UN Insider

Photo: Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA). Credit: UNODA

Full Potential of Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones Has Yet to be Recognised

Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu

The following are extensive excerpts from a statement by Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) at a side event on October 18, 2018, organized by the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the United Nations on Consolidating and Enhancing Cooperation among Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones. – The Editor

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Between the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which was signed in in 1967, to the Central Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone, which entered into force in 2009, the world has experienced a growing adherence from States to nuclear weapon-free zones treaties.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 23 October 2018

Photo: The Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) is the main parastatal of the Government of Lesotho charged with the implementation of the country’s industrial development policies. Credit: LNDC

Lesotho and South Africa Among Winners of UN Awards

By Ronald Joshua

GENEVA (IDN) – Bahrain, India, Lesotho and South Africa have won 2018 United Nations Investment Promotion Awards for excellence in boosting investment into sectors that will have social and economic benefits and help countries meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the awards honour investment promotion agencies (IPAs) and their governments for their achievements, but also showcase best practices in attracting investment into SDG-related projects that can inspire investment promotion practitioners in developing and developed countries.

: Ronald Joshua; UN INSIDER; 22 October 2018

Photo: The United States Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was high on Gorbachev's agenda at the Geneva Summit in November 1985. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Time Out for Nukes!

Viewpoint by Alice Slater

The author is a member of the World Beyond War Coordinating Committee and the UN NGO Representative of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

NEW YORK (IDN) – With 122 nations having voted last summer (July 2017) to adopt a treaty for the complete prohibition of nuclear weapons, just as the world has banned chemical and biological weapons, its seems that the world is locked in a new Cold War time-warp, totally inappropriate to the times.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 22 October 2018

Photo: Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner Md Kamal Hossain visiting Rohingya camp Kutupalong. Credit: Md Mojibur Rahman Rana.

A Crisis Within a Crisis for the Rohingyas

By Naimul Haq

DHAKA, Bangladesh (IDN) – Despite a well-coordinated effort to address the Rohingya refugee crisis in Cox’s Bazar, a coastal town bordering Myanmar, some major challenges still need attention.

The local administration admits that with over one million forcibly displaced Myanmar citizens arriving in such a short time, it is indeed difficult to manage the environmental damages and rising crime rates faced by the local people.

Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner Md Kamal Hossain told IDN that in terms of supplies of food, commodities and household basics efforts have been well coordinated. However, “environmental damage and the crimes rising by the day are major concerns but they are being addressed now and hopefully we would soon find solutions.”

: Naimul Haq; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 21 October 2018

Photo: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet (file photo) ILO/M. Creuset

'To be the Voice of the Voiceless' is Michelle Bachelet's Top Priority

By J. Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – A top priority of the new UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, who replaced Jordan's Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on September 1, 2018, is "to do what my mandate tells me to do, to be the voice of the voiceless." In addition, it is "also to engage with governments so they respect human rights, protect people from rights violations, and promote human rights."

In an extensive interview with UN News, twice-elected President of Chile and the first head of UN Women describes advancing human rights, a "never ending process". Watch video.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 19 October 2018

Photo: Saudi writer and media personality Jamal Khashoggi [Beforeitsnews.com/Facebook]

UN Chief 'Deeply Troubled' by Khashoggi's Death, Rights Experts Slate Saudi Arabia

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – While UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement released on October 19, said that he is "deeply troubled" by the reported confirmation of the death of Jamal Khashoggi, independent UN human rights experts have commended business leaders who have decided to pull out of a high-level investment conference – also known as 'Davos in the Desert' – taking place October 23-25 in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

A tweet posted by the Saudi Foreign Ministry on October 19 stated that the missing Saudi journalist, a columnist with the Washington Post newspaper, was killed, claims reportedly echoed on Saudi State TV.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 19 October 2018

Photo: The Port of Salvador on All Saints Bay, Bahia, Brazil. As one of the bigger, emerging economies reliant on commodity exports, Brazil can expect some economic improvement, according to a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report. Credit: World Bank/Mariana Ceratti

Foreign Direct Investment on Decline, Leaves Developing Countries Unaffected

By Ronald Joshua

GENEVA (IDN) – Foreign direct investment is critical for developing and emerging market countries. Their companies need the multinationals' funding and expertise to expand their international sales. The countries need private investment in infrastructure, energy, and water to increase jobs and wages. In fact the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 2017 report warned that climate change would hit them the hardest.

The UNCTAD says in its report on October 15 that global foreign direct investment (FDI) tumbled by 41 percent in January-June 2018, to an estimated USD470 billion from USD800 billion in the first half of 2017.

: Ronald Joshua; UN INSIDER; 15 October 2018

Photo: UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaks at the IMF Development Committee meeting in Bali, Indonesia. Credit: Grant Ellis/World Bank

Trust Deficit Disorder Jeopardising Sustainable Development

By António Guterres

The following are extensive extracts from UN Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks to finance ministers and central bank governors at the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) in Bali, Indonesia, on October 13, 2018. Stressing that the meeting was taking place "at a time of enormous uncertainty", he cautioned that high debts in many countries are limiting fiscal space and taking away much needed resources vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). – The Editor

BALI (IDN-INPS) – As Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, you are accustomed to dealing with deficits every day.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 15 October 2018

Image: The flag of Saudi Arabia (centre) flying at United Nations headquarters in New York. UN Photo/Loey Felipe

UN Urges Saudi Arabia to Release All Incarcerated Women Human Rights Defenders

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – For the second time since July 31, UN human rights experts are calling on Saudi Arabia to "immediately and unconditionally" release all women human rights defenders, including six imprisoned on charges relating to their peaceful defence of human rights.

The detained have been charged for being involved in pro-democracy demonstrations, and previously campaigning for the right of women to vote and drive. In late June 2018, a long-standing ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia, was lifted by royal decree, UN News reports.

: Jamshed Baruah; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 14 October 2018

Photo: Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri | IDN-INPS Multimedia Director

World Religious Leaders' Astana Congress Pledges 'Unity in Diversity'

By Ramesh Jaura

ASTANA (IDN) – At a critical point in time when religious tolerance is being consigned to oblivion, an international conference has appealed "to all people of faith and goodwill" to unite, and called for "ensuring peace and harmony on our planet".

The appeal emerged from the two-day Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana, the Kazakh city founded on the principle of "unity in diversity". The Congress concluded with a 'peace concert' in which 500 choir singers from five continents of the world took part.