By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) — Expressing solidarity with migrants on the move, “has never been more urgent”, said the United Nations Secretary-General in a message just ahead of International Migrants Day, celebrated on December 25. This year, International Migrants Day falls almost exactly 70 years since the historic Brussels conference that led to […]
A New Programmatic Offer for the Sahel Region
By UNDP NEW YORK (IDN) — In A Special Online event featuring voices from the Sahel, from top-level officials to artists and activists in the region, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) presented on December 9 its new programmatic Offer for the Sahel region: A Regeneration. Covering ten countries—Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, […]
Blatant Abuse of Consensus by Russia
By Ray Acheson The writer is Director of Reaching Critical Will and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). NEW YORK (IDN) — During the final day of the Sixth Review Conference of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) in Geneva on December 13-17, the constant refrain from the Russian delegation, “our position has […]
US, Russia Stall Attempts to Ban Killer Robots
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — As the US withdrew the last of its troops from Afghanistan on August 31 following a deadly 20-year-old war, one of the messages coming out of Washington was clear: the US will curtail “boots on the ground” in all future conflicts—even though there are still more than 40,000 […]
UN Concerned About Afghans Facing Hunger and Economy in “Free Fall”
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK | ISLAMABAD (IDN) — A senior UN official has painted a grim picture of Afghanistan with 23 million people facing hunger; malnourished children overflowing in health facilities; 70 per cent of teachers working without salaries; and millions of students—who are the country’s future—out of school. The UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian […]
In A World of Choices, ‘Let Us Choose Peace’, Urges UN Chief
By UN News NEW YORK (IDN) — Secretary-General António Guterres received the Lamp of Peace award on December 18, a major honour from the Catholic Church, which he said recognizes the work of UN personnel “striving for peace around the world”. Reminding that after the horrors of World War in the 20th Century, “the UN […]
Internet Governance Forum Calls for Stronger Digital Rights
By Jutta Wolf BERLIN | KATOWICE, Poland (IDN) — Ensuring the protection of human rights and social and economic inclusion in the digital age was front and centre at the five-day discussions. These concluded in Katowice, Poland, on December 10 with a call to urgently connect the 2.9 billion people who still cannot access the […]
UN Agency Calls for More Funds for Developing Nations from World’s Largest Institutional Investors
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) — Sustainable finance and the global capital market play an important role in meeting a growing need to mobilize the vast sums of capital needed to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States […]
UN Session, With Over 110 World Leaders, May be a “Super Spreader” of Covid-19, Warns US
By Thalif Deen NEW YORK (IDN) — The United Nations, perhaps never in its 76-year history, has held a General Assembly session characterized by risks that could trigger the spread of a deadly disease in a city where Covid-19 Delta variant infections are on the rise. In a letter to the 192 UN missions, the […]
Former Ambassador of Sri Lanka and Ex-ACP Secretary General Join to Support as Advisors
BERLIN (IDN) — The Non-profit global media agency International Press Syndicate, with IDN-InDepthNews as its flagship, had invited two renowned international relations practitioners and diplomats to join it to support its global mission and outreach activities. We are pleased to announce that the former Sri Lankan career Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez and the former Secretary General […]