UN Insider

Ribbon-cutting ceremony opens ‘Everything You Trust…’ exhibition (from left to right): Sapar Akhmetov, member of the Mazhilis (lower house) of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, Amerkhan Rakhimzhanov, Director of the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbassy, Kuanysh Sultanov, Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Kazakhstan under the First President of Kazakhstan, Tatsuhiko Kasai, Ambassador of Japan to Kazakhstan, Bizhanova Gulnara Kadyrzhankyzy, member of the Mazhilis of Parliament of Kazakhstan, Hirotsugu Terasaki, Director General of Peace and Global Issues of the SGI. Photo credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri | IDN-INPS.

Nuclear Abolition Exhibition Boosts Japan-Kazakh Relations

By Katsuhiro Asagiri

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (IDN) – 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the end of nuclear weapons testing in Semipalatinsk, the primary testing venue for the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons, the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia, and the ratification by Kazakhstan as the 26th country to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Kazakhstan is known for its commitment to ridding the world of nuclear weapons. An estimated 1.5 million of its people suffered the effects of the testing of 456 nuclear weapons at Semipalatinsk over four decades.

: Katsuhiro Asagiri; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 17 October 2019

Photo: Air pollution from a coking oven. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Breaking New Ground in the Fight Against Air Pollution

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – Air pollution is by far the world’s largest single environmental health risk and a leading cause of death by cancer. It kills 7 million people every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Closely linked to climate change, air pollution is a major cause of environmental degradation. It is also threatening almost two-thirds of Europe’s ecosystems. This makes air pollution a critical barrier for sustainable development.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 15 October 2019

Photo: A woman dressed in blue rides a white donkey through open vast terrain surrounded by mountains. Credit: UN.

UN Focuses on Rural Women’s Role in Ensuring Food Security

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – Since the first International Day of Rural Women was observed on October 15, 2008, there is agreement that rural women and girls, including indigenous women, play a critical role in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.

In fact when the UN General Assembly established the new international day in its resolution 62/136 of December 18, 2007, it called for “attaching greater importance to the improvement of the situation of rural women, including indigenous women, in their national, regional and global development strategies”.

: Santo D. Banerjee; SUSTAINABILITY; Poverty; 13 October 2019

UN Concerned that the World Is Off-Track to End Hunger and Poverty by 2030

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Ahead of the World Food Day on October 16 and the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17, the United Nations Is warning that the world is not on track to end hunger and poverty by 2030 – and hence missing the deadline for achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in September 2015.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Poverty; 13 October 2019

Photo: Representatives from indigenous peoples speak at PreCOP25. Credit: Julieth Mendaz/unfccc.int

Costa Rica Triggers Climate Ambition towards COP25 in Chile

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK | SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (IDN) –- On the road towards the 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held in Santiago, Chile, from December 2 to 13, delegates have called for “more climate ambition”.

The three-day preparatory conference – PreCOP25 – concluded in San José on October 10 emphasizing climate finance and the gender agenda as transformational focus areas of climate solutions.

: Santo D. Banerjee; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 12 October 2019

Photo: Institute Director Professor Balghis Badri with the African Union Delegation Credit: Mai Izeldeen.

UNAI Promotes Political Empowerment of Women in Sudan

By UN Academic Impact

NEW YORK (IDN) – Throughout Sudan’s tumultuous history of revolutions against dictatorships, racism, and war, Sudanese women have long been held back from actively participating in politics. To promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, Ahfad University for Women, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) SDG Hub for Gender Equality, hosted a seminar entitled “Women’s role in Civil Government” and met with a High-Level Delegation from the African Union.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 11 October 2019

Photo: Ambassador Chowdhury speaking on 2 October 2019 at the Soka University of America (SUA). Credit: Courtesy of SUA photographers.

The Culture of Peace Begins with Each One of Us

Viewpoint by Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury *

The writer is the founder of The Global Movement for The Culture of Peace (GMCoP), former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations.

ALISO VIEJO, California, USA (IDN-INPS) – My life’s experience has taught me to value peace and equality as the essential components of our existence. They unleash the positive forces of good that are so needed for human progress. Peace is integral to human existence — in everything we do, in everything we say, and in every thought, we have, there is a place for peace. We should not isolate peace as something separate. It is important to realize that the absence of peace takes away the opportunities that we need to better ourselves, to prepare ourselves, to empower ourselves to face the challenges of our lives, individually and collectively.

: Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury; OPINION; 10 October 2019

Photo: Kenyan Senator Isaac Mwaura. Source: Standard Digital

What a Kenyan Senator Attending UN Meeting Experienced in US

By Isaac Mwaura

The writer is a Nominated Senator and chairman of the Albinism Society of Kenya. @mwauraIsaac1 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This article was first published in Standard Digitial.

NEW YORK (IDN) – It is Wednesday September 25, 2019, and I am rushing to take my seat at a Kenyan side event on peace, organised by our permanent mission in New York and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was during the United Nations General Assembly meeting. I get into the building and check in at security.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 08 October 2019

Tackling Global Warming Is Important but Nuclear Disarmament Deserves Priority

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – There’s a lot of end-of-the-world hyperbole around on climate change. So there should be. But it blankets out other important causes that are even more imminently important – wiping out malaria and sleeping sickness and introducing pure water supplies, sewerage systems and education for girls – all of which would save many more people than those likely to be hurt by global warning, at least this side of twenty-five years. Global warming, although very much apparent, is happening relatively slowly. Indeed, I feel like coining a slogan: “Kill mosquitoes today, save the icebergs tomorrow”.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 08 October 2019

Photo: Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of The People’s Republic of China, speaking at the General Debate of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 27 September 2019. UN Photo | Loey Felipe

"China Today Is a Proud Member of the Global Community"

Viewpoint by Wang Yi

The following is the statement of Wang Yi, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of The People’s Republic of China, at the General Debate of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 27 September 2019

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In 1945, the United Nations was born in response to the call of the times. Four years later, the People’s Republic of China was founded, and the Chinese nation reemerged before the eyes of the world as a completely reborn nation.