United Nations

Photo (l to r): President Danny Faure of the Republic of Seychelles, ACP Secretary-General Dr .Patrick I Gomes, Ambassador Peter Thompson of Fiji, the UN Special Envoy for Oceans. Credit: Seychelles Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.

Blue Economy Key to Small Islands' Survival & Prosperity

By Shanta Roy

NEW YORK (ACP-IDN) – When the 79-member African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States – along with the government of Seychelles – sponsored a high-level forum at the United Nations on September 26, the primary focus was the emerging new "blue economy" underlining the protection and preservation of the world's heavily-exploited oceans.

The world's Small Island Developing States (SIDS), who comprise some of the most environmentally-vulnerable countries, are being increasingly threatened not only by climate change, resulting in rising seas and shrinking lakes, but also suffering the negative after-effects of pollution, sea-bed mining, illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing and the unauthorized extraction of marine resources in the high seas.

: Shanta Roy; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 01 October 2018

Photo: María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (centre right), President of the 73rd session of the General Assembly, listens as Secretary-General António Guterres (centre left) addresses the high-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (26 September). At left is Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (ODA). UN Photo/Ariana Lindquist

UN High-Level Meeting Reflects Broad Support for Total Nuclear Disarmament

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations has pursued the goal of nuclear disarmament since the adoption of the very first General Assembly resolution in 1946. But aware that countries possessing nuclear weapons have well-funded, long-term plans to modernize their nuclear arsenals, in 2013 the UN declared September 26 as the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

Commemorating that Day against the backdrop of a deteriorating global security environment and to mobilize international efforts towards achieving a nuclear-weapon-free world, the General Assembly convened a high-level plenary meeting on September 26 at the UN in New York.

: Santo D. Banerjee; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 30 September 2018

Photo: High-Level Meeting participants. Credit: Kazakh Permanent Mission to the UN

Kazakh Initiated Global Coalition Aims at Terrorism-Free World

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – In the first voluntary political declaration of its kind adopted at the global level, UN Member States have reiterated in the Code of Conduct for the Achievement of a World Free of Terrorism their commitments to strengthen international cooperation to reach the common goal of eradicating a crucial threat to national, regional and international security.

The Code of Conduct, proposed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan at the jubilee 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015, proclaims the advent at the global level of a broad coalition of countries united in the shared goal of achieving a world free of terrorism.

: J Nastranis; CENTRAL ASIA; 29 September 2018

Photo: Heiko Mass, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly's seventy-third session. 28 September 2018. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Multilateralism and Sovereignty are not Antithetical

Viewpoint by Heiko Maas

With three months to go for Germany joining the Security Council as a non-permanent member for 2019-2020, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas spelt out in his speech at the general debate of the 73rd General Assembly of the United Nations on 28 September 2018 the country's agenda putting the focus on "multilaterism". Following are extensive excerpts from his speech. – The Editor

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – A veteran of UN diplomacy told me the other day that every General Assembly has its own crisis to discuss, its own major topic. So what is the big issue in 2018? Syria? North Korea? The Middle East? Or the dramatic global refugee situation from the Mediterranean to Venezuela?

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 29 September 2018

Photo: Commemorative stamp for the International Day of Non-Violence featuring Mahatma Gandhi by artist Ferdie Pacheco. UN Photo/Ryan Brown.

India Hosts UN Chief on International Day of Non-Violence

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – In the run-up to UN Secretary-General António Guterres' four-day visit to India beginning October 1, a senior official of the world body has expressed "a special thank you" to the Government of India, which is contributing US$1 million to install solar panels and a green roof on the Conference Building of the United Nations Secretariat.

The contribution, according to Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, was received by Under-Secretary-General for Management, Jan Beagle, who said that "India's generous contribution sends a strong message promoting innovation for action on climate change, and to enable greater efficiencies".

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 29 September 2018

Photo: (From left) Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa; María Fernanda Espinosa, the President of the General Assemby; and Secretary-General António Guterres unveil the statue of Nelson Mandela at the UN Headquarters in New York. UN Photo/Cia Pak

Nelson Mandela Peace Summit Rebukes 'America First' Strategy

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa couldn't be prouder as he unveiled a life-size statue of Nelson Mandela on September 24, a day before the start of the General Debate of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA73) and the opening of a day-long historic 'Nelson Mandela Peace Summit', a high-level plenary meeting convened by the President of the General Assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa.

The focus of the Peace Summit was on Global Peace in honour of the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and political leader, who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 September 2018

Photo: Sculpture depicting St. George slaying the dragon. The dragon is created from fragments of Soviet SS-20 and United States Pershing nuclear missiles. UN Photo/Milton Grant

Peacebuilders for a Nuclear-Weapon Free World

Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow*

GENEVA (IDN) – As the world celebrated the UN-designated International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on September 26, there were still some 16,000 nuclear weapons in the world, largely in the hands of the United States and the Russian Federation, some on “ready alert”.

There are plans to “modernise” nuclear weapons, and there are at least seven other states with nuclear weapons: North Korea, Pakistan, India and China in Asia, Israel in the Middle East and France and the United Kingdom in Europe.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 27 September 2018

Photo: India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj hosted the G4 Foreign Ministers Meeting of Japan, Germany and Brazil to discuss progress on early reform of the Council, including the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership. Credit: Twitter MEA India

India Hosts G4 Meeting Pressing For Security Council Reform

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Brazil, Germany, India and Japan – also known as the G4 – have reiterated the compelling need for a protracted reform of the United Nations Security Council and restated their support for Africa's appropriate representation in a reformed and expanded Council, which under the UN Charter bears primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.

A Joint Press Statement, issued after a meeting on the first day of the General Assembly's high-level General Debate on September 25, 2018, said: "The G4 [Foreign] Ministers reaffirmed the need for an early reform of the Council including the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent categories of membership to enhance its legitimacy, effectiveness and representativeness."

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 26 September 2018

Photo: Winners of the 'SDGs and Her Competition' awards: Lucy Odiwa, owner of Tanzania-based WomenChoice Industries (right); and Mukuru Clean Stoves of Kenya owner, Charlot Magay (left). Credit: Sumaya Agha/UNDP

Sustainable Development Award Winners Celebrated at UN

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK(IDN) – Tanzania-based WomenChoice Industries and Mukuru Clean Stoves of Kenya are the global winners of the SDGs and Her Competition that seeks to increase knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their potential impact on women, as well as to encourage private sector partners and share best practices and innovative ideas.

They were celebrated at a side-event on September 24, 2018 during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly. The contest – co-sponsored by the World Bank Group, UNDP, UN Women, and the Wharton School Zicklin Center – showcases women micro-entrepreneurs who are helping to achieve the SDGs through their businesses.

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; Africa; 25 September 2018

Photo: Kalabia, a floating environmental education program engaging THE NATURAL CURIOSITY OF CHILDREN TO TEACH conservation in Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Credit: nebula.wsimg.com

UNESCO-Japan Prize for Organizations in Namibia, Indonesia and Estonia

By Robert Johnson

PARIS (IDN) – UNESCO , the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, has nominated three non-profit organizations in Namibia, Indonesia and Estonia for outstanding projects aimed at promoting the role of education in connecting the social, economic, cultural and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, known as Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

The initiative was launched within the framework of the Global Action Programme (GAP) and officially announced at the UNESCO World Conference on ESD from November 10-12, 2014 in Aichi-Nagoya in Japan. The GAP calls for scaling up of ESD action at all levels as a means of implementing all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).