Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens GENEVA (IDN) — Three days (April 27-29, 2021) of “informal” talks on the future of Cyprus were held in Geneva under the leadership of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. There have been no formal negotiations on the issue since 2017. The UN-sponsored meeting with representatives of Greek […]
DON’T QUOTE ME: Did Coup Leaders Seek Legitimacy by Addressing the UN?
By Thalif Deen* NEW YORK (IDN) — The recent military coup in Myanmar and an attempted palace coup in Jordan harks back to the days when insurrections by armed forces came along a veritable assembly line—particularly in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. And at least one political leader—a former Prime Minister of Thailand—was ousted […]
A Locked Down UN Plans to Gradually Return to Normal
By Razeena Raheem NEW YORK (IDN) — The United Nations, which has remained locked down since March last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is planning to make a “phased return to the premises in New York.” Until now, nearly 3,000 UN staffers have been forced to work from home while virtually all meetings, including […]
COVAX Programme — US Decision to Lift Sanctions Against ICC — Four Peacekeepers Killed
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN | UN News) — The UN-backed COVAX scheme aims to get two billion vaccine doses into the arms of around a quarter of the population of poorer countries by the end of 2021. Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the United States decision to lift sanctions and visa restrictions against […]
Global Pandemic Hits the World’s Poorest the Hardest
By J Natranis NEW YORK (IDN) — The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a deeply troubling situation in the world’s poorest countries. It threatens to push the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) another ten years further into the future, warns the Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2021 by more than 60 United Nations Agencies […]
UN Security Council Faces Critical Issues Under Vietnamese Presidency
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN) — As Viet Nam takes the presidency of the UN Security Council in for the month of April, the 15-member Council’s report for March in Hindsight examines mercenarism and the mercenaries’ heavy involvement in illicit, destabilising activities in a number of countries on the Security Council’s agenda. Viet Nam […]
UN Condemns ‘Shameful, Cowardly’ Attacks on Peaceful Protesters in Myanmar
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned in the strongest terms, the killing of dozens of civilians, including children and young people, by security forces in Myanmar on March 27. In a statement issued by Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq, the UN chief said, “the continuing military crackdown…is unacceptable and […]
Make Peace with Nature — India’s COVID-19 Vaccines for UN Helmets — UNDP Preparing for Disaster in Nepal
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN) — Earth Hour, India’s donation of 200,000 vaccines to protect UN blue helmets against the coronavirus, and the UN is scaling up its efforts to help Nepal, which faces numerous natural threats, are some of the notable events in the last days. On March 27, the world began to […]
COVID-19 Pushes Millions into Destitution
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) — A once-in-a-century crisis—a Great Disruption unleashed by the COVID–19 pandemic—hit the world economy in 2020. The pandemic has reached every corner of the globe. Meanwhile, more than 120 million have been infected and close to 2.7 million people killed worldwide. High unemployment and loss of income have pushed millions […]
UN Urges Turkey To Reconsider Withdrawal from the Treaty Protecting Women’s Right
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) — UN Women has reiterated the concerns expressed by the United Nations in Turkey and other partners regarding Turkey’s announced termination of being a party to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (the “Istanbul Convention”). It has urged Turkey to […]