UN Insider

Image: Families affected by the earthquake in northwestern Syria are being accommodated at a reception centre located just outside the city of Afrin. © UNICEF/UNOCHA

Russia, a Major Weapons Supplier, has Thrown its Protective Arms Around Syria

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, 2 March 2023 (IDN) — When the 193-member UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on 23 February calling on Russia to “immediately, completely and unconditionally” withdraw all of its military forces from Ukraine and the cessation of hostilities, the vote was 141 in favour, 32 abstentions and seven against.

Besides Russia, the six “noes” included Belarus, North Korea, Mali, Eritrea, Nicaragua and Syria, the only Middle Eastern country openly supportive of the invasion.

: Thalif Deen; THE WORLD; Russia; 02 March 2023

Image: UN short clip on the Rule of Law, Peace and Security

Will the New Struggle for Dominance Uphold the UN Charter?

By Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden, 28 Feb 2023 (IDN) — Eleven hundred years ago Europe was a backwater. There were no grand cities, apart from Cordoba in Spain which was Muslim. Muslim Spain was the epicentre of learning in Western Europe.

The Middle East was much further ahead, still absorbing the intellectual delights and challenges of Greek science, medicine and architecture which Europeans were largely ignorant of. In southern China agriculture advanced and trade in tea, porcelain and silk flourished.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 28 February 2023

Image: A family sit in their shelter at a displaced persons site in Aden, Yemen. © UNHCR/Ahmed Al-Mayadeen

Yemen, Facing World’s Worst Humanitarian Disaster, Misses Aid Target

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, 27 February 2023 (IDN) — The United Nations once described the deaths and destruction in the eight-year-old civil war in Yemen as “the world’s worst humanitarian disaster”.

The killings of mostly civilians have been estimated at over 100,000, with accusations of war crimes against a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

: Thalif Deen; UN INSIDER; 27 February 2023

Image: Ajaypal Singh Banga, Designated World Bank President. Credit: The World Bank

Twin Challenges of Climate Change and Debt Crises Confront Banga at World Bank

By Arul Louis

The writer is a New York-based non-resident senior fellow of the Society for Policy Studies, a New Delhi-based think tank. He can be contacted @arulouis.

UNITED NATIONS, 26 Feb 2023 (IDN) — US President Joe Biden has nominated Ajay Banga to head the World Bank with a mandate to promote climate change policies—the latest iteration of its evolving priorities—but he will also be under pressure to deal with the more immediate task of helping deal with the financial crises facing many in the Global South.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 26 February 2023

Image: The Security Council chamber. Credit: UN Photo/DN

Present-day UN Apparently Incapable of Ending the Ukraine War

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK, 25 Feb 2023 (IDN) — As the Ukraine War triggered by the Russian invasion enters the second year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's call on United Nations Security Council to act for peace, or 'dissolve' itself has acquired new relevance. In an impassioned address to the Security Council on 5 April 2022, he evoked the ashen destruction wrought during the Second World War. Describing in stark detail "the deliberate slaughter" of civilians in Bucha by Russian forces, he said the Council members faced an existential choice over the future of the world’s security architecture, founded in 1945.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 25 February 2023

Image: Students in southern Thailand, whose mother tongue is Pattani-Malay, hold up their favourite reading books. © UNICEF/Arun Roisri

UN Celebrates the World’s Rich 'Linguistic Tapestry'

A UN News Special

UNITED NATIONS, 25 Feb 2023 (IDN) — Multilingual education is a critical key to razing inequalities and promoting human rights for all, UN officials said to mark International Mother Language Day. Commemorating the world’s languages—all 6,700 of them—since 1999, the 21 February aims at celebrating ways of showcasing the world’s linguistic tapestry, committing to the preservation of the diversity of languages as a common heritage, and working for quality education—in mother tongues—for all, said Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 25 February 2023

One Year On: Is Peace Still Possible in Ukraine?

By Sergio Duarte

The writer is a former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and current President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.

NEW YORK, 24 Feb 2023 (IDN) — The states that signed the Charter of the United Nations on June 26 1945, accepted the obligation to act in their relations with one another in accordance with the Principles set in its Article 2, which include refraining from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political Independence of any state and settling their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security are not endangered.

: Sergio Duarte; OPINION; 24 February 2023

Image: Ukrainian soldiers install the state flag on Snake Island, in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian military returned the flag of Ukraine to island, which had been under the control of Russian troops for some time. (Ukrainian Defence Ministry Press Office via AP)

Time for Russia to End Continuing War Against Ukraine

The restoration of peace and international law is necessary

By Alyn Ware and Julius Brede

HAMBURG, 23 Feb 2023 (IDN) — The World Future Council is shocked and deeply saddened by Russia’s continuing invasion of Ukraine, which commenced one year ago, and by Russia’s grievous violations of international law in the war and their illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 23 February 2023

Image: Tantawan "Tawan" Tuatulanon and Orawan "Bam" Phupong. Credit: Foreign Correspondents Club Thailand (FCCT)

Hunger Strike in Thai Prison Threatens Two Young Political Activists

By Jan Servaes*

BRUSSELS, 23 Feb 2023 (IDN) — Tantawan "Tawan" Tuatulanon and Orawan "Bam" Phupong, aged 21 and 23, respectively, have been on hunger strike since January 18 to push for reforms in Thailand's judicial system, the release of political prisoners and the abolition or reform of some of the laws against dissidents, including the infamous Lèse Majesté law.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 23 February 2023

A Blacklisted Syria Makes a Come-Back—on the Ruins of an Earthquake

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, 23 Feb 2023 (IDN) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, accused of human rights abuses, war crimes and use of chemical weapons—is one of several authoritarian Middle Eastern leaders who never addressed the UN General Assembly or stepped into the United Nations.