Category: UNITED NATIONS

By Ramesh Jaura | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

THE HAGUE (IDN) – Aided by a team of eminent international lawyers and backed by staunch proponents of ‘nuclear zero’, the tiny but resolute Pacific Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) wants the International Court of Justice (ICJ), principal judicial organ of the United Nations, to hold the nine nuclear weapons states – U.S., Russia, UK, France, China, Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea – accountable to their disarmament commitments.

These are the first contentious cases about nuclear disarmament to be brought before the world’s highest court, said Rick Wayman, Director of Programs at the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

By J Nastranis | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the selection process for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s successor begins on April 12 and 14, with member countries’ and partly public participation, a new initiative is warning that if a woman is not elected to the post this year, the next opportunity may not come until 2026. A UN Chief can serve two consecutive five-year terms.

By Jutta Wolf | IDN-InDepthNews Report

ROME (IDN | INPS) – A new UN report warns that with a reduced harvest in 2015, the food security situation in North Korea is likely to deteriorate compared to the situation of previous years, when “most households were already estimated to have borderline or poor food consumption rates”.

The report, released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on March 9, explains that poor rains coupled with reduced supplies of irrigation water, sharply decreased the 2015 early and main season food crops production.

By Rita Joshi | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

BERLIN | VIENNA (IDN) – The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) are determined to undertake necessary steps to make “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”, the theme of the International Women’s Day 2016, a reality.

Director General, LI Yong, said: “UNIDO recognizes that investing in the economic empowerment of women sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive industrial development.”

He added: “Women make an enormous economic contribution, whether in businesses, as entrepreneurs, as employers or as employees, or by doing care work at home. But they also remain disproportionately affected by poverty, discrimination and exploitation.” READ IN JAPANESE

By J. Nastranis | IDN-InDepthNews Report

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations has launched a new multi-country initiative to speed up action to end child marriage by 2030 and protect the rights of millions of the most vulnerable girls around the world.

Announcing the joint initiative on the International Women’s Day March 8, the UN Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said the Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage will involve families, communities, governments and young people.

The UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage is being supported by Canada, the European Union, Italy, Netherlands, and the UK.

By Dr Palitha Kohona* | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

COLOMBO (IDN) – The worst cyclone on record to lash the idyllic islands of Fiji, Winston, left behind an unprecedented trail of devastation and death. A decade of hard won economic achievements lay scattered in a jumble of twisted steel and shredded plantations. Lives that had at last become more bearable are back to struggling to exist.

Science suggests that deaths and destruction experienced by Fiji, are likely to be repeated elsewhere, more frequently, as global warming and climate change begin to affect the planet’s environment, in particular the oceans. The effects of Katrina and Sandy on the U.S. and Haiyan on the Philippines are still vivid in our minds.

By J Nastranis | IDN-InDepthNews Report

NEW YORK (IDN) – As Ban Ki-moon inches closer to ending his second five-year term as the UN Secretary-General, he is setting his sights on the Saharan Sahel spanning across eight African countries – Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad – assuring that improving the situation in the region is a “top priority” for the United Nations.

The region is faced with a “triple peril” of environmental degradation, poverty and insecurity, Ban said during a visit to Mauritania on March 4. The UN estimates that one in seven Sahelians lack food, one in five children will die before their fifth birthday, and four and a half million people have been forced to flee their homes. Communities have also been struggling against harsh environmental conditions and worsening climatic shocks. Besides, many of the countries in the Sahel region are dealing with a volatile security situation.

By Jamshed Baruah | IDN-InDepthNews Report

BERLIN | VIENNA (IDN) – An international group of students and young graduates has decided to campaign for North Korea and seven other hold-out states ratifying a global treaty banning all nuclear tests so that it becomes legally binding for all states.

Since the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) was opened for signature twenty years ago, 183 countries have signed it, of which 164 have also ratified it, including three of the nuclear weapon States: France, Russia and the United Kingdom.

But 44 specific nuclear technology holder countries must sign and ratify before the CTBT can enter into force. Of these, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the USA are still missing. In fact, India, North Korea and Pakistan have yet to sign the CTBT.

By Rodney Reynolds | IDN-INPS Analysis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN | INPS) – After nearly two months of closed-door negotiations, the 15 member UN Security Council (UNSC) decided to impose new sanctions on North Korea penalizing Pyongyang for its fourth nuclear test conducted on January 6.

The resolution, adopted unanimously by the UNSC, imposed some of the toughest sanctions on North Korea calling on all UN member states to inspect cargo destined for – and coming from – Pyongyang, in all airport and sea ports.

The sanctions include restrictions on the export of coal, iron, iron ore or other minerals, while prohibiting the supply of aviation fuel, including rocket fuel. The resolution also mandates member states to expel North Korean diplomats involved in Illicit trafficking.

By Ramesh Jaura | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) –  Forthcoming April 12 and 14 promise to go down in the annals of history of the United Nations. For the first time, 193 member states of the UN and some selected sections of the general public will be given the opportunity of “an informal dialogue” with potential candidates for the prestigious post of the Secretary-General.

While this by itself is a historic development in the selection and appointment of the Secretary-General, the final decision on who will succeed Ban Ki-moon will lie with the five permanent members of the Security Council each of whom wields the power of veto: USA, Russia, China, Britain and France. Ban’s successor will be the person acceptable to all Five (P5).