Category Archives: United Nations

United Nations: ‘Women Rise for All’ to shape leadership in pandemic response and recovery

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from UN News

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has generated an unprecedented global health, humanitarian and development crisis, it has also revealed the power of women’s leadership, according to the UN Deputy Secretary-General.



Graça Machel in video from UN Web TV

“Over the past months, people around the world have come to see what many of us already knew: women’s leadership makes a profound difference”, Amina Mohammed said on Tuesday.

In this devastating #COVID19 crisis we have an opportunity to hit the reset button, to deliver on the Decade of Action. This will only be possible when we recognize the value of women front and centre, together leading the way and rising for all.

“The evidence has shown — in country after country — how governments led by women are more effective in flattening the curve and positioning for economic recovery.”

Ms. Mohammed was addressing Women Rise for All, a virtual gathering of influential women from across different regions, sectors and generations, to examine how their leadership is shaping pandemic response and recovery that benefits all people.

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Question related to this article:
 
How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

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“We want to shape the way we define leadership. And ensure that we emerge from this pandemic with women leading, in equal numbers, and equal partnership”, she explained.

‘Silver lining’ in the crisis

Women’s proven leadership has emerged as a “silver lining” in the pandemic, one of the world’s leading advocates for the rights of women and children told the gathering.

Graça Machel believes it was no accident that countries with women Heads of State—such as New Zealand, Germany, Finland and Taiwan—have been comparatively successful in beating back the deadly new coronavirus.

“This crisis has brought to light an undeniable truth: that the leadership of women is essential for us to effectively recreate the world…that is more human-centred, that is more equal; a world in which such social justice is the goal”, she said in her keynote address.

For former Mozambican minister Ms. Machel, the pandemic must also lead to a re-examining of dominant value systems as the world cannot return to how it was prior to the crisis.

“We must live on a planet where materialism, greed, inequalities no longer divide the human family”, she stated.

Solidarity for all

Women Rise for All was launched on social media in April, to support the UN Secretary-General’s call for solidarity and urgent action during the pandemic.

Even in the midst of this “devastating crisis”, there is an opportunity to build a better world that works for all, according to Ms. Mohammed.
“That will only be possible when we recognize the value of women front and centre, together leading the way and rising for all”, she said.

(Thank you to Phyllis Kotite, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

The growing use of weaponised drones risks destabilising global peace and security

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from UN News

The growing use of weaponised drones risks destabilising global peace and security and creating a “drone power club” among nations, that face no effective accountability for deploying them as part of their “war on terror”, a senior UN-appointed independent rights expert said on Thursday.

At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said that more than 100 countries have military drones and more than a third are thought to possess the largest and deadliest autonomous weapons.

‘No red lines’ in drone warfare?

States who used them on the grounds of self-defence, “defined in a very elastic fashion” against purported terrorists, risked creating a situation where “there will be no red lines really”, she told journalists later.

“As more Government and non-State actors acquire armed drones and use them for targeted killing, there is a clear danger that war will come to be seen as normal rather than the opposite of peace,” Ms. Callamard said. “War is at risk of being normalized as a necessary companion to peace, and not its opposite.”

Appealing for greater regulation of the weapons, and lending her support to calls for a UN-led forum to discuss the deployment of drones specifically, the Special Rapporteur insisted that their growing use increased the danger of a “global conflagration”.

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Question for this article:

Drones (unmanned bombers), Should they be outlawed?

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‘Influential States’ rewriting the rules

Such a move was necessary because “a small number of rather influential States” had sought to reinterpret the law of self-defence under Article  51 of the UN Charter, she explained.

She urged UN Security Council to meet in formal session to review and debate all such self-defence claim, before recommending that the High Commissioner for Human Rights should produce an annual report on drone strikes casualties for the Human Rights Council.

There was now the “very real prospect that States may opt to ‘strategically’ eliminate high-ranking military officials outside the context of a ‘known’ war”, she explained, and that they might seek to justify the killing “on the grounds of necessity – not imminence” as the target was classified as a “terrorist who posed a potential, undefined, future threat”.

Iranian general’s chilling death

In particular, she cited the killing by drone strike in Iraq of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on 3 January for which the United States claimed responsibility and which she insisted was a violation of the UN Charter.

“Targeted killings until very recently to drones had been limited to non-state actors,” she told journalists. Until, for the first time in January 2020, a State armed drone targeted a high-level official of a foreign State and did so on the territory of a third State.”

Drone strikes were the preferred option for “decision makers and military alike for their relative efficiency, effectiveness, adaptability, acceptability, deniability, and political gain”, the rights expert maintained.

But she noted that their benefits were as “illusory” as the “myth of a surgical strike”. 

Because of the current absence of effective oversight, it was “practically impossible to know whether a person(s) killed in a drone strike was, in fact, a lawful target”, Ms. Callamard said, adding that harm to civilian populations, including deaths, injuries and trauma, was likely largely under-reported.   

(Thank you to Phyllis Kotite, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global, Uncategorized, United Nations,

Israeli annexation of parts of the Palestinian West Bank would break international law – UN experts call on the international community to ensure accountability 

. . HUMAN RIGHTS . .

A news article from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

The agreement by the new coalition Government of Israel to annex significant parts of the occupied Palestinian West Bank after 1 July would violate a cornerstone principle of international law and must be meaningfully opposed by the international community, UN experts said today. Forty-seven of the independent Special Procedures mandates appointed by the Human Rights Council issued the following statement [on June 16]:

“The annexation of occupied territory is a serious violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the Geneva Conventions, and contrary to the fundamental rule affirmed many times by the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly that the acquisition of territory by war or force is inadmissible. The international community has prohibited annexation precisely because it incites wars, economic devastation, political instability, systematic human rights abuses and widespread human suffering.

Israel’s stated plans for annexation would extend sovereignty over most of the Jordan Valley and all of the more than 235 illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. This would amount to approximately 30 percent of the West Bank. The annexation of this territory was endorsed by the American Peace to Prosperity Plan, released in late January 2020.

The United Nations has stated on many occasions that the 53-year-old Israeli occupation is the source of profound human rights violations against the Palestinian people. These violations include land confiscation, settler violence, discriminatory planning laws, the confiscation of natural resources, home demolitions, forcible population transfer, excessive use of force and torture, labour exploitation, extensive infringements of privacy rights, restrictions on the media and freedom of expression, the targeting of women activists and journalists, the detention of children, poisoning by exposure to toxic wastes, forced evictions and displacement, economic deprivation and extreme poverty, arbitrary detention, lack of freedom of movement, food insecurity, discriminatory law enforcement and the imposition of a two-tier system of disparate political, legal, social, cultural and economic rights based on ethnicity and nationality. Palestinian and Israeli human rights defenders, who peacefully bring public attention to these violations, are slandered, criminalised or labeled as terrorists. Above all, the Israeli occupation has meant the denial of the right of Palestinian self-determination.

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Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

Israel/Palestine, is the situation like South Africa?

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These human rights violations would only intensify after annexation. What would be left of the West Bank would be a Palestinian Bantustan, islands of disconnected land completely surrounded by Israel and with no territorial connection to the outside world. Israel has recently promised that it will maintain permanent security control between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. Thus, the morning after annexation would be the crystallisation of an already unjust reality: two peoples living in the same space, ruled by the same state, but with profoundly unequal rights. This is a vision of a 21st century apartheid.

Twice before, Israel has annexed occupied land – East Jerusalem in 1980 and the Syrian Golan Heights in 1981. On both occasions, the UN Security Council immediately condemned the annexations as unlawful but took no meaningful countermeasures to oppose Israel’s actions.

Similarly, the Security Council has repeatedly criticised the Israeli settlements as a flagrant violation under international law. Yet, Israel’s defiance of these resolutions and its ongoing entrenchment of the settlements has gone unanswered by the international community.

This time must be different. The international community has solemn legal and political responsibilities to defend a rules-based international order, to oppose violations of human rights and fundamental principles of international law and to give effect to its many resolutions critical of Israel’s conduct of this protracted occupation. In particular, states have a duty not to recognise, aid or assist another state in any form of illegal activity, such as annexation or the creation of civilian settlements in occupied territory. The lessons from the past are clear: Criticism without consequences will neither forestall annexation nor end the occupation.

Accountability and an end to impunity must become an immediate priority for the international community. Available to it is a broad menu of accountability measures that have been widely and successfully applied by the UN Security Council in other international crises over the past 60 years. The accountability measures that are selected must be taken in full conformity with international law, be proportionate, effective, subject to regular review, consistent with human rights, humanitarian and refugee law, and designed to undo the annexations and bring the occupation and the conflict to a just and durable conclusion. Palestinians and Israelis deserve no less.

We express great regret about the role of the United States of America in supporting and encouraging Israel’s unlawful plans for the further annexation of occupied territory. On many occasions over the past 75 years, the United States has played an important role in the advancement of global human rights. On this occasion, it should be ardently opposing the imminent breach of a fundamental principle of international law, rather than actively abetting its violation.”

HUMAN RIGHTS, Mideast, United Nations,

International Fellowship of Reonciliation: Open letter to the United Nations

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An open letter published by Pressenza (reprinted under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license)

His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres Secretary-General
United Nations Headquarters, New York City

Dear Mr. Secretary-General,

We are writing to you as International Fellowship of Reconciliation, a global movement seeking to transform, through nonviolence, the world away from endless cycles of violence towards justice, reconciliation, and lasting peace. As a concerned international NGO, accredited to the UN ECOSOC, we are writing to you to express our appreciation for your efforts dealing with the current health crisis in the world and to share some of our thoughts with you at this difficult time.

We join with you in recognizing “the fury of [COVID-19] illustrates the folly of war,” and we thank you for your leadership in calling for a global ceasefire as a first step to “end the sickness of war”. We are encouraged that your call has resonated with millions across the world, and gained endorsements from 70 Member States, with expressions of acceptance from parties to conflict, and non-state actors as well.

We call on all UN member States to support Your appeal, to the General Assembly and to the Security Council, and put it into practice.

The pandemic has revealed the single common vulnerability of humankind, which knows no border. We who are but one of the species on the planet earth must shun our urge for identity superiority or risk even more devastating pandemics. With this shattered illusion of separateness, humanity cannot tolerate war and violence anywhere, as it threatens health and peace for everyone everywhere. Countries are grappling internally with political, economic, racial, and social divides that exacerbate efforts to contain the virus, while inequity in the global community reveals the new depths of suffering in countries that already bear the brunt of the pain caused by climate change, hunger, economic sanctions and exploitation, and armed conflicts.

While the impact of COVID-19 on the countries where we have active members has varied, together, we affirm the urgency for a new and creative way forward that builds human security globally through health, economic justice and peace. We therefore appeal:

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Question related to this article:
 
How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

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1. Prioritize the protection of poor and marginalized people. Economic inequality increases the impact of the pandemic and sets the stage for more devastation with the risk of even greater lethality. For instance, underinvestment in healthcare means many countries are unable to meet the simple challenge of providing personal protective equipment to those in need. Concentrated poverty means sheltering in isolation, and for women and children locked down with abusers, it promises new levels of violence, abuse, and death.

2. Protect civil liberties and human rights. Emergency legislation rushed through in many coun- tries may serve as cover for oppressive measures and the violation of human rights. Traditionally marginalized communities are forgotten or ignored, and vulnerable people are cut off from offi- cial support. We urge you, Mr. Secretary-General, to prioritize and support the work of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms. Michelle Bachelet to adapt the global index for hu- man rights to ensure that it monitors abuses in a world now reshaped by COVID-19 legislation. We urge you to call on all member States for accountability.

3. Use the momentum of this global crisis to shift resources to meet human needs and create lasting peace. Weapons of war cannot defeat a virus, address climate change, nor solve any other world problem. As States pursue ‘business as usual’ military strategies to contain the virus and create security, the world wastes opportunities to coalesce around creative responses that match the grave nature of this crisis, like protecting the most vulnerable from harsh economic impacts and working in solidarity to ensure global health emergency preparedness. These are the kinds of creative responses that lead to lasting peace. We call for disarmament and a major reduction in military spending worldwide, starting with the abolition of all nuclear weapons. We call for the conversion of military industry to civilian production and for the end of exports of weapons to states at war or violating human rights. Humanity will thrive with equitable local community investment and the shift from funding warfare to funding healthcare and peace. We urge the United Nations to invest more capacity and financial support in nonviolent conflict transfor- mation, mediation and Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeping.

Now is the time to create a “new normal” built on a culture of peace and non-violence. We call for global bridge-building and cooperation, and global leadership encouraging increased global solidarity. The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals recognize the interconnected reality of our world. With branches, groups, and affiliates in more than 40 countries, IFOR offers its support to UN agencies in achieving these goals. By highlighting the centrality of peace to a world free from poverty and ine- qualities, the SDGs challenge the world to put into practice a new way of thinking. Addressing the issues named above ensures that nations can create roadmaps out of COVID-19 that leave no one behind.

We wish you well and further success in your work.

Charlotte Sjöström Becker, President of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation

[Editor’s note: The International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) was founded in 1914 in response to the horrors of war in Europe. Today IFOR counts 71 branches, groups and affiliates in 48 countries on all continents.]

global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,

United Nations Alliance of Civilizations: Five Youth-Led Organizations Selected as Recipients of the Youth Solidarity Fund for 2019

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

Excerpts from the newsletter of United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

UNAOC has announced the latest recipients of the Youth Solidarity Fund (YSF) [ announced in 2019]. More than 600 proposals were received from over 70 countries in response to the call for applications. Five organizations based in Africa and Asia were then selected to receive seed funding of up to USD 25,000 for the purpose of implementing projects with innovative and effective approaches to intercultural dialogue and interfaith harmony. These five recipients join a group of 63 other youth-led organizations that have been funded by UNAOC since 2008.

In addition to seed funding, YSF recipients will also receive technical support to strengthen the implementation of their projects. UNAOC has partnered with Search for Common Ground to facilitate a capacity-building programme called Youth 360, involving online workshops and ongoing support from mentors. YSF recipients will have access to this support until the end of their project implementation period in November 2020.

The current edition of YSF is implemented through financial contributions from the Governments of Finland, Malta and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Umoja Mashinani – Kenya

“Our project, Umoja Mashinani, can be loosely translated to mean Peace Ambassadors in the Grassroots. We aim to enhance the capacity of community radio journalists to promote messages on non-violence, religious respect and intercul- tural cohesion. With UNAOC, we hope to build a sustainable and impactful platform together, fostering a community of young people who work for peace.”

Bonface Ochieng Opany, 27 years old
Project Coordinator, Umoja Mashinani
Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Amani Centre (Kenya)

Theatre for Peace – Sri Lanka

“Our project will bring young people with diverse backgrounds together to connect, create and transform. Through theater, we will facilitate a process of introspection to explore and challenge our own identities, beliefs, biases and perspectives. With the resources and the solidarity shared through UNAOC we will be stronger to stand up and challenge the polarization and separation in our society.”
Sivatharsini Raveendran, 28 years old Project Coordinator, Theatre for Peace – Connect.Create. Transform

For Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Centre for Communication Training (Sri Lanka)

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Question related to this article:
 
Youth initiatives for a culture of peace, How can we ensure they get the attention and funding they deserve?

How can just one or a few persons contribute to peace and justice?

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We Play for Peace – Lebanon

“We are launching ‘We Play for Peace!’ which is a project funded by UNAOC to create a safe space for youth from different religions, nationalities and backgrounds. Through sports, young people from the North Bekaa region of Lebanon will get the opportunity to set their differences aside and play together in peace. Youth will erase the memory of conflict and be a source of positive change for the future.”

Mehdi Houssein Yehya, 31 years old
Project Coordinator, We Play for Peace! Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Peace of Art (Lebanon)

Dismantling Stereotypes – Kingdom of Eswatini

“We are curating interfaith and intercultural conversations amongst young people of different religious and cultural backgrounds. With the grant from UNAOC, we aim to inculcate a culture of mutual understanding, respect and tolerance for these young people. Our goal is to place youth in the center of pre- venting any religious and cultural differences from breaking out into violence or developing into mechanisms for excluding other people.”

Sicelo Christopher Gama, 29 years old Project Coordinator,
Dismantling Religious and Cultural Stereotypes for Social Cohesion and Sustainable Peac
Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Swaziland Intent Youth Organization (Kingdom of Eswatini)

Nurturing for Peace – Uganda

“We thank UNAOC for their support of our project that will engage youth from seven sects of Islam and Christianity to strengthen interfaith understanding and foster new friendships. The project aims to reduce support for religiously motivated recruitment and acts of violent extremism in Eastern Uganda. We are confident that our project will be a living symbol to the ideals of interfaith cooperation and friendship among faiths.”

Zulaika Nanfuka, 32 years old
Project Coordinator, Nurturing for Peace
Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum (Uganda)

Africa, Mideast, South Asia, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations, , ,

United Nations: Debt-laden countries at risk, as financial markets screech to a halt

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from United Nations News

Economists and finance experts are warning that countries with “high” or “distressed” public debt levels are at risk of severe economic shocks amid the COVID-19 pandemic and calling for restructuring plans based on the principle of solidarity.


A girl in Timor-Leste shows the online platform she will use to study while her school is closed, due to the new coronavirus pandemic. ©UNICEF/Bernardino Soares

Since the start of the pandemic, financial institutions including the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – along with UN entities, regional organizations and country groups such as the G20 – have been examining the tools available to stabilize markets, prevent job losses and preserve hard-fought development gains.

At a joint high-level meeting of the IMF and the World Bank on Mobilizing with Africa on Friday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres commended the bodies’ swift actions to support member countries, while emphasizing that more work will be needed.

“We know this virus will spread like wildfire and there are no firewalls,” he said.  “Alleviating crushing debt is absolutely crucial.”

The UN chief noted that in Africa, households and businesses were suffering liquidity challenges even before the virus gained a toehold on the continent.  As countries work to prevent millions from plunging into poverty, already unacceptable levels of inequalities are growing, fragility is increasing and commodity prices are declining.

Debt and pandemic: a ‘perfect storm’

The current health and economic emergencies sparked by COVID-19 have emerged against the backdrop of high indebtedness for many developing nations – including middle-income countries – around the globe.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, public external debt in many developing countries has spiked. Low interest rates and high liquidity boosted many countries’ access to commercial lending. By January 2020, the debt of 44 per cent of least developed and other low-income developing countries was already considered at high risk or in distress. 

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Question for this article:

Can UN agencies help eradicate poverty in the world?

How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

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The COVID-19-induced contraction is having disastrous consequences. Global financial markets are coming to a standstill as investors race to pull funds out of emerging-markets and other high-risk sec­tors.  The pandemic is straining national budgets as countries struggle to meet health needs, respond to rising unemployment and support their economies.

UN experts warn that Africa may be in its first recession in 25 years, while Latin America and the Caribbean is facing the worst recession in its history. Similar decelerations are being seen in Asia and the Arab Region.

Shaping proactive responses

Against that backdrop, the UN is advocating for a comprehensive COVID-19 response package amounting to a double-digit percentage of global GDP.

It is also urging international financial institutions to do everything possible to prevent a devastating debt crisis with disorderly defaults, stressing that debt relief must play a central role in the global response to the pandemic.

Speaking at the joint IMF/World Bank meeting, the Secretary-General welcomed initial steps by the G20, including the suspension of debt service payments for all International Development Association nations. 

He also called for more resources for the IMF – including through the issuance of special drawing rights – as well as enhanced support for the World Bank and other global financial institutions and bilateral mechanisms.

Three-phase plan to tackle debt

The Organization has put forward a three-step strategy aimed at preventing heavily indebted countries from suffering the worst impacts of the COVID-19 emergency.

First, it calls for an across-the-board “debt standstill” for developing countries with no access to financial markets.  Second, it requests more comprehensive options for debt sustainability with instruments, such as debt swaps, and a debt mechanism for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Third, the plan calls for tackling structural issues in the international debt architecture, to prevent defaults.

The framework is built on a foundation of shared responsibility among debtors and creditors, as well as the understanding that debt restructuring should be timely, orderly, effective, fair and negotiated in good faith. 

“In all our efforts, we must focus on the most vulnerable and ensuring that the rights of all people are protected,” the UN Chief said.

(Thank you to Phyllis Kotite, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, United Nations,

Coronavirus reveals need to bridge the digital divide

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

The global crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has pushed us further into a digital world, and changes in behaviour are likely to have lasting effects when the economy starts to pick up. But not everyone is ready to embrace a more digitized existence.

A new analysis from UNCTAD  maps the changing digital landscape since the last major global calamity, the 2008/09 financial crisis. It looks at how a digitally enabled world is working for some, but not all equally.

According to the analysis, the coronavirus crisis has accelerated the uptake of digital solutions, tools, and services, speeding up the global transition towards a digital economy.

However, it has also exposed the wide chasm between the connected and the unconnected, revealing just how far behind many are on digital uptake.  
 
“Inequalities in digital readiness hamper the ability of large parts of the world to take advantage of technologies that help us cope with the coronavirus pandemic by staying at home,” said UNCTAD’s technology and logistics director, Shamika Sirimanne.

“This situation has significant development implications that cannot be ignored. We need to ensure that we do not leave those who are less digitally equipped even further behind in a post-coronavirus world.”

The power of digital revealed

The analysis provides snapshots of how technology is being used as a critical tool in maintaining business and life continuity.

Measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic have seen more businesses and governments move their operations and services online to limit physical interaction to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Digital platforms are also thriving as consumers seek entertainment, shopping opportunities and new ways of connecting during the crisis.

“There are incredible positives emerging that show the potential of a digitally transformed world,” notes Ms. Sirimanne.

Digitalization is allowing telemedicine, telework and online education to proliferate. It is also generating more data on the expansion of the virus and helping information exchanges for research.

There has been a leap in teleworking and online conferencing, amplifying the demand for online conferencing software such as Microsoft Teams, Skype, Cisco’s Webex and Zoom, the analysis says.

According to Microsoft, the number of people using its software for online collaboration climbed nearly 40% in a week.

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Question related to this article:

Is Internet freedom a basic human right?

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In China, the use of digital work applications from WeChat, Tencent and Ding took off at the end of January when lockdown measures started to take effect.

Other benefits include using artificial intelligence to help find a cure and a significant shift to e-commerce, benefitting small and big businesses alike.

However not all technology companies are profiting and there are some serious consequences of the rush to online platforms. These include mounting security and privacy concerns, according to UNCTAD.

The downside and the digital divide

The fast-paced shift towards digitalization is likely to strengthen the market positions of a few mega-digital platforms, the analysis finds.

This finding echoes the conclusions drawn in UNCTAD’s 2019 Digital Economy Report, which pointed out that the world’s top seven digital platforms already accounted for two-thirds of the value of digital platforms globally in 2017.

They have benefitted from network effects and from their ability to extract, control and analyse data, then transform it into digital intelligence that can be monetized.

“This situation will now be amplified as more people come or are forced online due to the coronavirus crisis,” said Torbjörn Fredriksson, UNCTAD’s digital economy head. “Those that do not have access are at risk of being left further behind as digital transformation accelerates, especially those in least developed countries.”

The least developed countries (LDCs) are the most vulnerable to the human and economic consequences of the pandemic, and they also lag farthest behind in digital readiness.

Only one in five people in LDCs use the Internet, and in most developing countries, well below 5% of the population currently buy goods or services online.

Lack of Internet access at home also limits connectivity, cramping, for example, the possibilities for students to be connected if schools are closed. “The education gap may also expand in developing countries, compounding inequalities,” said Sirimanne.

Low broadband quality hampers the ability to use teleconferencing tools. Mobile data costs also remain expensive across the developing world.

A development opportunity?

The coronavirus pandemic’s ability to show fractures can, hopefully, be turned into an opportunity, said Ms. Sirimanne. “More developing countries are exploring e-commerce and other digital solutions that can help build local resilience to future shocks,” she said.

The main policy takeaway from the analysis is that much more attention should be given to bridging existing and emerging digital divides to allow more countries to take advantage of digitalization.

New policies and regulations are needed to ensure a fair distribution of the gains from digital disruptions.

“If left unaddressed, the yawning gap between under-connected and hyper-digitalized countries will widen, thereby exacerbating existing inequalities,” she added.

“As with the coronavirus crisis and other development challenges, the world will need a coordinated multilateral response to deal with the challenge of digitalization.”

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global, HUMAN RIGHTS, United Nations,

The world needs solidarity. Join #UN75

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

A survey from The United Nations

The UN is marking its 75th anniversary at a time of great disruption for the world, compounded by an unprecedented global health crisis with severe economic and social impacts. Will we emerge stronger and better equipped to work together? Or will distrust and isolation grow further? 2020 must be a year of dialogue, when we come together to discuss our priorities as a human family, and how we can build a better future for all.

Why now?

Covid-19 is a stark reminder of the need for cooperation across borders, sectors and generations. Our response will determine how fast the world recovers, whether we achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and how well we handle pressing challenges: from the climate crisis to pandemics, inequalities, new forms of violence, and rapid changes in technology and in our population.

But just when we need collective action more than ever, support for global cooperation has been flagging. In many countries, public trust in traditional institutions is in decline and relations between countries have been under strain. Will this pandemic bring the world closer together? Or will it lead to greater mistrust? Global dialogue – and action – is now more urgent than ever.

What is UN75 doing?

In January 2020, we launched our global dialogue initiative, and discussions have taken place in all settings, from classrooms to boardrooms, across the world. In order to reach as many people as possible, we have built partnerships with youth, civil society, business and media organisations, and created a one-minute survey that is quick and easy to complete.

We have always placed strong emphasis on online engagement, through virtual dialogues and social media, and are now increasing these efforts in light of Covid-19. We are also working with our partners to take planned events into the digital space, and find innovative ways to engage audiences in line with WHO guidelines and local health regulations.

Why join?

It is vital that your voice is heard at this crucial time for the world. Your views, concerns and ideas will be presented to world leaders and senior UN officials at the official commemoration of the 75th Anniversary by the UN General Assembly in September 2020. After September, groups around the world will discuss how best to take forward the priorities and proposals generated.

Each conversation is an opportunity to encourage individuals to take actions in their own lives in line with what they have heard and learned. They can yield insights and evidence that national and international organisations can apply. Findings may inspire new programmes, investments, partnerships and campaigns, among other options. A global platform to illustrate key outcomes of discussions is being developed by the UN75 team.

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(click here for the version in French or click here for the version in Spanish.)

Question related to this article:
 
How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

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How can I take part?

Take our one-minute survey and share it widely: www.un75.online

Check out the UN75 toolkit with guidelines on how to join, and inspire conversations and amplify voices through channels and communities for people to talk and be heard. We will be adding more information on online dialogues in the coming days

Follow @JoinUN75 and #UN75  on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and add your voice to the testimonials from people who have already taken part

One-minute survey

Overall, do you think that people in 2045 will be better off, worse off, the same as you are today?

Better
The same
Worse

If you picture the world you want in 25 years, what three things would you most want to see? (Select up to THREE)

More employment opportunities
More respect for human rights
Better access to education
Greater equality within countries
Greater equality between countries
Greater equality between men and women
More sustainable consumption and production
More environmental protection
Less conflict
Better access to healthcare
Better management of international migration
Other, please specify

Which of these global trends do you think will most affect our future (Select up to THREE)

Risks arising from new technologies (data privacy, impacts on jobs)
Climate change and environmental issues (e.g. pollution, deforestation)
Forced migration and displacement (e.g. people fleeing conflict or disasters)
Nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction
Armed conflict and politically motivated violence
Rapid changes in our populations (e.g. more people living in cities, ageing populations)
Risk of terrorism
Cyber warfare and new forms of weapons (e.g. artificial intelligence weapons)
Breakdown in relations between countries
Risks related to health (e.g. pandemics, greater resistance to antibiotics)
Organised crime (e.g. trafficking)
Other, please specify

How important – or not – is it for countries to work together to manage the above trends?

Essential
Very important
Fairly important
Not very important
Not important at all

What would you advise the UN Secretary-General to do to address these global trends?
(140 characters) – OPTIONAL

global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,

UN Secretary-General calls for global ceasefire

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Transcript of virtual press conference March 23 by the Secretary-General of the United Nations

Our world faces a common enemy: COVID-19.
 
The virus does not care about nationality or ethnicity, faction or faith.  It attacks all, relentlessly.
 
Meanwhile, armed conflict rages on around the world. 


UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

The most vulnerable — women and children, people with disabilities, the marginalized and the displaced — pay the highest price.
 
They are also at the highest risk of suffering devastating losses from COVID-19.
 
Let’s not forget that in war-ravaged countries, health systems have collapsed.
 
Health professionals, already few in number, have often been targeted.
 
Refugees and others displaced by violent conflict are doubly vulnerable.
 
The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war.

(continued in right column)

Question(s) related to this article:

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

(continued from left column)

That is why today, I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world.
 
It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.
 
To warring parties, I say:
 
Pull back from hostilities. 
 
Put aside mistrust and animosity.
 
Silence the guns; stop the artillery; end the airstrikes.
 
This is crucial…
 
To help create corridors for life-saving aid.
 
To open precious windows for diplomacy.
 
To bring hope to places among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.
 
Let us take inspiration from coalitions and dialogue slowly taking shape among rival parties in some parts to enable joint approaches to COVID-19.  But we need much more.
 
End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world.
 
It starts by stopping the fighting everywhere. Now.
 
That is what our human family needs, now more than ever.

(Note: The call by Guterres for a ceasefire has been applauded by the belligerents in the Yemen war which gives hope for a ceasefire there.)
 

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global, United Nations,

Federico Mayor pays tribute to Javier Pérez de Cuéllar

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A blog by Federico Mayor (translation by CPNN)

Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, former Secretary General of the United Nations (1982-1991), architect, among many other important achievements, of the peace processes in Mozambique, with the Community of Sant’Egidio, that of El Salvador and restart Guatemala. In the last two, I participated actively, following his guidelines as Director-General of UNESCO (1987-1999). His serenity and measure were always accompanied by great firmness and decisive action, with great logistical capacity. He was very demanding in the exercise of democratic multilateralism. He believed in the value and strength of the word, of the encounter, of the outstretched hand.


Javier Pérez de Cuéllar

Working with him was a very sobering experience. His clear vision, his conviction that the solution lies in the encounter, in the dialogue, in the mediation and conciliation constitute a luminous legacy that could clarify many challenges, some potentially irreversible, that confront humanity today.

We are in “… times of doubts and resignations in which noise drowns out words”, as Miquel Martí i Pol so beautifully wrote in 1981 (in “L’ámbit de tots el ámbits)”). As Secretary-General, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar was committed equally to freedom of expression and non-violence, but now the voices of the United Nations and its Institutions have been silenced. Now, more than ever – as between Calvino and Castellio – the principle of the word must be defended against the sword. Silencing “the voice of the world” goes against humanity’s interests, encouraging frustration, exclusion, radicalization.

Tireless on the path of reconciliation and concord, his life followed the common thread of his principles. From his time as Secretary-General, it is important to highlight how he made the orgaization effective, which is not easy given its complexity and the historical moment in which he carried out his responsibility with special dedication and a vision for the future. Despite the achievements made, “the majority of humanity still lives in conditions of poverty … and human excesses threaten the environment on which we all depend … There will be conflicts in the world until human aspirations can be more fully satisfied …”, he writes in the introduction to his book “Pilgrimage for Peace”, published in New York in 1997.

His reflections on the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Security Council, relations with the United States and the role of NGOs and civil society could help today to redirect global governance, which is now irresponsibly placed in the hands of plutocratic groups. In the face of deadly invasions based on lies occur, the United Nations System is marginalized and outbreaks of xenophobia, supremacy and racism proliferate, refugee reception is neglected and development cooperation is reduced to shameful minimums.

At the ECOSOC meeting of 7 July 1988 in Geneva on international economic and social policy, I had an opportunity to directly appreciate his unusual ability as the Secretary-General. I participated in the debate with the participation of the United States, the Administrator of UNDP, Greece representing the European Economic Community, the United Kingdom, Germany, Tunisia (on behalf of the Group of 77), Canada, the Executive Director of UNICEF , China, Soviet Union …

(continued in the column on the right)

(Click here for the original Spanish.)

Questions related to this article:

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

(continued from the column on the left)

Before assuming the United Nations General Secretariat, he had already achieved great successes, such as the one he achieved in 1974 when, as the UN Commissioner, he was able to broker an agreement in Cyprus between the Greek and Turkish leaders.

Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, has left us but he remains, as in the verse by Miguel Hernández, who also became invisible on a fateful day, but is always with us: “I’m leaving, I’m leaving, I’m leaving, but I’m staying… ”

In October 1987, he received the Prince of Asturias Award “for promoting Ibero-American cooperation.” In February 1989, the Nehru Prize “for international understanding”.

On January 19, 2000, I participated in Lima, with the “Discourse on Order”, in the tribute paid to the universities of Lima and Salamanca on their eightieth birthday. In these last twenty years, we have been in constant contact and have supported multiple initiatives in favor of multilateralism.

I end with a verse I dedicated to him in 1989:

“We must all build
in a place that is
in the middle of nowhere,
on the brink of the abyss.
Outside the borders
of the prosperous lands,
in the unknown swamps.
(No, you are not unknown,
the ignored swamps
where our past
sinks
progressively,
each day
before eyes that are
indifferent
and distant,
of the helpless
who cannot,
who don’t know,
of the well-to-do
who don’t hear,
who do not want to …).

To preserve memory,
the footprints of men,
their paths past,
to clarify
their steps tomorrow
we must, my children,
my friends,
you whom I do not know,
we must build everything
next to the abyss,
in the place,
rough and unique,
of our future,
and create only wealth
that can be shared”.

People with such a long journey and unusual attitude leave an imperishable mark. One day, they are absent and they become invisible, but what matters most remains: citizens of the world, continue to illuminate the paths of tomorrow and set new directions for future generations.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global, United Nations,