UN INSIDER – Page 146 – IDN-InDepthNews

UN INSIDER2016-02-012023-07-10

Japan and Kazakhstan Campaign for Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

VIENNA | TOKYO (IDN) – As the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) prepares to convene a ministerial meeting in June, Kazakhstan and Japan have reaffirmed their commitment to intensify their efforts toward entry into force of the Treaty.

During the first week of the symposium ‘Science and Diplomacy for Peace and Security’ from January 25 to February 4, representatives of the two countries in Vienna assured that they would set forth their efforts initiated by their respective foreign ministers in September 2015 at the United Nations headquarters in New York. READ IN JAPANESE

UN INSIDER2016-02-012023-07-10

UN Prepares for a Better Tomorrow for World’s Youth

VIENNA (IDN) – The UN General Assembly will hold a Special Session (UNGASS) on the world drug problem in April 2016 with a view to achieving the goal of “a better tomorrow for world’s youth”.

In preparation of this session, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has reiterated the importance of a balanced approach to drug control policy and practice, in order to work towards the health and welfare objectives of the three international drug control treaties.

UN INSIDER2016-01-312023-07-10

Mugabe Claims Two Permanent Security Council Seats for Africa

ADDIS ABABA (IDN) – Africa’s veteran, though highly controversial leader, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has reiterated the call for reforms of the UN Security Council saying the continent should have the same powers as the five permanent members – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

In his opening address to the 26th African Union (AU) Summit on January 30-31 – as outgoing chairperson of the bloc – he repeated the African leaders’ demand who have been pushing for the continent to have at least two permanent seats in the Security Council, with equal veto power.

UN INSIDER2016-01-302023-07-10

UNDP Turns 50 Facing Huge Tasks Ahead

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – As the UN Development Programme (UNDP) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, the organisation is aware of the unfinished job, and is committed to “end poverty once and for all” – in Africa and Asia-Pacific where it has been present since the agency was created in 1966.

Reviewing its performance in Africa, UNDP says the continent has undoubtedly made “significant strides socially, politically and economically since the turn of the 21st century”.

Rapid democratic transitions are leading to more responsive and accountable governments. The frequency of armed conflicts seems to be on a downward trend. Steady economic growth and macroeconomic stability have returned. Expanded social policies are improving health and education services, including those targeting women and girls.

UN INSIDER2016-01-302023-07-10

Ten Experts to Spark Implementation of 2030 Agenda

NEW YORK (IDN) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has set up a group of ten experts to provide flesh and blood to the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) that was launched at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on September 25, 2015.

The Mechanism seeks to promote science, technology and innovation to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The group consists of representatives of civil society, the private sector and the scientific community.

UN INSIDER2016-01-282023-07-10

2030 Agenda Needs a Reformed UN Development System

BONN (IDN | GDI) – The 2030 Agenda, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, adds new urgency to the reform of the UN Development System (UNDS). If we wish the UNDS to play a decisive role in sustainable development, it must be made fit for purpose. UN member states have recognized the need for action.

In December 2014, they launched a state dialogue in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in order to discuss the longer-term positioning of the UNDS and present concrete reform proposals by mid-2016. To date, no breakthrough has been achieved. Participating states are opting for incremental reforms within existing mandates and structures, which are unlikely to bring the necessary changes.

UN INSIDER2016-01-272023-07-10

Addressing Climate Change & Realizing the SDGs an Uphill Task

COLOMBO (IDN) – In an unusually mild Paris in December 2015, over 195 countries agreed on a set of broad measures to address the gathering threat to human existence of global warming and climate change.

A beaming UN Secretary-General, for whom climate change has been “one of the defining priorities of his tenure”, described the Paris Accord as heralding a generation with climate hope and a “monumental triumph for people and the planet”.

UN INSIDER2016-01-252023-07-10

Kazakh Efforts Lead to a UN Declaration on a Nuke Free World

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan is widely acknowledged as an unrelenting champion of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. The country’s latest accomplishment is the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly along with the Universal Declaration on the Achievement of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World.

UN INSIDER2016-01-222023-07-10

Next UN Chief’s Nomination Process Gathers Momentum

VIENNA | NEW YORK (IDN) – The nomination process for the appointment of Ban Ki-moon’s successor this year is assuming historical dimensions. Since 1946, when Trygve Lie of Norway became the first UN Secretary-General, all seven heads of the world body have been nominated by the Security Council and rubber stamped by the General Assembly.

Now for the first time the nomination process will be open to all member states of the UN, as indicated in a ground-breaking joint letter by the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council on December 15, asking UN member states “to consider presenting women, as well as men, as candidates for the position of Secretary-General”.

UN INSIDER2016-01-222023-07-10

All That ‘Gates’ is not Development, Warns ‘Global Justice Now’

ZURICH (IDN) – A new report has expressed grave concern about the huge amount of money and influence the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) wields, accused it of “dangerously skewing” development agenda, and called for the foundation to be the subject of an independent international review and evaluation.

The report by the UK-based campaign group Global Justice Now doubts that the Gates Foundation is “always a force for good”, and wants an independent evaluation to be managed and administered by the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD, by involving a transparent commissioning process and including the participation of various stakeholders, notably those affected by foundation-funded projects.