced to piles of cement and stone, the fall-out from…
Somalia: For these Women, an Age-Old Way of Life is Ending in the Horn of Africa
                    Jun 19, 2020
                    
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                    Aurora Almendral, National Geographic
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
So many died at once “it was like they were poisoned,” said Rahma Hassan Mahmoud, a herder in Somaliland, of the catastrophe that befell her…
Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Environmental Programming
                    Jun 16, 2020
                    
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                    Chelsea Keyser, Resonance
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
The World Bank estimates that one in three women and girls will experience gender-based violence during her lifetime. In communities that experience severe environmental stress and degradation,…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Hires Lockdown Jobless to Boost Kabul's Water and Trees
                    Jun 15, 2020
                    
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                    Shadi Khan Saif, Reuters
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
As lockdown measures imposed in March take their toll on Afghanistan’s workforce, the government is employing more than 40,000 jobless workers to rehabilitate groundwater supplies…
Israel/Palestine: West Bank's Ancient Terraces Threatened by Settlers' Plan to Build Business Park on Unesco Site
                    Jun 11, 2020
                    
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                    James Rothwell, Telegraph
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
A Unesco World Heritage site in the West Bank that dates back to the rule of King Herod could soon be “destroyed” by ultra-orthodox Jewish…
Women Integral to Battling Coronavirus and Pushing for Lasting Peace and Security
                    Jun 11, 2020
                    
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                    UN Women
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
The coronavirus pandemic has brought into sharp focus the differentiated impacts that COVID-19 is having on women, including new obstacles to their meaningful participation in…
Afghanistan: 20 Workers Dead in Afghanistan Mine Collapse
                    Jun 10, 2020
                    
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                    Shadi Khan Saif, Anadolu Agency
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
All 20 miners trapped in a coal mine that collapsed in Afghanistan’s northern Samangan province a day earlier have died, officials confirmed on Wednesday. The…
UN Urges Need for Gender Lens to Address Climate Change and other Security Crises in the Time of This Pandemic
                    Jun 10, 2020
                    
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                    Kathmandu Post
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
Gender inequality is not only shaping the experience of the crisis, but also prospects for resilience and recovery of countries around the world, as they…
For People on the Front Lines of Climate Change and Conflict, COVID-19 Is a New Challenge
                    Jun 9, 2020
                    
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                    UN Environment
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
Al Rahad is one of many communities where the combined effects of climate change, conflict, gender inequality, and now the COVID-19 pandemic are posing grave…
Gender Lens Essential to Addressing Linked Climate Change and Security Crises, Urges Joint UN Report
                    Jun 8, 2020
                    
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                    UN Environment
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
As countries reel from the devastating social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, gender inequality is shaping the experience of crisis, as well as…
Colombia: The Colombian Prosecutor’s Office Indicates that Displaced Peasants Do Not Receive the Aid Ordered by the Justice
                    Jun 8, 2020
                    
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                    Europa Press
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
The Colombian Public Prosecutor’s Office has alerted this Sunday that up to 93 percent of the judicial rulings that decree the delivery of housing and…
Myanmar: Southern Myanmar’s Indigenous Groups Say the UN Should Scrap $21 Million Conservation Plan
                    Jun 3, 2020
                    
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                    Skylar Lindsay, ASEAN Today
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region is among the most vibrantly biodiverse places in Asia. The southern tail of kite-shaped Myanmar, Tanintharyi encompasses hundreds of islands in the…
Fighting the Climate Battle
                    Jun 3, 2020
                    
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                    Jane Ahern, The Madras Pioneer
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
A local woman's dedication to family traditions, community service and social justice has led to what she describes as her dream job. Madras resident Katherine…
Myanmar: Campaigners in Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region Oppose $21m Conservation Project
                    May 27, 2020
                    
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                    Daniel Quinlan, Mongabay
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
Campaigners in the Tanintharyi region of southern Myanmar have urged international donors to support community conservation efforts, rather than what they see as a top-down…
On Peacekeepers Day, UN to Spotlight Vital Role of Women Peace Operations
                    May 27, 2020
                    
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                    UN News
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
Women in Peacekeeping, this year’s theme, highlights their central role in UN operations. 
“Women often have greater access in the communities we serve, enabling us to…
Pandemic Disrupts Illegal Drug Trade, Upending Both Product and Profits
                    May 25, 2020
                    
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                    Brian Mann, NPR
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the illegal drug trade in ways not seen since World War II, affecting nearly every country and many different kinds…
India, Brazil: Women Peacekeepers from Brazil and India Share UN Military Gender Award
                    May 25, 2020
                    
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                    UN News
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
The award, created in 2016, recognizes the dedication and effort of individual military peacekeepers in promoting the UN principles on Women, Peace and Security in peace operations.…
Myanmar: Myanmar’s Hasty Solar Tender Draws Criticism from Investors
                    May 24, 2020
                    
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                    Thompson Chau, Myanmar Times
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
The Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) is being criticised by the business community over a recent tender for solar power, with key foreign investors…
Women's Appeal for Human Security, Public Health, Peace, and Sustainable Development
                    May 24, 2020
                    
                    
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
Governments need to cut military expenditure, and increase their focus and budgets on human security and global cooperation, in order to recover from the COVID-19…
Colombia: Colombia’s Crumbling Drug Policy: Farmers Thwart Attempt to Resume Aerial Spraying of Coca
                    May 19, 2020
                    
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                    Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
The Colombian government thought it could outsmart farmers by taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to resume the aerial spraying of coca. Turns out farmers…
Papua New Guinea: Gender-Based Violence Shakes Communities in the Wake of Forest Loss
                    May 19, 2020
                    
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                    John C. Cannon, Mongabay
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
KOKOPO, Papua New Guinea — Change. That’s what Monica Yongol has seen in her 54 years. In that time, the loggers and then the oil…
Myanmar: Adapting Myanmar Resilience Projects in Response to COVID-19
                    May 12, 2020
                    
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                    Cordaid
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
Cordaid, in partnership with Caritas Myanmar (KMSS), has been working on Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction. In 13 villages, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) committees have…
Papua New Guinea: Women Play Key Role in Crafting Peaceful, Sustainable Future for Papua New Guinea
                    May 12, 2020
                    
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                    United Nations
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
Following is UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s briefing, as prepared for delivery, to the Peacebuilding Commission on the joint mission to Papua New Guinea, in…
Canada: Violence Against Indigenous Women During COVID-19 Sparks Calls for MMIWG Plan
                    May 10, 2020
                    
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                    Teresa Wright, CBC
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
With reports of a sharp rise in violence against Indigenous women as COVID-19 restrictions keep families stuck in their homes, concerns are being raised about…
Former SIPRI Researcher Arthur H. Westing—In Memoriam
                    May 8, 2020
                    
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                    Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
SIPRI mourns the passing of former SIPRI expert Arthur H. Westing (United States), who died on 30 April 2020 at the age of 91.
China/Vietnam/South China Sea: China Updates Disputed Sea Maps to Get Back at Vietnam
                    May 1, 2020
                    
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                    Ralph Jennings, Voice of America
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
China has renamed scores of islets and underwater landforms in the South China Sea, a move some analysts say is intended to push back against…
What COVID-19 Tells Us About Gender Inequality in Latin America
                    May 1, 2020
                    
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                    Eugene Zapata-Garesché and Luciana Cardoso
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
Mexico City – In the midst of social and economic unrest, the COVID-19 pandemic appears as an uninvited guest to an already crowded cocktail of…
Can Militant Groups Be Environmentalists?
                    Apr 29, 2020
                    
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                    Kira Walker, World Politics Review
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
Competition over scarce natural resources is often a key driver of the tensions that fuel armed conflict in different corners of the world. Yet in…
Vietnam: Addressing Gender-Based Violence Alongside the COVID-19 Pandemic in Viet Nam
                    Apr 29, 2020
                    
                    
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
Quang Ninh Province, Viet Nam – The “Anh Duong” (Sunshine) House Shelter for the provision of essential services to survivors of violence against women and…
Myanmar: Campaigners Call for Transparency in Myanmar Timber Trade after 850 Tons of Wood Seized
                    Apr 28, 2020
                    
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                    Michael Tatarski, Mongabay
                    
                        
                    
                    
                
Earlier this month, Myanmar’s Information Ministry announced that the country’s Forest Department had seized nearly 850 tons of illegal timber between March 30 and April…
