UN Insider

Photo: Press Briefing by Syed Hasrin Syed Hussin (right), Chair of the Third Preparatory Committee for the 2020 NPT Review Conference, on May 10, 2019 at the UN Headquarters in New York. Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri | IDN-INPS

Malaysian Diplomat Shows Courage on Way to Landmark NPT Review Conference

Viewpoint by Ray Acheson

This article first appeared as Editorial in NPT News in Review, Vol. 16, No. 7 on May 10, 2019. The writer is the Director of Reaching Critical Will – the disarmament programme of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). She represents WILPF on several coalition steering groups, including the 2017 Nobel Laureate International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Ray is a 2018 UN Women Metro-NY "Champion of Change". – The Editor

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Standing up to bullies is always hard. It takes courage and resilience. Ambassador Syed Hussin of Malaysia and his team demonstrated this in spades. They listened to vehement criticisms from nuclear-armed states for the revised draft recommendations.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 13 May 2019

Mayors for Peace Call for a Common Ground on the NPT

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – In anticipation of the review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 2020 at the United Nations, the Mayors for Peace have in a Joint Appeal called for finding a "common ground on the NPT"; because the global interest embodied in the NPT is in the national interests of all countries and all peoples worldwide.

: J Nastranis; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 12 May 2019

Finding Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – 'Towards durable solutions for forcibly displaced persons in Africa' is the overarching theme of the African Dialogue Series (ADS 2019) being organized by the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) from May 21 to 23, 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The three-day ADS will coincide with the celebration of Africa Day on May 24, 2019, organized by the AU Permanent Mission to the UN, and the events will feature Member States, the African Union, The United Nations System Entities, Members of the Diaspora, Civil Society (including women and youth groups), Private Sector, Media and Academia as well as development partners.

: Jaya Ramachandran; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 May 2019

Photo: Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with President Paul Biya of the Cameroon.

Move Fast on Cameroon Before a Window of Opportunity Closes

Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens

GENEVA (IDN) – On May 8, 2019, Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, after a three-day mission to the Cameroon, welcomed the Cameroon government's willingness to cooperate over finding workable solutions to what she called "major human rights and humanitarian crises" caused by months of serious unrest and violence across the southwest and north of the country.

She said: "I believe that there is a clear – if possibly short – window of opportunity to arrest the crises that have led to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people as well as the killings and brutal human rights violations and abuses... It will take significant actions on the part of the Government and substantial and sustained support from the international community."

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 12 May 2019

Collage: Ambassador Richard Bernal, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Global Affairs at The UWI (left) and Professor Robert Dussey, the Chief Negotiator ACP-EU Post-Cotonou 2020 by IDN-INPS with photos from public domains.

Lending a Research Hand to CARICOM, Strengthening the ACP

By Desmond Brown

This report is part of a series focusing on the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States working to "modernize" their relations, and in the process giving the ACP Group "a greater presence" at the United Nations. – The Editor.

KINGSTON, Jamaica (IDN) – In the face of a rapidly changing global environment, a top Caribbean diplomat and technocrat strongly suggests the establishment of an independent research institute to supplement and support governments and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) secretariat.

: Desmond L. Brown; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 11 May 2019

ACP-UNCTAD Workshop Targets at Ensuring Inclusiveness and Equality

By Ronald Joshua

GENEVA (IDN) – Well ahead of the High-Level Political Forum in July 2019 under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) with the focus on "empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality", the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Secretariat and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) held an all-day workshop at the Palais des Nations, Geneva on May 2, 2019.

: Ronald Joshua; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 08 May 2019

Photo credit: SDG Global Festival of Action

Global Festival Looks Beyond Promises of Agenda 2030

By Sean Buchanan

BONN (IDN) – The SDG Global Festival of Action, which takes place in Bonn every year, is an occasion for bringing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) campaigners and multi-stakeholder partners together for inspiring and broadening the global movement to take action for the SDGs.

It provides a dynamic and interactive space to showcase the latest innovations, tools and approaches to SDG advocacy and SDG action.

: Phil Harris; UN INSIDER; 07 May 2019

UN Report Calls for 'Transformative Changes' to Halt Nature’s Dangerous Decline

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK | PARIS (IDN) – UN biodiversity experts have warned in a hard-hitting report into the impact of humans on nature that "the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide" are being eroded. Current efforts to conserve the earth’s resources will likely fail without radical action, said Sir Robert Watson, chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 06 May 2019

Photo: A view of Baku, Azerbaijan. Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri | IDN-INPS

Not Faith but Manipulation of the Faithful Behind Hate Attacks

By Sean Buchanan

NEW YORK (IDN) – Following a recent series of hate-fuelled attacks on places of worship around the world, a forum on intercultural dialogue was told May 2 that “in all these heinous and cowardly attacks… we see a common pattern: hatred of the ‘other’. These criminals are hijacking entire faith communities, pitting religions against each other.”

Miguel Angel Moratinos, High Representative for the Alliance of Civilisations (UNOAC), who was addressing the UN-backed 5th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku, Azerbaijan, said that the problem is never faith, it is “those who manipulate the faithful and turn them against each other by their perverted interpretations of holy texts.”

: Phil Harris; UN INSIDER; 05 May 2019

Photo: A Sherp crosses flooded plains to deliver 26 tons of food to Buzi in Northern Mozambique. Credit: WFP/Adam Marlatt

International Aid Flows to Southern Africa after Two Devastating Cyclones

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE (IDN) – All that she has now is her 12-year old daughter. Her home, and almost all her belongings were destroyed by Cyclone Idai in March. Over a month ago since the tragedy struck, 35-year old Teresa Chizimu who hails from Chikwawa district in Malawi, has sunken deeper and deeper into desperation since she had an encounter with the cyclone.

Not only Chizimu is in this crisis in the southern hemisphere, but also Mozambique’s 71-year old Aderito Abdala from the port city of Beira, is faced with a catastrophic situation, with all his four grandchildren and wife, killed by Cyclone Idai.