By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) — Providing a global update to the Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet has said that as the COVID-19 pandemic gathers pace, people worldwide are “being left behind — or pushed even further behind”; they are being excluded from not only development but also opportunities. At the same time, civil society […]
DON’T QUOTE ME: When UN Elections were Tainted by Bribery, Cheque Book Diplomacy & Luxury Cruises
By Thalif Deen The following are excerpts from a just-published book “No Comment – and Don’t Quote me on That”, a collection of political anecdotes reflecting over 40 years of reporting from the United Nations*. NEW YORK (IDN) – When UN member states compete for the presidency of the General Assembly or membership in the […]
UN Development System Reform Far from Inclusive
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) – An independent survey prepared by the Global Policy Forum and Social Watch, comprising the Global Policy Watch, shows that civil society organizations (CSOs) have “a very high level of commitment to United Nations (UN) values and principles, much dissatisfaction with the actual operations at the country level and […]
Humanity Needs to Take a Course That Does Not Conflict with Nature
By Kwame Buist NEW YORK (IDN) – The process of recovery from the coronavirus pandemic offers the chance to change course and put humanity on a path which is not in conflict with nature, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said January 11, urging greater efforts by everyone to protect biodiversity and step up action to counter […]
Culture Struggling to Survive COVID-19 Impact
By Jaya Ramachadran PARIS (IDN) – The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has urged adequate policies and actions to help the culture sector weather the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout. The sector employs more than 30 million people globally. It has been hit much harder than expected.
UN Assembly President Calls for Working Together for A Better Tomorrow
NEW YORK (IDN | UN News) – The President of the United Nations General Assembly has urged everyone around the world “to continue to work together” to end the coronavirus pandemic, and to build an inclusive and sustainable future. In a message for the New Year, Assembly President Volkan Bozkir said that each individual, community, […]
Concern About the UN Pension Fund’s Administration
By Loraine Rickard-Martin*, Passblue NEW YORK (IDN) – At the $79.4 billion United Nations pension fund, continuing tensions came to a head this month when the UN participant representatives to the pension board — elected representatives of 85,000 active UN staff members — wrote on December 2 to the General Assembly body that oversees the […]
UN Chief Lauds Germany’s ‘Frontline Role’
By Aar Jay Persius BRLIN (IDN) – As Germany and other western European countries struggled to combat the Corona virus, eagerly awaiting the advent of a vaccine to unfetter humanity from the scourge of the ruthless pandemic, UN Secretary-General António Guterres descended on Berlin and declared that the prophesied inoculum must be viewed as a […]
UN Chief Appoints an Eminent Indian National as Resident Coordinator in China
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Siddharth Chatterjee, an eminent Indian national at the world body, as UN “resident coordinator” to China, who has the same rank as an ambassador of a foreign state accredited to that country. The Chinese government’ has formally accepted the UN […]
Thomas-Greenfield Expected as New US Ambassador to the UN
By Mark Leon Goldberg, UN Dispatch NEW YORK (IDN) – Linda Thomas-Greenfield will be nominated by President-elect Joe Biden to serve as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield is a veteran diplomat who most recently served as Assistant-Secretary of State for African Affairs in the Obama administration. Prior to that she […]