By Bernhard Schell CAIRO | 17 March 2024 (IDN) — “There are currently more Syrians in need of aid than any other time since the war began,” said Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. “An entire generation has been born into war, knowing nothing but insecurity and deprivation, and facing shock […]
Is There a Way Out of Nuclear Stalemate?
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | 16 March 2024 (IDN) — Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has entered its third year. President Vladimir Putin has been threatening the use of nuclear weapons. Republican Presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, doubled down his threat and appeared to invite Putin to invade any NATO member failing to meet […]
Papua New Guinea Ratifies CTBT, Advancing Treaty Universalisation in Pacific
NEW YORK | 16 March 2024 (IDN | CTBTO) — Papua New Guinea has become the 178th State to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). As a State Party to both the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Treaty of Rarotonga, Papua New Guinea had already committed to fulfilling the core […]
Multilateral Development Banks Play Crucial Role in Financing Global Public Goods
By José Antonio Ocampo and Karla Daniela González, Columbia University This article was first published in the 2023/2024 UNDP Human Development Report – Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining cooperation in a polarized world –on 13 March 2024. NEW YORK | 14 March 2024 (IDN) — There is broad-based agreement among the United Nations and the Group […]
‘The Patriarchy May Be Pushing Back, But So Are We’, UN Chief Tells CSW68
By UN News NEW YORK | 14 March 2024 (IDN) — Women’s rights are under attack, and governments must act to reverse that dangerous trend, the UN chief told at his annual town hall event with civil society activists on 13 March, as the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) session continued its first […]
UN Commission Asked to Focus on “Horrific Violence” Against Women in Tigray War
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | 12 March 2024 (IDN)— Julia Duncan-Cassell, Former Liberian Minister of Gender and President of the Brussels-based European External Programme with Africa (EPA), has highlighted the urgent need for action regarding the proliferation of conflict-related sexual violence in an Open Letter to the 68th annual Commission on the Status of […]
Russia Must Withdraw Unconditionally from Ukraine
By Stavros Lambrinidis The author is Head of the European Union‘s Delegation to the United Nations, at the UN Security Council. Following are extensive excerpts from his Statement to the UN Security Council on 8 March 2024. NEW YORK | 10 March 2024 (IDN) — When the UN Secretary-General visited Kyiv in 2022, Russian missiles […]
UN Concerned About Spike in Russian Attacks on Odesa, Other Ukrainian Cities
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | 10 March 2024 (IDN) — The Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa has become a frequent target of missile and drone attacks in recent days and weeks, with deadly consequences, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as delegates condemned Moscow’s intensified attacks against Ukrainian […]
Let Us Strive to Build a Gender Equal World
By Anwarul K. Chowdhury Ambassador Chowdhury is a former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the UN. NEW YORK | 9 March 2024 (IDN) — This year’s International Women’s Day is being observed as two major wars are making their vicious attacks on the aspirations of peaceful peoples of the world for a safer, saner and […]
Haiti: UN Security Council Raises Alarm on ‘Critical’ Situation
By J Suresh TORONTO | 8 March 2024 (IDN) — The UN Security Council has expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in violence-gripped Haiti as the US increased pressure on the country’s Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, to secure a political settlement. At least 15,000 people have fled the worst-hit parts of Port-au-Prince, the capital of […]