By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – A series of events, including two High-level Political Forums (HLPFs) and the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit on the margins of the 74th General Assembly underline the vital importance of 2019 that marks the fourth year of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the United Nations Sustainable […]
UN Security Council Reform Back On The Table Again
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Foreign Minister Heiko Maas of Germany, which takes up its seat as a non-permanent member of the 15-nation United Nations Security Council on January 1, says the current composition of the Council is “outdated” and that it needs be reformed. He told the German news agency DPA that […]
Except A Few Dissenters World Leaders Pledge To Bolster Multilateralism
By Ramesh Jaura NEW YORK (IDN) – As the new year unfolds, UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ appeal for addressing the “trust deficit disorder” plaguing the world, and General Assembly President María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés’ plea for stressing the need to enshrine the General Assembly as the “chief peacebuilding organization in the world” will serve as […]
Kazakhstan Ends Successful Security Council Membership
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – As Kazakhstan ends its two-year tenure as non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo has “appreciated the leadership” the Central Asian country “has brought to the world stage on regional security and development issues, particularly with respect to Afghanistan.” He […]
UN Rejects Resolution Calling for Russian-U.S. Compliance with Nuclear Treaty
By Ramesh Jaura NEW YORK (IDN) – In a tug of war between two nuclear giants, the UN General Assembly has rejected a resolution calling for U.S.-Russian compliance with and strengthening of the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. And this within months of President Donald Trump’s October announcement to “terminate” the 1987 Treaty “in […]
One Short Drone Flight Is A ‘Big Leap’ For Global Health
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK | PORT VILA (IDN) – One month old Joy Nowai has become the world’s first child to be given a vaccine delivered commercially by drone in a remote island in the South Pacific country of Vanuatu, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on December 18. The vaccine delivery […]
Possibility of Peace in Afghanistan Was Never More Real Than It’s Now – UN Envoy
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – The possibility of a negotiated end to the conflict in Afghanistan has never been more real in the past 17 years than it is now, according to the United Nations top envoy in Afghanistan. Tadamichi Yamamoto told the Security Council on December 17 he is encouraged by several […]
UNDP Welcomes Significant Rise in German Funding
Berlin a ‘Launch Partner’ to UNDP’s Accelerator Labs in 60 Countries By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has greeted the German government’s decision to raise a further 25 percent in funding from its 2019 core resources, which follows a 60 percent increase for 2018. Germany is currently […]
Participatory Development is a Humane Alternative to Migration
Viewpoint by Yossef Ben-Meir and Manon Burbidge While Yossef Ben-Meir, Ph.D. is a sociologist and President of the High Atlas Foundation, based in Marrakech, Manon Burbidge is a post-graduate studying Human Ecology at Lund University, Sweden and currently interning at the High Atlas Foundation. MARRAKECH (IDN) – December 2018 is gearing up to be a […]
European Parliament Hails the Global Compact for Migration
By Robert Johnson BRUSSELS (IDN) – Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) regret “the campaign of disinformation” that has led to several countries withdrawing their support from the United Nations Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). They emphasize that the migration compact is a non-legally binding framework that does not create new […]