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Photo: Panelists in the April 24 event, including Kazakh Vice-Minister Berik Aryn (extreme left), UNAOC High Representative Al-Nasser (centre), and Ambassador Kairat Umarov, the Kazakh Permanent Representative to the UN (third from right at the back). Credit: Kazakh Permanent Mission to the UN Headquarters in New York.

Kazakhstan Sets the Ball Rolling for the Landmark Interfaith Congress in Astana

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – "The holy scriptures of the Koran, Bible, Torah, the Bhagwad Geeta or the Lotus Sutra" underline "the vital importance to unite the efforts of political and religious leaders for the cause of security and stability across our planet," said Kazakhstan's Vice-Minister for Religious Affairs and Civil Society, Berik Aryn, in a keynote address at an event organized by the Kazakh Permanent Mission to the UN in partnership with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).

He was speaking on behalf of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, Kazakhstan’s interfaith initiative launched in 2003.

: J Nastranis; CENTRAL ASIA; 30 April 2018

Faith Communities Urge Geneva Conference to Pave the Path to a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – Diverse faith-based organizations and individuals are appealing to States gathered at the UN in Geneva to spare the world a nuclear catastrophe and foster sustainable development for the good of humanity affirming moral and ethical imperatives.

Twenty groups and individuals from different faiths, including Christian, Quaker, Muslim and Hindu traditions and Soka Gakkai International (SGI) tabled an interfaith statement on April 25 as one of the civil society presentations during the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 NPT Review Conference at the UN Office in Geneva.

: Jamshed Baruah; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 29 April 2018

Photo: The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 where Prime Minister Modi (in the second row) announced the launch of a US$50 Million Commonwealth window. Credit: www.royal.uk

India Draws the Focus for South-South Cooperation

By Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK (IDN) – The India-UN Development Partnership Fund, a dedicated facility within the United Nations Fund for South-South Cooperation established in 2017, has drawn the focus following the announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the launch of a US$50 Million Commonwealth window.

This support, announced at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 on April 19 in London, is in addition to US$100 million pledged in 2017 for the Fund, thus increasing India's multi-year contribution to US$150 million. The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) manages the Fund.

: Jaya Ramachandran; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 29 April 2018

Photo: ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development. Credit: UN

UN Debates Impact of 'Fintech' Revolution on Asia-Pacific

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Since the adoption of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda in 2015, significant efforts have been undertaken to mobilise funds for effectively pursuing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Estimates suggest that low and lower-middle income countries around the world may need sizeable additional investment running into trillions of dollars yearly for moving ahead towards these ambitious goals.

With a view to supporting countries in their efforts, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has been organising broad-based high-level consultations on Financing for Development (FfD) since 2014. It has reconstituted its intergovernmental Committee on Macroeconomic Policy, Poverty Reduction and Financing for Development.

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 28 April 2018

The Menace of Land Degradation Threatens 3.2 Billion People

By J C Suresh

TORNONTO | MEDELLIN, Colombia (IDN) – Deteriorating land degradation caused by human activities is menacing the well-being of the world's 3.2 billion people, driving species to extinction, escalating climate change, triggering mass human migration and whetting conflict, according to an evidence-based assessment of land degradation and restoration.

The perils of land degradation, which cost the equivalent of about 10 percent of the global annual gross product in 2010 through the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, are spelt out for policymakers in the report produced by the 129-member Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

: J C Suresh; SUSTAINABILITY; Forests, desertification, land degradation & biodiversity; 28 April 2018

Photo: Opening session of the 10th Africa Carbon Forum in Nairobi. Credit: UNFCCC.

Africa Sends a Strong Message for Global Climate Negotiations

By Rita Joshi

BONN | NAIROBI (IDN) – Africa has generated a distinct message for the next round of international climate negotiations in Poland from December 3 to 14, 2018, which states: Action on climate change and sustainable development together is the way forward for Africa.

This top-line message emerged from deliberations during the Africa Climate Week in Nairobi. Some 800 delegates from 59 countries, including ministers and other high-level government and international officials, together with non-state delegates, offered their insights into the challenges and possible responses to climate change, and "harvested" those insights for consideration in the official international climate negotiation process.

: Rita Joshi; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 April 2018

UN Industrial Development Arm Grabs Opportunity in Germany

By UNIDO

HANOVER (IDN) – The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) had a strong presence at the annual Hannover Messe, the world’s leading industrial trade fair which attracts over 6,500 exhibitors and 200,000 visitors. UNIDO has participated in the Hannover Messe every year since 2015 to provide a platform where institutions and industrial enterprises from its Member States can promote themselves at this important international trade setting.

Fulfilling one of its core functions of convening stakeholders and brokering partnerships for knowledge transfer, networking and industrial cooperation, this year UNIDO organized a variety of events.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 27 April 2018

Photo: Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative (centre front) to the UN in Geneva addressing the Second PrepCom for the NPT Review Conference 2020. Credit: The Sunday Leader.

A World Free Of Nuclear Weapons Remains The Ultimate Goal

By Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez

Following are extensive excerpts from the Statement by Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, at the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 NPT Review Conference from April 23 to May 4, 2018. He called on all nuclear-weapon states to commit to the principle of disarmament to ensure a world free of nuclear weapons and "enhance their support for, and investment in, disarmament training and education provided by the UN and other organisations." – The Editor

GENEVA (IDN) – It is imperative that all our efforts be geared to ensuring that the 2020 Review Conference will lead to a consensus outcome, which galvanizes the commitments made in the 1995 Review Conference. Securing a world free of nuclear weapons should remain our first and foremost priority.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 26 April 2018

Photo: The Allée des Nations, with the flags of the UN member countries. Credit: CC BY-SA 4.0

U.S. Charm Offensive Takes Center Stage in Geneva

Viewpoint by Rick Wayman

The writer is Programs Director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF). In April 2016, he received the 'Activist of the Year' award from the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) for "dynamic leadership in bringing the Marshall Islanders' Nuclear Zero litigation to world attention, activating the next generation of peace leaders, and guiding ANA as board member and tech guru." – The Editor

GENEVA (IDN) – In February, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was widely and, I would say, unfairly criticized by the U.S. media, politicians, and even diplomats for its participation in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. By sending high-level, suave officials to the Olympics, the narrative went, the DPRK was engaged in a “charm offensive” to win over the world and make us forget about its serious human rights violations.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 26 April 2018

Photo: An EU-backed private equity fund plans to invest in renewable energy firms across sub-Saharan Africa. Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory

ACP Facility Helps Fight Energy Hunger in Southern Africa

By Jeffrey Moyo

MWENEZI (IDN) – Sixty-seven-year old Sarudzai Msipa heavily blows air in and out of her mouth, seated in the open-air on a goat skin mat outside her hut as she battles to revive a dying fire on her cooking place set up in the middle of her yard at her remote home in Mwenezi district in Zimbabwe’s Masvingo Province.

Just three sticks are in the fire to keep it alive and there is no sign of leftover firewood nearby. To Msipa, this means times are tough for her and many other villagers as the energy hunger takes a knock on them in this part of Southern Africa.

Even getting solar for lighting, is a non-starter for the Southern African region's many rural dwellers like Msipa who have to bear the brunt of the region’s deepening energy hunger.