Category: UN INSIDER

Viewpoint by Mirjam van Reisen

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The UN Human Rights Council has adopted a ground-breaking resolution following the presentation of the report by the Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in Eritrea. The Eritrean government has rejected the Commission’s findings.

The Council expresses deep concern at the Commission’s findings that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Crimes against Humanity have been committed in Eritrea since 1991.

The resolution requests the General Assembly “to submit the report and the oral updates of the commission of inquiry to all relevant organs of the UN for consideration and appropriate action”.

Though the resolution does not specifically mention the Security Council, its referral the United Nations’ most powerful body, with “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security” would open the way for the findings to be presented to the International Criminal Court.

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations, Russia, the United States and the European Union, known as ‘the diplomatic Quartet’, have pledged active support for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of pertinent Security Council resolutions.

They also reaffirm that a negotiated two-State outcome meeting Israel’s security needs and Palestinians’ aspirations for statehood and sovereignty, ends the occupation that began in 1967, and resolves all permanent status issues is the only way to achieve an enduring peace.

Summarizing the first ever report by the diplomatic Quartet to the Security Council. the United Nations envoy Nickolay Mladenov warned that continuing violence, terrorism and incitement, settlement expansion, and the Palestinian Authority’s lack of control of Gaza are hurting the Middle East peace process.

NEW YORK (IDN) – Media can play an important role in bringing the issue of homelessness to the forefront of discussions and encourage civil engagement. With this in view, the United Nations human rights expert on housing has commended a large media initiative in the U.S. city of San Francisco.

Leilani Farha, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, said in a statement issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The portrayal of homeless people in the media has a significant impact on public perception and empathy. I believe the San Francisco media push will encourage other media to report on homelessness in new ways, with a view to assessing accountability and offering solutions.”

Analysis by Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – The election of Kazakhstan as a non-permanent member of the Security Council has not come as a surprise to observers who have been witness to bold initiatives that this country in Central Asia has launched for the achievement of a nuclear-weapon-free world and sustainable development.

Yet the June 28 vote in favour of Kazakhstan, the world’s largest landlocked country, is profoundly historic. The Central Asian state bagged 138 votes in the 193-member UN General Assembly – more than the two-thirds majority of the voting member states required to win the seat on the Council. 

Thailand, which currently chairs the Group of 77 comprising 134 developing countries including China, and has demonstrated its commitment to “peace and security of all peoples” and sustainable development, obtained 55 votes.

NEW YORK – Marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, United Nations Secretary-General June 26 called for “a global response that is simultaneously effective, compassionate and humane,” to the challenges posed by the world drug problem.

“I call on countries and communities to continue to improve the lives of everyone blighted by drug abuse by integrating security and public safety with a heightened focus on health, human rights, and sustainable development,” said the UN chief in his message on the Day.

The illicit trade in drugs fosters transnational organized crime networks, systemic corruption and widespread violence. It is also a major public health menace. Millions of people are directly affected, especially the poor, vulnerable women and children, and those living in fragile communities.

Analysis by Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | VIENNA (IDN) – As the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, Director-General LI Yong finds himself confronted with a fresh exodus of western member states.

Nine – UK, France, Portugal, Belgium, Lithuania, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States – have pulled out over the last 10 years. Denmark and Greece are scheduled to quit in January 2017 and with the Netherlands expected to follow suit, the number of UNDIO members would be reduced to 167.

UNIDO membership might in fact shrink to between 157 and 159 by 2019, if 8-10 developing countries, in addition to Brazil, decide to pull out apparently “because the cost of membership outweighs any benefit against the backdrop of actual or potential withdrawal of many donor countries”, according to diplomatic sources in Vienna.

Analysis by Rodney Reynolds

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – There has been widespread speculation – both inside and outside the United Nations — that Israel may be toying with the idea of ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), perhaps within the next five years.

But is this in the realm of political reality or nuclear fantasy?

The speculation was triggered following a three-day visit to Israel by Dr Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), who met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on June 20.

Striking a note of optimism about the possible ratification of the treaty by Israel, he told the Jerusalem Post: “It is not a matter of if, but when.”

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Out of the 54 African States, only eight have not experienced armed or violent conflict since they achieved independence between the 1950 and 1980s, Carlos Lopes, Executive Director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) told a joint meeting of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC).

Because of the interrelated nature of Africa’s economy, a conflict in one State had economic costs for neighbouring countries, he told the joint meeting on June 24 in New York.

Conflict-affected countries in Africa, therefore, needed strong support to meet the Goals of the 2030 Agenda. Lopes stressed the need for renewed multilateralism despite a global gridlock in multinational negotiations and how to handle different crises.

By Jaya Ramachandran

BERLIN | CANNES | NEW YORK (IDN) – Nearly six months before Ban Ki-moon relinquishes his post after ten years as UN Secretary-General, his unrelenting efforts underway since January to engage corporate leaders and entrepreneurs for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are beginning to bear fruit.

Speaking at the Lions Festival of Creativity, Cannes, on June 24, Ban said the world’s six biggest advertising and marketing services groups – Dentsu, Havas, IPG, Omnicom, Publicis and WPP – had decided to launch a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Common Ground initiative.

The initiative seeks “to beat ultra-competitors, poverty, inequality and injustice” by supporting a 15-year anti-poverty, pro-planet action plan, adopted by 193 Member States in September 2015.

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – UN Women has joined Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in welcoming the “historic” agreement signed in Cuba’s capital Havana between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP), after 52 years of armed conflict and nearly four years of peace negotiations.

The June 23 accord “marks a definite step on the road to peace”, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said. “It is an occasion to be hopeful for the future and to strengthen our resolve to support this exemplary peace process,” she added in a statement on June 24.