Goal 16 - SDGs for All

Photo: Michelle Bachelet of Chile, newly-appointed as the next UN High Commissioner for Human Rights by Secretary-General António Guterres. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre.

Kudos and Criticism for New UN Human Rights Chief

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Moments after the UN General Assembly unanimously agreed on August 10 to appoint Chile's former President Michelle Bachelet as the seventh UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Secretary-General António Guterres tweeted: "Ms. Bachelet is a pioneer, a visionary, a woman of principle, and a great human rights leader for these troubled times." He had had put forward her candidacy to the General Assembly on August 8.

The United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK) Executive Director, Natalie Samarasinghe, agreed: she is "certainly a strong choice", and added: "She has experience at the highest level of government in Chile, at the highest level of administration within the UN system as the first head of UN Women, and of working with civil society under the shadow of oppression." (P11) GERMAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE

: IDN-INPS Editor; Project Articles; 10 August 2018

Photo: Izumi Nakamitsu, United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, briefs the Security Council as it considers the situation in the Middle East. 5 February 2018. © UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Advancing Disarmament Within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu

The author is Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. This article first appeared in UN Chronicle, Vol. LV No. 2 2018 | August 2018.

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – The idea that disarmament and arms control are connected to development is not new. Article 26 of the Charter of the United Nations recognizes disarmament as a precondition for durable peace, security and development by calling for the maintenance of international peace and security with the least diversion of the world’s economic and human resources for arms.

For a long time, however, disarmament has largely slipped off the development agenda. This is despite overwhelming evidence that excessive arms accumulation diverts needed resources from development and fuels armed conflict and violence, leading to unnecessary death and suffering, social inequality and environmental degradation.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 16; 10 August 2018

Photo credit: Transparency International

Stakes High in Returning Nigerians' Stolen Millions

By Kwame Buist

LONDON (IDN) – Of the estimated 20-40 billion dollars stolen annually from developing countries and hidden abroad every year, a small proportion is sometimes successfully confiscated and returned to the country it came from.

However, where institutions of accountability do not work well, this poses a complex problem: how to make sure that the money is not embezzled again, and actually benefits the real victims of corruption – the ordinary people whose state finances were plundered.

Take one case, Nigeria, where plans are under way to distribute 322 million dollars recovered in Switzerland from the late General Sani Abacha, the country’s former military ruler who is suspected of looting between three and five billion dollars in public money.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 16; 07 August 2018

Photo: EU and Western Balkans Summit: Strengthening cooperation at all levels to support the region’s transformation. Credit: eeas.europa.eu

EU-Facilitated Dialogue Vital For Kosovo-Serbian Accord

By Ramesh Jaura

This is the second report from Kosovo, stressing the importance of an EU-facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. The first is titled Kosovo Looks Forward To UN Membership. – The Editor

BERLIN | PRISTINA (IDN) – In the wake of the Kosovo War, in the whirl and muddle of Yugoslav Wars, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, Kosovo, as part of Serbia and Yugoslavia, was placed under United Nations administration UNMIK by virtue of the Security Council Resolution 1244.

NATO launched the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia on March 24,1999 because "efforts to achieve a negotiated, political solution to the Kosovo crisis" had failed. But it did so "without seeking explicit Security Council authorization".

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 16; 03 August 2018

Photo: Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj (second from left) talking to a media team end of June 2018 at his office in Pristina. He is flanked by Kosovo government officials. Credit: Cia Pak | Scannews.

Kosovo Looks Forward To UN Membership

By Ramesh Jaura

This is the first of two reports from Kosovo, on its efforts to garner international recognition in the aftermath of unilateral declaration of independence in February 2008 subsequent to the breakup of Yugoslavia after Josip Broz Tito's death in the 1980s. – The Editor

BERLIN | PRISTINA (IDN) – The United Nations Security Council has engaged with the situation in Kosovo and its relations with Serbia three times already this year. But when the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly opens on September 18, 2018, Kosovo will be missing. It is the only among seven breakaway states of former Yugoslavia that is not yet a member of the UN.

The present situation will not be rectified until Kosovo and Serbia, the core republic of former Yugoslavia, defy apparently insurmountable differences and come to a settlement aided by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), with cooperation from the European Union facilitated dialogue.

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 16; 03 August 2018

Photo: A Palestinian girl inside her family’s partially destroyed home, looks at the destruction outside, in the Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City. Credit: UNICEF.

Palestinian Peoples' Fundamental Rights Under Assault, Concern Over Lurking Dangers

By Ramesh Jaura

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – The outgoing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, has expressed "acute concerns" over the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the situation in the occupied Gaza Strip, which in recent months has escalated dramatically, with the potential to generate threats to peace across a far broader region.

His concerns were affirmed when UN News reported on July 24 that intense diplomatic efforts by the United Nations and Egypt had helped avoid another Israeli-Palestinian war in Gaza that appeared just "minutes away" over the previous weekend.

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 16; 26 July 2018

Photo: The 2018 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development concluded on 16 July, following a full day of Voluntary National Reviews, and the continuation of the High-Level General Debate in the afternoon. A Ministerial Declaration was adopted during the closing session on the theme 'Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies.' Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth

UN Conference Warns Of Huge Backlogs Before Achieving Global Development Goals

By Ramesh Jaura

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Three years since the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the UN, at first glimpse progress seems to have been made in "transforming our world" by implementing "a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity."

But senior UN officials admit that a closer look at what little has been achieved and the gargantuan tasks ahead to fulfil the "pledge that no one will be left behind" leave no room for complacency.

The Group of 77 (G-77), the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries in the UN – meanwhile encompassing 134 countries –also shares such reservations. (P09) CHINESE | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 1; 24 July 2018

Photo: UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. UN Photo/Mark Garten

UN Will Continue Support Of Africa's Transformation Under Way

By Amina Mohammed

Following are extensive excerpts from UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed's remarks to the 31st ordinary session of the African Union in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on July 1, 2018. – The Editor.

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (IDN-INPS) – The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, places great importance on our long-standing but new-found strategic partnership with the African Union. Sustainable development is at the centre of that work. Africa's Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development share a common vision and, together, they provide the basis for the African Union-United Nations Partnership framework for development informing the action plan to be launched in Addis Ababa in the coming days.

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 16; 07 July 2018

Image: 70 years of peacekeeping operations spanning across four continents. Credit: UN.

Africa Is the Epicentre of UN Peace Operations Since 2008

By Timo Smit

The author is a Researcher with the SIPRI Peace Operations and Conflict Management Programme. He is currently in charge of maintaining SIPRI’s database on multilateral peace operations (including data-collection), and conducts research on trends in peacekeeping. This article first appeared on June 20,2018. – The Editor

STOCKHOLM (IDN-INPS) – This year it is 70 years since the United Nations Security Council established the first UN peacekeeping operation. On May 29, 1948 it authorized the deployment of military observers to supervise a cessation of hostilities in the First Arab-Israeli War and to support Count Folke Bernadotte in his role as UN mediator.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 16; 27 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.