By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (IDN) – A new set of European Commissioners has taken office in Brussels. The main migration focus of the previous cabinet of Commissioners was halting migration – which led to deals with third countries on stopping and returning refugees and migrants. People evacuated from Libya, for example, are brought to Niger and Rwanda, where they are processed before those successfully registered as refugees are taken to Europe – often after long processes filled with uncertainty.…

By J Nastranis

Note: We are a member of the SDG Media Compact. This article is based on UN SDG Media Compact Editorial – 2020 Special Edition.

NEW YORK (IDN) – With just ten years to go, an ambitious global effort is being kicked off to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, which constitute the world’s blueprint for fair globalization by mobilizing all governments, civil society and businesses to help achieve the Global Goals.…

By Siddharth Chatterjee and Rosa Malango

UN Resident  Coordinators in Kenya and Uganda, Siddharth Chatterjee and Rosa Malango respectively report in a blog how the two East African neighbours have kick-started a Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by partnering with the UN to address challenges that transcend country borders. The UN Resident Coordinator (RC) is the highest-ranking representative of the UN development system at the country level. In this first of occasional series, UN News is inviting RCs to blog on issues important to the United Nations and the country where they serve. UN News carried this blog on 1 January 2020.…

By Robert Johnson

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands (IDN) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has announced plans to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes in Palestine, subsequent to a “thorough, independent and objective assessment”. At the same time, she said that she has asked the Court for a further ruling over territorial jurisdiction.…

Viewpoint by Jorge Chediek

The author is Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation.

NEW YORK (IDN) – Climate change is the defining challenge of our time. At stake are recent gains in the fights against poverty, hunger and disease, and the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in the global South.…

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – As 2019 comes to a close, the United Nations has warned that climatic shocks, large infectious disease outbreaks and intensifying, protracted conflicts will constrain nearly 168 million – or one person in 45 on the planet – to seek humanitarian assistance and protection next year in crises spanning more than 50 countries. Also, millions of children across the globe will need life-saving support.…

Viewpoint by Carlos Correa

The following is statement by Dr. Carlos Correa, Executive Director of the South Centre at the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development at the United Nations headquarters in New York on 26 September 2019.

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Four years after its adoption, Agenda 2030, “Transforming Our World,” the United Nations’ (UN) most recent and most ambitious development agenda, is off-track.…

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – Although significant progress has been made since the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda in 2015, recent data confirm that the world is not on track to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes the slow pace at which the financing gap for the SDGs – amounting to trillions of dollars – is being filled.

This in turn is adversely affecting financing, which is the thread that connects many of the priorities from advances on climate action to universal health coverage to the SDGs and small island developing States. …

By Taro Ichikawa

YOKOHAMA (IDN) – “I see Africa as a dynamic continent of opportunity where winds of hope are blowing ever stronger. TICAD has played a critical role in focusing international dialogue on Africa, built on the twin principles of African ownership and international partnership,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres kicking off the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7). The United Nations, UN Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank and the African Union Commission (AUC) co-hosted the conference in Yokohama city.…