Peace & Justice

Photo: Zahir Tanin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), briefs the Security Council. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Reconciliation Continues to Evade Serbia-Kosovo Relations

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – One hundred years after the end of the First World War, which was triggered by a crisis in the Balkans, peace in the region is nowhere within reach yet. This has been highlighted by a senior United Nations official in his regular briefing to the UN Security Council on November 14.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), Zahir Tanin, told the Security Council that President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia and President Hashim Thaçi of Kosovo have confirmed their "mutual intention" to continue working towards a negotiated settlement but the situation on the ground remains marred by "frequent adversarial actions," with real consequences for people on the ground.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 15 November 2018

Photo: The Kofi Annan Foundation facilitated the process of consultation and dialogue between the opposition political parties of the Democratic Republic of Congo from 9 to 11 November 2018 in Geneva. Source: Kofi Annan Foundation

Plan to Pick a Single Candidate to Defeat Kabila Implodes

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | KINSHASA (IDN) – As election day nears in the troubled Democratic Republic of the Congo, the seven leaders of the opposition seemed settled on one person to challenge the handpicked candidate of President Joseph Kabila – but differences unexpectedly arose.

The agreement to back Congolese lawmaker Martin Fayulu Madidi, facilitated by the Kofi Annan Foundation after three days of negotiations in Geneva, fell apart, with a major opposition leader going his own way. Felix Tshisekedi, head of the largest opposition party, said he was abandoning a day-old agreement to field a joint candidate in the December crucial presidential polls.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 13 November 2018

Photo: Civil society at the UN General Assembly First Committee, October 2018

Interfaith Statement Pushes for Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – Faith Communities Concerned about Nuclear Weapons – a group of diverse faith-based organizations and individuals committed to a nuclear-weapon-free world – have called for urgent action for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

"As people of faith, we advocate for the right of all people to live in security and dignity; we seek to heed the commands of conscience and the call to justice; we are united in our determination to protect the vulnerable and to exercise the stewardship that will safeguard Earth for present and future generations," says the group in the public statement submitted in October to the UN General Assembly's First Committee in New York.

: Santo D. Banerjee; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 11 November 2018

Graphic: Housing affordability is most problematic in EU cities. Credit: World Bank

'Growing Economic Divides' Trouble Europe

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS (IDN) – A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of Growing Economic Divides, which threaten to create tensions not only between the young and the old but also between employers and employees as well as between the low- and high-income earners. At the heart of the growing divides is housing, and these often play out across regions within countries, says a new World Bank report. High-productivity jobs are concentrated in metropolitan regions where housing prices are inflated and rents are high.

: Robert Johnson; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 10 November 2018

Photo: U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power meets Northern Province Governor H. M. G. S. Palihakkara at the Governor's Secretariat in Chundikuli, Jaffna, Sri Lanka on 22 November 2015. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Sri Lanka Needs a Consensus Builder – Where Have All the Leaders Gone?

Viewpoint by H.M.G.S. Palihakkara *

The author is a Sri Lankan civil servant, diplomat and former Governor of Northern Province. This article first appeared in The Island and is being republished in view of its fervent plea for 'building a culture of consensual governance'. – The Editor.

COLOMBO (IDN-INPS) – Many concerned citizens are seen to describe the current state of our Republic as being at a crossroads. It is not difficult to join this conversation, not least because the challenges involved are multiple and touch upon all strata of our national life.

: IDN-INPS Asia Editor; OPINION; 08 November 2018

Photo: Kazakh peace troops getting ready for UN mission in Lebanon. Credit: Kazakh Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.

Kazakhstan Becomes the First Central Asian Country to Join UN Peacekeeping

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – For the first time in the history of Central Asia, a peacekeeping contingent from the Republic of Kazakhstan is participating in a UN peacekeeping operation. 120 Kazakh peacekeepers have arrived in Lebanon to participate in the mission of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The peacekeeping operation will continue for 18 months.

The arrival of the Kazakh troops on October 31 brings the current number of the UNIFIL's total military strength to some 10,600 men and women from 42 countries.

: Santo D. Banerjee; CENTRAL ASIA; 05 November 2018

Photo: The Gradjet website helps government officials in least developed countries understand what it means to leave the LDC category and to plot a course for future action. It’s also aimed at the wider development community and anyone else interested in LDC graduation. Credit: Gradjet.

UN Calls for Ensuring Smooth Transition of Poorest Countries from LDC Status

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the decade 2011–2020 draws to an end and a growing number of world's most vulnerable countries are increasing national earning power and improved access to health care and education, making them eligible to exit the group of least developed countries (LDCs), the United Nations has accentuated the importance of paying increased attention to smooth transition processes, thus ensuring sustainable development and the irreversibility of graduation.

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 03 November 2018

Photo credit: Human Rights Defenders World Summit.

World Summit Pledges To Protect Human Rights Defenders

By Jamshed Baruah

PARIS (IDN) – A diverse group of 150 human rights defenders from around the world, who gathered for a three-day summit in Paris, have agreed on a landmark action plan which will be presented to the United Nations in December.

The plan focuses on how to protect and promote the work of activists fighting for rights, 20 years on from the first UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

: Jamshed Baruah; SUSTAINABILITY; Reduced Inequalities; 01 November 2018

Photo: David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Credit: UN

UN Expert Reiterates Call for Investigation of Khashoggi's Murder

NEW YORK (IDN) – David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, has reiterated the call for an "independent investigative body" to examine the case of the late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was reportedly killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. He stressed the need for a "credible statement about what actually happened."

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 24 October 2018

Photo: Yerzhan Ashikbayev, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, chairing a side event at the Kazakh Permanent Mission to the UN in New York. Source: UNODA

Kazakh Initiated Forum Underlines Importance of NWFZs

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu has expressed her "gratitude" to the Kazakhstan for their continued partnership with the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), including through a series of Nuclear Discussion Forums (NDF), now in its eighth year.

She was addressing a side event of the UN General Assembly's First Committee on October 18 at the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the United Nations. The event featured a panel discussion about Consolidating and Enhancing Cooperation among Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZs). It was chaired by Yerzhan Ashikbayev, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan.