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By Radwan Jakeem
NEW YORK (IDN) — Eminent thought leaders in economic and social fields have called for fundamental change in the multilateral system in the spirit of international solidarity to combat the severe impacts of COVID-19. They comprise the United Nations High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs, convened by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
By Ramu Damodaran
The writer is Chief, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) hosted in the Department of Global Communications. This OpEd was first published in #WhyWeCare on April 22.
NEW YORK (IDN | UNAI) — “End our war on nature” was Antonio Guterres’s call at the Leaders Summit on Climate convened by President Biden this, April 22 Earth Day morning. Last week we had quoted from the remarks by Viet Nam’s Deputy Prime Minister, Nguyen Duy Trinh, at the time of his country’s admission to the United Nations in 1977; rereading that speech, I was struck by his observation that how “in our time mankind is making enormous progress in its endeavour to transform nature and society.”
By Razeena Raheem
NEW YORK (IDN) — The United Nations, which has remained locked down since March last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is planning to make a “phased return to the premises in New York.”
Until now, nearly 3,000 UN staffers have been forced to work from home while virtually all meetings, including Security Council sessions, have been on video teleconferencing (VTC), turning the Secretariat building into a ghost town.
An Expert Voice
NEW YORK (IDN | UNDESA) — With hundreds of millions suffering hunger, a growing population and devastating impacts of agriculture on the environment, many experts are asking themselves: will we have enough food for everyone? Ahead of the 54th session of the UN Commission on Population Development, we ask that question to Cheryl Sawyer, Senior Population Affairs Officer at UN DESA.
By Ramu Damodaran
The writer is Chief, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) hosted in the Department of Global Communications. This OpEd was first published in #WhyWeCare on April 15.
NEW YORK (IDN | UNAI) — If, as Suzanne Nossel writes, “the United Nations remains the closest thing to a system of global governance that the world has ever known and may ever achieve,” much is owed to its unique convening capacity in bringing together erstwhile adversaries, even combatants, to a shared sense of participatory purpose which, at its finest, is reflected in the unanimity of resolutions consciously conceived in common cause.
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — In a message marking the grim anniversary of the 1994 genocide of Tutsi in Rwanda, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of the rise of extremist groups and the inflammatory rhetoric that produced horrific consequences.
“Everyone must take a hard look at today’s world and ensure that we heed the lessons of 27 years ago,” the UN chief declared. “While the technology used by extremists is evolving, their vile messages and rhetoric remain the same.”
By Ramu Damodaran
The writer is Chief, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) hosted in the Department of Global Communications. This OpEd was first published in #WhyWeCare on April 8.
NEW YORK (IDN | UNAI) — We left last week with Bob Marley in our ear, his quest to consummate the end of physical slavery with liberation from its mental forms. Barely had our column been uploaded when I learned of the superstar’s family’s decision to reissue, in honour of UNICEF, his emblematic “One Love” remastered for our age of the pandemic.
An OPEN LETTER to UNESCO, IUCN and WCPA
By Somar Wijayadasa*
NEW YORK (IDN) — As a former staff member of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) from 1978 to 1995, and as a Sri Lankan, I write this OPEN LETTER to UNESCO, to the International Union for the Conservation of Forests (IUCN) and to the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) to point out the plight of the Sinharaja Forest in Sri Lanka—declared as a World Heritage site.
Sri Lankans are grateful to UNESCO and its World Heritage Centre (WHC) for including six of our cultural sites and two natural sites in the World Heritage list—in accordance with the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
By Radwan Jakeem
NEW YORK (IDN | UN News) — The UN-backed COVAX scheme aims to get two billion vaccine doses into the arms of around a quarter of the population of poorer countries by the end of 2021. Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the United States decision to lift sanctions and visa restrictions against officials with the International Criminal Court (ICC). Furthermore. he has strongly condemned a deadly attack on April 2 against peacekeepers serving with the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA.
By Jessica Corbett*
Common Dreams first published this report on April 2, 2021.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — Progressives in Congress and human rights organizations on April 2 welcomed the Biden administration's repeal of sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) imposed under former President Donald Trump in a bid to pressure the Hague-based tribunal to not investigate alleged U.S. and Israeli crimes. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in a statement that President Joe Biden revoked Trump's Executive Order 13928, "ending the threat and imposition of economic sanctions and visa restrictions in connection with the court."
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