Category: UN INSIDER

Analysis by Ramesh Jaura

ISE-SHIMA | Japan (IDN) – Despite President Barack Obama’s call for a “world without nuclear weapons” during his ‘historic’ visit to Hiroshima, the city where the first ever atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945, causing over 140,000 casualties, the United States is nowhere close to prohibiting nuclear weapons.

This was also underlined by ‘Leaders’ Declaration’ emerging from the two-day summit of the Group of Seven (G 7) major industrial nations that concluded on May 27 on Kashiko Island located in Ise-Shima area of Mie Prefecture in Japan.

The Summit’s host, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, chose the venue for its rich culture, beautiful scenery and close proximity to one of the country’s most honoured historical sites: the Ise Jingu, or the Grand Shrine, built nearly 2,000 years ago.

Analysis by Jacques N. Couvas

ISTANBUL (IDN) – The gaping absence of a large number of world leaders, including those of most of the Group of 7 (G7) industrial nations, undoubtedly caused profound disappointment. But the first World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) in the 70-year existence of the United Nations will not go down in history as a shameful debacle for international diplomacy, nor will it be the last conference of its kind, according to experts.

While G7 leaders were conspicuous by their absence, with the exception of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, some 9,000 participants from 173 countries joined the event in Istanbul. They included some 60 heads of state and government, mostly from the developing world.

Analysis by Rodney Reynolds

ISTANBUL (IDN) – The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposed as far back as 2012, failed to meet its lofty expectations despite four years of consultations with 23,000 people in over 150 countries.

“This is a 21st century United Nations gathering,” Ban boasted to delegates in his opening remarks. But the two-day summit, which concluded May 24, did not generate any significant funding nor did it receive the whole-hearted political support of the UN’s Big Five – the UK, U.S., France, China and Russia – whose leaders were conspicuous by their absence.

Besides UK, U.S. and France, even the remaining G-7 leaders were missing in action: heads of government from Canada, Italy and Japan shied away from the summit. Only German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in Istanbul to represent the world’s seven industrialized democracies.

ASTANA – Senegalese President Macky Sall confirmed his country will vote for Kazakhstan in the nation’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2017-18. The vote will be held in June as part of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly. Sall came to Kazakhstan May 20 and President Nursultan Nazarbayev said his first visit to the country laid a foundation for future cooperation.

Sall is the chairman of the authoritative and most advanced regional organisation in Africa – Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It is the only association in Africa that has union peacekeeping forces, a joint Parliament, court of justice and the investment bank. The free trade zone is functioning within the framework of the community as well.

The strategic geographic position of Senegal is defined by the presence of the vast Atlantic coast. The world’s most important shipping lanes pass along this coast. The Senegalese naval base also located in the largest commercial seaport of Dakar in the coastal zone of the Atlantic Ocean.

Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow *

GENEVA (IDN) – The aim of the World Humanitarian Summit organized by the United Nations in the words of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is to see what should be done “to end conflict, alleviate suffering and reduce risk and vulnerability”.

Turkey is on the front lines of the consequences of armed conflict with nearly three million refugees from Syria and Iraq as well as its own attacks against Kurds. Turkey has entered into agreements with the States of the European Union concerning the flow of refugees through Turkey to Europe − agreements that have raised controversy and concern from human rights organizations.

Given the policies of the Turkish government, some non-governmental organizations have refused to participate in protest. Doctors Without Borders − one of the best-known of the relief organizations − has pulled out.  However, the Association of World Citizens will participate while working for a settlement of Kurdish issues at the same time.

By UN Women

ISTANBUL (IDN-INPS) – Disasters kill more women than men, and hit women’s livelihoods hardest. According to UN reports, 60 per cent of all maternal deaths take place in humanitarian settings and all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls spike during disasters and conflict.

Experience and research show that when women are included in humanitarian action, the entire community benefits. Despite this, women and girls are often excluded from decision-making processes that shape the response strategies that affect their ability and that of their community to recover from crisis.

Ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit, UN Women and Oxfam brought together more than 50 refugee advocates from 15 countries in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa to formulate a joint position on how to respond to the challenges faced by refugee women and girls.

Viewpoint by Paul Dewar

* This article is being reproduced courtesy of The Toronto Star. The writer is a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. He was the New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Ottawa Centre. He served as the Official Opposition Critic for Foreign Affairs, until he left the post in October 2011 to run for the leadership of the NDP.

OTTAWA – If Canada is to win a seat on the UN Security Council, we need a campaign that is bold, global and pertinent. Leading a global effort on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament should be a cornerstone of that campaign, and the upcoming G7 meetings in Japan represent a perfect opportunity to set the table for serious progress on the issue.

Analysis by Anastasia Shavrova *

This article appears in cooperation with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), as part of the initiative ‘Youth for CTBTO’. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the CTBTO. – Editor

MOSCOW (IDN) – The year 2016 is an important milestone for the international nonproliferation regime. It marks the 20th anniversary of opening for signature of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Back in 1996, after two years of intense negotiations, the then UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali announced that the opening for signature of CTBT could unleash a new era. And the Treaty, regardless of many differences that arose among States during the negotiation process, “meets the demand of the great majority of the world’s people for a clear signal that the nuclear arms race is coming towards its end”.

Analysis by J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed. This argument remains pertinent 70 years after the UNESCO Constitution came into force. Because “the virus of war is still prevalent in the minds of people”, said Kazakh Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov, quoting President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Representing Kazakhstan at the high-level forum titled Religions for Peace at the UN General Assembly on May 6, Idrissov said: “In the 21st Century, which is considered to be the most advanced century, with the most advanced achievements of human kind in its entire existence we still face the danger of global annihilation. . . As my president has formulated it, it is unfortunate that this virus of war is prevalent among many political elites.”

Kazakh President proposed such a forum at the 70th session of the General Assembly in September 2015, and at a meeting with UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova in Paris in November 2015. In doing so, he wanted to boost UN efforts to combat violent extremism and promote peace and security.

By Franz Baumann * | Reproduced courtesy of PassBlue

The author is a former assistant secretary-general of the United Nations and special adviser on environment and peace operations. This article originally appeared with the headline: UN Bureaucracy? No, Thanks.

NEW YORK – After more than 30 years of service, I retired from the United Nations as an assistant secretary-general, Special Adviser on Environment and Peace Operations, at the end of 2015, but to officially conclude my tenure with the UN, there was bureaucratic paperwork to contend with, to which Bartleby the Scrivener, Melville’s reluctant clerk, might have said, “I would prefer not to.”

During my last week in the office, between Christmas and New Year’s Day, and despite the new information-technology system, Umoja, I had to fill out by hand myriad forms. Originals of my marriage certificate (from 1987) and our daughter’s birth certificate (2000) needed to be submitted, even though the UN had moved us as a family across oceans a few times.