GLOBAL ISSUES NETWORK EUROPE

Resources

Some articles of interest in relation to the theme of the 2019 Conference

Committing to our World’s Most Vulnerable

People, Places and Resources

Trafficking, modern-day slavery & exploitation

Vulnerable populations

Migration

Poverty and inequality

Climate and environment

Innovation

Sources from:

Guardian International Edition https://www.theguardian.com/international
Thomson Reuters Foundation https://www.trust.org
United Nations Climate Change Conference http://www.un.org/en/climatechange/index.shtml
Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/
Huffington Post https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
Luxembourg Times https://luxtimes.lu
You Tube https://www.youtube.com

Trafficking, modern-day slavery & exploitation

Venezuelan child migrants, women fall prey to human traffickers in PeruLured by false offers of well-paid work as waitresses, dancers or cooks in mining areas, migrants can end up forced into prostitution

Cooperation, not cash, key to ending modern slavery by 2030 - expertsCountries should not solely focus on funding but strive to better share information on slavery, experts say

Europe urged to protect thousands of children from human traffickersIn the wake of Europe's migration crisis, traffickers are targeting children and forcing them to work in farms and factories or selling them for sex

Is your phone tainted by the misery of 35,000 children in Congo's mines? | Siddharth KaraMy field research shows that children as young as six are among those risking their lives amid toxic dust to mine cobalt for the world’s big electronics firms

Outcry over 'saviour complex' fuelling exploitation of Kenyan childrenCampaigners say children from vulnerable families are being trafficked into institutions to satisfy demands of tourism

India's tourist magnet starts to clean child labour 'blot'Impoverished children from Bihar have for years been trafficked to tourist-magnet Jaipur to work as slaves making bangles, embroidering or sewing buttons

Wedlocked: tangled webs trap Cambodian 'brides' in ChinaCountless women from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar go to China to wed. Some end up happily married; others speak of violence and forced labour

Scientists use AI to help children sold for sex in hotelsHotels-50K can be used to identify where trafficking victims are being held - and ultimately to rescue them

Britain urged to tackle orphanage trafficking in anti-slavery fightChildren in countries from Cambodia to Haiti are taken from their homes and put into orphanages to attract donations and help from volunteers

Virtual map converts calls to UK helpline into slavery hotspotsThe anti-slavery helpline has received more than 10,000 calls and online reports since it was set up two years ago

UK 'failing' to save thousands of children from modern slaveryMore than 2,000 children suspected to have been trafficked were referred to the government last year - the highest annual number on record

Slaves to students: British college marks new start for survivorsUnique course in northern England offers free education to survivors of modern slavery

Vulnerable populations

UK accused of 'abandoning children to their fate' in world's deadliest countriesGovernment urged to ramp up aid spending on child protection after study shows it accounts for only 2% of budget

'They killed my children and raped me': sexual violence remains rife in CongoAgencies sound alarm over sexual attacks, murder and torture in southern areas where violence was thought to be waning

FACTBOX-8 facts: Yemenis 'dying every day' as U.N. makes record appealMore than 685,000 people have fled fighting along the west coast of Yemen since June

Peace deal in Yemen's main port hits snag as UN seeks aid pledgesThe war, which has killed tens of thousands of people, and ensuing economic collapse have left 16 million facing severe hunger

Malawi offers $7,000 reward to stop albino killingsBelief in witchcraft is widespread in rural Malawi, fuelling ritual killings particularly targeting people with albinism because of the belief that their body parts can increase wealth

Lost lives, lost billions: the cost of child marriage in AfricaSub-Saharan Africa has the highest child marriage rates in the world, with more than 3 million - or one in three - girls marrying before they turn 18

Migration

'Whatever it takes': people brave war in Yemen in hope of reaching EuropeDrownings, disease and abuse fail to deter on route supposed to be safer option from east Africa

Behrouz Boochani: detained asylum seeker wins Australia's richest literary prizeGuardian writer on Manus Island wins $125,000 after sweeping non-fiction prize and Victorian prize for literature at Victorian premier’s literary awards 2019

'My heart is split': capturing the essence of exodus – in picturesFrom the flight of Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh to pilgrims making for the Ganges delta, a series of stunning photographs celebrate the lives of migrants

Poverty and inequality

26 Billionaires Own The Same Wealth As The Poorest 3.8 Billion PeopleA new economic system is needed to tackle rampant inequality, says a new Oxfam report.

Americans Have Lost Faith In Their Ability To Move From Poverty To RichesMore than two-thirds said it's no longer commonplace for hard work to be a path from poverty to wealth, according to a new World Economic Forum poll.

The new 'big society': 4 in 10 Britons volunteer, survey revealsVolunteering benefits mental health and acts as antidote to loneliness, YouGov study finds

Historian berates billionaires at Davos over tax avoidanceRutger Bregman tells panel that the real issue is the rich not paying their fair share

Climate and Environment

Biggest global climate mobilisation should inspire grown-upsWe are seeing a new generation of activists emerge, who are speaking courageously and demanding justice

We must look after forests so they look after usThis year’s International Day of Forests is dedicated to improving education around their importance to our future

Ocean temperatures rising faster than previously thoughtOcean heat has been setting records repeatedly over the last decade, with 2018 expected to be the hottest year yet

Life is sweet: on the hunt with Slovenia's 'rapid response' beekeeper unitOne in 200 Slovenians is a beekeeper, and they’re fighting back against the disturbing decline of bees worldwide

It's not cheap being a green consumerPractically any lifestyle product you can think of has a more sustainable alternative, but at a price

'We can’t afford to stand by and do nothing’: 10 everyday heroes fighting to save the planetSchoolchildren around the world are joining a global strike against climate change this week. But they’re not the only everyday people inspired to take action. We talk to 10 UK activists on the frontline of our most serious environmental issues.

U.N. goes online for 'most important discussion' of the centuryBritish naturalist David Attenborough is encouraging the public to share ideas about how to stop the planet heating up using the Twitter hashtag #TakeYourSeat

There are three options in tackling climate change. Only one will work | Mayer HillmanWe’re now at a fork in the road: either we cut out fossil fuels completely, or we pass on a dying planet to our children, says social scientist Mayer Hillman

Greta Thunberg, schoolgirl climate change warrior: ‘Some people can let things go. I can’t’One day last summer, aged 15, she skipped school, sat down outside the Swedish parliament – and inadvertently kicked off a global movement

Britons say willing to pay more for fair fashion but trust in brands lackingFast fashion has fuelled the risk of worker abuses such as forced labour in global supply chains, activists say

Scientists reveal 'ideal diet' for peoples' and planet's healthMany life-threatening chronic diseases are linked to poor diets, including obesity, diabetes, malnutrition and several types of cancer

Britain's fashion industry is exploitative and unsustainable - parliamentariansBritain, which buys more clothes per person than any other country in Europe, has seen a boom in

To meet climate goals, world urged to reuse natural resourcesOnly about a tenth of the nearly 93 billion tonnes of materials utilised annually - including minerals, metals, fossil fuels and biomass - are currently put back into service

Four reasons small farms are running out of water – and how we can fix itBy 2050, four billion people could be experiencing severe water stress, putting global food supply in jeopardy.

Innovation

FACTBOX - Five ways healthier food can save the world from climate changeHere is why managing food supply is key to controlling climate change

Italian cardboard tent for the homeless gets viral boostMade of recyclable cardboard and plastic, the waterproof tent folds like an accordion into a portable backpack, said its creator

Girl power! India's 'solar gal pals' light up rural homesIn sunny Rajasthan, women solar promoters fan out to persuade families of the benefits of renewable energy

Bamboo house for Manila slums wins top prize in future cities contestThe modular housing, which can be manufactured in a week, captures rainwater and reduces heat gain

Sainsbury's launches scheme labelling items useful to food banksCustomers will be urged to include priority and long expiry date items in their shop for donation after checkout

Waste not: the food business that throws nothing awayFoodSpace raises the sustainability bar, using only local ingredients in zero-waste kitchens