UN Insider

Photo: The Security Council unanimously adopts resolution 2397 (2017), condemning in the strongest terms the ballistic missile launch conducted by the DPRK on 28 November 2017 in violation and flagrant disregard of the Security Council's resolutions on non-proliferation. UN Photo/Manuel Elias

UN Chief Expects New Sanctions To Help Make 2018 'A Pivotal Year' for the Korean Peninsula

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres desires to make 2018 "a pivotal year" for the achievement of sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula.

In a statement attributable to his spokesperson, following the adoption of a new Security Council resolution (UNSCR 2397), he said: "The only way forward for a comprehensive peaceful and political solution requires de-escalation and open communication channels, now."

The resolution was approved on December 22 in response to the latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), widely known as North Korea, on November 28.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 26 December 2017

Photo: United Nations General Assembly hall in New York City. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Proposed Cuts in UN Budget Worry Civil Society and NGOs

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Civil society and non-governmental organizations have expressed "deep concern" over the proposals for substantial cuts to the United Nations (UN) biennial budget for 2018-2019.

Known for their longstanding support for the UN, the organizers of NGO dialogues and international cooperation met in New York and Geneva to discuss the financing of the UN and "the perils and challenges of a shrinking UN budget".

In a letter to the Chair of the General Assembly's Administrative and Budgetary Committee, known as the Fifth Committee, they have urged Member States to resist the anticipated cuts and to affirm the importance of a budget that can adequately support the UN and its vital work for peace, development, climate, human rights and social justice.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 24 December 2017

Photo: Women planting to combat desertification. Credit: UNCCD

Launch of the Fund to Fight Desertification a Key Achievement

By Rita Joshi

BONN (IDN) – The official launch of the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Fund is an outstanding achievement for the United Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 2017. It is a first-of-its-kind investment vehicle leveraging public sector funds to raise private sector capital for sustainable land management and landscape restoration activities worldwide.

It was launched during the thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD (COP13) held in Ordos, China, in September 2017, which adopted 36 decisions and one resolution, including the new UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework with an initial target size of USD 100 million.

: Rita Joshi; UN INSIDER; 24 December 2017

Photo: Fekitamoeloa Katoa 'Utoikamanu (centre), Under-Secretary-General, High Representative of the Secretary-General for the LDCs, LLDCs and SIDs, and the UN Secretary-General’s representative on the Council of the Technology Bank for LDCs with Council members.

Technology Bank for the World’s Poorest Set to Start in 2018

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – Seven years after the Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries charted out the international community's vision and strategy for sustainable development of the world's poorest countries, a new institution called the Technology Bank is set to start operations in 2018.

The Conference, held in Istanbul, Turkey, in May 2011, adopted the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020, along with the Istanbul Declaration. The implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) requires contributions from donor and developing countries, parliaments, the private sector, civil society, the UN system and international and regional financial institutions.

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 24 December 2017

Photo (left to right): The Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Berit Reiss-Andersen; ICAN campaigner Setsuko Thurlow who survived the bombing of Hiroshima as a 13-year-old; ICAN Executive Director Beatrice Fihn. Credit: ICAN

In Just Ten Years ICAN Makes It To Nobel Peace Prize

By Alice Slater*

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – In Oslo on December 10, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and was accepted on behalf of the Campaign by its executive director, Beatrice Fihn, and by Setsuko Thurlow, an ICAN campaigner and survivor of the 1945 Hiroshima bombing.

Both spoke for the thousands of campaigners in over 400 organizations and more than 100 countries around the world who succeeded this fall in working with friendly governments to move a majority of states at the United Nations to adopt a treaty to prohibit to ban nuclear weapons, making their possession, use, or threat of use unlawful.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 23 December 2017

Photo: Global Landscapes Forum. Credit: Pilar Valbuena

The Price of Forest Degradation and Biodiversity Loss for Livelihoods

By Fabíola Ortiz

BONN (IDN) – Forest degradation and biodiversity loss carry a very heavy price for climate and people’s livelihoods. Restoring forests matters when it comes to growing resilience to climate variation and securing a healthy environment for future generations. This was the main message delivered by experts and community leaders who met in Bonn (December 19-20, 2017) to discuss a more sustainable path to conservation.

“We should stop seeing indigenous peoples, natural resources and forests as a problem. We could see them as a solution,” said Robert Nasi, director general of the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) which hosted the Global Landscapes Forum, a large science-based platform on sustainable land use.

: Fabiola Ortiz; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 22 December 2017

Photo: The scale of destruction in Aleppo is massive and heavy equipment is urgently needed to remove debris. Credit: UNHCR/Bassam Diab

Focus on Prevention As Conflicts Become More Intractable

By António Guterres, UN Secretary-General

Following are extensive excerpts from UN Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks at open debate of the Security Council on 'Addressing complex contemporary challenges to international peace and security' on December 20, 2017 during Japan's presidency of the Council for the month. – The Editor

UNITED NATIONS (IDN-INPS) – I would like to make three main points today. First, we are seeing not only a quantitative but also a qualitative change in threats to international peace and security. The perils of nuclear weapons are again front and centre, with tensions higher than they have been since the end of the Cold War.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 20 December 2017

Photo: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the Security Council on non-proliferation / DPRK. UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Security Council Highlights DPRK's Humanitarian Needs, Agrees on Importance of Communication Channels

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) - While expressing his profound concern over the risk of military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula, "including as a result of miscalculation," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed the need to disassociate the peace and security situation in the DPRK (North Korea) from the humanitarian needs in the country.

Seventy per cent of the country’s population is affected by food insecurity and 40 per cent are malnourished and some $114 million is needed to meet urgent requirements. However, the 2017 DPRK Humanitarian Needs and Priorities appeal is only 30 per cent funded, he told the Security Council on December 15.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 18 December 2017

Photo: A worker sorts a green leaf tea before it reaches the main processing floor at the Kitabi Tea Processing Facility in Rwanda. Credit: A’Melody Lee / World Bank

Global Upturn Offers Prospects For Sustainable Growth

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Despite an upsurge in world economic growth, which has reached 3 per cent – the highest since 2011 – very few least developed countries (LDCs) are expected to reach the Sustainable Development Goal target for GDP growth of "at least 7 per cent" in the near term (SDG 8.1), says a new United Nations report.

Goal 8 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals – with 169 targets – adopted in September 2015 by the international community envisages promoting "inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all". Its target 1 stresses the need to "sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries."

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 14 December 2017

Photo: The file photo shows a view of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.

World Powers Trade Insults Over Rights Abuses in Iran, N. Korea

By John J. Metzler*

This article is being reproduced with permission of WebPublicaPress, which carried it on November 28t, 2017 with the caption 'UN Theatre of Absurd'. – The Editor

UNITED NATIONS (IDN-INPS) – A key UN Committee has condemned Iran's widespread use of the death penalty and has urged the Islamic Republic to eliminate "all discrimination and rights violations against women and girls."

In a separate resolution, the Third Committee roundly chastised North Korea's grave human rights situation and the communist country's consistent use of torture and prison camps to control its population.