By Kalinga Seneviratne KHAOSAN, Bangkok (IDN) – When people talk about sustainable development there is rarely any mention of the many street vendors who make a living on streets in Thailand, as across the rest of Asia. Even attempts to stop them doing business – like the unsuccessful year-long attempt by the governor of Bangkok […]
Changing the Narrative on Violence Against Women at Home
By Helen Hemblade* This is the seventh in a series of reports on the Vienna UN Conference from January 10-12, 2018, which discussed actions and challenges linked to the Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) and in the spirit of SDG 17. The Vienna Liaison Office of the Academic Council on the United Nations System […]
Women Are Being Left Behind in Spite of UN Pledge
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Two and a half years after the international community adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which pledged not to leave any one behind, women around the world are faced with stark inequalities and grave challenges, says a new report by UN Women, the United Nations Entity for […]
No Harm to be Polite When Dealing with North Korea
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – How rude can you get? The US vice-president, Mike Pence, sitting one row in front of the sister of the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un refused to turn round and say hi. She was one outstretched arm away from him. For the whole of the opening […]
UN-Habitat and ACP Partner to Ameliorate Urban Poverty
By Dr Patrick I. Gomes, ACP Secretary-General The following is a slightly modified abridged version of the text of the video message by ACP Secretary General to the 9th World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 8-9 February 2018 at the launch of Phase III of the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme (PSUP). Launched in […]
UK Aid Groups Face Inquiry Over Sex Abuse In Poor Countries
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Revelations that the renowned emergency aid group, Oxfam International, failed to catch rogue aid workers who hired prostitutes for sex orgies in Haiti and Chad, have shaken the aid community in the UK and the U.S. According to a blistering new expose in The Times […]
Transforming Risks on the Korean Peninsula into Stable Peace in Northeast Asia
By Katsuhiro Asagiri TOKYO (IDN) – ‘Building Stable Peace in Northeast Asia: Managing and Transforming Risks on the Korean Peninsula’ was the subject of a colloquium in which regional experts on peace and security, policy makers and civil society organizations from the United States, China, South Korea and Japan participated against the backdrop of a […]
Kick Off To A Nuclear Race Threatening Doomsday
By Sergio Duarte The writer is President of the 1995 Nobel Peace Laureate Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and a former Ambassador of Brazil who served in key posts. He was President of the 2005 Seventh Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and UN […]
UN Agency in Talks with Israel on African Asylum Seekers
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | TEL AVIV (IDN) – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is negotiating with Israel to resettle a portion of African asylum seekers in third countries deemed by the UN to be “safe,” perhaps including Western countries, in exchange for some of the refugees to be given permanent residency in Israel, according […]
One Belt One Road – A Unique Opportunity For Sri Lanka
Viewpoint by Dr Palitha Kohona The writer is former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations. The following are extracts from remarks he recently made at the Rotary Club Colombo West luncheon. – The Editor COLOMBO (IDN) – President Xi Jinping’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, unveiled in 2013, provides […]