UN Insider

Photo: The “Non-Violence” (or “Knotted Gun”) sculpture by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd on display at the UN Visitors' Plaza. Credit: UN

A Call To 'Action Now' On United Nations Disarmament Agenda

By A.L.A. Azeez

The writer is Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva. While analysing the UN Secretary-General António Guterres' new disarmament agenda entitled, Securing Our Common Future, Ambassador Azeez calls for" the increased availability of disarmament education and fellowship opportunities" to make up for the loss of a generation of professionals and experts in many countries, resulting from "the inaction or lack of progress in disarmament over two decades.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 18 June 2018

Photo: François Loucény Fall, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), briefs the Security Council on the situation in the Central African region. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Kazakhstan Pleads For Coordinated International Response To Security Challenges In Central Africa

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – Underlining interest in cross-border security challenges in Central Africa, as during UN Security Council presidency at the beginning of the year, Kazakhstan has stressed the importance of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), its work in the field of preventive diplomacy and mediation, as well as the support it provides to regional and sub-regional organizations in achieving durable and long-term peace.

Kazakhstan is the first Central Asian country to have been elected to the Security Council as a non-permanent member for the two-year period 2017-2018. Beginning of 2018, Indonesia will step in its toes on behalf of the Asia-Pacific region.

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 17 June 2018

Photo: Ulaanbaatar Forum participants engaged in discussion during a break. Credit: Blue Banner.

Ulaanbaatar Forum Pleads For Denuclearization Leading To Korean Unification

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | ULAANBAATAR (IDN) – Korean Unification has not been at the heart of a growing thaw in inter-Korean relations. But it was the centerpiece of the International Forum in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Entitled 'Korean Unification through Reduction of Tension and Confidence Building', the Forum on June 7-8, 2018 adopted a Statement drawing attention to "the centenary of the Korean Independence Movement" in 2019 and supporting "the goal of peaceful unification of the Korean people."

The Korean Declaration of Independence read out aloud on March 1, 1919 at Taehwagwan Restaurant in Seoul said: "We herewith proclaim the independence of Korea and the liberty of the Korean people. This we proclaim to all the nations of the world in witness of human equality. This we proclaim to our descendants so that they may enjoy in perpetuity their inherent right to nationhood."

: Ramesh Jaura; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 17 June 2018

Photo: Kim and Trump walking to the summit room during the DPRK–USA Singapore Summit on June 12, 2018. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Substance Eludes Kim-Trump Historic Summit

By Sergio Duarte

The writer is Ambassador, former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, and President of Pugwash.

NEW YORK (IDN) – The off-again, on-again meeting between President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un which finally took place in Singapore on June 12 was undoubtedly an historic occasion. However, a sober analysis of its outcome can hardly conclude that it was either a success or a failure. Even so, the mere fact that after several weeks of mutual provocations and derogatory exchanges the two leaders agreed to meet in a cordial, almost congenial atmosphere is in itself an auspicious achievement.

: Sergio Duarte; OPINION; 16 June 2018

Photo: Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, to be seen in the middle. Danielle Bell, head of UNAMA Human Rights, presenting the report.

UN Report Faults Access to Justice of Afghan Women

By Devinder Kumar

NEW DELHI | KABUL (IDN) – Though a law on the elimination of violence against women has been in place in Afghanistan since 2009, Afghan women’s access to justice remains severely inadequate, says a new report released by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Entitled Injustice and Impunity: Mediation of Criminal Offences of Violence against Women, the report documents the individual experiences of Afghan women, survivors of violence across the country, between August 2015 and December 2017, and identifies the human rights implications of the widespread use of mediation in cases of violence against women.

: Devinder Kumar; UN INSIDER; 16 June 2018

You Can Help Achieve Zero Land Degradation

By Monique Barbut

The writer is Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, and the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCDD) based in Bonn, Germany. This viewpoint underlines the importance of June 17 that marks every year the celebration of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (WDCD). – The Editor.

BONN (IDN) – Are you overwhelmed by the depressing news coming at you daily? Conflict, forced migrants, famine, floods, hurricanes, extinction of species, climate change, threats of war … a seemingly endless list. It might surprise you, but you can really make a difference on many of these issues.

Just like every raindrop counts towards a river and every vote counts in an election, so does every choice you make in what you consume. With every produce you consume, you strengthen the river of sustainability or of unsustainability. It is either a vote in favor of policies that spread 'social goods' like peace and poverty eradication or 'social bads' like – conflict or grinding poverty.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 15 June 2018

Photo: María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ecuador and President-elect of the General Assembly’s 73rd session, speaks to journalists following her election by the Assembly. 5 June 2018. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Manuel Elias.

UN General Assembly Elects Fourth Woman As President In More Than Seven Decades

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – In its more than seven-decades-long history, the UN General Assembly has elected only the fourth woman to helm the 193-member organ. Ecuador's María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, a former Minister for National Defence, is President of the 73rd session of the General Assembly, which opens on September 18.

Her woman predecessors as General Assembly presidents were: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit of India (1953-1954), Angie Elisabeth Brooks of Liberia (1969-1970), and Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain (2006-2007).

Espinosa received 128 votes, surpassing the required simple majority of 96. The only other candidate, Mary Elizabeth Flores Flake of Honduras, received 62 votes.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 11 June 2018

Photo: Wide view of the Security Council chamber as Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland and President of the Security Council for the month of May 2018, chairs the Security Council meeting on the maintenance of international peace and security, with a focus on upholding international law within the context. 17 May 2018. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Manuel Elias.

Kazakhstan Reaffirms Willingness to Assist in the Maintenance of Peace and Security

By Marat Beketayev, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The UN Security Council organized on 17 May 2018 a High-Level Open Debate on "Maintenance of international peace and security: Upholding international law within the context of the maintenance of international peace and security," reflecting the purposes of United Nations as spelt out in Article 1 of the UN Charter. Following are extensive excerpts from the draft statement by the Kazakh Minister of Justice who stressed: "Kazakhstan considers this to be a very timely and valuable debate". Engaging in such reflection is the sign of a healthy institution with strong and far-sighted leadership, and we congratulate Poland on providing such leadership during its time in the chair. – The Editor.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 11 June 2018

Photo: First Anniversary Commemoration of the India-UN Development Partnership Fund. Credit: UNOSSC

UN Chief Lauds India for Deepening South-South Cooperation

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – UN Secretary‑General António Guterres has commended India's "very important role in shaping the Sustainable Development Goals". He was speaking at an event marking the first anniversary of the India‑United Nations Development Partnership Fund in New York.

The Fund aims at supporting sustainable development for low-income nations with 22 projects having already been approved in 25 partner countries ranging from hurricane rehabilitation and climate early warning system to government accountability and agriculture.

: Santo D. Banerjee; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 10 June 2018

Photo: Eritreans fleeing the country first have to risk their lives crossing the border, whose guards are authorised to shoot on sight. Those who try to reach Israel must cross the Sinai Peninsula. Many don’t make it. Credit: Gan-Shmuel archive

Security Council Backs Dutch Sanctions Against Eritrean and Libyan Traffickers

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – For the first time ever, the UN Security Council has put human traffickers on an international sanctions list by imposing sanctions on six leaders operating networks in Libya. Four are Libyans, including the head of a regional coast guard unit, and two Eritrean nationals.

By resolution 1970 (2011) and resolution 1973 (2011), the Security Council decided to impose individual targeted sanctions (a travel ban on individuals and an assets freeze on individuals and entities, as listed in the Annexes to the resolutions or designated by the Council's special Committee).