Women and Girls Can Help Tackle Some of The World’s Biggest Challenges
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) – Nearly 90 per cent of future jobs will require some form of ICT (information and communication technology) skills, according to a new World Economic Forum report, ‘The Future of Jobs‘. The fastest growing job categories are related to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), and recent studies indicate […]
Progress In Retrieving Lands Improves Rural Livelihoods
By Rita Joshi BONN | GEORGETOWN (IDN) – Significant progress is under way in repairing degraded lands and managing droughts more effectively, according to reports released for review by an inter-governmental meeting in Georgetown, Guyana. An assessment of land degradation in 127 countries revealed that close to 20 percent of healthy land was degraded between […]
ILO Connects With The Public On World Of Work Issues
By ILO News GENEVA (IDN-INPS) – To coincide with its 100th year, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has announced a Global Campaign, “Taking the ILO to the people”, that demonstrates the relevance of the Organization’s founding mandate to contemporary challenges and its central role in helping build a fairer future for all. “Work and the […]
UNCTAD Helps Pacific Islands Build New Economic Links
By Jamshed Baruah* GENEVA (IDN) – United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has opened an office in Samoa to coordinate a trade and transparency project for Pacific small islands, ahead of a regional free trade agreement coming into force in 2019. UNCTAD has joined agencies including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the […]
UN Kicks Off 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) – Worldwide movements and corporate walk-outs have exposed the magnitude of violence against women and girls and highlighted how often such violence is normalized. Research shows that violence against women and girls affects one in three women worldwide and that no country is immune to this pandemic. Yet instead […]
Small Island Developing States Reiterate Commitment to Sustainable Development
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Confronted with the increased effects of climate change, natural disasters, and the outsized impacts of global economic shocks on small economies, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have resolved to strengthen their efforts to achieve sustainable development. The ‘Apia Outcome’ – adopted at the conclusion of a three-day meeting […]
UN Announces ‘SDG Hubs’ Connecting Universities with 2030 Global Agenda
By Ramesh Jaura NEW YORK (IDN) – The critical role of academia in general and the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) in particular in advancing the goals of the United Nations Charter was underlined when the Organization celebrated the 73rd anniversary of its entry into force on October 24. In view of the fact that […]
Sri Lanka Chaired UN Forum Focuses on Sport to Promote Human Rights
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – The Social Forum of the UN Human Rights Council serves since 2008 as a unique space for open and interactive dialogue between civil society actors, representatives of Member States, and intergovernmental organizations, on a theme chosen by the Council each year. The 2018 Social Forum, with Sri Lanka’s Permanent […]
Kofi Annan: A Man of Rare Warmth, Wit and Wisdom
By Shashi Tharoor Those who worked with him and those whose lives he touched knew the former United Nations Secretary-General possessed a rare ingredient not always found in successful men – he was a wonderful human being, writes Shashi Tharoor, former UN Under-Secretary-General under Kofi Annan, currently a Member of Parliament in India. This article […]