By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | HARARE (IDN) – The hastily organized inauguration of Emmerson Mnangagwa as president of Zimbabwe has hit a brick wall. Invitations to the heads of diplomatic mission, international organizations and consulates were pulled back after challenges to July 30 general election put a question mark around the […]
E-Government Favours Sustainable and Resilient Societies, Finds UN Survey
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – Almost two thirds of 193 United Nations member States demonstrate a high-level of e-government development with EGDI (the E-Government Development Index) values above in the range of 0.5 and 1, finds a new survey, which also draws attention to the widening ‘digital divide’ between the industrialized and […]
Security Council Calls for Better UN Agency Cooperation in Central Africa
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – In view of “the volatile and fast‑evolving nature of the political, security and social situation” in Central Africa, the United Nations Secretary-General has asked the Security Council to extend by three years from September 1, 2018 to August 31, 2021 the mandate of the UN Regional Office for […]
G20 Anti-Corruption Commitments At Risk
By Sean Buchanan LONDON (IDN) – As governments across the globe crack down on citizen groups, stifling their ability to speak out and hold governments to account, the role of civil society is more important now than ever. With his in mind, activists from more than 600 civil society organisations and more than 45 countries […]
UN Supports Comprehensive Reform Process in Lesotho
By Ntsoaki Nkoe MASERU (IDN) – Lesotho has launched a landmark project with the European Union willing to provide Euros 12.5 million (approx. USD14.4 million) and the United Nations USD 2 million. Known as the Lesotho National Dialogue and Stabilization Project (LNDSP), the initiative aims to stimulate a comprehensive national reforms process the southern African […]
Thirteen-Year-Old Defies Family, Escapes Forced Marriage
By Billy Ntaote This report is part of a series on Human Trafficking by MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism in Lesotho. MASERU (IDN) – For people living in the rural parts of the country, early child marriage doesn’t exist – but when a teenager is impregnated, families rush to organise a traditional wedding ceremony and […]
Kudos and Criticism for New UN Human Rights Chief
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Moments after the UN General Assembly unanimously agreed on August 10 to appoint Chile’s former President Michelle Bachelet as the seventh UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Secretary-General António Guterres tweeted: “Ms. Bachelet is a pioneer, a visionary, a woman of principle, and a great human rights leader […]
Advancing Disarmament Within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu The author is Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. This article first appeared in UN Chronicle, Vol. LV No. 2 2018 | August 2018. NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – The idea that disarmament and arms control are connected to development is not new. Article 26 of the Charter of the United […]
Empower Indigenous Women, Strengthen Communities
No More Hiroshimas, No More Nagasakis, No More Hibakusha
Viewpoint by António Guterres The survivors of the atomic bombings, known in Japanese as the hibakusha, have become global “leaders for peace and disarmament”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony in Japan on 9 August 2018, commemorating the 73rd anniversary of that devastating day. Following are extensive extracts from […]