Politics and Governance

143^rd Assembly and related meetings of IPU will be held in Madrid from November 26-30, 2021

The first in-person meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) since 18 October 2019 will take place on November 26. All the related bodies of IPU including Standing Committees, Governing Council, Committees on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and on the Middle East, and fora of women parliamentarians and young MPs, will be summoned. It will set the stage for all the participants to exchange their views and stimulate action to promote democracy around the world. It will also take up the emergency topics and legislation forwarded by the Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights to curb online abuse and sexual exploitation of children.

Nicaragua will hold its Presidential Elections on November 7, 2021

Presidential Elections will be held in Nicaragua in a bid to weaken the never-ending term of President Daniel Ortega. Since the anti-government protest of April 2018, the government forces have been involved in killing almost 300 citizens and implementing laws that greatly suppress the rights of the masses. The Citizens Alliance for Liberty (CXL) has announced its candidate after the Ortega government arrested five CXL leaders who were to run for the office. The government is also restricting any resistance that might be a threat to its legitimacy. The electoral system still favours the incumbent president as a crackdown on opposition parties initiated by the government arrested several presidential candidates recently. The international community has also shown serious concerns over the situation in the country.

Chile Presidential and Parliamentary elections are set to be held on November 21, 2021

General elections in Chile will decide the president along with giving voters the power to elect 27 out of 50 senate members and the entirety of 155 members of the Chamber of Deputies. Since the incumbent president Sebastian Pinera cannot run for another term, the running candidates include Gabriel Boric from the Social Convergence party, Sebastian Sichel from Let’s Go Chile coalition, Jose Antonio Kast of the Republican Party, Yasna Provoste representing the New Social Pact coalition, and Franco Parisi from the Party of the People. If no one receives a clear majority vote, a runoff will take place on December 19. Meanwhile, on March 11, 2022, a new president will begin their term of four years. Although voting is voluntary in Chile, discussion on a bill is in progress in Congress to make it mandatory. Despite the concerns, the turnout in the 2017 elections was almost 47%.

Honduras will hold general elections on November 28, 2021

The people of Honduras will cast their votes to elect a president, three vice presidents, 128 lawmakers, 298 mayors, and 20 members of the Central American Parliament on November 28. Honduras’ National Electoral Council (CNE) opened the electoral process on Thursday after the approval of the new electoral law. Candidates from 14 political parties will compete in the elections to replace the current President Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH) who has served two terms that will end on January 27, 2022. The candidates who are most likely to win are Xiomara Castro from Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre), Yany Rosenthal – a representative of the Liberal Party, and Nasry Asfura from the National Party.

Defence and Security

CBRNe Summit Europe 2021 to be held in Brno, Czechia from November 30 to December 2, 2021

The seventh annual CBRNe (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high yield Explosives) Summit will discuss the increasing threats of terrorism that Europe has been facing for the past few years. The event will include discussions from the concerned civil and military officials regarding the excessive use of chemicals by terrorist organisations. European nations have acknowledged the significance of CBRNe and have increased the budget to be prepared for dealing with any incident. This year’s meeting will cater to various significant areas including CBRNe abilities of agencies (both civil and military), first responder technique, decontamination developments and techniques, medical countermeasures to chem-bio threats, countering IEDs, CBRNe threat intelligence, asymmetrical threats, CBRNe forensics, and many more.

Security Asia will be held in Karachi on November 2-4, 2021

Karachi will be hosting Security Asia from November 2-4, 2021. The event will present sophisticated products and services which will provide an opportunity for the attendees to experience the most advanced technologies of the Defence and Security Industry. Also rendered as a safety & security trade show, Security Asia will showcase state-of-the-art products and services. The visitors will get exposure to an array of the latest technology solutions in the Defence and Security industry. Requirements of homeland security and policing, security of information, security of commercial nature, fire and safety, and counterterrorism will also be addressed in the event.

ISC East New York City will start from November 17-18, 2021

The International Security Conference & Exposition (ISC East) will be a two-day event on security in New York. Security Industry Association (SIA) and ASIS NYC will conduct the event and provide a platform to know the depths of several topics around security and information critical to physical, IT and IoT security. Different innovative products will also be shown through demos and presentations. It will provide knowledge on products and services from surveillance to excess control to businesses and clients alike. The event is organised to benefit security dealers, architects, consultants, integrators, and installers to upgrade their knowledge of new technologies.

Energy and Environment

World’s largest climate change summit (COP26) will be held in Glasgow till November 12, 2021

The world’s largest climate change conference, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) will be held in Glasgow from October 31 to  November 12. United Kingdom (UK) chose the city of Glasgow due to its commitment to sustainability. The UK is the fourth country in the Global Destination Sustainability Index and has set the goal for carbon neutrality by 2030. The summit is expected to include over 100 world leaders who will be asked to join the mission of reducing the use of carbon emissions by 2030 that is part of the agenda to reach net-zero carbon emissions by the mid of the century. In this regard, the countries will be asked to restrain deforestation, fast-track coal phase-out, invest in renewables, and speed up the switch to electric vehicles. Furthermore, the summit will focus on ways to protect natural habitats, mobilise finance and work together to deliver quick results.

The fourth Meeting of the COP-4 will start on November 1-5, 2021

The Bureau of the Fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP-4) decided in a meeting in April this year that the COP-4 will be held in two sessions. The first one will be a virtual meeting from November 1 to November 5 2021, while the second will be held in Bali, Indonesia in the first quarter of 2022. The convention is held to focus the attention on the widespread use of mercury, which although natural, has adverse effects on the environment. However, it is generously used in everyday items which are released in water, soil, and air. The convention strives to control the excessive release of mercury in the environment, ban new mines, phasing-out existing ones, and reduce the usage of mercury in various products and procedures.

Trade and Economics

APEC virtual summit will continue its meetings in the week of November 8, 2021, in New Zealand

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) includes 21 countries that come together to address the economic challenges of the region and discuss the possibilities to handle them. This year the narrative is based on the motto: “Join, Work, Grow. Together.” It conducted all the events of this year virtually, while the impact of COVID-19 on the economies of the region and lives of people dominated the event throughout. The focus of APEC has been supporting an inclusive and sustainable trade, and COVID-19 made the process a priority. It remains committed to the availability of vaccines and other essential goods to all nations throughout. After concluding the Senior Official Meeting (CSOM) in the first week of November, the summit will continue with the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) and APEC Ministers’ Meeting in the second week of November 2021.

Fourth Biennial High-level Ministerial Dialogue on Climate Finance will be held on November 1, 2021

The event was postponed due to COVID-19 and is scheduled for November. It will address the reports of the in-session workshops for long-term climate finance executed during the years 2019 and 2020. The ministerial dialogue was agreed upon after the failure of COP 18 in Doha to devise a roadmap for climate finance as climate finance has become a need of time and major steps need to be taken to pursue this common path. The dialogue will review steps taken and devise new strategies for the future.

Social Issues

Global Forum on Tourism Statistics, Knowledge, and Policies will be held in Seoul, Korea from November 3-5, 2021

The forum provides an opportunity to exchange views and experiences on creation, propagation, and development in tourism statistics. It provides one roof for the government institutions, the private sector, academics, and researchers from around the world to collaborate and exchange views on tourism, the statistics related to tourism, and its harmonisation. Its objectives include the development of the global tourism industry, devising a policy that is more inclusive and sustainable, involving all levels of government, and promoting a vision for the future. The forum will be hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea and the OECD under the theme “Reshaping tourism for a more resilient and sustainable tomorrow” with subthemes of “future of tourism”, “lessons from the crisis”, and “recovery and beyond.”

OECD Forum on Green Growth and Sustainable Development will convene on November 16-18, 2021

The OECD Forum on Green Growth and Sustainable Development will come together on November 16-18, 2021. The focus this year will be on COVID-19 recovery measures and rebuilding the environment and transport sector. It will also discuss how countries are taking steps to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. Emphasis will also be on how to build cities considering mobility and a green environment. The forum was launched in 2011 to provide suggestions and steps to support the efforts of countries to accomplish their economic goals and development while ensuring the healthy continuation of the ecosystem that is pertinent to human survival. It devised a flexible policy framework for different countries according to their circumstances to achieve their goals. The forum will look back and discuss how the steps taken were successful and how to plan for the future.