By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Much to the United Nations’ dismay, desperately missing funds are imperiling realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Investments that are critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals remain underfunded and parts of the multilateral system are under strain, warned a new report as the fourth Forum […]
Think Tank Supports NAM Call for Reform of the UN System
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – Backing the 120-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies (IINS) has called for “comprehensive, transparent, inclusive and balanced” reform of the United Nations. Recalling the final document of the 2018 NAM Ministerial Meeting held in Baku, Azerbaijan, the think tank emphasizes that the reform […]
Vatican Encourages Faith Communities to Help Achieve SDGs
By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | VATICAN CITY (IDN) – Much water has flown under the Tiber bridges since the Holy See declined an invitation in 1923 to join the League of Nations stating that its only competency was in matters of elucidation of questions of principle in morality and public international law. Forty-one years later, […]
UN Environment Assembly Spells Out ‘The Future We Want’
By Justus Wanzala NAIROBI (IDN) – Global gross domestic product has doubled since 1970, enabling immense progress, and lifting of billions of people out of poverty. At the same time, this economic growth has been fueled by a relentless demand for natural resources. At no point in time nor at any level of income, has […]
U.S. Threats Against International Criminal Court Under Fire
By Shanta Roy NEW YORK (IDN) – The U.S. threat to penalize and impose economic sanctions against judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) – if they bring charges of war crimes against American troops in Afghanistan – has sparked an avalanche of criticisms from human rights groups, think tanks and civil society organizations (CSOs). […]
Japan Funds UNIDO Projects in 9 Countries with $5.8 Million
By Reinhardt Jacobsen VIENNA (IDN) – Japan will contribute more than US$5.8 million for sustainable development projects in Ethiopia, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, South Sudan, the State of Palestine and Syria. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has welcomed an official announcement to this effect. “We thank the Government of Japan for the […]
India Competes with China for FAO Leadership
By Jaya Ramachandran ROME (IDN) – India is pitted against China for the coveted post of the Director-General of the Rome-based FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations that works in over 130 countries worldwide and leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Ramesh Chand of the policy commission of the […]
‘Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change’ on International Women’s Day
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) – UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has stressed the need for “transformative shifts, integrated approaches and new solutions” to achieve gender equality, as envisaged in Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the road map for a sustainable future by 2030. “Current trajectories show existing interventions do not […]
Powerful Grassroots Movements Boost Hope for Human Rights, Says UN Chief
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – People’s rights are under fire “in many parts of the globe,” but there is no need to lose hope, because powerful grassroots movements for social justice have made great strides, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres. While the Human Rights Council was the “epicentre” for dialogue and cooperation on […]
UN Fights Back but Not Immune to Cyberattacks
By Erol Avdovic This article is the second in a series of WebPublicaPress Online Magazine’s analyses being published by IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate. UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – When in United Nations headquarters, be careful what you say over your phone or communicate in your e-mails. The chances are you are being listened to, read or […]