Category: UN INSIDER

GENEVA (IDN | GIN) – The United Nations Human Rights Council has voted to appoint an independent monitor to help protect gay and transgender people around the world from violence and discrimination, but not without fierce resistance from African and Muslim countries.

The June 30 vote was called “a historic victory for the human rights of anyone at risk of discrimination and violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Human Rights Watch and other rights groups in a coalition.

The independent monitor will report annually to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly on best practices to minimise discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity. It will work with states, UN agencies and other organizations.

Analysis by J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development started its first review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) July 11-20, civil society coalitions from around the world brought to New York their own findings, calling on member states to take note of these.

Because the Forum is the UN’s central platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda adopted by world leaders on September 25, 2015. It is slated to adopt a Ministerial Declaration to provide political leadership, guidance and recommendations on the 2030 Agenda’s implementation and follow-up; keep track of progress of the SDGs; spur coherent policies informed by evidence, science and country experiences; as well as address new and emerging issues.

Analysis by Jens Martens

Jens Martens wrote this analysis on behalf of the Reflection Group* on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is part of Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2016, a Reflection Group Report.

NEW YORK (INPS | IDN) – The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted unanimously at the United Nations by world Heads of States and Governments in September 2015 is highly ambitious. If taken seriously it has the potential to change the prevailing development paradigm by re-emphasizing the multidimensional and interrelated nature of sustainable development and its universal applicability.

BONN (IDN) – United Nations Volunteers will officially launch a new online volunteering service on July 15. The service allows organizations in need of volunteers and people willing to volunteer online from around the world to connect with one another, so that volunteers can remotely support non-profit organizations that are working to promote peace and development around the world.

“Volunteerism is a global force for change,” said Richard Dictus, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers Programme. “Now, with our new Online Volunteering service, it is easier than ever to make a difference without ever leaving your home. Along with the refreshed look and feel of the site, we are also building stronger partnerships with the corporate sector in online volunteering. We are certain that this revamped service will spark a growth in volunteering around the world.”

By Rita Joshi

BERLIN | BRUSSELS (IDN) – The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) have agreed to embark on concrete joint initiatives to foster South-South and triangular cooperation amongst their mutual constituencies, according to the ACP Press Office.

The ACP Secretary General Dr. Patrick I. Gomes and the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for South-South Cooperation and UNOSSC Director Jorge Chediek exchange letters at the ACP headquarters in Brussels on July 11.

The agreement outlines the key areas of cooperation such as: fostering South-South and triangular cooperation among the two parties’ mutual constituencies, as well with other developing countries to support intraregional and regional integration; and deepening institutional partnerships to scale up knowledge-sharing, showcasing and scaling up of development solutions, and technology transfer.

By Devinder Kumar

NEW DELHI (IDN) – Within days of being elected as non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for two years beginning January 1, Kazakhstan has affirmed its “commitment to work in partnership to address the critical social and economic development needs of the people of North and Central Asia”.

An agreement for the purpose was signed on July 11 in Bangkok between the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Government Kazakhstan.

Under the Agreement, which supplements the Host Country Agreement, the Government of Kazakhstan has committed to provide the premises for the ESCAP’s Subregional office for North and Central Asia (SONCA), along with a recurring annual grant for operational and programme costs of the office.

By Jamshed Baruah

WARSAW (IDN) – Cooperation with the United Nations is becoming “increasingly important” for the world’s leading military alliance, NATO. The 28-nation bloc is therefore ready to “further deepen” existing interaction with the world body, particularly in view of the multiplying challenges to international peace and security.

While NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that the military bloc “poses no threat to any country,” its leaders agreed to enhance NATO’s military presence on the Russian borders in the east, with four battalions in Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on a rotational basis – to be in place starting 2017.

Political observers expect this decision to deepen tensions with Russia, which would be reflected in the UN Security Council’s deliberations influenced by five veto wielding permanent members (P5): U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France.

BERLIN (IDN) – Germany is supporting the Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative (DAFI) at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees by providing 2500 additional scholarships, according to the Federal Foreign Office. The DAFI programme enables those recognised as refugees to access university education in their country of first admission.

It is particularly Syrian refugees in Syria’s neighbouring countries who stand to benefit from the new student grants. Up to 1000 scholarships will be awarded in Turkey, a further 700 will be available for refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and northern Iraq.

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – The nomination of Christiana Figueres for the position of the United Nations Secretary-General one day after her term as Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ended on July 6, comes as a checkmate to five other female and six male candidates vying for the world’s top diplomatic post.

President Luis Guillermo Solís announced on July 7 that the Costa Rican government is nominating Christiana Figueres because “the United Nations, and the world, needs a Secretary-General who is a bridge builder, who can listen and consult, who can help resolve disputes, build agreements and anticipate problems”.

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Indian police officers, deployed as part of a Formed Police Unit (FPU), played a critical role in contributing to the United Nations peacekeeping mission’s success in Liberia, according to statements by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and other senior UN officials.

FPUs have three core duties: public order management, protection of United Nations personnel and facilities and support to such police operations that require a concerted response but do not respond to military threats.

The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) handed over security responsibility to national forces on June 30, 2016. Since Liberia’s civil war ended in 2003, UNMIL has been supporting the West African nation to rebuild its institutions so as to enable it maintain stability without its presence.