GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

Photo: Secretary-General António Guterres (centre) addresses the General Assembly on the repositioning of the UN Development System. To his left is Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and at right is General Assembly President Miroslav Lajčák. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Sustainable Development Now at the Heart of the UN

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations General Assembly has approved a landmark consensus resolution, which Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed assures will allow the world body to transform a "cacophony" of efforts under way to make sustainable development a reality into a "symphony".

Secretary-General António Guterres has described the plan as "the most ambitious and comprehensive transformation of the UN development system in decades," paving the way for a new era of "national ownership" of development, supported by the whole UN system, in a tailored fashion, allowing countries to pursue sustainable economic and social development.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 04 June 2018

Photo: 43rd ACP-EU Council of Ministers Meeting on 31 May 2018 in Lomé. Credit: ACP Press

Why 79 ACP Countries and EU Must Enter Into New Partnership

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS | LOMÉ (ACP-IDN) – The Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA) between the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of 79 States and 28 European Union (EU) members expires on February 29, 2020. Formal negotiations for a successor Agreement should commence by August 2018.

With a view to underpinning preparations and execution of the negotiating process for a successor Agreement, the Council of Ministers of the ACP Group of States adopted on May 30, 2018 in Lomé, Togo, the core principles, a common approach and a policy framework document.

In pursuit of the implementation of the Council’s decisions, the Committee of Ambassadors initiated a number of activities, to guide preparations for the negotiations.

: UN Bureau; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 03 June 2018

Photo: Joint Press Conference with Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Ekaterina Zaharieva (second from left), and Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith (third from left), flanked by ACP Secretary General Dr. P I Gomes (second from right). Credit: ACP Press.

107 ACP-EU Countries Walk The Talk On Global Governance

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS | LOMÉ (ACP | IDN) – African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the European Union will walk the talk on global governance by organising joint activities during United Nations conferences this year, according to co-presidents of the Joint ACP-EU Council of Ministers.

The Council issued a joint declaration reaffirming its commitment to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to the attainment of the long-term goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

The joint activities ACP and EU have agreed are: the UN high-level political forum (HLPF) on sustainable development in July, the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in September, and the 24th Conference of Parties (COP24) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December.

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 03 June 2018

Mamadou and Ramatoulaye Opt Out Of Migrating To Europe

Following is the text of an epilogue in Chapter 6, titled 'recommendations and conclusions' of Economic Development in Africa Report 2018: Migration for Structural Transformation, published on June 1, 2018 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). – The Editor.

GENEVA (IDN | UNCTAD) – The news on the radio about Libya goes on. Mamadou listens again. The news report is about migrants who make it to Libya – only to get trapped into slavery.

His mind goes back to the sounds of the radio at his parents’ modest home one fateful day in early August 1999. Two Guinean boys, Yaguine Koïta and Fodé Tounkara, from Conakry had been found in the undercarriage of a plane in Brussels. They were dead. Lying next to them, in a plastic bag, were their birth certificates and a letter. Mamadou can still hear the voices of despair, commenting on the fate of those boys who had written of their hopes and of their anguish living in Africa in that letter.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Africa; 02 June 2018

Photo: UNODA High Representative Izumi Nakamitsu delivering keynote speech on May 25, 2018 at the High Level Session of the Second Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) Science Diplomacy Symposium in Vienna. Credit: CTBTO

New Disarmament Agenda Recognizes CTBT's Intrinsic Role

Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu

The author is High Representative of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA). Following are extensive excerpts from her keynote speech on May 25, 2018 at the High Level Session of the Second Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) Science Diplomacy Symposium from May 21-June 1, 2018 in Vienna. – The Editor.

VIENNA (IDN) – The CTBTO Preparatory Commission [headed by Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo] continues to play a critical role in promoting the long overdue entry into force of the CTBT.

Beyond entry into force, the Preparatory Commission also raises awareness on the acute dangers – to peace and security, to human health and to the environment – associated with nuclear testing.

: UN Bureau; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; CTBTO; 31 May 2018

Photo: Group picture of participants of the CTBTO Youth Group Moscow Conference from 18-20 October 2017 in Moscow with the CTBTO Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo in the centre. The next conference is scheduled from 28-20 August 2018 in Kazakh capital city Astana. Credit: CTBTO

What Kazakhstan's Nuclear Legacy Means For CTBTO

Viewpoint by Marzhan Nurzhan

The CTBTO Youth Group (CYG) holds its second international conference in Kazakh capital city Astana from August 28-30, 2018. The author is a CYG member from Kazakhstan, a convener of Abolition 2000 Youth Network and a PNND Coordinator for CIS countries. This article first appeared in The Astana Times on May 29, 2018 with the title 'Kazakhstan's Nuclear Legacy and Importance of CTBTO'. It is being reproduced with the author's permission. – The Editor.

PRAGUE (IDN) – I am coming from Kazakhstan, the country which inherited around 1,500 nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union making it the 4th biggest nuclear arsenal in the world at the time.

: UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 30 May 2018

Photo: 7th Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in 2012. Credit: ACP Press.

79 ACP Ministers Meeting in Lomé to Discuss Strategy for New Accord with EU

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – Seventy-nine African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are set to speak with one voice as they prepare to adopt a negotiating mandate for a pact with the European Union (EU) after the Cotonou Agreement expires in February 2020. ACP Government Ministers will convene on May 27 for preparatory discussions dedicated to post-Cotonou negotiations.

Two days later, the ACP Council of Ministers meeting in Lomé, the capital of Togo in West Africa, for their 107th Session on May 29-30 will deliberate on repositioning the ACP as "a more effective global player" within the overarching framework of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development including 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 23 May 2018

Photo: 74th ESCAP Session: Countries adopt regional actions to tackle inequalities. Credit: ESCAP.

Multilateralism in Action is Something We Need to See More Of

By Miroslav Lajčák

Miroslav Lajčák is President of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. Following are extensive excerpts from his Statement at 74th session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) with focus on Inequality in the Era of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on 14 May 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand. – The Editor.

BANGKOK (IDN-INPS) – In 2015, we made a promise. We committed to leaving no one behind. And, the theme of this session is a stark reminder of our promise: Inequality in the Era of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 21 May 2018

IAEA Upgrades Tools to Prevent the Spread of Nuclear Weapons

By Reinhardt Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has revamped its tools to cope with the growing volume and variety of formats in information technologies, growing demand to harness nuclear science and technology, face the challenges of cyber security, and help prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

The UN nuclear watchdog IAEA inspectors verify that nuclear material and technology around the world remain in peaceful activities. The new tools also aid communication and cooperation between the IAEA and its Member States.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; UN INSIDER; 17 May 2018

Image: International Monitoring System with 337 Facilities – 90%+ complete. Source: CTBTO.

CTBTO Must Credibly Confirm Dismantling & Closure of DPRK Nuclear-Weapon Test Site

By Tariq Rauf *

While North Korea has invited journalists from a handful of countries to witness the dismantling and closure of its nuclear-weapon test site at Punggye Ri, only the Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) has the required expertise, verification technology and credibility to confirm the closure of the Punggye Ri test site.

Contrary to popular belief, the highly competent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expertise only in monitoring and verification of civilian nuclear programmes, but not in the areas of dismantling of nuclear weapons and dismantling of nuclear-weapon test sites.

The IAEA monitors the “upstream” dimension of nuclear weapons development while the CTBT is intended to monitor the “downstream” final proof of a State's intention to develop nuclear weapons – that is, the actual nuclear test explosion.