IDN-InDepthNews

News for a Sustainable World, Peace and Security

IDN-InDepthNews
UN INSIDER

Steiner’s Choice as UNDP Chief Is a Big Deal for Germany

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – The appointment of Achim Steiner as head of the prestigious United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is of profound significance for the German government, which declared its candidacy in 2016 for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the 2019‑2020 two-year term.

The announcement of Steiner’s selection came amid unconfirmed reports that UN Secretary-General António Guterres wishes to appoint former German President Horst Köhler, a vocal advocate of Europe-Africa relations, as his personal envoy on Western Sahara. a disputed and partially Moroccan-occupied territory in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963.

Asia-Pacific

Bangladesh Takes Backward Step over Child Marriage but Fight Continues

By Naimul Haq

BHOLA, Bangladesh (IDN) – In Bangladesh, as in many other parts of the developing world, the barbaric practice of underage marriage is still widespread.

Now, in what Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called a “devastating step backward for the fight against child marriage”, the Bangladesh government has approved a controversial provision allowing child marriages under “special circumstances”.

The ‘Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2017’, passed on February 27, defines any marriage involving one or both parties below the legal age (21 for boys and 18 for girls) as ‘child marriage’, and recognises that girls under the age of 18 can be married off with permission from their parents and a court in undefined special circumstances, without specifying a minimum age.

EU & Europe

UN’s First Female Force Commander Talks Gender Equality in the Military

By Shana L. Childs* | Reproduced courtesy of PassBlue

NEW YORK (IDN | Passblue) – Maj. Gen. Kristin Lund made history in 2014 when she was appointed the first female force commander of a United Nations peacekeeping mission – in this case, Cyprus. Still in active duty in the Norwegian military, General Lund, 58, gives lectures and advises the Norwegian Defense University College in Oslo. Although she is proud to have made history and wants to see more women in the world’s militaries, General Lund has no silver bullets for peace.

UN INSIDER

U.S. Accused of ‘Blithely Ignoring’ NPT Obligations

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – Veterans For Peace (VFP) has strongly criticised the U.S. refusal to take part in negotiations at the United Nations to ban nuclear weapons and accused it of “efforts to derail the ongoing” talks to “reach an agreement on a treaty to ban nuclear weapons.”

VFP believes that it would be “diplomatically more prudent” to use the UN talks “as an opportunity to engage Iran and North Korea in discussions to determine if there is some common ground on which to proceed and lessen tensions in the Middle East and the Far East.”

UN INSIDER

Why Spending 30 Dollars a Year on Each Adolescent Is Essential

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Less than 30 dollars spent per person per year can work wonders for adolescent health and education, finds a new study commissioned by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

The report has been published in The Lancet on the eve of the World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington D.C. from April 21 to April 23, 2017, where finance and development leaders from 188 countries were slated to discuss the critical need to invest in adolescents.

The Lancet is an independent, international general medical journal purported to make science widely available so that medicine can serve, and transform society, and positively impact the lives of people.

Asia-Pacific

Western Remedies for Sri Lanka’s ills: Lessons From History

By Dr Palitha Kohona

Dr Palitha Kohona is former Ambassador & Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York. This article first appeared in Ceylon Today on March 19, 2017 and is being reproduced courtesy of the daily newspaper. – The Editor

COLOMBO (IDN-INPS) — Sri Lanka commemorated a dark day in its long and proud history last month. We recalled the cession of our sovereignty to King George III of Britain following the signature of the Kandyan Convention on March 2/3, 1815 in the historic Audience Hall.

On March 1, 2017, in the same Audience Hall, President Sirisena made the much belated pronouncement to remove from the list of traitors in the government Gazette those who valiantly but vainly struggled against the troops of George III three years later to recover the sovereignty that we had lost through a combination of factors well beyond our control.

UN INSIDER

Haley’s ‘Historic’ Human Rights Debate Left a Small Impression

By Dulcie Leimbach* | Reproduced courtesy of PassBlue

NEW YORK (IDN | Passblue) – Nikki Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, presided over what she was determined to sell as “an historic meeting exclusively on human rights” in the UN Security Council. But her brief speech in the April 18 meeting fell far short of introducing innovations to confront violations of human rights or prevent them in such places as Syria, Burundi and Myanmar.

“If this Council fails to take human rights violations and abuses seriously, they can escalate into real threats to international peace and security,” Haley began. “The Security Council cannot continue to be silent when we see widespread violations of human rights.

Africa

Combating Aflatoxins to Curb Africa’s Post-Harvest Losses

By Justus Wanzala

NAIROBI (ACP-IDN) – Forty percent of the food produced in Africa is lost, largely due to poor product handling, storage and processing practices, with aflatoxins often responsible for much of this loss in the post-harvest phase.

Aflatoxins are poisonous and cancer-causing chemical produced by certain moulds (Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus) which grow in soil, decaying vegetation, hay and grains.

At the 1st All Africa Post-Harvest Congress held in Nairobi from March 28 -31 to tackle the problem of post-harvest food losses in Africa, ‘aflatoxin management, food safety and nutrition’ was one of the issues on the agenda, with experts calling for improved post-harvest handling of food.

Africa

Tipoff Leads Anti-graft Swat Team to Recover Bundles of Cash

By Global Information Network

NEW YORK | LAGOS (IDN) – Neatly-bound bundles of fresh U.S. dollars, Nigerian naira and British pounds totalling over $50 million were recovered by an anti-graft “swat team” in a raid at the Osborne Towers, a luxury building in an upscale section of Lagos.

The raid was orchestrated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) acting on a new policy targeting corruption and ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari. The policy provides an incentive for whistle-blowers who stand to receive between 2.5 and 5 percent of the recovered amount when ill-gotten gains are found.

NEWSBRIEFS

France Pays a ‘Debt of Blood’ to African Vets from WW II

By Global Information Network

NEW YORK | PARIS (IDN) – Fifty years after over a million Africans fought and thousands died for France during the ferocious battles against the Hitler regime in World War II (1939-1945), French President Francois Hollande has given citizenship and full pensions to African survivors of that war and other conflicts.

In a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris on April 18, the veterans – aged between 79 and 90 – received their new certificates of citizenship. Hollande said France owed them “a debt of blood”.

“France is proud to welcome you, just as you were proud to carry its flag, the flag of freedom,” the President told a group of 28 surviving vets.

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