UN Insider

Photo: Escorted team from UNAMID’s Governance and Community Stabilization Section is pictured on its way to Birka area, North Darfur. The purpose of the trip, which took place on 2 February 2018, was to conduct a peace conference for farmers and herders as part of the Mission’s support to peaceful coexistence and stability between the two communities. Credit: Mohamad Almahady, UNAMID.

Security Council Statement under Kazakh Presidency Voices Concern and Relief on Darfur

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – In a presidential statement on Darfur by Kazakh Ambassador Kairat Umarov, Security Council President for January, has welcomed improvements in the security situation, as well as the on-going absence of armed clashes between Government forces and the armed opposition, in addition to the extension of unilateral cessations of hostilities by both sides.

The presidential statement (S/PRST/2018/4) issued on January 31 said: "The Security Council also welcomes improvements in the humanitarian situation, including increased humanitarian access throughout Darfur and the return from Chad and the Central African Republic of more than 5,000 refugees in recent months."

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 03 February 2018

Photo: UN Secretary-General António Guterres (at podium, right) and Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, address the press following the signing of a Joint UN-AU Framework for Enhancing Partnerships on Peace and Security in April 2017 at UN headquarters in New York. UN Photo/Manuel Elias.

UN, African Union Partnership Key to Success of Peacekeeping

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Strong partnership between the United Nations and African Union is a key to the success of peacekeeping operations of the Joint Task Force on Peace and Security, particularly in view of an increasingly complex nature of conflict and the lack of progress of political processes, a consultative meeting at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has stressed.

The Task Force welcomed the determination of the African Union to continue developing its compliance framework in line with the African Union Peace and Security Council communiqué of May 30, 2017.

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; Africa; 02 February 2018

Photo: Survivors of Namibia’s Herero tribe surrendering after a battle with German forces. Ullstein Bilderdienst Berlin/Supplied

Reparations Suit Over German Colonial Massacre Significant for the UN Genocide Convention

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – In its first formal response to a class-action suit filed by the Herero and Nama people of Namibia, Germany has asked a New York judge to throw out the suit as “inadmissible” because of “the principle of state immunity.”

Representatives of the communities directly affected by the 1904-1908 genocide in Namibia have taken the German government to court in New York, demanding damages to be paid directly to the descendants of the Ovaherero and Nama genocide survivors.

In 1904 and 1905 the Ovaherero and Nama of central and southern Namibia rose up against colonial rule and dispossession in what was then called German South West Africa.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 02 February 2018

Image: The Birth Control Necklace consists of 30 drop-shaped beads (average length of a woman's monthly cycle), whereby each bead represents one day in a woman's monthly menstrual cycle. Credit: Aktion Regen

Ensuring Access to Sexual and Reproductive Rights – A Global Challenge

By Julia Zimmerman*

This is the fifth in a series of reports on the Vienna UN Conference from January 10-12, 2018, which discussed actions and challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) and in the spirit of SDG 17. The Vienna Liaison Office of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) organized this Conference co-ordinated by Heather Wokusch. – The Editor

VIENNA (IDN) – Of the numerous and significant challenges currently facing women and girls globally, access to sexual and reproductive rights is high on the list. Experts in the field of women’s sexual and reproductive health are trying to assure access and to spread knowledge about harmful practices.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 31 January 2018

Photo: A general view of the Vienna UN Conference. Credit: Robert Bosch AG/APA-Fotoservice/Schedl

Women's Path to Leadership: Are We at a Turning point?

By Darline Giraud*

This is the fourth in a series of reports on the Vienna UN Conference from January 10-12, 2018, which discussed actions and challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly 5 (SDG 5) and in the spirit of SDG 17. The Vienna Liaison Office of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) organized this Conference co-ordinated by Heather Wokusch. – The Editor

VIENNA (IDN) – Women face unique challenges in attaining leadership positions. To determine multidisciplinary threads, a recent UN Vienna conference panel invited female leaders at different career phases to share their experiences and discuss means of creating opportunities for future generations.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 30 January 2018

Photo: António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, at the Security Council meeting on Non-proliferation/Democratic People's Republic of Korea on December 15, 2017. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias.

Doomsday Clock Warning Makes UN High Level Conference Even More Important

By Alyn Ware*

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the hands of the symbolic Doomsday Clock to 2 Minutes to Midnight, on January 25, indicating that the threat of a nuclear war through accident, miscalculation or intent has risen to an alarming level, and that climate change is not being averted.

The Bulletin highlighted nuclear threats between the U.S. and North Korean governments, including "hyperbolic rhetoric and provocative actions on both sides." They also lamented "the decline of U.S. leadership and a related demise of diplomacy under the Trump administration".

: Alyn Ware; UN INSIDER; 29 January 2018

Photo: Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and President of the Security Council for the month of January 2018, addresses the Security Council meeting on Maintenance of International Peace and Security. 18 January 2018. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.

Security Council Aims at a World Free of Violent Conflicts by 2045

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – As conflicts escalate in different geographic areas all over the globe, the 15-nation Security Council has underlined an urgent need for redoubled efforts for their prevention and resolution, addressing where appropriate the regional dimensions of conflicts with specific emphasis on regional diplomacy and arrangements. The Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security

In presidential statement (S/PRST/2018/1), presented by Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and Security Council President for January, veto-wielding five permanent members and ten non-permanent members underline the need for continuing to strive towards sustainable peace and achieving a world free of violent conflicts by 2045, the year of the UN's Centenary.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 28 January 2018

Photo: Sameh Hassan Shokry Selim, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt (left) with UN Secretary-General António Guterres (right) at the UN. Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten

G-77 at UN to Focus on Global Solidarity and Multilateralism

By Ramesh Jaura

GENEVA | NEW YORK (IDN) – The Group of 77, comprising 134 developing and newly industrialized countries, has set itself six priorities for 2018 during the presidency of Sameh Hassan Shoukry, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. These are closely related to the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, which poses "the quintessential challenge".

Shoukry, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, has taken over the presidency of the Group – the single largest intergovernmental organization in the United Nations – from his counterpart from Ecuador.

The Group was established on June 15, 1964 by the 'Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Developing Countries' issued at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva.

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 28 January 2018

Women and Water Inseparable for Sustainable Development

By Krista Price*

This is the third in a series of reports on the Vienna UN Conference from January 10-12, 2018, which discussed actions and challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly 5 (SDG 5) and in the spirit of SDG 17. The Vienna Liaison Office of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) organized this Conference co-ordinated by Heather Wokusch. – The Editor

VIENNA (IDN) – A comfort often overlooked, the water served at the Vienna UN headquarters is locally sourced from mountains outside of the city. In Austria, water is a point of pride. This developed nation's water sector is committed not only to quality water systems but also to sustainable practices regarding the water and waste industry. For Austrians, and those frequenting the UN's conference rooms in Vienna, exceptional drinking water is a given.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 26 January 2018

Photo: A general Conference view on January 10. The Vienna Conference Session on Empowering Female Leaders: Systems and strategies for ensuring equal opportunities for women regarding leadership at all levels of decision-making on January 10. Credit: Robert Bosch AG/APA-Fotoservice/Schedl

Bodies as Battlefields – Dangers Women Face During Conflicts

By Julia Zimmerman*

This is the second in a series of reports on the Vienna UN Conference from January 10-12, 2018, which discussed actions and challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) and in the spirit of SDG 17. The Vienna Liaison Office of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) organized this Conference co-ordinated by Heather Wokusch. – The Editor

VIENNA (IDN) – When thinking of war and its inherent dangers, the first thought is probably death on the battlefield and the profound loss of human life that accompanies it; however, soldiers are not the only victims of war. Civilians are also greatly affected, and the impact can be especially devastating for women.