IDN-InDepthNews

Decent Work & Economic Growth2016-11-132023-07-10

UN’s New Development Agenda Assigns a Key Role for Youth

By Rodney Reynolds

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who has continued to reiterate the key role to be played by youth in the implementation of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, points out that many young people across the world have been disproportionately affected by economic crises and recession.

“As torch bearers of the new development agenda, you have a critical role to play in ending poverty, inequality, hunger and environmental degradation. Your actions will be central in ushering in an era in which no one is left behind,” he told a gathering of youth.

UN INSIDER2016-11-132023-07-10

India Stresses Urgency of Security Council Reform

By Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York

Following are excerpts from his statement on November 7, 2016 at the current Session of the General Assembly’s Agenda Item 122: ‘Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters Related to the Security Council.’

While aligning with the statements made by St. Lucia on behalf of the L69 (a cross regional grouping of 42 developing countries from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific) and Germany on behalf of G4 (including Brazil, India and South Africa), he highlighted a few additional issues in his national capacity. Excerpts follow.

ARMAMENTS2016-11-132023-07-10

Kazakh President’s Japan Visit Focuses on Nuke-Free World

By Katsuhiro Asagiri and Ramesh Jaura

TOKYO | HIROSHIMA (IDN) – Striving for a nuclear-weapons-free world holds a special place in Kazakh-Japan relations, according to President Nursultan Nazarbayev who on November 9 visited Hiroshima that suffered U.S. atomic bombings along with Nagasaki 71 years ago.

Nazarbayev was on a three-day official visit to Japan less than two months before it joins the UN Security Council in January as its non-permanent member for two-years until the end of 2018. In the first year it would be working closely with Japan before Tokyo’s two-year term in the Council comes to a close at the end of 2017.

UN INSIDER2016-11-122023-07-10

U.S. is UN’s Founding Member, Ban Reminds Trump

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Three days after having congratulated Donald Trump on his election as forty-fifth President of the United States in a statement he read out to the press at the UN Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has in a phone call on November 12 commended the President-elect’s calls for unity – and this with apparent satisfaction.

On November 9, Ban said in a statement to the press: “In the aftermath of a hard-fought and often-divisive campaign, it is worth recalling and reaffirming that the unity in diversity of the United States is one of the country’s greatest strengths. I encourage all Americans to stay true to that spirit.”

Africa2016-11-122023-07-10

Female Taxi Drivers Take to the Roads of Dar es Salaam

By Kizito Makoye Shigela

DAR ES SALAAM (ACP-IDN) – Taxi driver Mwajuma Ramadhani adeptly steers her way through the crowded streets of the bustling Kariakoo business hub in Dar es Salaam. Suddenly, a motorcycle rider with two passengers cuts in, causing her to swerve abruptly to the right.

“You would have caused an accident had I not been careful,” she tells the rider, while he scowls at her, visibly shaken.

“I face these challenges almost every day,” says Ramadhani, hooting loudly at the rider. “I often ignore reckless riders like him. Just because it’s a woman behind the wheel, he’s trying to take advantage.”

USA and Canada2016-11-112023-07-10

Trump Win an Indictment on the Republican Party

By Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) – After an acrimonious election that lacked a dialogue on policy issues but filled with animosity and innuendo, Donald J. Trump won the presidency in a stunning upset that has surprised the whole world.

He single-handedly won the election despite the Republicans in Washington shamefully spurned the Republican nominee with disdain and contempt. Even the major media outlets jumped on the bandwagon indiscriminately bashing Trump’s every word. Even three days after elections, the media was still stirring the cesspool.

Trump’s win is not a win for the Republican Party because Americans voted to prove their absolute repugnance and distrust of the “established political order” in Washington.

Asia-Pacific2016-11-102023-07-10

Mixed Reactions in Southeast Asia To Trump Triumph

Analysis by Kalinga Seneviratne

BANGKOK (IDN) – Republican Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential elections has drawn mixed reactions. Thailand hopes that a Trump presidency will adhere to a “balanced” foreign policy, while Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia have expressed concerns that he will dismantle the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. Indonesia cautioned its citizens not to react negatively to Trump’s anti-Islamic stance and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed Trump’s victory because both are “alike”.

Climate Action2016-11-102023-07-10

After U.S. Elections, Environmentalists Vow to Keep Fighting

By A.D. McKenzie

PARIS (IDN) – As news of Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential elections spread around the world, some of the first reactions came from organisations working to combat climate change: they vowed to fight any attempts to block environmental action or the Paris Agreement.

The date of the elections, November 8, coincided with the second day of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 22) in Marrakech, Morocco, and a range of groups quickly made their positions clear.

“President-elect Donald Trump threatens our environment and we vow to fight him every step of the way,” stated Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth U.S.

Responsible Consumption & Production2016-11-102023-07-10

Thailand Takes Key Role in Cooperative Agricultural Plan to Promote SDGs

By Pratch Rujivanarom

This article is being moved with special arrangement with Thailand’s Nation newspaper

BANGKOK (IDN-INPS | The Nation) – Eight countries signed a ministerial declaration in Chiang Mai on November 6 to cooperate on improving irrigation systems among member countries to ensure food and water security.

A high-level advisory group on ‘Partnerships for Agriculture Water Management’ was established by the Chiang Mai Declaration to facilitate improved agricultural water productivity and management. It aims to ensure food security according to sustainable development goals, amid fears of water scarcity caused by climate change.

UN INSIDER2016-11-092023-07-10

UN to Step Up Implementation of 2030 Development Agenda

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – In a significant move, UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson has set up an expert team to push for implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ‘leaving no-one behind,’ ensuring human rights for all, and engaging young people.

The SDG implementation team is tasked with motivating everyone at global, regional, national, and community levels to ensure realization of the Goals.

The team is led by Special Adviser Ambassador Dessima Williams of Grenada along with experts from the UN Secretariat and secondees from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank Group, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Member States. Ambassador Macharia Kamau of Kenya will serve as the Special Envoy on SDG Implementation and Climate Change.