International Jobs Report: Update 2015

African leaders have made many commitments to promote strong growth in the agricultural sector, with a focus on productivity, in particular by using fertilizers. Currently, progress is slow. Goals have not yet been reached in most countries, as the favorable conditions required to do so have not been created. Targeted action is needed to reduce transaction costs and to improve farmers’ access to fertilizers. However, such action will have limited impact without the introduction of a ...

A NATION CRAVING TO RETURN TO GREATNESS It was yet another turbulent episode reflecting the dark sides of politics and secret service conspiracies. Murder is the message. “Do not mess with us.” The killers wore turbans and spoke Arabic. What else is new? It was dark, not a good time to drive on a hellhole of a road in the Central African Republic, one of the poorest nations of the world. So poor that death has no price. Not many streets are paved and streetlights are as frequent as ...

Latin America is up against a momentous year on multiple fronts. On one hand, game-changing national elections in six countries, including three of its largest – Brazil, Mexico and Colombia – are poised to reshape the political scenario in the region. In parallel, the economic agenda is front and center of countries’ efforts to overcome imbalances, implement reforms and accelerate growth. As a backdrop to all this, an important feminist movement is unfolding on the heels of a year m ...

Au cours des deux premières décennies du troisième millénaire, l’Organisation des Nations-Unies (ONU) a lancé un processus de réforme du maintien de la paix par le biais, notamment, de rapports, de doctrines, d’initiatives et de réformes institutionnelles. Dans la foulée, le Secrétaire général, M. António Guterres, s’est engagé devant le Conseil de sécurité, le 7 avril 2017, à améliorer les opérations de paix des Nations-Unies (OMPs), en confirmant que l’action onusienne dans ce dom ...

After a successful first edition, the second edition of the African Peace and Security Annual Conference (APSACO) took place in Rabat on June 18-19, 2018.  This year’s edition focused on the prospects and opportunities of the peace and security spectrum, ranging from prevention to stabilization, while exploring ways to effectively protect the most vulnerable.  Researchers, diplomats, military personnel, and representatives of think tanks, civil society and the private sector from s ...

“I DO NOT BELIEVE IN ISIS. I JUST WANT TO GO HOME” It was a cage. A size large enough to transport six sheep to the market. The cage was made out of wood, possibly the local carpenter was praised for his work by the President of the court.  Wood is difficult to find these days, wood to resist the fury of a human being, forced to stand in the cage and listen to the verdict for his or her crime -- death by hanging, or life in prison. The woman standing in the cage on one of these hot ...

Suite à l'élection en août 2017 de João Lourenço en tant que président à la place de José Eduardo Dos Santos, qui a dirigé l’Angola pendant trente-huit ans, le pays connaît une dynamique de rupture ainsi qu’un mouvement massif de mises à l’écart des proches du clan de l’ancien président. La période écoulée reflète une transition et non une véritable alternance, tant il est vrai que les structures étatiques et la société civile restent, dans l’ensemble, dominées par l’influence du Mo ...

Depuis la fin de l’année 2017, le président Donald Trump mène plusieurs batailles commerciales, contre différents partenaires, sous prétextes de sauver des emplois industriels américains et de réduire le déficit commercial des États-Unis. S’il est difficile de se prononcer sur les effets des combats commerciaux amorcés par le président Trump, l’importance des opposants et des échanges pour l’économie mondiale en fait une source de risque pour la croissance, les emplois et les prix à ...

The Brazilian economy pays a price in terms of productivity foregone because of its lack of trade openness. A trade opening process would bring an adjustment impact that could nonetheless be mitigated with public policies that facilitate labor mobility and job migration. Benefits from trade opening would also hinge on policy improvements in complementary areas, such as infrastructure investments, business environment and others. The Brazilian economy would benefit from opening trad ...

Garbage, at times, stinks of gold. E-waste, toxic, or nuclear trash, is making the Mafia wealthy, allowing crime syndicates to perfume their bank accounts, or fill their safes with cash. Waste management is extremely lucrative. The EU’s trash business has an estimated turnover of over 100 billion yearly. The largest 25 European waste management firms employ 130,000 people. Now, multiply on the global scale—much of it illegal, and therefore often in cash. Welcome to the Godfather. It ...