UN Insider

Photo: Faith groups' representatives in front of the Isaiah Wall across the street from the United Nations Building in New York City with the Bible verse "...they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Credit: ICAN

Faith Groups Urge Universal Adoption of UN Nuclear Ban Treaty

By Jamshed Baruah

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – While welcoming the adoption of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons "as a vital step toward the goal of a world free from nuclear weapons", Faith Communities Concerned about Nuclear Weapons have in a 'public statement' called for its universal acceptance and implementation.

The Treaty, adopted on July 7, 2017 at the UN Headquarters in New York, lays out detailed provisions stipulating a comprehensive ban on the development, production, possession, stockpiling, testing, use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. It is the result of intensive negotiations at the UN involving more than 120 governments and many civil society representatives.

: Jamshed Baruah; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 08 July 2017

Photo: Conference President Elayne Whyte Gómez of Costa Rica has tears in her eyes as the conference spontaneously rises to its feet in applause for consensus adoption. Afterwards, Netherlands called for a vote. Photo: Xanthe Hall | ICAN

'Combination of Reason and Heart' Results in UN Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons

By Ramesh Jaura

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – In what was a “historic” and a highly emotional moment at the United Nations, member states adopted on July 7, 2107 a legally-binding treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons.

"The world has been waiting for this legal norm for 70 years," since the use of the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 at the end of World War II, said Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gómez of Costa Rica, president of the UN conference to negotiate a legally-binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons.

"We feel emotional," she told a news conference at the UN Headquarters in New York, "because we are responding to the hopes and dreams of the present and future generations."

: Ramesh Jaura; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 07 July 2017

Photo: Secretary-General António Guterres presents to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) his report, “Repositioning the UN development system to deliver on the 2030 Agenda – Ensuring a Better Future for All”. Credit: Photo: UN Photo/ Kim Haughton

Agenda 2030 Needs a Revamp of the UN Development System

By J. Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Nearly eighteen months after the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit – officially came into force, Secretary-General António Guterres is concerned that the UN Development System is not delivering on the ambitious agenda.

In his remarks to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on July 5, the UN Chief said: "The 2030 Agenda is our boldest agenda for humanity, and requires equally bold changes in the UN development system . . . Yet we all know that the system is not functioning at its full potential."

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 06 July 2017

Photo: Celebrations on the Day of the Capital City of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Credit: expo2017astana.com

Diplomacy Brings the World to Kazakh Capital Astana

By Ramesh Jaura

This is the fifth in a series of articles from Kazakhstan which being geographically located both in Asia and Europe, considers itself a Eurasian country. The articles are based on information gathered during a visit from June 7 to June 15 on the occasion of the opening of EXPO 2017 in Astana. Video clips accompany the articles in this series. – The Editor

NEW YORK | ASTANA (IDN) – The world has been meeting in Kazakhstan's capital Astana several weeks ahead of the 25th anniversary of the country's diplomatic service on July 2: at the summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Expo 2017, the Astana Economic Forum, and the Eurasian Media Forum.

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 06 July 2017

Conference Pleads for Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Becoming Law

By Ramesh Jaura

This is the second in a series of two reports on the Science and Technology Conference of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) from June 26 to June 30, 2017 in Austria's capital Vienna. The first article appeared on July 4. – The Editor

NEW YORK | VIENNA (IDN) – At a crucial point in time when the United Nations Conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination has submitted a draft treaty and the international community is focussed on the North Korean ICBM threat, an international conference has underlined the need for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) becoming law without any further dithering.

: Ramesh Jaura; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; CTBTO; 05 July 2017

Photo: CTBTO Youth Group with Executive Secretary Dr Lassina Zerbo. Credit: CTBTO.

Youth Determined to Push Through UN Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

By Ramesh Jaura

This is the first in a series of two reports on the Science and Technology Conference of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) from June 26 to June 30, 2017 in Austria's capital Vienna. – The Editor

NEW YORK | VIENNA (IDN) – “As youth, we are the future leaders of the world, the ones who will inherit and live in the world left behind for us, and the bearers of the hopes and dreams for our children and their children after them," declared a group of young people who are members of the CTBTO Youth Group.

"Twenty years after the opening of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) for signature, we regret that this Treaty, which would establish a legally binding, comprehensive prohibition on nuclear explosive testing, has yet to enter into force," said the Group in a joint statement.

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 04 July 2017

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

Working Together to Achieve the Africa We Want

By Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General

Following are extensive excerpts from Amina J. Mohammed's remarks on July 3 as prepared for delivery to the African Union Summit (June 27 to July 4) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in Youth as thematic focus. She was Minister of Environment of Nigeria from November 2015 to December 2016. Prior to this, she served as Special Adviser to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, where she was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals. – The Editor

ADDIS ABABA (IDN-INPS) - Our organizations are embarking on two extremely ambitious agendas – Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – along with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 03 July 2017

Photo: UNESCO DG Irina Bokova. Credit; UNESCO

UNESCO Crucial to Achieving the SDGs in their Totality

By Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO

Following is the text of the Foreword the UNESCO Director-General wrote for the '2017 Report of the Joint Media Project' of the International Press Syndicate Group, with IDN-InDepthNews as its flagship agency and the Soka Gakkai Internationa (SGI). The Report can be accessed on line at http://www.sdgsforall.net/documents/Striving_for_People_Planet_and_Peace_2017.pdf. - The Editor

PARIS (IDN-INPS) - The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), charts a new vision for cooperation over the next 15 years, to ensure prosperity and well-being for all societies, while protecting the planet and strengthening peace. Inclusivity, integration, and universality. These are three hallmarks of the SDGs, and they represent the most ambitious and comprehensive agenda ever seen – to leave no one behind.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 02 July 2017

Photo: President Juan Manuel Santos; Special Representative of the Secretary-General Jean Arnault; and head of the FARC-EP Secretariat Timoleon Jimenez at a ceremony for the final laying down of weapons in Colombia. Photo: UN Mission in Colombia

Security Council Pledges Support to Colombia in Transition

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Security Council has greeted the handover of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army’s (FARC-EP) remaining weapons to a United Nations-backed team as a “true example” of courage and commitment to peace, and pledged to support Colombia as it transitions out of its five-decades-long civil conflict.

Briefing the Council on those recent developments, Jean Arnault, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in Colombia, said on June 30 that, with the June 27 handover of its remaining weapons, the FARC‑EP had officially met its obligations under the May 29 road map.

: Santo D. Banerjee; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 01 July 2017

Photo: Quran Roundabout in Sharjah, which has been named World Book Capital 2019. Credit: TripAdvisor

Sharjah Named World Book Capital 2019 by UNESCO

By Phil Harris

ROME | PARIS (IDN) – Signalling a major achievement for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Arab world, Sharjah has been named World Book Capital 2019 by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The honour is recognition of the emirate's pioneering role in supporting and expanding the local and regional publishing industries, promoting reading to become an intrinsic cultural practice, as well as embracing intercultural, knowledge-based dialogue.