Category: UN INSIDER

By Jaya Ramachandran

VIENNA | KABUL (IDN) – The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Executive Director Yury Fedotov has expressed concern over the rise of 43 percent in opium production in Afghanistan and called “for deepening political commitment within Afghanistan to face down illicit drugs and to stop endemic corruption as well as the proliferation of money laundering and other financial crimes”.

The findings of the Afghanistan Opium Survey 2016 launched in Kabul on October 23 show an increase to 4,800 metric tons in 2016 compared with 2015 levels, which Fedotov said, points to “a worrying reversal” in efforts to combat the persistent problem of illicit drugs and their impact on development, health and security.

By IDN-INPS Africa Bureau

NAIROBI (IDN) – A landmark meting of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has decided to ramp up global efforts to curb desertification and drought that are projected to force 135 million to migrate in the next 30 years.

The fifteenth session of the Committee of the Review of Implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (CRIC 15) concluded its three-day meeting on October 20 in Nairobi, Kenya, with the adoption of an outcome aimed at intensifying efforts to combat desertification.

ROME (IDN) – The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) have agreed to generate job and business opportunities for young people in rural Benin, Cameroon, Malawi, and Niger.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency (NPCA) Chief Executive Officer Ibrahim Assane Mayaki signed an agreement for the purpose on October 19. The project to be implemented with the help of a $4 million grant from the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund seeks to foster policy dialogue among countries, regional organizations, development and resource partners.

By Jaya Ramachandran

BERLIN | BONN (IDN) – OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that are known to have been at loggerheads for nearly two decades appear to be building bridges just a few days after the Paris Agreement reached the threshold for entry into force on October 5.

In the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, Morocco from November 7 to 18, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo visited Bonn to meet with UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa “to enhance cooperation between the UNFCCC and OPEC and exchange views on recent developments”.

By Rita Joshi

BERLIN | BONN (IDN) – The UN Climate Change Secretariat has launched two initiatives to raise young people’s awareness about climate change through videos and photographs.

While winners of the Youth Climate Video Competition were announced on October 6, the deadline for a photo competition has been extended. Works of the winners of this competition too will be exhibited at the upcoming Climate Change Conference in Marrakech from November 7 to 18.

According to a media release by the UN Framework Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC), two young climate activists from Tunisia and Vietnam who tell their inspiring stories of climate action and building public awareness have been selected as the winners of the 2016 Global Youth Video Competition on Climate Change.

By Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK (IDN) – Rural women make up 25 per cent of the world’s population and in developing countries they comprise 43 per cent of the agricultural labour force that produces much of the world’s Food.

They are therefore critical to the success of almost all of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as they all have gender equality and women’s empowerment at their core.

Rural women constitute the backbone of rural communities, where, “and in many households they have the key responsibility for food security, education opportunities and healthcare”, as the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stressed.

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Those in their late 20s but still living in poverty have been assured that the United Nations continues to have them on its radar. Though recent estimates show that despite significant gains since 2002 – the number of people living below the poverty line dropped by half – 1 in 8 people still live in extreme poverty, including 800 million people who do not have enough to eat.

An estimated 2.4 billion people have no access to improved sanitation, 1.1 billion people have no access to electricity and 880 million people live in urban slums. In fact opportunities continue to remain scarce for the world’s most vulnerable people – 59 million children of primary school age are out of school and the youth unemployment rate is 15 per cent, more than three times the rate of adults.

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Faith groups have called on the United Nations General Assembly to heed the voices of the survivors of atomic bombings 71 years ago (hibakusha) urging the abolition of nuclear weapons, and vote in favour of the resolution submitted by Austria, Brazil, Ireland, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa.

Dr. Emily Welty, Vice Moderator of the World Council of Churches Commission on International Affairs, introduced the joint statement during the civil society presentations at the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security on October 12.

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Though there are more than two months to go before António Guterres takes over as the United Nations Secretary-General from Ban Ki-moon, he has started preparing himself for the world’s most challenging job.

One day after the 193-member General Assembly appointed him on October 13 as the new Secretary-General for a five-year period, ending December 31, 2021, he has announced the composition of a transition team to prepare for the world’s top diplomatic job.

According to a press release, issued by the UN Spokesperson’s office, the Transition Team will interact with UN officials, Member States and civil society to ensure an informed and smooth transition. The five-member team – three women and two men – comprises nationals of the Republic of Korea (ROK), USA, Jamaica, Portugal and Tunisia.

By Ronald Joshua

GENEVA | ROME (IDN) – Climate change, hunger and poverty must be addressed together in order to achieve the sustainable development goals set by the international community: this is the clarion call emerging from this year’s World Food Day celebrations in Rome and in many countries.

At the global World Food Day ceremony on October 14, FAO Director-General José Graziano declared: “Higher temperatures and erratic weather patterns are already undermining the health of soils, forests and oceans on which agricultural sectors and food security depend.”