IDN-InDepthNews

UN INSIDER2016-08-232023-07-10

Revisiting the Humanitarian Summit and Looking Ahead

Interview with Stephen O’Brien by Africa Renewal’s Franck Kuwonu

Stephen O’Brien is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator. In May 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey, he oversaw the first-ever global humanitarian summit where representatives of 173 countries as well as NGOs, the private sector and civil society, met to chart a new path for global humanitarian assistance.

Question: What is your overall assessment of the humanitarian summit? Did the UN achieve its goals?

Answer: It really was a gathering with high energy and it exceeded all expectations; it delivered concrete outcomes. I am delighted that it has enabled us to secure the political will to move forward.

Global Goals2016-08-232023-07-10

Die weltweit ‘Großen Sechs‘ Werbeagenturen unterstützen die 2030 UN-Agenda

Von Jaya Ramachandran BERLIN | CANNES | NEW YORK (IDN) – Etwa sechs Monate bevor Ban Ki-moon seine Position nach zehn Jahren als UN-Generalsekretär verlässt, beginnen seine unermüdlichen Bemühungen, die seit Januar in vollem Gange sind, Früchte zu tragen, Führungskräfte von Vereinigungen und Unternehmer für die 2030 Agenda für nachhaltige Entwicklung zu gewinnen. Anlässlich des […]

Africa2016-08-232023-07-10

Ethiopian Silver Medallist Fears Death Back Home

NEW YORK (IDN | GIN) – Using every fibre of his being, track star Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia made a dash across the finish line at the just-ended Olympic Games in Rio but it wasn’t to be the end of his run.

Lilesa used his high profile silver medal victory to make a sign of solidarity with the Oromo people who are locked in a decades-long struggle with the government of Ethiopia. In a photograph seen worldwide, 26-year-old Lilesa stands with his arms crossed over his head – a gesture of defiance used by Oromos in recent months.

OPINION2016-08-232023-07-10

Don’t Overhype ISIS: Remember How Russians Fought Napoleon

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Politicians have it in their DNA to hype our supposed present dangers. So do journalists. So does the military-industrial complex. So do certain think tanks and university professors who depend on sounding the alarm about this and that to gain grants from foundations.

When Leon Panetta was defence secretary under President Barack Obama he was not atypical when he said that any defence cuts would undermine the military’s “ability to protect the nation” and reductions would “invite aggression”.

UN INSIDER2016-08-222023-07-10

Electing a New UN Chief: A Woman, An East European Or Who?

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Ahead of the third straw poll – an upcoming game of musical chairs – on August 29, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has made public his preference for a woman to replace him as the head of the United Nations.

“It’s high time now” for a female Secretary-General after eight men at the helm of the world organization in over 70 years, said Ban whose second term comes to an end on December 31, 2016.

“We have many distinguished and eminent women leaders in national governments or other organizations or even business communities, political communities, and cultural and every aspect of our life,” he said in an Associated Press interview on August 11. “There’s no reason why not in the United Nations.”

UN INSIDER2016-08-222023-07-10

August 29 Reminds of the UN’s Unfinished Agenda

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN (IDN) – For the seventh year in succession, the world would commemorate on August 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests, which would coincide with the 25th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test site the central Asian republic inherited from the Soviet Union in the aftermath of its breakup.

The ATOM Project initiated a global moment of silence on that day to honour all victims of nuclear weapons testing. Kazakhstan suffered more than 450 Soviet nuclear weapons tests at the Semipalatinsk site beginning August 29, 1949 and ending on that date in 1991 when the country’s first and current President Nursultan Nazarbayev, responding to a civil society campaign, shut down the site.

UN INSIDER2016-08-222023-07-10

UN Urges Independent Probe of Rights Violations in Ethiopia

By Ronald Joshua

GENEVA (IDN) – The United Nations human rights chief has voiced concern over serious human rights violations in the Oromia and Amhara regions of Ethiopia early August, and urged the Government to ensure access for independent observers to affected areas.

At least 97 people were killed and hundreds more injured when Ethiopian security forces fired live bullets at peaceful protesters across Oromia region and in parts of Amhara over the weekend of August 6-8, according to credible sources who spoke to Amnesty International.

Peace & Security2016-08-212023-07-10

Light Installation and Cinema for Peace Screenings in Rio

By Courtesy of Cinema for Peace Foundation

RIO DE JANEIRO (IDN-INPS) – The Olympics should have been a time of peace, but the world was at war. There were 19 wars and 16 war-like conflicts in the world during the Olympic Games. Overall, there are 409 conflicts, of which 223 are violent.

To shine a light on conflicts and to endorse the peaceful ideals of Olympic Games the initiative Sports for Peace, who hosted at the London Olympics Muhammad Ali’s farewell, presented the ‘Olympic Ideal of Peace’ light installation in the Santa Marta Favela in Rio.

OPINION2016-08-212023-07-10

Europe Must Protect Europeans and Palestinian Civil Society

Viewpoint by Dr. Saeb Erekat*

JERICHO (IDN | PNN) – Israeli government officials have announced further measures against nonviolent actions by civil society. During the First Intifada, the Israeli occupation authorities deported non-violent activists and tried to prevent any peaceful demonstration against the imposed and oppressive policies.

Nowadays, Israel, with some international support, is trying to quash a growing solidarity movement with the Palestinian cause for freedom and independence.

UN INSIDER2016-08-202023-07-10

Somalia Urged to Follow Timeline for Democratic Governance

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the ancient proverb goes, “there is many a slip between the cup and the lip”, but if Somalia – often described as a ‘failed state’ – abides by the postponed timeline for this year’s parliamentary and presidential elections, the United Nations would have reason to record success in a long-winded process.

The United Nations Security Council’s 15 members in their meeting on August 19 adopted the Presidential Statement applauding the progress under way for the last four years, and underscored “the need to maintain the momentum towards democratic governance, with an inclusive, transparent and credible electoral process in 2016 as a stepping stone to universal suffrage elections in 2020”.