VIENNA (IDN) – Political will and multilateral diplomacy marked a milestone as U.S. President Barack Obama revoked a 20-year system of sanctions against Iran and Federica Mogherini, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and a Council member of the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND), announced the lifting of EU economic blockade against Tehran on January 16.
UN Chief Lauds G77 As Thailand Takes The Chair From South Africa
NEW YORK (IDN) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended the role played by ‘Group of 77’ (G77) developing countries and China, comprising 134 out of 193 member states of the United Nations, “in cementing historic 2015 successes”, as South Africa handed over Chair to Thailand on January 12.
At the handover ceremony of the Group’s Chairmanship, Ban expressed appreciation for South Africa’s “able stewardship as the Chair of the Group of 77 and China throughout such a historic year for multilateralism”, and warmly welcomed Thailand’s leadership.
UN General Assembly Down The Memory Lane
NEW YORK – Marking the 70th anniversary of the first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on 11 January 2016, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the body has truly become the “Parliament for all people.”
In fact, before there was a UN Secretary-General, a Security Council or an iconic Headquarters in New York, there was the General Assembly, the most representative body ever of world nations, meeting for the first time in a London hall facing Westminster Abbey, the 1,000-year-old coronation site of Britain’s kings and queens.
South Centre Pleads for Cooperation Between WIPO and UN Agencies
The South Centre pleaded for a new strategic framework for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) with strategic goals aligned to those of the broader UN system in the following statement delivered to the 2015 World Intellectual Property Organization Assemblies held at its headquarters in Geneva on 5-14 October 2015.
UN Sees Key Role for Women in Post-2015 Development Agenda
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – The United Nations, which has launched an intense world-wide campaign to ensure the full implementation of its post-2015 development agenda, is unequivocal in asserting that gender equality and women’s empowerment are indispensable to the realization of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders last September.
And Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is emphatic in his resounding political message: the world will never achieve 100 percent of its development goals until and unless 50 percent of its people — namely women—are treated “as full and equal participants in all realms.”
Reaffirming this message, Assistant Secretary-General Lakshmi Puri, deputy executive director of UN Women, told IPS gender equality and women’s empowerment are indispensable to the realization of sustainable development. SPANISH | GERMAN | HINDI | JAPANESE
UN Sees Opening For Women in Political Space in Saudi Arabia
NEW YORK (INPS) – Saudi women were able to cast votes and run for seats in municipal elections for the first time in Saudi Arabia, representing an opening for women in the political space. This is the latest in a series of steps the Kingdom has taken toward women’s rights, following the 2013 decision of the late ruler of Saudi Arabia His Highness King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz Al Saud to grant 30 seats to women in the Shura Council.
Study Unveils How Big Philanthropy Shapes Development Agenda
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Global development policy is being increasingly influenced not only by “big business” but also by “big philanthropy”, warns a new study released here.
“They have become influential actors in international policy debates, including, most importantly, how to address poverty eradication, sustainable development, climate change and the protection of human rights”. SPANISH | GERMAN | HINDI | JAPANESE
79-Nation African, Pacific and Caribbean States Welcome COP21 Agreement
BERLIN (IDN) – The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group has welcomed the Climate Change Paris Agreement on December 12. “It is a major step forward; it has reinforced the core issues around which the ACP joined forces with the EU,” said the 79-nation Group’s Secretary-General Dr. Patrick Gomes.
Paris Climate Agreement Promises to be UN Chief’s Legacy
NEW YORK | PARIS (IDN) – Ban Ki-moon has reason to be sure that when he completes his second term as the Secretary-General of the United Nations end of December 2016, he would have left behind a proud legacy.
Climate change has been “one of the defining priorities” of his tenure since January 2007, when he took over as Secretary-General. In his remarks at the closing of COP21, Ban stressed: “Over the past nine years, I have spoken repeatedly with nearly every world leader. I have visited the climate front lines, from the Arctic to Antarctica and to the Amazon, from the Sahel to the Aral Sea. I have been to Pacific Islands that are sinking under the waves.”
First Ever UN Security Council Resolution on Youth, Peace and Security
NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations Security Council has adopted a resolution on youth, peace and security, which for the first time in its history focuses entirely on the role of young men and women in peace-building and countering violent extremism.
The resolution, sponsored by Jordan, embodies an unprecedented acknowledgment of the urgent need to engage young peace-builders in promoting peace and frustrating extremism. Adopted on December 9, 2015 it also regards the youth and youth-led organizations as important partners in the global efforts to thwart violent extremism and promote lasting peace.