United Nations

Photo: United Nations Headquarters in New York City, view from Roosevelt Island. CC BY-SA 3.0

Support for Abolishing First-Class Tickets for Senior UN Staff

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – UN Secretary-General António Guterres' proposal that high-ranking officials fly business class rather than first class – to help rein in one of the most expensive aspects of the Organization's budget – is finding support in the Administrative and Budgetary Committee, also known as the Fifth Committee.

Next to staff costs, travel accounts for one of the largest budget components of the United Nations system, making it one of the largest consumers of travel services among international organizations. From 2012 to 2015, air travel and related expenses totalled $4.01 billion, according to the Joint Inspection Unit report.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 19 March 2018

UN at Pains to Weed Out Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – At a critical moment when allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse from within the United Nations are mounting, and a leaked UN staff survey shows fears over whistleblowing and ethical accountability, Secretary-General António Guterres has in his message for International Women's Day on March 8, called for the UN setting "an example for the world," adding: "I recognize that this has not always been the case."

Guterres continues: "Since the start of my tenure last year, I have set change in motion at United Nations Headquarters, in our peacekeeping missions and in all our offices worldwide. We have now reached gender parity for the first time in my senior management team, and I am determined to achieve this throughout the Organization."

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 05 March 2018

Photo: Coordinating Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations (CCISUA) and United Nations International Civil Servants Federation (UNISERV), along with statisticians, join the staff union in New York Headquarters. Credit: CCISUA

Staff Unions Threaten UN-Wide Work Stoppages Over Pay Cuts

By Shanta Roy

GENEVA (IDN) – A proposed salary cut – resulting from an "austerity agenda" – has triggered temporary work stoppages in UN offices in Geneva, Bangkok and Addis Ababa and is threatening to spread system-wide, including field operations.

The protest is led by three staff unions – the Coordinating Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations (CCISUA), the Federation of International Civil Servants’ Associations (FICSA) and the United Nations International Civil Servants Federation (UNISERV) representing over 60,000 staffers worldwide – and is aimed primarily at the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC).

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 04 March 2018

Photo: Congo’s UN mission said on March 18, 2017 that government forces had targeted civilians, including women and children, resulting in numerous deaths in central Congo and were restricting United Nations peacekeepers’ access to the area. Credit: nileinternational.net

UN Peacekeeping Needs Thorough Reform

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – The new, vicious, fighting in the Congo is the fourth round of warfare since independence in 1960. No other country has seen so many “blue berets” – UN peacekeeping troops – in its short history.

The Belgian colonialists may have exploited it and transferred massive amounts of its wealth back to Belgium but one leader after another has continued in its steps, making use of the country’s vast mineral deposits to build an edifice of wealth and unilateral power. Leaders have played on tribal fears and insecurity. War has been the outcome.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 27 February 2018

Photo: UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed addresses the Fourth Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs with the focus "Perspectives on Migration: displacement and marginalization, inclusion and justice" on 22 January 2018. United Nations, New York. Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten.

Faith-based Organizations Asked to Support Refugees, Migrants

By Amina J. Mohammed

Amina J. Mohammed is the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General. Following are extensive excerpts from her remarks to the Fourth Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-based Organizations in International Affairs with the focus: "Perspectives on Migration: Displacement and Marginalization, Inclusion and Justice" in New York on 22 January 2018.* - The Editor

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Not since the Second World War have so many people fled their homes to seek a place of greater safety. Some 66 million people – half of them children – have fled armed conflicts, persecution, poverty, climate change and natural disasters and are now refugees or displaced within their own countries.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 24 January 2018

Photo: UN Security Council debates on Afghanistan and Central Asia. Credit: UNAMA.

Building Regional Partnership in Afghanistan and Central Asia

By António Guterres, UN Secretary-General

Following are extensive excerpts from UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council debate on building regional partnership in Afghanistan and Central Asia to link security and development, on January 19. The debate was convened by the Council's Kazakh presidency for the month of January. – The Editor.

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – The entire international community has a stake in peace, stability and development in Afghanistan, and the countries of Central Asia have a particularly important role to play.

Sustainable development is a fundamental end in itself, enabling people, communities and societies to flourish and fulfil their potential. But, sustainable and inclusive development is also an important factor in preventing and ending conflict, and in sustaining peace. Only by addressing the root causes of crisis, including inequality, exclusion and discrimination, will we build peaceful societies resilient to terrorism and violent extremism.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 21 January 2018

Photo: Secretary-General António Guterres (centre) delivers his report entitled “Making Migration Work for All” to the UN General Assembly on 11 January 2017. Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten

UN Chief Pleads For 'Making Migration Work for All'

By António Guterres

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the launch of the report 'Making Migration Work for All', in New York on 11 January. – The Editor

UNITED NATIONS (IDN-INPS) – I am very pleased to be with all of you to present the report “Making Migration Work for All”. This serves as my principal input to the zero draft of the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. The adoption of this compact stands as one of our most important collective priorities for 2018.

As we look forward to the zero draft, I would like to commend your efforts to date under the wise stewardship of Mexico and Switzerland, aided by the President of the General Assembly and my Special Representative, Louise Arbour. Allow me to express a very deep gratitude to Louise Arbour and her team — your extraordinary contribution was absolutely vital for me to be able to present a report that, I hope, you will find both bold and constructive.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 11 January 2018

Photo: Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, briefing the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East on 5 January 2018. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

UN Asks Iranian Authorities to Address Legitimate Concerns of the Population

By Tayé-Brook Zerihoun

Tayé-Brook Zerihoun is the Assistant Secretary-General for United Nations Department of Political Affairs. The following are extensive excerpts from his ‘briefing’ to the Security Council on ‘The Situation in the Middle East’ on 5 January 2018.

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – The protests in the Islamic Republic of Iran started on 28 December 2017 when hundreds of Iranians gathered, in a largely peaceful manner, in Mashhad, the country’s second-largest city, chanting slogans against economic hardship.

Over the following several days, protests occurred in other urban areas, including Tehran, as well as many rural areas. Some of the slogans also expressed disappointment at slow or limited change in social strictures and political freedoms, and criticized what demonstrators decried as the privileged position of the clergy and elements of the country’s security establishment. In some cases, demonstrators demanded that Iran cease costly involvement in the region.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 08 January 2018

Photo: António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, at the Security Council meeting on Non-proliferation/Democratic People's Republic of Korea on December 15, 2017. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias.

UN Chief Issues 'Red Alert,' Calls for Defending Shared Values

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has issued "a red alert for our world" in his message on the occasion of 2018 New Year. It's probably the first time ever a UN Chief has done so.

He does not explicitly refer to the nuclear muscle-flexing between the United States and North Korea, but warns: "Global anxieties about nuclear weapons are the highest since the Cold War."

Red alert is "a state of alert brought on by impending danger". The full text of his message on December 31 explains why he perceives a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads. But there is something the international community can undoubtedly do to avert the impending danger. Here the full text of Guterres' video message:

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 31 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.