UN Insider

Photo: UN Chief Guterres calling from Hiroshima Peace Memorial on August 6 not to "forget the lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki". @antonioguterres

Beyond First Steps: Phasing out Nuclear Weapons and Energy

By M. V. Ramana*

VANCOUVER, Canada (IDN) — The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for “all military activities in the immediate vicinity of the [Zaporizhzhia Nuclear] plant [in Ukraine] to cease immediately and not to target its facilities or surroundings” because “any potential damage to Zaporizhzhia or any other nuclear facilities in Ukraine, or anywhere else, could lead to catastrophic consequences not only for the immediate vicinity but for the region and beyond”.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 August 2022

Image: A collage of Tim Peake, an astronaut of the International Space Station by the British/European Space Agency (timpeake.com), with a special apple tree grown from seeds taken into space. The tree was planted on the Vienna International Centre (VIC) grounds on 26 September 2021 to inspire future generations of space scientists.

Bringing the Benefits and Peace of Space to Humanity

A new UNOOSA head is to be appointed soon

By Aurora Weiss

VIENNA (IDN) — Legend has it that a young Isaac Newton was sitting beneath an apple tree contemplating the mysterious universe. Suddenly —"boink!''—an apple unexpectedly hit him on the head. He experienced his "aha moment!". In a flash of light, he understood that the same force that brought the apple crashing toward the ground also keeps the moon falling toward the Earth and the Earth falling toward the sun: gravity. We are talking about real space Affairs in practice, which debuted in his book Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (1869).

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 16 August 2022

Photo: Hungry kids in South Sudan. Credit: Siegfried_Modola | The Star

Humanitarian Food Grain on way to Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A UN-chartered vessel has been loaded with humanitarian food grain for Africa, in a first step toward releasing much needed food aid that had been trapped in the Ukraine.

The vessel will carry 23,000 tons of grain for Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya as part of a UN-backed plan to move the grain trapped by Russia's war on Ukraine and help relieve a global food crisis.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 15 August 2022

Photo: Abylaikhan Bogenbaiuly, used with permission, credit: gov.kz

Achieving the Elusive Against the Odds: "A Middle East Nuclear (and WMD) Free Zone"

By Tariq Rauf

NEW YORK (IDN) — Finally, at long last, the postponed 2020 Tenth Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference commenced its work at United Nations headquarters in New York on August 1, 2022. Under the able Presidency of Ambassador Gustavo Zlauvinen of Argentina, the review conference is expected to complete its work on August 26.

If all goes well, a Final Document would be adopted on the review of the implementation of the NPT and the commitments agreed at the review conferences held in 1995, 2000 and 2010—there was no agreement in 2005 and 2015 as the conferences ended in disarray over disagreements on nuclear disarmament and the Middle East.

: UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 15 August 2022

Photo: Women receive food rations at a food distribution site in Herat, Afghanistan. © UNICEF/Sayed Bidel

Afghanistan: UN Human Rights Experts Warn of Bleak Future Without Turnaround

Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) — UN experts are warning that Afghanistan's future is bleak if more is not done to reverse the deteriorating human rights situation, particularly for women and girls. They call on the international community to intensify efforts to urge de facto authorities to adhere to basic human rights principles.

: Jamshed Baruah; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 14 August 2022

Photo: Young people attend a youth summit in Jamaica. Credit: UN Jamaica

UN Chief Underlines "the Power of Partnerships Across Generations"

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) — Celebrated every year on August 12, the theme of this year's International Youth Day is "Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages", which UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted, reminds us of "a basic truth" that "we need people of all ages, young and old alike, to join forces to build a better world for all".

: Radwan Jakeem; UN INSIDER; 12 August 2022

Photo: Ms Wada Masako addressing the UN General Assembly at the UN General Assembly on August 5 as part of the 2022 NPT Review Conference. Credit: Akira Kawasaki.

Indelible Impact of the Bombing of Nagasaki

Viewpoint by Wada Masako

Ms Wada Masako is Assistant Secretary-General of the Japan Confederation of A-and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo). Following are extensive extracts from the text of her presentation at the UN General Assembly on August 5 as part of the 2022 NPT Review Conference.

NEW YORK (IDN) — I was a one- and ten-months old baby when Nagasaki was devastated by the atomic bomb. My house was located 2.9 kilometres away from the blast centre. Thanks to the mountains surrounding the central part of Nagasaki City, which somewhat shielded my house from the direct impact of the bomb, I have survived to this day.

: UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 12 August 2022

Photo: Demonstrators are stopped by police as they try to march towards the border with Rwanda, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 15, 2022. Source: France 24

New Jersey Senator Seeks Review of Aid to Rwanda For Rights Abuses in DR Congo

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The Rwandan government's human rights record is under a harsh spotlight over its role in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sen. Robert Menendez, chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he would place a hold on U.S. security assistance to Rwanda in Congress over concerns about the Rwandan government's human rights record.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Senator Menendez called for a comprehensive review of U.S. policy towards Rwanda.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 10 August 2022

The Poor Can be Saved from the Coming Depression

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — The gathering economic crisis, which the financial papers are sombrely predicting, has too many of the makings of turning into a World Depression and must be a time for mental stock-taking. If we wind back the clock just a few years to the beginning of the century when big banks in Wall Street precipitated the "Great Recession", we could say, looking back, that today’s imminent crash comes after one of the most successful boom periods in history.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 09 August 2022

Photo: Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan, chairman of the Group of 77 and China.

A Briefing on Carbon Capture Technology and Sustainable Energy Transition

By Razeena Raheem

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The Group of 77 and China, the largest single coalition of developing nations, hosted an Ambassadorial-level briefing on carbon capture technology at the United Nations. The briefing, which took place August 1, was titled "Carbon Capture Utilization & Storage—Technology Essential for an Equitable Energy Path Forward."

Addressing the meeting, Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan, chairman of the G77, said: "I think our goals as the Group of 77 and China are clear."