Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous region in the south caucuses that is claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Since 1994, the sides have been locked in stalemate, with periodic fighting. Now, the worst fighting in decades has erupted. In a matter of days, this has become a major international crisis with big geopolitical implications. Olesya Vartanyan is a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, working in the South Caucuses. I caught up with her from Tblisi, Georgia. We kick off discussing the history of conflict in this region, before she gives her analysis of why such intense conflict is erupting right now. We also discuss the broader regional and geopolitical implications of this fighting.

In rural Ethiopia women are more likely than men to collect firewood and cook over stoves that emit harmful smoke. Meanwhile, men are more likely than women to control how household income is spent. Accordingly, men are less likely than women to purchase improved cooking stoves that emit fewer pollutants while cooking. This is the case in rural Ethiopia and also across rural communities throughout much of the developing world. Dr. Sied Hassan, sought to dig deeper into this phenomenon. He designed an inventive field experiment to uncover the willingness of men versus the willingness of women to pay for an improved cookstove. Dr. Sied Hassan is a research fellow at Ethiopian Policy Studies institute, a think tank in Ethiopia. He discusses his experiment and the very big policy implications of his findings. We also discuss a related experiment in which he tested various methods to increase the willingness of rural households to pay for solar lighting. Today's episode is part of series of episodes that showcase the research and work of the Sustainable Energy Transitions Initiative. SETI is an interdisciplinary global collaborative that aims to foster research on energy access and energy transitions in low and middle-income countries. Currently, SETI is housed at Duke University, where it is led by Professors Subhrendu Pattanayak and Marc Jeuland. To learn more about SETI, follow them on Twitter @SETIenergy.

This episode was taped live in front of a virtual audience and featured four panelists discussing the intersection of climate and security in Colombia. The experts and policymakers featured in this conversation bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives on the links between climate variability and security in an historically conflict-prone country. This episode is part of a series of episodes examining the relationship between climate and security, produced in partnership with CGIAR, the world's largest global agricultural innovation network. Panelists include: Governor Luis Fernando Suarez, is acting governor of the Antioquia department, Former Secretary of Government during several periods and a key player in the efforts city and regional governments deployed since the 90's to counter different waves of political and criminal violence in the Department. Angelika Rettberg, professor of Political Science at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. She was part of the government delegation that tried to negotiate with the ELN, which is one of the older insurgent groups that has not signed a peace agreement with the government. Frank Pearl, former Minister of Environment of Colombia, the High Presidential Commissioner for Reintegration, and Senior Lead Peace negotiator during the peace talks between the Colombian Government and the FARC, which lead to the Peace agreement of 2016. He was also chief negotiator with the ELN Juan Lucas Restrepo, Director General of the Alliance between Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture with CGIAR

On Monday, September 21 the United Nations officially commemorated its 75th anniversary. The centerpiece of this commemoration is a declaration from all 193 member states of the United Nations that reaffirming their commitment to international cooperation to advance peace and security, human rights and development. The 75th anniversary of the UN provides a good opportunity to reflect on the changing role of the United Nations and of multilateralism more broadly in international relations. On the line with me to discuss these questions and more is Ambassador Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation. We kick off discussing the significance of the UN 75 Declaration before having a broader conversation about the role of the United Nations and multilateralism in international relations today. The UN 75 Declaration

It will be a United Nations General Assembly like no other. Typically this is the time of year where world leaders gather in New York to deliver speeches at the UN and participate in all manner of diplomatic events at the United Nations. But this year UNGA goes virtual. UNGA Week is always a highlight of the diplomatic calendar, though of course it will look much different this year. A great number of heads of state and world leaders are delivering video-messages, with the exception of Donald Trump who has said he would like to deliver his address in person. On the line with me to preview some of the storylines for this most unusual UNGA is Richard Gowan, the UN Director of the International Crisis Group. Related Links: Crisis Group report on "Snap Back" Sanctions on Iran. https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches Now on Amazon Music!

On August 27th Paul Rusesabagina flew from his home in Texas to Dubai. Three days later, he mysteriously appeared in Kigali, Rwanda, where authorities proudly proclaimed his arrest. He would not be the first person whom the Rwandan government has targeted this way -- but he is arguably the highest profile. Paul Rusesabagina was the manager of a high-end hotel in Kigali, Rwanda as the genocide unfolded. His heroism was dramatized in the film Hotel Rwanda. On the line with me to discuss this situation is Lewis Mudge, the Central Africa Director of Human Rights Watch. We discuss how this government action against Rusesabagina's fits into larger patterns of how the regime of Paul Kagame has targeted dissidents abroad. https://www.undispatch.com/category/podcast/ https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches

The Sahel region of Africa is one of the regions of the world that is worst impacted by climate change. It is also a region beset by instability, insecurity and conflict. This episode, which was taped live in front of a virtual audience, examines the relationship between climate and security in a discussion featuring five panelists. This episode is part of a series of episodes examining the relationship between climate and security, produced in partnership with CGIAR, the world's largest global agricultural innovation network. This episode was taped live in front of a virtual audience and featured five panelists discussing the intersection of climate and security in the Sahel region of Africa. https://climatesecurity.cgiar.org

When a COVID-19 Vaccine is available, most of the world will have access to it thanks to a unique platform for international cooperation called The COVAX Facility. The COVAX Facility is a platform for pooled investments in the development, manufacture and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. At time of recording, 172 countries have entered into an initial agreement with COVAX, representing about 70% of the world's population. The goal of the COVAX Facility is to provide 2 billion doses of a vaccine to cover 20% of the population of all participating countries by the end of 2021. GAVI--The Vaccine Alliance administers COVAX and on the line with me today to explain how COVAX works is the Managing Director for Country Programs at GAVI Thabani Maphosa https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches http://undispatch.com/

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, or the GERD, is a major hydroelectric project that is being built on the Blue Nile river near the border with Sudan. The dam promises to bring a much needed source of electricity to the people of Ethiopia. But the dam sits on what is the main tributary to the Nile River. Egypt, which is downstream from Ethiopia, has been vehemently opposed to its construction. Egypt contends that the dam will restrict water flow and undermine its rights to the Nile waters. Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan are now locked in a fight over water and who gets to benefit from the Nile River. On the line with me to explain the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is Mekdelawit Messay, an independent water science researcher based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Today's episode is supported in part from a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to showcase African voices in peace and security issues. https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches https://www.undispatch.com/category/podcast/

When a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, chances are that the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will have played a big role in bringing it into the world. CEPI is a partnership between governments, philanthropies and civil society organizations to support the development of vaccines and medicines for infectious diseases that have the potential to become pandemics. When COVID-19 emerged, CEPI made early investments in vaccine research and development and in building infrastructure around the mass production of a vaccine. In this episode, the CEO of CEPI Richard Hatchett explains how this platform for international cooperation is supporting the development of a COVID-19 Vaccine that will be made available worldwide as a public good. This episode is Part 1 of of a series examining how international cooperation and "vaccine multilateralism" is accelerating an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches https://www.undispatch.com/category/podcast/