The world must unite to “beat plastic pollution” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message for World Environment Day, noting that microplastic particles in the ocean, “now outnumber stars in our galaxy”.
UN Focuses Yet Again on Protecting Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
By UNDESA Note: The following Feature appeared in April 2018 issue UN DESA VOICE, the newsletter published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. It is being reproduced with slight modifications. – The Editor NEW YORK (IDN) – Indigenous communities play a vital role as custodians of our planet, possessing vital knowledge […]
Sustainable Tourism Can Make World Cleaner and Greener
By Taleb Rifai, Erik Solheim and Patricia Espinosa*
MADRID | NAIROBI | BONN (IDN-INPS) – Whether it is a chic, zero-emission hotel in Milan where toiletries are 99 per cent biodegradable, or Gaansbai in South Africa, where conservation of native flora and fauna is a community-wide priority, sustainable tourism is growing fast across the globe.
It is a tribute to the myriad entrepreneurs, companies, creative individuals and communities that the United Nations is marking 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
This means that, throughout 2017, activities and initiatives across the spectrum of those involved in tourism will celebrate its transformational power on our global efforts to create a world that is cleaner and greener, more equal and more inclusive.
Outcome of Syria Meeting a Feather in Kazakhstan’s Cap
By J Nastranis
NEW YORK | ASTANA (IDN) – UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has commended Russia, Turkey and Iran for their decision to establish a trilateral mechanism to observe and ensure full compliance with the ceasefire in crisis-torn Syria endorsed by the UN Security Council on December 31, 2016.
This is “a concrete step” towards further implementation of Security Council Resolution (SCR) 2236, he said. “The UN stands ready to assist the parties to the trilateral mechanism, develop it, and ensure that it helps strengthen the quality of the ceasefire,” De Mistura added, commenting the two-day ‘International Meeting on Syrian Settlement’ in the Kazakh capital Astana on January 23-24, 2017.
UN Court Rejects Marshall Islands’ Nuclear Disarmament Cases
By Rick Wayman*
THE HAGUE (IDN) – The International Court of Justice has determined that it does not have jurisdiction in the nuclear disarmament cases brought by the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) against India, Pakistan and the United Kingdom (UK).
By an 8-8 vote, with President Ronny Abraham of France issuing the casting “no” vote, the Court declared that there was not sufficient evidence of a dispute between the RMI and the UK, and therefore the Court lacks jurisdiction.
Ban Ki-moon, World Press Freedom Day 2016
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon video message on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2016.Theme: 2016 Theme: Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms – This Is Your Right!
Nuclear Weapons Challenge the World’s Highest Court
By Ramesh Jaura | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis
BERLIN | THE HAGUE (IDN) – After ten days of public hearings involving teams of eminent international lawyers – some backed by staunch proponents of ‘nuclear zero’ and others clinging to the doctrine of ‘nuclear deterrence’ – the world’s highest court is faced with a challenging task of far-reaching significance.
Not the least because this year marks the twentieth anniversaries of the 1996 ‘advisory opinion’ by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the opening for signature of the CTBT, the treaty banning all nuclear tests everywhere – nuclear tests that are at the heart of nuclear proliferation.
Explaining the core subject for ICJ’s deliberation, a famous Dutch lawyer Phon van den Biesen said, “from a legal perspective”, the issues presented by the three legal cases “are ordinary ones, but a positive outcome will, spectacularly, change the world”.
World’s Highest Court Addresses Nuclear Disarmament
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.
Campaign for a Female UN Chief Gathers Momentum
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.
Food Situation Worsening in North Korea and Southern Africa
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.