By Ronald Joshua GENEVA (IDN) – Bahrain, India, Lesotho and South Africa have won 2018 United Nations Investment Promotion Awards for excellence in boosting investment into sectors that will have social and economic benefits and help countries meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the […]
‘To be the Voice of the Voiceless’ is Michelle Bachelet’s Top Priority
By J. Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – A top priority of the new UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, who replaced Jordan’s Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on September 1, 2018, is “to do what my mandate tells me to do, to be the voice of the voiceless.” In addition, it is “also to engage with […]
UN Chief ‘Deeply Troubled’ by Khashoggi’s Death, Rights Experts Slate Saudi Arabia
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – While UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement released on October 19, said that he is “deeply troubled” by the reported confirmation of the death of Jamal Khashoggi, independent UN human rights experts have commended business leaders who have decided to pull out of a high-level investment conference […]
Foreign Direct Investment on Decline, Leaves Developing Countries Unaffected
By Ronald Joshua GENEVA (IDN) – Foreign direct investment is critical for developing and emerging market countries. Their companies need the multinationals’ funding and expertise to expand their international sales. The countries need private investment in infrastructure, energy, and water to increase jobs and wages. In fact the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) […]
UN Hails Nobel Peace Prize Seeking to End Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations has extended an enthusiastic welcome to The Norwegian Nobel Committee‘s announcement that it has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and […]
Far from Optimal Progress in Women’s Meaningful Participation in Peace Processes
By Jeanette Richter NEW YORK (IDN) – The UN Security Council Resolution1325 (UNSCR 1325), initiated by Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations as the President of the Security Council in March 2000, drew the focus of a side event on the margins of the 73rd UN General Assembly […]
India Hosts G4 Meeting Pressing For Security Council Reform
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Brazil, Germany, India and Japan – also known as the G4 – have reiterated the compelling need for a protracted reform of the United Nations Security Council and restated their support for Africa’s appropriate representation in a reformed and expanded Council, which under the UN Charter bears primary […]
U.S. Continues Iran Bashing as Trump Prepares to Chair Security Council
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley has announced that President Donald Trump will chair a Security Council meeting on Iran later this month to spotlight its “violations of international law” during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly. Haley who holds the Council’s rotating monthly presidency said, Trump will […]
Global Ban on Killer Robots Vital for Ensuring Human Control over Weapons of War
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – The widespread deployment of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) – commonly known as “killer robots” – capable of operating with minimal human oversight, is likely to transform the future battlefield, accelerating the pace of fighting and delegating many critical battle decisions to machines, the Arms Control Association (ACA) […]
Sri Lanka Takes Over Presidency of a Landmark Convention Calling for ‘A World Free of Cluster Munition’
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – Sri Lanka has taken over the Presidency of the landmark Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) ten years after it was adopted, at the end of the Eighth Meeting of States Parties (8MSP) in Geneva from September 3-5, 2018. CCM is a legally binding international treaty that prohibits all use, […]