UN Insider

Photo credit: The University of Lincoln.

UK University Launches Distance Learning PhD For Diplomats

By Robert Johnson

LONDON (IDN) – Employees of United Nations agencies and other international organizations as well as accredited diplomats now have an opportunity to pursue a globally recognized postgraduate academic degree DProf (Professional Doctorate) that has the same status as PhD, the Doctor of Philosophy.

The University of Lincoln, a public research university in the cathedral city of Lincoln in England, has launched a two-year distance learning for the purpose. With origins tracing back to 1861, the institution achieved university status in 1992 and its present name and structure in 2001.

: Robert Johnson; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 14 August 2018

E-Government Favours Sustainable and Resilient Societies, Finds UN Survey

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – Almost two thirds of 193 United Nations member States demonstrate a high-level of e-government development with EGDI (the E-Government Development Index) values above in the range of 0.5 and 1, finds a new survey, which also draws attention to the widening 'digital divide' between the industrialized and least developed countries.

The share of countries with low e-government levels, in the range of 0 to 0.25, has dropped by a significant 50 percent, from 32 countries in to 16 countries in 2018, says the 2018 UN E-Government Survey.

: Santo D. Banerjee; SUSTAINABILITY; Sustainable Cities & Communities; 13 August 2018

Photo: UN Peacekeepers serving with the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) patrol the city of Bangui in 2017. UN Photo/ Hervé Serefio

Security Council Calls for Better UN Agency Cooperation in Central Africa

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – In view of "the volatile and fast‑evolving nature of the political, security and social situation" in Central Africa, the United Nations Secretary-General has asked the Security Council to extend by three years from September 1, 2018 to August 31, 2021 the mandate of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA).

Created on January 1, 2011, and operating under the purview of the Department of Political Affairs, UNOCA covers the 11 member States of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS): Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe.

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; Africa; 13 August 2018

Photo: Uniformed children in class in Ha Nqabeni primary school, Lesotho. CC BY-SA 2.0

UN Supports Comprehensive Reform Process in Lesotho

By Ntsoaki Nkoe

MASERU (IDN) – Lesotho has launched a landmark project with the European Union willing to provide Euros 12.5 million (approx. USD14.4 million) and the United Nations USD 2 million. Known as the Lesotho National Dialogue and Stabilization Project (LNDSP), the initiative aims to stimulate a comprehensive national reforms process the southern African country is undertaking.

Explaining the genesis of the project, UN Resident Coordinator Salvator Niyonzima said the launch of the project was the result of several months of consultations, project formulation and fund raising going back to September 2017 when Prime Minister Thomas Thabane wrote to the UN Secretary-General requesting UN support to Lesotho’s long-anticipated national reforms.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 August 2018

Photo: Michelle Bachelet of Chile, newly-appointed as the next UN High Commissioner for Human Rights by Secretary-General António Guterres. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre.

Kudos and Criticism for New UN Human Rights Chief

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Moments after the UN General Assembly unanimously agreed on August 10 to appoint Chile's former President Michelle Bachelet as the seventh UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Secretary-General António Guterres tweeted: "Ms. Bachelet is a pioneer, a visionary, a woman of principle, and a great human rights leader for these troubled times." He had had put forward her candidacy to the General Assembly on August 8.

The United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK) Executive Director, Natalie Samarasinghe, agreed: she is "certainly a strong choice", and added: "She has experience at the highest level of government in Chile, at the highest level of administration within the UN system as the first head of UN Women, and of working with civil society under the shadow of oppression."

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 10 August 2018

Photo: Izumi Nakamitsu, United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, briefs the Security Council as it considers the situation in the Middle East. 5 February 2018. © UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Advancing Disarmament Within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu

The author is Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. This article first appeared in UN Chronicle, Vol. LV No. 2 2018 | August 2018.

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – The idea that disarmament and arms control are connected to development is not new. Article 26 of the Charter of the United Nations recognizes disarmament as a precondition for durable peace, security and development by calling for the maintenance of international peace and security with the least diversion of the world’s economic and human resources for arms.

For a long time, however, disarmament has largely slipped off the development agenda. This is despite overwhelming evidence that excessive arms accumulation diverts needed resources from development and fuels armed conflict and violence, leading to unnecessary death and suffering, social inequality and environmental degradation. Hence, the failure to establish effective disarmament and arms control systems is devastating to socioeconomic development, peace and security, and human well-being.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 10 August 2018

Photo: Secretary-General António Guterres folds origami cranes with young Japanese leaders at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial. Credit: Dan Powell | UN Photo.

No More Hiroshimas, No More Nagasakis, No More Hibakusha

Viewpoint by António Guterres

The survivors of the atomic bombings, known in Japanese as the hibakusha, have become global "leaders for peace and disarmament", United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony in Japan on 9 August 2018, commemorating the 73rd anniversary of that devastating day. Following are extensive extracts from Guterres' remarks. – The Editor

NAGASAKI (IDN-INPS) – I am humbled, as Secretary-General of the United Nations, to be here with you to commemorate the women, men and children killed by the nuclear attack on Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. I convey my deepest respect and condolences to everyone here today, and to all the victims and survivors of the atomic bombs.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 09 August 2018

Empower Indigenous Women, Strengthen Communities

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) - August 9 is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. On this occasion, UN Women calls on each of us to commit to making the voices of indigenous peoples, and indigenous women, louder and more impactful than ever before: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2018/8/statement-un-women-international-day-of-the-worlds-indigenous-peoples.

At a time of unprecedented human mobility, indigenous women are on the move too, often fleeing violence, environmental disasters and land encroachments that have eaten into their sources of food, water and way of life. The positive economic spin-offs of migration don’t always reach them. Theirs is a move also for justice, as they mobilize to make their voices heard, demand punishment for perpetrators and reparations to restore their dignity.

: Ramesh Jaura; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 09 August 2018

Photo: High Representative Izumi Nakamitsu reading he UN Secretary-General‘s message in Hiroshima on 6 August 2018.

Rising Nuclear Tensions Call For Elimination Of Atomic Weapons

Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu

Ms Izumi Nakamitsu is High Representative, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA). Following is the text of the message she delivered to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Service on 6 August 2018 on behalf of the UN Secretary-General. – The Editor

HIROSHIMA (IDN-INPS) – It is a privilege to pay tribute to the citizens of Hiroshima and all those who perished in the blinding flash of nuclear destruction, and in the weeks, months and years that followed, and to stand in solidarity with the Hibakusha and their families.

What occurred in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 cannot and must not ever happen again. The future of our children and of our children’s children depends upon it.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 06 August 2018

Photo: Secretary-General António Guterres (centre left) during the high-level meeting on United Nations reform convened by the United States. On his left is United States President Donald Trump. 18 September 2017. United Nations, New York. Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten.

UN Chief Begins To Walk The Talk For Promised Reforms

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has taken a vital step towards creating a '21st century UN' by introducing wide-ranging reforms to the way the world body works and how it delivers on its mandate – thus translating into action the announcement of his intention soon after taking office in January 2017.

Guterres has appointed Jens Wandel of Denmark as Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Reforms. An official announcement on July 31 said: "The Secretary-General has decided to establish a reform coordination structure under the joint leadership of the Deputy Secretary-General and the Chef de Cabinet to ensure a unified and cohesive change management programme across all three reforms, with dedicated teams to service each individual stream."