By J Nastranis UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Despite an upsurge in world economic growth, which has reached 3 per cent – the highest since 2011 – very few least developed countries (LDCs) are expected to reach the Sustainable Development Goal target for GDP growth of “at least 7 per cent” in the near term (SDG […]
World Powers Trade Insults Over Rights Abuses in Iran, N. Korea
By John J. Metzler* This article is being reproduced with permission of WebPublicaPress, which carried it on November 28t, 2017 with the caption ‘UN Theatre of Absurd’. – The Editor UNITED NATIONS (IDN-INPS) – A key UN Committee has condemned Iran’s widespread use of the death penalty and has urged the Islamic Republic to eliminate “all […]
Re-election of India’s Nominee to the World Court ‘Historic’
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – India has scored a “historic” victory over Britain, one of the five permanent members (P5) of the Security Council, with the re-election of Justice Dalveer Bhandari to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The win is historic because it’s the first […]
EU & UN Aid African Countries in Fighting Wildlife Trafficking
By Justus Wanzala NAIROBI (IDN) – African and Asian countries face a huge challenge in protecting their wildlife from the illegal killing and trafficking that has already endangered some species. Over the years, national and regional efforts to combat the threat have met with mixed success and wildlife and their products continue to be sold […]
UN Fears Middle East Engulfing into the ‘Vortex of Religious Radicalism’
By Santo D. Banerjee UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has been widely welcomed in Israel but it has also caused much anger among Palestinians and anxiety across the Middle East and beyond – at the United Nations too. On December 6, Trump announced that […]
Kazakhstan Committed to Sustainable Development and Mutual Prosperity in Central Asia
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – In the run-up to Kazakhstan assuming the UN Security Council’s rotating presidency for January 2018, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov has accentuated that the Central Asian country stands for the creation of a model of a regional zone of peace, security and cooperation in Central Asia and Afghanistan. […]
134-Nation Group Garners Support for SDG 9 at UNIDO Meeting
By Ramesh Jaura VIENNA (IDN) – “We are in a time when multilateralism is being challenged. Your participation in this General Conference reaffirms the relevance of UNIDO’s work to your governments and the people on the ground,” said Miroslav Lajčák, Slovakia’s Foreign Minister and President of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly until […]
UNGA Adopts Six Resolutions on Palestine, Middle East
By J Nastranis UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Seventy years since the United Nations adopted the Partition Plan for Palestine as Resolution 181 (1947) on November 29, 1947 a hectic debate in the General Assembly has reaffirmed that peace in the Middle East is nowhere on the horizon. In fact, several delegates voiced concern that the […]
UNIDO Chief Has A ‘Dream’, Urgently Needs Funds
By Ramesh Jaura VIENNA (IDN) – Li Yong has a ‘dream’, the dream to give young people, living in similarly poor conditions as he experienced in China in his childhood, an opportunity to play a part in “the global fight against poverty”. Li was re-appointed head of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) on […]
Security Council Delegation Visits Kabul Before Kazakhstan Assumes Presidency for January
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Kazakhstan is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2017-2018. Ambassador Kairat Umarov, the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations, chairs the Council’s Committees 1988 on the Taliban movement and 1267 on ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida. Nearly two months ahead of Kazakhstan assuming the […]