UN Insider

Photo: Flags of the Iran Deal Negotiating Partners. Source: Arms Control Association

UN Chief Favours Implementation of Iran Nuclear Deal

By Kelsey Davenport

The author is director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association (ACA). This article was part of the ACA's Newsletter of June 29, 2018.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the nuclear deal with Iran is at a “crossroads” and expressed his deep regret over U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the agreement and reimpose sanctions.

Guterres also called upon all states to support the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying “it is important that the withdrawal of one country not impede the ability of others to fully implement their commitments under the [JCPOA] or to engage in activities consistent with resolution 2231.”

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 30 June 2018

Photo: Young talented composers and musicians from Afghanistan, Turkey, the United States, Austria, and Japan with IOM Regional Director Argentina Szabados and Bärli Nugent, Assistant Dean and Director of Chamber Music of the Juilliard School, and UNIS Vienna Director Martin Nesirky. Credit: Lanna Walsh / IOM

UN in Vienna Stages World Premieres by Migrant Composers

By Reinhardt Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) – The first-ever musical event of its kind at the United Nations in Vienna has showcased the richness of culture and art that migration brings. Co-hosted by the UN migration agency (IOM) and the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), the 'Voices of Migration' concert at the Vienna International Centre on June 28, featured powerful performances. These included two world premieres by migrant composers from Iran and Turkey, performed by a diverse group of world-class musicians.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; UN INSIDER; 30 June 2018

Photo: President Trump Meets with President Putin at G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. July 7, 2017. Credit: YouTube

Experts Accentuate the Significance of Trump-Putin Summit

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – "We are on the brink of a new cold war," warned UN Secretary-General António Guterres on May 24, 2018 adding that there are no negotiations under way between the U.S. and Russia for further strategic nuclear arms reductions. Whether presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin would turn over a new leaf when they meet in Helsinki, Finland on July 16 remains to be seen.

However, the U.S. Arms Control Association (ACA) is of the view that the two nuclear giants would discuss nuclear risk-reduction and arms control – in particular the future of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which will expire in 2021 unless extended by mutual agreement, and the compliance dispute over the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

: Jamshed Baruah; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 30 June 2018

Photo: The home of Shumona (right) in Bangladesh has been destroyed by storms four times in the past five years. Credit: Mahmod/ActionAid.

Real Money Crucial for Success of Paris Climate Pact

By Harjeet Singh

The writer is Global Lead on Climate Change at ActionAid International and is based in New Delhi. The commitment and sincerity of developed countries to provide climate finance will determine whether the Paris Agreement will succeed in combating climate change, he warns. Views are personal. This article first appeared on 'India Climate Dialogue' on 22 June 2018, and is being reproduced with due acknowledgement. – The Editor

NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) – The home of Shumona, 9, and her grandmother in Patuakhali in southern Bangladesh has been destroyed by storms four times in the past five years. She and millions of climate change victims like her in the developing world remain oblivious to the fact that behind her suffering is unthinking industrialisation.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 29 June 2018

Photo: Bora Bora, French Polynesia. CC BY 2.0

UN Warned Against Taking a Case-by-Case Approach to Self-Determination

By Kwame Buist

NEW YORK (IDN) – A case-by-case approach to the issue of the world's remaining 'non-self governing territories' must not be misinterpreted as a rationale for legitimising the political and economic inequality of dependency status, the recently concluded session of the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation was told.

The committee concluded its 2018 session on June 22, having approved a series of draft resolutions and decisions after hearings on the situation regarding lingering self-determination issues in 'non-self governing territories' throughout the world.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 29 June 2018

Photo: Police and stone-throwing demonstrators clash on a street in Srinagar, Kashmir. July 2016. Credit: VOA News | Wikimedia Commons.

UN Report Bashes India and Pakistan for Multiple Human Rights Violations in Kashmir

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – In its first ever report on the human rights situation in Indian- and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir, the UN has listed human rights violations and abuses on both sides of the Line of Control, and highlighted a situation of chronic impunity for violations committed by security forces.

"There is an urgent need to address past and ongoing rights violations and abuses and deliver justice for all people in Kashmir, who for seven decades have suffered a conflict that has claimed or ruined numerous lives," says the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner in a press release issued on June 14.

: Jaya Ramachandran; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 28 June 2018

Photo: Malvinas War Memorial in Buenos Aires, with permanent honor guard. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Argentina Reiterates Validity of Claims to Falklands/Malvinas Islands

By Kwame Buist

NEW YORK (IDN) - The UN Special Committee on Decolonisation has approved a draft resolution calling for a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom concerning sovereignty over the Falkland/Malvinas Islands as the only way to end the “special and particular” colonial situation of the islands.

The resolution calls for the governments of both countries to consolidate the current process of dialogue and cooperation by resuming negotiations in order to find a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute as soon as possible.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 28 June 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 UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 June 2018

Photo: Kevit Desai, the Principal Secretary in Kenya‘s State Department of Vocational and Technical Training, speaking during the launch of BEAR II project in Nairobi. Credit: Justus Wanzala | IDN-INPS

Kenya and UNESCO Partner to Upgrade Training and Tackle Unemployment

By Justus Wanzala

NAIROBI (IDN) – Soaring unemployment and loud rumblings of discontent from the labour market about the mismatch between skills offered in learning institutions and industry needs in Kenya and the East African region has led stakeholders to swing into action to reverse the trend.

One approach is being spearheaded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) which, in collaboration with Kenya’s Ministry of Education, is promoting and supporting Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems in the country and the Eastern Africa region.

: Justus Wanzala; THE WORLD; Africa; 25 June 2018

EU and 79 ACP Countries Aim at New Partnership to Address Global Challenges

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The heads of state or government of the 28 EU member states, constituting the European Council, have authorized the European Commission to open negotiations for a new partnership agreement with 79 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). The Group's Secretary-General Dr. Patrick I. Gomes has greeted the decision.

The European Commission announced the Council decision on June 22, two days after the conclusion of the June 18-20 ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, where representatives of the European Commission stressed that future partnership should be "a genuine, open and constructive dialogue, and not just going through the motions".