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Photo: Ambassador Hans-Peter Jugel, Germany’s deputy envoy to the United Nations in Geneva, and UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Isabelle Durant signed the official funding document on 22 November 2018.

Germany Backs UNCTAD to Help Africa Implement Continental Trade Deal

By Rita Joshi

BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – Eight months after the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the first pan-African agreement of its kind, Germany has donated 1.6 million euros to UNCTAD, to help the UN's trade and development body work with African partners to implement the landmark continental pact on cross-border commerce.

"This is a big new step forward in the economic development of Africa," said Ambassador Hans-Peter Jugel, Germany’s deputy envoy to the United Nations in Geneva, adding that the African Union had sought UNCTAD's support to meet the aims of the AfCFTA.

: Rita Joshi; THE WORLD; Africa; 25 November 2018

Photo: Ambassador Azeez, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva. Credit: UNCTAD

Sri Lanka Chaired UNCTAD Commission Boosts Multilateralism

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – "We need to look at how best multilateralism can be advanced and strengthened rather than at theories that suggest a 'doomsday' scenario or the 'dawn of an era of post-multilateralism'," said Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to United Nations in Geneva.

He was addressing the 10th session of the Trade and Development Commission of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) following his election by acclamation as its Chairperson.

: Jamshed Baruah; UN INSIDER; 25 November 2018

Stop Preventable Scourge of Violence Against Women

By UN Women

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – To commemorate this year's International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Secretary-General's UNiTE Campaign is calling upon us to stand in solidarity with survivors and survivor advocates and women's human rights defenders who are working to prevent and end violence against women and girls. Our duty is not only to stand in solidarity with them but also to intensify our efforts to find solutions and measures to stop this preventable global scourge with a detrimental impact on women's and girls' lives and health.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 25 November 2018

Photo: Colombo skyline in November 2017. Tallest buildings from left to right: Altair, Hilton Residence, Access Tower II, Empire Towers, Parkland Building (short white building), OnThree20, Lotus Tower. CC BY-SA 4.0

Continuing Political Instability Impacting Economic Policy-Making in Sri Lanka

By Friday Forum

The following media release issued by the Friday Forum (FF) on November 22, 2018 expresses grave concern about the situation in the aftermath of Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena's move to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and prorogue Parliament on October 26, 2018. The FF is an informal group of concerned citizens pledged to uphold norms of democracy, good governance, rule of law, human rights, media freedom and tolerance in our pluralist society. – The Editor

COLOMBO (IDN-INPS) – The FF shares the despair and disgust of most Sri Lankans with recent political events in the country that have now spiralled into a serious impasse in governance. The economic, social and political repercussions of this crisis will undoubtedly cause a serious set-back to the sustained and inclusive development and reconciliation that our nation urgently needs.

: IDN-INPS Asia Editor; OPINION; 24 November 2018

Photo: Ocean wave. Credit: blueeconomyconference.go.ke

Blue Economy Conference: Kenya Keen to Stimulate Global Conversations and Partnerships

By Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK | NAIROBI (IDN) – The first ever Sustainable Blue Economy Conference (SBEC) opens on November 26 in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Canada and Japan are co-hosts of the three-day landmark event.

It builds on the momentum of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development comprising 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the 2015 Climate Change Conference in Paris and the UN Ocean Conference 2017 'Call for Action'.

Kenya proudly calls the Conference its 'Global First'.

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 24 November 2018

Photo: The Ark of Return, the Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, located at the Visitors' Plaza of UN Headquarters in New York. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas.

UN Reviews Education Programme on Slave Trade, Warns of Racism

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Ark of Return by Rodney Leon, an American architect of Haitian descent, at the UN Headquarters in New Yok honours the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade that was perpetrated for over 400 years.

The permanent memorial was erected on March 25, 2015 – the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The Day also aims to raise awareness about the dangers of racism and prejudice manifesting itself in racial discrimination in the hands of populists in several European countries and the U.S.

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 23 November 2018

Photo: Nickolay Mladenov (on screen), the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, briefs the Security Council. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Israeli-Palestinian Escalation Ends But Peace Nowhere in Sight

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Israeli-Palestinian conflict "doesn’t seem to have a solution", says the renowned conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim who has been striving to promote peace through the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, comprising young musicians from Israel and the Arab world.

Yet, as a Messenger of Peace, he puts hope in the United Nations to resolve the conflict whose roots are traced to the late 19th century, with the rise of national movements, including Zionism and Arab nationalism.

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 22 November 2018

Photo: UN General Assembly Hall on 20 November 2018. UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Wanted a Geographically Diverse and Gender-balanced UN

Viewpoint by Karim Ismail on behalf of G-77

The following are extensive extracts from the statement on behalf of the "Group of 77", comprising 134 member countries including China, by Karim Ismail, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations, at the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) of the UN General Assembly on 15 November 2018, urging the Secretariat to ensure that the world body's staff reflects equitable geographic representation, as more women and young people are hired to shape a dynamic Organization with a mobile and multitalented workforce. – The Editor

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; The Group of 77; 21 November 2018

Photo: A landscape in the Serengeti national park, Tanzania. Credit: iStock. Source: ACP-EU NDRR Activity Report 2017-2018.

EU-ACP Initiative Leads to Natural Disaster Risk Reduction

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – The African, Caribbean and Pacific-European Union Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program (ACP-EU NDRR) launched in 2011 has worked to build climate and disaster resilience in ACP countries, where the impacts of climate change are increasingly visible, says a new report.

The Program is an initiative of the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Group of States, in partnership with the European Union (EU), and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).

: Reinhard Jacobsen; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 21 November 2018

Photo: Mass grave at the Killing Field of Choeung Ek. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

The Cambodian-UN War Crimes Trials are Finally Over

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Finally, finally, the over-long, ten year trials of the leaders of the murderous Khmer Rouge leadership of Cambodia, are over. The two defendants, Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, were each given a life sentence at the end of the first trial in August 2015 for crimes against humanity. Now they have been convicted of genocide.

Of the other three that were tried, one, the ex-foreign minister, Ieng Sary died in 2013, one, Ieng Thirith, the wife of Ieng Sary, was too ill with Alzheimer’s to appear and one, Kaing Guek Eav (“Duch”), voluntarily confessed three years ago and was sent to jail for 35 years.