Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf * VIENNA (IDN) — As Spring is in the offing, the days are drawing near when representatives of up to 191 countries will convene at a review conference at the United Nations in New York, from 27 April to 22 May, to celebrate 50 years of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) […]
UN Urges Russia and Turkey to Secure ‘Fresh Ceasefire’ in Syria
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) — The UN has in an emergency session of the Security Council on Syria strongly urged Russia and Turkey “to build on previous agreements to secure a fresh ceasefire” across the war-torn northwest. The meeting was convened on February 28 following the death on the battlefield of dozens of […]
Doha Hosts High-Level Meeting of the UNODC’s Global Judicial Integrity Network
By Bernhard Schell DOHA | VIENNA (IDN | UNIS) —The second high-level meeting of the Global Judicial Integrity Network of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has launched in Doha under the patronage of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, with hundreds of chief justices and senior judges from […]
UN Study Predicts $32 Billion Fall in Post-Brexit UK Exports
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN | UNCTAD) — A new study expects non-tariff measures (NTMs) to cause major fractures in post-exit trade relations between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU), knocking up to US$32 billion, or 14 per cent, off of UK exports to the EU. NTMs are policy measures other than […]
Coronavirus ‘Not Yet a Pandemic’ But Affects 28 Countries
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | GENEVA (IDN) — A sudden increase in new cases of COVID-19 is of concern, but the spread of coronavirus is not yet a pandemic, maintains the head of the World Health Organization (WHO). “Does this virus have pandemic potential? Absolutely, it has. Are we there yet? From our assessment, […]
UN Chief Launches Call to Action at Boosting Equality
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – During the 75th anniversary year of the United Nations, “because of the centrality of human rights in all UN does, and because human rights are under assault”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has launched a Call to Action aimed at boosting equality and reducing suffering everywhere. “Human rights are our […]
Strengthening Women & Girls Participation in Ocean Science
Viewpoint by Michael W. Lodge The writer is Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), an autonomous international organization established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. ISA […]
The UN at 75 Moving From a Talking Shop to a Listening Post
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – Bob Dylan in “Blowin’ in the Wind”, one of the ‘Greatest Songs of All Time’, poses a series of rhetorical questions about peace, war, and freedom. The refrain “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind” has been described as “impenetrably ambiguous: either the answer […]
More Offers Needed to Resettle Refugees Around the World
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – A continuing shortage of offers of sanctuary from governments across the world is a vital impediment to the resettlement of refugees. Nearly 1.4 million refugees are estimated to be in urgent need of resettlement worldwide, but only 63,696 or 4.5 per cent were relocated through the UN refugee […]
Global Learning Crisis Stands in the Way of SDGs
By Kwame Buist NEW YORK (IDN) – “Without education, we cannot achieve any of the SDGs,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warned a meeting held at United Nations headquarters to mark International Day of Education. And yet, with 2030 – the year set by the United Nations for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals – looming […]