UN Insider

Photo: Bangladesh. Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar to safety in Cox's Bazar. Credit: UNHCR/Santiago Escobar-Jaramillo

Rohingya Refugees Remain in A Perilous Situation

Viewpoint by Vincent Auger*

United Nations aid agencies and partners launched an appeal on February 15 to raise $920 million to assist more than 900,000 refugees from Myanmar and the more than 330,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis hosting them.

MACOMB, Illinois, USA (IDN-INPS) – Eighteen months after being driven from their homes in Myanmar by what UN officials described as a campaign of genocidal violence by the military, the situation facing Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh remains perilous. Hundreds of thousands of people live in camps (the camp in Kutupalong alone houses more than 600,000 people), relying on aid from the World Food Program and help from the government of Bangladesh.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 16 February 2019

UN Fights Back but Not Immune to Cyberattacks

By Erol Avdovic

This article is the second in a series of WebPublicaPress Online Magazine's analyses being published by IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – When in United Nations headquarters, be careful what you say over your phone or communicate in your e-mails. The chances are you are being listened to, read or watched without your consent. More so if you are a diplomat, but you can also be a person of interest if you are a journalist.

Several UN colleagues, including two presidents of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) have complained about their e-mails being hacked.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 15 February 2019

Photo: Numbers of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean may have dropped in 2018, but at a heavy human cost. Source: MSF Sea.

Europe’s Invisible Wall Whets Human Trafficking

By Klara Smits

BRUSSELS (IDN) – After his visit to Austria, Libya’s foreign minister Mohammed Sayala told the Kuwaiti News Agency on January 31 that Libya’s southern borders have now become Europe’s borders. Illegal migration could not be stopped at the Mediterranean Sea, he argued. Therefore, he promised that on the February 20, Libya will present the EU with a policy to cooperate on ‘protecting’ those southern borders. The plan will also include border agreements with Chad, Niger and Sudan.

: Klara Smits; THE WORLD; Middle East; 14 February 2019

Photo: African First Ladies. Credit: African Union Commission.

Africa's First Ladies Launch Strategy to Promote Health

By Ronald Joshua

ADDIS ABABA (IDN) – The Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) has launched a New Strategic Plan (2019-2023) which envisions “a developed Africa with healthy and empowered children, youth and women”. The plan will make a significant contribution to the health and well-being of children, youth and women in Africa.

OAFLAD, which traces its roots to the Organization of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA), has officially announced its new name – OAFLAD – during the 22nd Ordinary General Assembly in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia.

: Ronald Joshua; THE WORLD; Africa; 13 February 2019

Photo: Euro-Asian Regional Midterm Review participants. Credit: UNESCAP

Bangkok Meeting Reviews Programme of Action for LLDCs

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK | BANGKOK (IDN) – Lack of territorial access to the sea, isolation and remoteness from world markets impose constraints on trade competitiveness of the 32 landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and their overall socio-economic development.

In addition to the geographical impediments, LLDCs face challenges linked to high trade and transport costs, limited or low-quality infrastructure, delays at borders, bottlenecks related to customs procedures and border crossing regulations, and productivity constraints.

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 12 February 2019

Photo: José David Dominguez, 9 years old, is accompanied by his mother, Yenni Dominguez, to get his vaccine at UNICEF's health point in Ipiales, Colombia. UNICEF has launched a regional response effort to support Venezuelan children and families, as well as children in host communities. © UNICEF/UN0253234/Moreno Gonza.

UN Committed to Providing Humanitarian Aid to Venezuelans

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – In view of the increasingly critical situation for ordinary Venezuelans, the United Nations remains committed to providing humanitarian support, based on “need, and need alone”, according to a senior aid official.

But the oil-rich country is not only suffering from food and medical shortages. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) noted that dozens of opposition politicians continue to face ongoing harassment in the South American country.

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 11 February 2019

Photo: Signatories oft he Montevideo Mechanism. Credit: CARICOM.

'Montevideo Mechanism' Seeks to Resolve Venezuela Crisis

By Rodrigo Pérez

MONTEVIDEO (IDN) – The United Nations is willing to bring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido together for "serious negotiations" at their request, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said during a press conference at the 32nd African Union summit on February 10 at Addis Ababa. Ethiopia.

Earlier, the spokesman for Guterres, Stéphane Dujarric, said that the UN Chief "supports the efforts of the international community that will help find a political solution" to the situation in Venezuela.

: Rodrigo Pérez; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 11 February 2019

Photo: Caribbean Leaders with the UNGA President María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (centre). Credit: Twitter @UN_PGA

CARICOM Alerts UN As Situation Escalates In Venezuela

By J C Suresh

TORONTO (IDN) – With the Venezuelan crisis worsening on its doorsteps, the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has been at pains to prevent the situation in the Bolivarian Republic taking a sharp turn for the worst.

It has censured the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) Luis Leonardo Almagro on his “unilateral” stance in accepting Juan Guaido as interim president of Venezuela, according to a report by the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 11 February 2019

Photo: Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced 2019 as the year of youth. Credit: assembly.kz

Year of The Youth 2019 Stirs Up Kazakhs

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK | ASTANA (IDN) – "Today, there are about 300 million young people aged 18 to 30 years in the world who do not have a permanent job or are unemployed," said Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev officially launching in Astana, the capital city, '2019 the Year of the Youth' that focuses on housing, employment and adequate education for young people.

Similar to the 'Youth 2030: The United Nations Youth Strategy', initiated by UN Secretary-General António Guterres at a high-level event of the 73rd session of the General Assembly in September 2018, the Year of the Youth aims at meeting young people’s needs, and recognises their positive contributions as agents of change.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 07 February 2019

Photo: UN Secretary-General António Guterres on his priorities for 2019 at the Press Conference on 18 January 2019 in New York. Credit: UN Web TV.

UN Chief Careful Not to Finger Point Any Of The P-5

By Erol Avdovic

This article is the first in a series of WebPublicaPress Online Magazine's analyses being published by IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Where there is no leadership and vision, the people perish – it's an old saying in different languages around the world.

“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant,” said Max DePree, an American writer and businessman of the 20th century.

At the United Nations, the leadership credo has always been: do not antagonize the Permanent Five (P-5) Members of the 15-nation UN Security Council – USA, China, Russia, United Kingdom, and France. And, as Secretary-General strive your utmost to become the superman of political correctness.