UN Insider

Photo: The IAI Harop (or IAI Harpy 2) is a loitering munition developed by the MBT division of Israel Aerospace Industries. It is an anti-radiation drone that can autonomously home in on radio emissions. Rather than holding a separate high-explosive warhead, the drone itself is the main munition. CC BY 4.0.

New Report on Arms Control and the Convergence of Biology and Emerging Technologies

By Jaya Ramachandran

BERLIN | STOCKHOLM (IDN) – A new report has warned of the risks and challenges posed by the interaction of developments in biotechnology and advances in three emerging technologies: additive manufacturing (AM or so-called 3D printing), artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.

The report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) cautions that the latest advances could increase the possibilities for the development, production and use of biological weapons. The existing biological arms control and non-proliferation governance framework, therefore, needs to be adapted to address the emerging security risks, says the report.

: Jaya Ramachandran; ARMAMENTS; Conventional & Autonomous Weapons; 17 March 2019

Photo: Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. Credit: UN

Countering Challenges Affecting Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu

The following are extensive excerpts from remarks by Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), at the International Conference on 'Capturing Technology. Rethinking Arms Control' in Berlin on 15 March 2019.

BERLIN (IDN-INPS) – Many of us feel a growing sense of unease about the challenges rapid technological developments pose to disarmament, arms control and international peace and security. The international community urgently needs to explore, articulate and confront these issues at the highest level. Because one thing is clear: the march of technology waits for no one.

: Jaya Ramachandran; OPINION; 16 March 2019

Photo: Youth attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany. Credit: UNFCCC

UN Chief Emboldens the 'Fridays for Future' Climate Movement

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – "My generation has failed to respond properly to the dramatic challenge of climate change. This is deeply felt by young people. No wonder they are angry," says UN Secretary-General António Guterres in an opinion piece for The Guardian, in the wake of unprecedented March 15 demonstrations by schoolchildren across the world against climate change inaction.

The youth-led School Strike for Climate movement Fridays for Future held the first global climate demonstration in history spanning over more than 100 countries from Australia to America embracing the developing nations of India and Uganda and the Philippines and Nepal – countries acutely impacted by climate change.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 15 March 2019

Photo: Ambassador Azeez chairing the UNCTAD Trade and Development Commission in Geneva, 12-14 November 2018. Credit: UNCTAD.

Reflections on Evolving International Security Landscape

Viewpoint by A.L.A. Azeez

The writer is Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva.

GENEVA (IDN) – The security landscape in most regions, as well as globally in general, is becoming increasingly constrained by the day. It is, therefore, timely to reflect on some trends and developments in the international security landscape, and to seek to persuade the parties or forces that shape them, to take all possible steps in the direction of assuring and strengthening international peace and security.

The Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty is in jeopardy. Dialogue needs to be encouraged between the States concerned. As expressed by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, it would do well if parties could consider extending the New START Treaty for another term, from when it is due to expire.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 15 March 2019

Photo: On 10 August 2009 Sergio Duarte, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, speaks at the opening of the exhibition "Against Nuclear Arms" at the UN Headquarters in New York. The exhibition portrayed the destruction caused by the A-bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, as well as decades of nuclear arms testing in Kazakhstan. Credit: UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras

Strategic Realities Impeding Nuclear Disarmament

Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte

The writer is President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, and a former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. He was president of the 2005 Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference.

NEW YORK (IDN) – The advent of weapons of mass destruction, in particular the nuclear weapon, was the most dramatic factor of change in the strategic panorama since the Treaty of Westphalia established the basis of the current international order in 1648. During the following centuries, International Law was formulated and adapted continuously in an effort to accommodate changes in strategic realities and shifting security perceptions.

: Sergio Duarte; OPINION; 13 March 2019

Photo: A wide view of the ECOSOC Chamber as UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka (on screen) speaks at the United Nations Observance of International Women’s Day 08 March 2019. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

New Study Shows Ups and Downs in Gender Equality

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – This year's International Women’s Day on March 8 has been celebrated on an unprecedented scale by the United Nations and other inter-governmental organizations around the world. And, a new analysis shows improvements in gender equality. But there is a rather long way to go until gender parity has become a reality.

According to the data presented in the 2019 edition of the biennial IPU-UN Women map of Women in Politics, women's participation in political decision-making continues to rise slowly, with slight improvements since 2017.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 12 March 2019

Photo: Scene of the Ethiopian plane crash with pictures of Professor Adesanmi (bottom left) and former Nigerian diplomat Abiodun Oluremi Bashua. Source: Global Information Network.

Insufficient Pilot Training Suspected in Deadly Ethiopian Crash

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Fifty three minutes. That was the length of time approved by the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) for pilot training on the upgraded Boeing 737 Max 8 jet that crashed March 10 in Ethiopia killing all aboard, according to a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association.

Nor was the 53 minutes for face to face training. It was “computer assisted” over a laptop with slides and imagery. Some of the pilots felt shortchanged.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 11 March 2019

UN Environment Assembly Convenes to Ramp Up Solutions for Sustainable Economies

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK | NAIROBI (IDN) – A five-day meeting of the United Nations top body on the environment, which is expected to take bold decisions and produce far-reaching outcomes that move global societies to a more sustainable path, began in Kenya's capital Nairobi on March 11.

Over 4,700 heads of state, ministers, business leaders, senior UN officials and civil society representatives are attending the fourth UN Environment Assembly from March 11-15 at the UN Headquarters for Africa. Prominent world leaders attending are the Presidents of France and Kenya, Emmanuel Macron and Uhuru Kenyatta, and CEOs from major corporations.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 11 March 2019

Image: Chinese skyline. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

UN Commends Beijing Air Quality as Model for Other Cities

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK | NAIROBI (IDN) – More than two decades after China's capital city Beijing began looking for ways to improve air quality in one of the largest and fastest growing cities in the developing world, its successful efforts provide a model for other cities to follow, according to a new report.

Research by the UN Environment Programme and the Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau (BEE) outlines how Beijing’s air quality management programme has evolved, and makes recommendations for near, medium, and long-term steps that Beijing can take to maintain its momentum toward clean air.

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 11 March 2019

UN Environment Forum Underlines the Science-Innovation-Entrepreneurship Nexus

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK | NAIROBI (IDN) – Eminent scientists, Nobel laureates, artists, ministers, parliamentarians, industry and business leaders, young game changers in the science and business communities, heads of United Nations entities and civil society representatives participated in the UN Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment at the UN Headquarters in Nairobi from March 8-10, 2019 in the lead up to the Fourth Session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 4).

Recommendations from the Forum will inform the UN Environment Assembly from March 11-15, and the UN’s work on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement.