Amazon nations renew cooperation but fall short on deforestation plan
The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization agreed on some policies but not a unified goal to end deforestation.
Colombia
Colombia is a nation in the northwestern part of South America. It is working to implement a historic 2016 peace agreement with the FARC rebel group, which formally ended a decades-long armed conflict. The agreement is monitored by the U.N. Verification Mission in Colombia.
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Male-only parliaments are no longer as gender parity slowly advances
Six nations have gender parity or a women's majority: Rwanda, Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico, New Zealand and U.A.E.
Nearly 3 million more displaced people from wars and conflicts
Despite the pandemic, the number of people fleeing for safety around the world rose to almost 82.4 million last year.
WTO subsidy talks to curb overfishing drag on
Diplomats failed to meet an end-of-year deadline for a deal on halting government subsidies that contribute to overfishing, WTO officials said.
Groups cite high number of land mine casualties
At least 5,554 people were killed or wounded last year because they stepped on a land mine or other unexploded devices from war, a new report found.
U.N. refugee agency says war and conflict uprooted 1% of humanity
An unprecedented 79.5 million people - two-fifths of them children - were forcibly displaced as of the end of 2019.
Alpinism added to UNESCO heritage list of traditions worth protecting
Enthusiasm for alpinism - and other climbing styles - remains strong today, but the pursuit is threatened by climate change.
UNDP warns inequality drags on progress based on opportunity
Inequalities caused a 20% loss in global progress towards aspects of needed "human development" last year.
No school for 3.7 million refugee children as financing falls short
Little more than 60% of all refugee children are able to go to primary schools, versus 90% among all children globally.
OECD sets new voluntary ethical standards for artificial intelligence
IBM, which helped develop the standards, said they offer policy guidance for governments and stakeholders worldwide.
A record 41 million people are uprooted in their own nations
Disasters and conflicts drove nations atop a list of places adding to the 28 million people newly displaced at home.
IFRC gains entry to scale up aid efforts as Venezuelan crisis deepens
Venezuelans who cannot flee are in the grips of a humanitarian crisis from lack of food and basic services.
The United Nations has led 76 investigations in the past 55 years
As demands grow for a U.N. probe of Khashoggi's murder, an Arete News review finds just eight previous such orders.
Wetlands vanishing at triple rate of forests as global temperatures rise
The losses from 1970 to 2015 threaten the 'world's most valuable ecosystem' with a huge amount of biodiversity.
Syrian buffer zone for Idlib region is latest use of an old diplomatic tool
The concept of a demilitarization zone goes back almost a half-millennium to Europe's rules on demolishing forts.
Frontier of machine learning raises questions and risks for human rights
International organizations are calling on governments and technology companies to adopt a human rights declaration.