By Reinhard Jacobsen BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – As the United Nations Global Compact fractures, migration has become a key issue in negotiations between the European Union (EU) and 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) which kicked off in September 2018 to hammer out a successor to the Cotonou Partnership Agreement set to […]
Global Forum on Human Settlements Calls for Urban Innovation
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | BANGKOK (IDN) – The Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS) 2018 has called for greater efforts to speed up the transition to green growth through developing a circular economy, scaling-up financing for sustainable urban infrastructure, sustainably managing urban water, applying innovative technologies for smart cities, building enhanced partnership and […]
UN Calls for Ensuring Smooth Transition of Poorest Countries from LDC Status
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – As the decade 2011–2020 draws to an end and a growing number of world’s most vulnerable countries are increasing national earning power and improved access to health care and education, making them eligible to exit the group of least developed countries (LDCs), the United Nations has accentuated […]
Will UN Chief Explore the Truth Behind Khashoggi Slaughter?
By Erol Avdovic NEW YORK (IDN) – Pressure is mounting on the United Nations to set up an independent commission to investigate apparently premeditated and the barbaric killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul on October 2. And UN Secretary-General António Guterres faces growing public chorus pushing […]
Too Few Women Peacekeepers Contrary to Commitments
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – UN Secretary-General António Guterres finds it “crippling to our credibility and protection capacity that women represent only four percent of our military peacekeepers and ten percent of police,” though “over the past year, we have seen positive examples of progress”. Briefing the Security Council’s annual high-level debate on […]
UN Expert Reiterates Call for Investigation of Khashoggi’s Murder
NEW YORK (IDN) – David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, has reiterated the call for an “independent investigative body” to examine the case of the late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was reportedly killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. He stressed the need for a “credible […]
Lesotho and South Africa Among Winners of UN Awards
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) […]