United Nations

Photo: Destruction at the World Heritage site of Palmyra in Syria (file). Credit: UNESCO

UN Security Council Resolves To Protect Cultural Heritage

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The destruction of landmarks such as the Buddhas of Bamiyan, the Roman monuments in Palmyra, or shrines and mosques in Tikrit and Mosul are reprehensible attempts to erase history, says Yury Fedotov, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

But the destruction and looting are also generating profits for terrorists through trafficking, carried out in collusion with organized crime groups. Those profits fund further acts of terrorism, and enable yet more destruction and looting of cultural sites and archaeological treasures, Fedotov told the United Nations Security Council.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 25 March 2017

Photo: After examining 114 project proposals submitted by local organizations in developing countries, the 61st Meeting of the IPDC Bureau in Paris approved 45 new projects in the week beginning March 20. Credit: UNESCO

Making Journalism King of Informational Content Online

By Fackson Banda

Fackson Banda is Programme Specialist in the Bureau of UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC).

PARIS (IDN) - As social media expands, journalism is more special than ever: This is the conviction expressed by participants at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) colloquium, aptly titled ‘Journalism under fire: challenges of our times’.

The event took place on March 23, a day after the bureau of UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) wound up its 61st meeting, having approved support for almost 50 media projects especially in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 24 March 2017

Photo: The competition for the leadership of the World Health Organization is now down to three (left to right): Britain’s David Nabarro; Pakistan’s Sania Nishtar; and Ethiopia’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Source: devex | UN and the World Economic Forum.

Challenges and Opportunities for the Next WHO Chief

By Germán Velásquez*

GENEVA (IDN-INPS) - The World Health Organization (WHO) is in the most critical crossroad of its history but actions can and should be taken, to ensure its public health mission. This is the challenge for the new Director-General to be elected in May 2017.

This year is the last year of the mandate of the current Director-General, Margaret Chan, who fought for 9 years, to maintain a public agenda for the organization, that a small group of industrialized countries and philanthropic foundations had difficulty in accepting and supporting.

: South Centre; UN INSIDER; 17 March 2017

Wanted Constructive Impatience for Change in Women's Status

By Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

Following are excerpts from the opening statement on March 13 by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women for the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) - The Commission concerns itself with the status of women. It reviews the progress made by women and girls, and assesses the remaining challenges. It is a barometer of the progress we are making on achieving a world that is free of gender discrimination and inequality, a world that leaves no-one behind. It will help us measure achievement of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It also helps us to pursue action in priority areas and benefits from the Commission’s Agreed Conclusions.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 14 March 2017

Photo: The AK-47, the most ubiquitous automatic weapon in the world. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Central African Convention on Small Arms Enters into Force

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – A new Convention purported to fight against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in small arms and light weapons in Central Africa entered into force on March 8, according to the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) / Department of Political Affairs (UNDPA).

Known as the Central African Convention for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunition and all Parts and Components that can be used for their Manufacture, Repair and Assembly (Kinshasa Convention), it complements and reinforces the existing regional and global framework comprising, among others, the Arms Trade Treaty, the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), and its Firearms Protocol.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Conventional Arms; 13 March 2017

Photo: Delegates attending the Global Festival of Ideas for Sustainable Development form the SDG wheel at the World Conference Center (WCC) in Bonn, Germany. Credit: photothek/Ina Fassbender

UN's 1st 'Playable' Policy Conference on Global Development

By Rita Joshi

BERLIN | BONN (IDN) – Inspired by innovative and forward-looking concepts, the Global Festival of Ideas for Sustainable Development, the first in a series of annual forums to help achieve the United Nations-led Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) wrapped up in the German city of Bonn after intensive debates and 'game playing' on March 3.

The UN conference aiming to chart a new way of thinking on addressing some of the world’s most complex development challenges was hosted by the UN SDG Action Campaign in partnership with the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) with the support of the German Government. It was the world body’s first ever ‘playable’ policy conference.

: Rita Joshi; UN INSIDER; 04 March 2017

Photo: Young people demand a seat at the table of UN climate change negotiations. Credit: UNA-UK

Listen to the People, UN Urged

By Phil Harris

ROME (IDN) – Civil society advocates from around the world are urging newly-appointed UN Secretary-General António Guterres to be a “champion for civil society and take concrete steps to build a more inclusive United Nations”.

In a new report entitled Strengthening Civil Society Engagement with the United Nations, four of the founding members of the 1 for 7 Billion campaign – which led calls for the United Nations to reform the selection process for one of the world's most important jobs – have collected a range of proposals from its global network of civil society organisations on how this could be achieved.

: Phil Harris; UN INSIDER; 03 March 2017

Photo: Miroslav Jenca describes Kazakhstan "an important global actor on several issues of significance to the maintenance of peace and security" as Ambassador Kairat Umarov, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Nations in New York, looks on. Credit: Kazakh Permanent Mission.

2030 Agenda A Roadmap For Conflict Prevention

By Miroslav Jenča

Miroslav Jenča is UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs. Following are his keynote remarks originally delivered on February 17, 2017 at a working luncheon at the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the UN in New York under the title 'Political and Economic Reforms: Steps in implementing SDG 16'.

NEW YORK (IDN) - More than 150 world leaders came together in New York in September 2015 and adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – a historic pledge to end poverty, hunger and inequality; take action on climate change and the environment; ensure inclusive access to health and education; promote sustainable economic growth for all; and build inclusive, just and peaceful institutions and societies. As we survey the world today – inundated with conflict, crisis and turmoil – delivering on the promises of the 2030 Agenda has greater urgency than ever.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 28 February 2017

Photo: Ambassador Reza Najafi, Iran's Permanent Representative to the UN in Vienna.

Iran Appointed as G-77 Chair at the UN in Vienna

VIENNA (IDN) – Iran's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna has been appointed by consensus as the chairman of the Group of 77 (G-77), for a one-year term.

Reza Najafi, the country's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Permanent Representative to the UN in the Austrian capital, took over charge from Namibia's Permanent Representative Simon Madjumo Maruta at a ceremony on February 24, 2017.

Ambassador Najafi is the second representative of Iran to head the G-77 in Vienna since 2011. In his remarks he stressed the importance of G-77 within and outside the UN as the largest coalition of meanwhile 134 developing nations in the United Nations.

: IDN-INPS Middle East & Africa Editor; UN INSIDER; 25 February 2017

Photo: UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa. Credit, UNFCCC

The Climate Change Story Is a Security Story

By Patricia Espinosa, UNFCCC Executive Secretary

Note: Following are excerpts from opening address on February 18 at a discussion on human security and climate security by the UN’s top climate change official at the annual Munich Security Conference 2017, in which she called for a reframing climate change as a “security story”, given its far-ranging implications for global peace and stability. For full text please click here.

BERLIN (IDN-INPS) - Climate change is a security issue. Our current refugee crisis, when seen through the lens of climate change, brings this into sharp focus. And the security community, which is renowned and revered for their ability to assess and address future threats, understands that our current crisis pales in comparison to what is coming if climate change is left unchecked.