United Nations

Photo: IFAD nominates new President -Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo on14 February 2017, Credit: IFAD

Second Sub-Saharan African to Head IFAD

By Phil Harris

ROME (IDN) – The Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has elected its second president from sub-Saharan Africa, after incumbent Kanayo F. Nwanze from Nigeria.

At the just concluded meeting of the body’s Governing Council (February 14-15), Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo from Togo, a former Prime Minister of his country, was appointed the Fund’s sixth President and will take office on April 1.

Houngbo was one of eight candidates, including three women, competing for the top leadership position in the specialised United Nations agency, which is also an international financial institution that invests in eradicating rural poverty in developing countries around the world.

: Phil Harris; UN INSIDER; 18 February 2017

Photo: Launch of the International Decade for People of African Descent on 10 December 2014 at United Nations Headquarters, New York. Photo: Martin Dixon.

UN Expert Group on People of African Descent Visits Germany

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – The United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent will undertake its first official visit to Germany from February 20 to 27 to study the human rights situation of people of African descent in the country.

The Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent was established on April 25, 2002 by the then Commission on Human Rights, following the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban in 2001. It is composed of five independent experts: Ricardo A. Sunga III (the Philippines), current Chair-Rapporteur; Michal Balcerzak (Poland); Mireille Fanon Mendes-France (France), Sabelo Gumedze (South Africa) and Ahmed Reid (Jamaica).

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 16 February 2017

Photo: Volodymyr Yelchenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN and President of the Security Council for February, speaks to journalists following urgent closed-door consultations of the Council on the latest launch of a ballistic missile by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Security Council Favours Dialogue While Condemning DPRK

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The 15-member Security Council, including the veto-wielding USA, Russia, China, Britain and France, are keen to "reduce tensions in the Korean Peninsula and beyond" and "maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in North-East Asia at large".

With this in view, they have in a Press Statement on February 13, expressed their "commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the situation". They also welcome "efforts by Council members, as well as other States, to facilitate a peaceful and comprehensive solution through dialogue".

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 14 February 2017

Photo: 26 women from 16 villages in Liberia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda were selected to participate in six months of training on building, installing and maintaining solar lamps and panels. Photo: Thomas Dworzak

UN Pleads for Highlighting Achievements of Women Scientists

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Stories about women who have excelled in subjects like science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) can help overcome bias against girls and create new role models, UN officials said on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11.

A recent study, ‘Gender stereotypes about intellectual ability emerge early and influence children’s interests’, shows that by the age of 6, girls are already less likely than boys to describe their own gender as ‘brilliant’, and less likely to join an activity labelled for ‘very, very smart’ kids.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 12 February 2017

Photo: A Trident missile-armed Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarine leaving its base at HMNB Clyde. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Forthcoming UN Conference Underlines Resistance to Nukes

By Samantha Sen

LONDON (IDN) - Now that the new world order some of us were talking about threatens to collapse into a new world disorder, the emerging fear is what the U.S and Russia could agree on, rather than what they disagree about. U.S President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have discovered one another as political twins looking in the same direction from opposite sides – what were thought to be opposing sides anyhow. Nowhere does this union of vision appear more deadly than in the business of nuclear armament, and business it is.

Both leaders have said yes to all the weapons they have, and nodded in the direction of yet more. Both have spoken of “strengthening” their nuclear capabilities. Strengthen how much more to what end? Dire arithmetic abounds on how many times over each can destroy the world. Skip the count; once would be enough.

: Samantha Sen; ARMAMENTS; 09 February 2017

Photo: Laszlo Szombatfalvy. Credit: Global Challenges Foundation.

A Swedish Billionaire Invites Ideas for a New UN

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) - Laszlo Szombatfalvy, a Swedish billionaire of Hungarian origin, is willing to pay US$5 million to anyone who comes up with innovative ideas for revamping the global governance system as currently manifested in the 71-year old United Nations now facing a huge funding challenge from the U.S. with Donald Trump as the President.

It is officially described as 'The Global Challenges Prize 2017: A New Shape – Remodelling Global Cooperation'. The award has been issued by the Global Challenges Foundation, which is urging "big thinkers, from all disciplines, everywhere" to use their "brainpower" and "best ideas as never before" to "help to reshape our world".

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 06 February 2017

Photo: ICC Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal at World Economic Forum in 2013. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Chamber of Commerce Gets Direct Voice in UN Decision Making

By Svenja Brunkhorst and Jens Martens

BONN | NEW YORK (IDN | Global Policy Forum) - In an unprecedented and historic move, the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly recently granted observer status to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

The resolution was submitted by France, Albania, Colombia, the Netherlands and Tunisia and was adopted during the seventy-first session of the General Assembly. The resolution sets out the ICC’s position as observer in the General Assembly from January 1, 2017 on. For the first time, the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly (GA) has approved a business organization as an observer to the UN General Assembly.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 05 February 2017

Photo: UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. Credit: Marco Grob.

UN Women Urges Renewed Efforts To Eliminate FGM

By Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK (IDN) - While there has been an overall decline in the prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) across countries, this progress is likely to be offset by rapid population growth in states where FGM occurs, unless efforts to eliminate the practice are renewed in light of recent research, and urgently stepped up, UN Women has warned.

In a statement on the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on February 6, UN Women – United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women – refers to a 2016 report of the UN Secretary-General. The single largest factor influencing the continuation of female genital mutilation is the desire for social acceptance and avoidance of social stigma, the report found.

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 03 February 2017

Photo: UNDP Administrator Helen Clark at the first regular session of the UNDP Executive Board for 2017. Credit: UNDP / Freya Morales

UNDP Succeeds in Diversifying Funding Sources

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) - While uncertainty persists over U.S. contributions to the United Nations, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark says that "there is significant potential to attract new supporters and funding" beyond the organisation's traditional partnership base.

"These relationships take time to nurture, but over time can yield good results," she told the first regular session of the UNDP Executive Board for 2017 on January 30, pointing to significant steps to diversify UNDP's resource base.

UN coordination is a key priority for UNDP and a commitment in its Strategic Plan. The UNDP Administrator is the Chair of the UN Development Group (UNDG), which unites the funds, programmes, specialized agencies, departments and offices of the UN system that play a role in development.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 02 February 2017

Photo: Secretary-General António Guterres (3rd right, front row) with African Union leaders at the opening of AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on January 30. Credit: UN Photo/Antonio Fiorente

UN Chief Pleads for High-level Interaction with Africa

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) - The United Nations and the African Union (AU) have agreed to establish regular, high-level interaction between the two organizations in the interest of "enhanced energies and avenues of cooperation", according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

“We have agreed that Agenda 2063 (the development agenda of the African Union) and the 2030 Agenda (for sustainable development) will be aligned,” Guterres said at a press encounter at the UN Headquarters, in New York on February 1 after his return from Africa and his participation at the African Union Summit on January 30-31.