Category: UN INSIDER

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Stories about women who have excelled in subjects like science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) can help overcome bias against girls and create new role models, UN officials said on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11.

A recent study, ‘Gender stereotypes about intellectual ability emerge early and influence children’s interests’, shows that by the age of 6, girls are already less likely than boys to describe their own gender as ‘brilliant’, and less likely to join an activity labelled for ‘very, very smart’ kids.

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK | VIENNA (IDN) – “Africa is by no means destined to lag behind the rest of the world economy. On the contrary, it could easily become a global economic powerhouse – and within the next decade. But, to fulfil its economic potential, Africa must industrialize,” says Director General LI Yong of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

This has been stressed repeatedly at recent international forums, including the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in August 2016, and the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, the following month, he adds. For the first time, the G20 placed industrialization in Africa – and all of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) – on its agenda. The African Union’s Agenda 2063 also supports this drive.

By Rita Joshi

BONN (IDN) – The number of international migrants worldwide has continued to grow rapidly over the past fifteen years – reaching 244 million in 2015, up from 222 million in 2010 and 173 million in 2000.

Behind these numbers, says the Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), are the links between migration and development challenges, in particular, the consequences of environmental degradation, political instability, food insecurity and poverty.

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Laszlo Szombatfalvy, a Swedish billionaire of Hungarian origin, is willing to pay US$5 million to anyone who comes up with innovative ideas for revamping the global governance system as currently manifested in the 71-year old United Nations now facing a huge funding challenge from the U.S. with Donald Trump as the President.

It is officially described as ‘The Global Challenges Prize 2017: A New Shape – Remodelling Global Cooperation’. The award has been issued by the Global Challenges Foundation, which is urging “big thinkers, from all disciplines, everywhere” to use their “brainpower” and “best ideas as never before” to “help to reshape our world”.

By Svenja Brunkhorst and Jens Martens

BONN | NEW YORK (IDN | Global Policy Forum) – In an unprecedented and historic move, the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly recently granted observer status to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

The resolution was submitted by France, Albania, Colombia, the Netherlands and Tunisia and was adopted during the seventy-first session of the General Assembly. The resolution sets out the ICC’s position as observer in the General Assembly from January 1, 2017 on. For the first time, the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly (GA) has approved a business organization as an observer to the UN General Assembly.

By Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK (IDN) – While there has been an overall decline in the prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) across countries, this progress is likely to be offset by rapid population growth in states where FGM occurs, unless efforts to eliminate the practice are renewed in light of recent research, and urgently stepped up, UN Women has warned.

In a statement on the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on February 6, UN Women – United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women – refers to a 2016 report of the UN Secretary-General. The single largest factor influencing the continuation of female genital mutilation is the desire for social acceptance and avoidance of social stigma, the report found.

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – While uncertainty persists over U.S. contributions to the United Nations, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark says that “there is significant potential to attract new supporters and funding” beyond the organisation’s traditional partnership base.

“These relationships take time to nurture, but over time can yield good results,” she told the first regular session of the UNDP Executive Board for 2017 on January 30, pointing to significant steps to diversify UNDP’s resource base.

UN coordination is a key priority for UNDP and a commitment in its Strategic Plan. The UNDP Administrator is the Chair of the UN Development Group (UNDG), which unites the funds, programmes, specialized agencies, departments and offices of the UN system that play a role in development.

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations and the African Union (AU) have agreed to establish regular, high-level interaction between the two organizations in the interest of “enhanced energies and avenues of cooperation”, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

“We have agreed that Agenda 2063 (the development agenda of the African Union) and the 2030 Agenda (for sustainable development) will be aligned,” Guterres said at a press encounter at the UN Headquarters, in New York on February 1 after his return from Africa and his participation at the African Union Summit on January 30-31.

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Group of 77 (G77) and China, the largest coalition of developing countries in the United Nations, is calling upon the international community “to address the challenges and needs faced by developing countries, especially countries in special situations”.

These, says Ambassador Horacio Sevilla Borja, Ecuador’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, in a statement on behalf of G77 and China, include “in particular, African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and Small Island developing States”.

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) has launched a publication series – ‘South-South In Action’ – purported to highlight the vast reservoir of developing country experiences and how these are enhancing South-South cooperation.

The first volume of the series, jointly published by the Royal Thai Government and the UNOSSC was presented at the UN headquarters in New York on January 12, one day before the Southeast Asian country handed the annual Chair of the Group of 77 (G77) and China over to Ecuador.