Partnerships for the Goals
Reduce inequality within and among countries
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
51,
pp 23
- 25
(2015)
Jun 2015
Article
The Rio+20 negotiations began amidst the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis, which made it abundantly clear that the economic, social and environmental imbalances that had built up recently could no longer be tackled separately, sequentially, or by countries acting alone. Despite rapid export growth, strong capital inflows and high commodity prices in the developing world, the resulting income gains had been unevenly distributed, and many poorer countries and communities remained vulnerable to shocks and reversals. Crisis came in the wake of slow growth, massive income redistribution in favour of the top 1 per cent and an explosion in private debt, provoking not only a degree of moral soul-searching but also raising concerns about the fragility of the social compact.
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
51,
pp 21
- 22
(2015)
Jun 2015
Article
Investing in basic, sustainable infrastructure is essential to improving the living standards for communities worldwide. When we speak of the basics, we mean the fundamentals. These are issues which comprise common human needs all over the world. Just because these are basics, however, does not mean that addressing such concerns correctly is a simple task. In the case of infrastructure it requires coordinated, long-term planning that stretches across geographic, political and cultural boundaries.
Advancing the debate on a culture of conflict prevention
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
54,
pp 24
- 26
(2017)
Nov 2017
Article
“The best way to prevent societies from descending into crisis is to ensure they are resilient through investment in inclusive sustainable development.” This truth, as stated by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, underpins his recent vision for conflict prevention, in which the maxim of reversing inequalities and strengthening institutions applies to all countries. Putting prevention first is at the forefront of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and it frames the global community’s commitment to “strengthen universal peace in larger freedom”, captured in the preamble of United Nations General Assembly resolution 70/1 that introduced the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the world in October 2015. The specific framework for prevention is found in SDG 16 which seeks to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. SDG 16 places political action at the forefront of the peace-security-development nexus by recognizing that governance deficits are largely responsible for poverty and conflict. By virtue of this debate, the SDGs direct the international community to prioritize prevention by removing the causes of conflict through political process and the pursuit of development outcomes which leaves no one behind.
Saving water, saving lives
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
47,
pp 9
- 11
(2012)
Apr 2012
Article
Water is a basic necessity of life, and it may seem inconceivable to imagine living without it. But the stark reality is that many people around the world do. The availability of fresh water for drinking and sanitation poses an urgent and challenging problem, particularly in many developing countries
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
51,
pp 40
- 43
(2015)
Jun 2015
Article
The year 2015 will be seminal for the development agenda at the United Nations. Financing sustainable development will be the main subject of an anticipated agreement in Addis Ababa in July 2015. Later, in September of the same year, a global summit will adopt an outcome document containing the post-2015 development agenda, and expectations are high that in December 2015 an ambitious and farreaching agreement will be achieved on climate change in Paris at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This array of agreements will frame transformative actions, directions and approaches for people and for our fragile planet.
Placing people at the centre of our sustainable urban future
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
53,
pp 12
- 15
(2016)
Apr 2016
Article
The United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development— Habitat III—to be held in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016, will be a historic event.
Towards cyberpeace: Managing cyberwar through international cooperation
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
50,
pp 7
- 9
(2013)
Oct 2013
Article
The ubiquitous use of information and communication technologies (ICT) serves both as an enabler of growth and innovation as well as the source of asymmetrical cyberthreats. Around the globe, about 2 million people are connected to the Internet, and the use of the Internet and ICT-enabled services is becoming more and more an indispensible part of our everyday lives. With the increasing dependence on ICT and the interlinked nature with critical infrastructure, we have become alarmingly vulnerable to possible disruption and exploitation by malicious cyberactivities.
The panel of the wise: Its role in preventing violent conflicts in Africa
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
54,
pp 16
- 20
(2017)
Nov 2017
Article
The insufficient participation of women in formal conflict prevention and at the peace table is an important area of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) that remains poorly implemented. The significant contribution and strong role of women in local mediation and conflict prevention initiatives continue to be largely unrecognized and weakly supported. Thus, since 2010, the African Union (AU) Panel of the Wise—already with a mandate to draw the public’s attention to largely overlooked issues—has considered ways to strengthen the participation of women and youth at the peace table and raise awareness of the impact of war and sexual violence against women and children, through a document entitled “Mitigating Vulnerabilities of Women and Children in Armed Conflicts”. The report advocates for at least four key actions to be taken by the African Union Commission: a) the establishment of the Office of the Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security; b) the launch of the AU five-year Gender Peace and Security Programme (GPSP) 2015-2020; c) the implementation of an Open Session of the Council on Women, Peace and Security; and d) the launch of the African Network of Women in Conflict Prevention and Peace Mediation (FemWise).
The values of the G-77 are more actual than ever
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
51,
pp 36
- 38
(2014)
Jul 2014
Article
As the founder of Inter Press Service, which is also celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year, let me share some reflections, which are of course my personal views, as I do not belong to the intergovernmental system. If I look at the enthusiasm and hope that marked 1964, when we all hoped to build a more balanced and just system of international relations, when solidarity was a key word, and at the sense of gloom and stagnation that marks international relations today, I cannot but reflect on what went wrong. The fact that millions of citizens today in various Gallup polls worldwide look to the world not as an element of stability, but as a serious factor of incertitude, must be an important consideration. I will, therefore, present my personal opinion on what went wrong, and why we are in the present global incertitude.
Building an Agenda for Humanity
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
53,
pp 13
- 15
(2016)
Jun 2016
Article
Humanitarian action has never reached so many people in so many places. Around the world, more actors than ever are involved in delivering life-saving assistance and protection to people in need: from Governments, which bear the primary responsibility for providing assistance to their people, to international and national organizations and networks, to businesses and private foundations.
Education as the pathway towards gender equality
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
50,
pp 31
- 36
(2014)
Feb 2014
Article
Amartya Sen, often referred to as the father of the concept of human development, reminds us of a quote by H.G. Wells, where he said that human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. Sen maintains that if we continue to leave vast sections of the people of the world outside the orbit of education, we make the world not only less just, but also less secure. To Sen, the gender aspect of education is a direct link between illiteracy and womens security.
The role of sport in achieving the sustainable development goals
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
53,
pp 6
- 9
(2016)
Aug 2016
Article
After 15 years of progress towards the unprecedented Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the world has turned its attention to the successor Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a period of transition to the newly adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In reviewing achievements and pending business surrounding the eight MDGs, the international community, led by the United Nations, undertook a thorough consultation process with stakeholders from all spheres of society and agreed on 17 SDGs to be pursued over the next 15 years. With the overarching aspiration of bringing people and the planet closer together and leaving no one behind, the 2030 Agenda is a unique opportunity to inspire global action for development worldwide, including in the field of Sport for Development and Peace.
Strengthening partnerships and cooperation on international migration
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
50,
pp 12
- 15
(2013)
Oct 2013
Article
Migration forms a natural part of the human condition. It is one of mankind’s oldest strategies for reducing poverty and, on an individual level, has proven to be one of the most direct and effective ways of improving one’s well-being. The 2009 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report highlighted how people migrating from low-income countries to higher income countries on average could gain a 15-fold increase in income, a doubling of the education enrolment rate and a 16-fold reduction in child mortality.
Sport as a means of advancing international development
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
53,
pp 27
- 29
(2016)
Aug 2016
Article
In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which contained a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Higher learning institutions and global citizen education
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
50,
pp 13
- 16
(2014)
Feb 2014
Article
A Ithough the term global citizen dates back to ancient times, it is only in recent decades that it has gained extensive usage in academic circles. It is an objective of many mission statements and has also gained credence as a personal way of life, as an awareness of oneself not as an isolated individual but as one inextricably linked to others. Lest such common usage of the phrase become a cliché, I think it behooves us at the outset to define, albeit in broad strokes, what we mean by global citizens. Is it a shared sense of a world identity, even though human beings have not yet evolved into a world community? Is it a commitment to some common universal values? Or is it a way of approaching, embracing and attempting to resolve global challenges from a perspective that is much broader and more inclusive than the one that until recently placed sovereign states at the centre of global discourse. In terms of institutions of higher learning and what they offer, we will concentrate on the latter definition which we have implemented in our own university.
The illegal commercial bushmeat trade in Central and West Africa
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
51,
pp 4
- 7
(2014)
Sep 2014
Article
All of the great apes of Africa, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas are endangered by human population growth, habitat destruction, illegal trafficking of apes for entertainment, private zoos and hunting. Bushmeat trade is the commercial hunting and selling of wild animals for food. It is very different from subsistence hunting, which comprises killing animals for food for a family or village. Once money is involved, anything goes. Even mothers with babies are shot which is, of course, tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden egg. It is not sustainable. In the Congo Basin and elsewhere in Central and West Africa this is one of the most serious threats to chimpanzees and other endangered animals, which will result in ever more species becoming endangered.
Teaching the UN through experiential education
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
50,
pp 8
- 12
(2014)
Feb 2014
Article
As educators
you can help students grow into
a global civic identity and understand how their decisions have an impact ranging well beyond their immediate vicinity. The United Nations is uniquely placed to work with you in instilling a sense of global citizenship in todays youth.
A state-building approach to the drug trade problem
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
50,
pp 15
- 19
(2013)
Oct 2013
Article
The United Nations Security Council has increasingly highlighted organized crime, particularly drug trafficking, as requiring the coordinated focus of various United Nations bodies and the Secretary-General. The escalation of drug trade-related violence in Mexico and Central America where inadequate rule of law institutions have been overwhelmed by intense organized crime; the emergence of drug smuggling in West Africa, which contributes to its cauldron of other illegal economies and poor governance; and the deep penetration of drug trafficking into the political and economic life in Afghanistan and Pakistan have all captured policy attention.
A way back
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
54,
pp 9
- 11
(2017)
Nov 2017
Article
Agadez, a town in northern Niger once frequented by tourists visiting the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage historic site, is today one of the main transit points for West African migrants. During my visit to Agadez last year, I met a young man who never made it to Europe. He said to me, “I would rather stay here doing nothing, than go home where I will be doing nothing.”
The meaning of tolerance reflections of a Palestinian girl and an Israeli boy
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
47,
pp 49
- 50
(2012)
Apr 2012
Article
Sireen Tutunji and Gedalia Gillis are alumni of the Face to Face/Faith to Faith, annual dialogue and leadership programme for Jewish, Christian, and Muslim youth, planned and implemented by the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel, in partnership with Auburn Theological Seminary in New York. Programme participants meet biweekly in East and West Jerusalem in order to foster positive relations and tolerance of “the other,” and to develop dialogue and leadership skills. They also act together to benefit the Jewish and Palestinian communities in the city through volunteer work.
The MDGs and the Least Developed Countries
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
45,
pp 4
- 5
(2008)
Dec 2008
Article
When world leaders vowed at the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000 to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty”, they recognized that special measures would be required for the weakest members of the international community to achieve this goal.
Walter: A story of resilience and hope
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
50,
pp 45
- 48
(2014)
Feb 2014
Article
The name Walter is taken from a Germanic name meaning ruler of the army (http:/www.behindthename.com), yet the Walter I was honoured to meet and connect with, like a mother to a son, is a beautifully made gentle soul, soft spoken, always smiling and showing no outer scars of a person exposed to some of the worst brutalities against humankind. On the contrary, he is poised, warm, friendly and grateful for his portion, for his cup in life, once empty even of basic needs that every child is entitled to and flung to the harsh elements of fate, is brimming with goodness and soon will overflow. This is because a young man realized that if he was so cruelly flung into the valley of death as a child, alone, confused, hungry, thirsty and lost in the crowds of hurting people fleeing for their lives with empty hands and aching hearts, he was alive for a purpose. All they had was the sky above as their roof and each otherstrangers by blood but brothers in circumstances. He remains beautifully made and hopeful that there is still goodness to be enjoyed.
Indigenous peoples and the MDGs – Continued
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
45,
pp 47
- 47
(2008)
Dec 2008
Article
Iceland’s sustainable energy story: A model for the world?
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
52,
pp 40
- 45
(2013)
Apr 2013
Article
In an era when climate change is making it necessary for countries around the world to implement sustainable energy solutions, Iceland presents a unique situation. Today, almost 100 per cent of the electricity consumed in this small country of 330,000 people comes from renewable energy. In addition, 9 out of every 10 houses are heated directly with geothermal energy. The story of Iceland’s transition from fossil fuels may serve as an inspiration to other countries seeking to increase their share of renewable energy. Was Iceland’s transition a special case that is difficult to replicate, or can it be applied as a model for the rest of the world?
Protection of migrants’ rights and state sovereignty
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
50,
pp 8
- 11
(2013)
Oct 2013
Article
Paradoxical as it seems, protecting migrants’ rights may be the best way to enhance state sovereignty in a globalized world. The protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms should not depend on where one is in the world. However, it is the state’s responsibility to uphold human rights through its laws and enforcement.
Strengthening multilateral diplomacy and sustainable development
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
51,
pp 33
- 36
(2014)
Dec 2014
Article
Sustainable development is by definition extremely wide in scope. It could embrace any number of multilateral agreements above and beyond the process currently under way for defining post-2015 sustainable development goals. Issues that are being addressed in diverse forums on climate change, international trade, ozone protection, conflict prevention, and population, among others, all contribute in some way to sustainable development. Similarly, multilateral diplomacy has been taking place at several levels—based on geographies, natural resource boundaries, common economic interests, development status, and specific sectors—with varying degrees of success.
Achieve a balanced life, with sports
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
47,
pp 31
- 32
(2012)
Apr 2012
Article
When I was a child, the neighbourhood children would gather on the street in front of my house to play dodgeball. With the hot summer sun blazing down on our backs, we raced from side to side, bending and twisting, to avoid getting hit by the ball. I enjoyed every second of those games.
China’s international investment strategy by Julien Chaisse (editor)
Main Title:
Transnational Corporations
27,
pp 143
- 145
(2020)
May 2020
Article
Chinas international investment law and policy have been the subject of detailed study since the liberation endeavour of the late 1970s, which was a landmark change in the countrys development path and integration into the global economy. The countrys active participation in the global economy is mirrored by its evolving profile of cross border capital flows, with China both a prominent source of, and destination for, foreign investment. Indeed, Chinas rise as a global investor has made its approach to international investment an important issue on which a considerable amount of literature has already been published. The recent past has, nevertheless, seen several important events within China, as well as bilateral, regional and global events influencing Chinas approach towards international investment and adding new perspectives thereto.
No Peace, No Sustainable Development A Vicious Cycle That We Can Break
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
52,
pp 13
- 16
(2016)
Mar 2016
Article
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have an intrinsic relationship to peace and stability. Without peace, all other goals—from focusing on youth and women’s needs, to addressing climate change and water, energy and food security—will be impossible to achieve. At the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), we have long been aware of the obstacles to development that are posed by conflict and fragility. Nowhere has this challenge been felt more acutely than in our programmes in the rural areas of the Near East and North Africa (NENA), where we have supported US $5.5 billion of investment in agricultural and rural development over the past four decades.
The group of 77 at fifty congratulations!
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
51,
pp 14
- 15
(2014)
Jul 2014
Article
For one who has worked much on the theory and practice of change from systems of hierarchy to systems of equity, 15 June 1964 will never be forgotten. Those at the bottom of the world system of states, fragmented away from each other by colonial and imperial structures, marginalized, exploited, 77 of them came together and formed—not a very revolutionary word—a Group. In 1967 the Group was confirmed by the Charter of Algiers. They used the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as their platform.
Protection of human rights under universal international law
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
53,
pp 23
- 25
(2017)
Feb 2017
Article
The United Nations was founded in the aftermath of the Second World War primarily as a guardian of peace and security in the world. From the very outset, the founders were aware of the close connection between peace and human rights: only under conditions of peace can human beings achieve full enjoyment of their rights. Never again should people be haunted by atrocities; never again should they become the victims of such genocidal policies as had devastated societies throughout Europe.
Labour migration and inclusive development: Setting a course for success
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
50,
pp 18
- 21
(2013)
Oct 2013
Article
There are over 100 million migrant workers living and working around the globe. Together with their families they represent most of the international migrants now estimated at 232 million people living outside their country of origin. Almost half are women, migrating increasingly for employment. About one in eight are between the ages of 15 and 24. South-South migration has now surpassed South-North migration: more than 50 per cent of emigrants from developing countries move to another developing country, and largely within their region. Nearly 80 per cent of South- South migration is between countries with a common border.
Strengthening front-line action to combat wildlife and forest crimes
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
51,
pp 16
- 20
(2014)
Sep 2014
Article
The world has been confronted by illegal wildlife trade for decades, but the recent spike in the scale and change in the nature of this illicit activity have markedly exacerbated the severity of its impacts. These far-reaching consequences are particularly evident for the illegal ivory trade—a crime that has not only had a devastating impact on African elephants, but also threatens people and their livelihoods, economies and, in some cases, national and regional security. Fortunately, the international community is awakening to the serious nature of wildlife crime and is determined to work together to end this illicit trade.
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
51,
pp 13
- 14
(2015)
Jun 2015
Article
In a paper entitled “No empowerment without rights, no rights without politics”, that was written for a Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) assessment project, we argued that: “…progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment in the development agenda requires a human rights-based approach, and requires support for the women’s movement to activate and energize the agenda. Both are missing from Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 3. Empowerment requires agency along multiple dimensions—sexual, reproductive, economic, political, and legal. However, MDG 3 frames women’s empowerment as reducing educational disparities. By omitting other rights and not recognizing the multiple interdependent and indivisible human rights of women, the goal of empowerment is distorted and “development silos” are created…”.
“We have become the change agents in our communities”
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
47,
pp 47
- 48
(2012)
Apr 2012
Article
We would like to share an experience that opened our eyes to some issues that most of us take very lightly. Our teacher, Florence Lutale, introduced us to a global programme in collaboration with the Genius Group of Schools in Rajkot, India, and schools in the United States to share our experience on global infectious diseases. The programme is the brainchild of Green Contributor, a non-governmental organization. We identified tuberculosis (TB), which is often overshadowed by HIV/AIDS in terms of publicity. While conducting research, we found out that not many students at the International School in Lusaka had been in contact with anyone suffering from TB. Many in Zambia believe that it is a disease infecting poor people, or those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
The MDGs in the European region and beyond
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
45,
pp 35
- 36
(2008)
Dec 2008
Article
The regions covered by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)—the whole European continent, North America and Central Asia— are characterized by a tremendous diversity in levels of economic development. While most countries of Western Europe and North America have levels of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita well above $20,000, for Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) and South Eastern Europe (SEE), the level is below $10,000. Some countries are emerging market economies, thus very close to the corresponding average GDP per capita of Latin American countries and some better-off African countries, such as Egypt (above $4,000). Others have much lower levels of income; for example, Tajikistan has the same level as Rwanda (about $1,200) and in Moldova, the income level is close to that of Ghana ($2,000).
Our aspirations must become achievements
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
44,
pp 8
- 8
(2007)
Dec 2007
Article
In March 2000, then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan published his report, ‘We the Peoples’: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century, listing the major challenges in the world. The report presented an action plan that included halving the relative amount of people living in extreme poverty by 2015, guaranteeing basic education to all children and reducing HIV-infection rates by 25 per cent by 2010. The key message of the Secretary-General’s Millennium Report was that the welfare of the world’s people is our shared responsibility. In an interdependent world, no nation is an island and people’s fortunes are interlinked. The current situation, in which the majority of the global population lives in poverty while the minority lives in abundance, is not only wrong; in the long run, it is unsustainable.
Is it still necessary to teach about the United Nations?
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
50,
pp 4
- 7
(2014)
Feb 2014
Article
Is it still necessary to teach about the United Nations? Absolutelynow, perhaps more than ever. With a spiraling global population, the need to better inform and educate young people the world over about the United Nations represents an ongoing challenge that cannot go unheeded.
Young people’s civic and political engagement and global citzenship
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
54,
pp 44
- 46
(2018)
Feb 2018
Article
Over the past 20 years, many commentators have argued that there is a crisis in young people’s civic and political engagement. This is because youth who are eligible to vote in national elections tend to do so less frequently than older generations. In addition, over the past few decades, there has been a decline in many countries in the percentage of young people who vote in national elections. These trends have been used to argue that the future of democracy is in jeopardy, because political engagement in later life is rooted in the habits developed in youth, and the youth of today will eventually become the adults of tomorrow.
Keep the promise for mothers and children
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
44,
pp 35
- 36
(2007)
Dec 2007
Article
Despite the concerted efforts of many players, global progress in child survival has slowed compared to the advances of previous decades. Maternal mortality— deaths of women in pregnancy and childbirth—remains at almost the same level as 20 years ago. Halfway to 2015, the target set in 2000 by world leaders to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5 on child and maternal health are furthest off track.
Homeward bound? questions on promoting the reintegration of returning Migrants
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
50,
pp 30
- 33
(2013)
Oct 2013
Article
The idea of return migration, with the aim of assisting voluntary returnees to settle back in their home countries, can seem an attractive way forward for governments that seek to manage migration humanely. In recent years, nevertheless, as return migration has become a preferred strategy for governments and one of the very few options open to migrants, the problems emerging from this practice and the policies that support it have increasingly come into view. Between the priorities of governance and the very complex, multiple and historically determined circumstances in which migration, as a global phenomenon, takes place, the consequences of implementing strategies that can be seen as unifocal become clear. This is evident in the disruption wrought by numerous government interventions that result in measures that counter, contain and displace the needs, aspirations and rights of migrants. Never is this more so than in the case of migration from the Global South to the Global North.
The MDGs in Asia and the Pacific
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
45,
pp 26
- 29
(2008)
Dec 2008
Article
Progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the Asian and Pacific region is uneven. We achieved success in some, but faltered in others. Even in areas of success, in-country and intra-country disparities persist. The pace of progress is too slow. Unless we act and accelerate it, 641 million people will continue to live on less than $1 a day; some 97 million children will remain underweight and 4 million will die before reaching the age of five; 400 million people in urban areas will have no access to basic sanitation; and 566 million in rural areas will live without access to clean water.
2030 Agenda: A Unique Opportunity to Address Conditions Conducive to the Spread of Terrorism
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
52,
pp 17
- 18
(2016)
Mar 2016
Article
Despite the international community’s efforts to stop terrorism and stem the flow of foreign fighters joining the terrorist organization that calls itself the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the number of fighters has more than doubled in a year and a half. It is estimated that over 30,000 individuals from over 100 countries—more than half of all of the United Nations Member States—have joined the ranks of ISIL as foreign terrorist fighters.
The MDGs in the Western Asian region
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
45,
pp 30
- 32
(2008)
Dec 2008
Article
As the world marks the midpoint between the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 and the target date for their achievement in 2015, an assessment of the Arab region’s progress on these is both timely and essential. As a whole, the region has made significant progress in some areas, including education and disease control, yet several factors have constrained the achievement of the MDGs.
The Norway-Tanzania partnership initiative
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
45,
pp 7
- 9
(2008)
Dec 2008
Article
On 29 November 2007, Norway and the United Republic of Tanzania signed a bilateral agreement to support Tanzania’s efforts to reduce child mortality and maternal mortality. The modality for support is to channel funds through a common financing basket for the health sector, together with a number of bilateral and multilateral partners, with no earmarking of the Norwegian funds. This marks the end of a one-year planning process, whereby we have attempted to bridge one of the major divides in the current development practices—namely, between global initiatives mobilizing additional finances for specific themes (in this case, the reduction of child and maternal mortality) and country- led processes of harmonizing and streamlining donor financing— by incorporating assistance into the development budgets, preferably in the form of general, alternatively sectorial, budget support.
How wildlife and forest crime undermines development and ravages global biodiversity
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
51,
pp 13
- 15
(2014)
Sep 2014
Article
In September 2013, poachers in Zimbabwe poured deadly cyanide into a watering hole frequented by a large elephant herd. The results were catastrophic for the local wildlife. Over 300 elephants, lions, vultures, painted dogs and hyenas were killed. The tragedy in Zimbabwe is a dismally familiar story. Throughout the world, wildlife is trapped, gunned down, poisoned, and slaughtered, while forests are stripped of their trees. The pace of this destruction is driving some species to the brink of oblivion.
National security and pandemics
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
50,
pp 20
- 24
(2013)
Oct 2013
Article
Pandemics are for the most part disease outbreaks that become widespread as a result of the spread of human-to-human infection. 1 Beyond the debilitating, sometimes fatal, consequences for those directly affected, pandemics have a range of negative social, economic and political consequences. These tend to be greater where the pandemic is a novel pathogen, has a high mortality and/or hospitalization rate and is easily spread. According to Lee Jong-wook, former Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), pandemics do not respect international borders.2 Therefore, they have the potential to weaken many societies, political systems and economies simultaneously.
Hans Singer: The gentle giant of UN economists
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
45,
pp 42
- 44
(2008)
Dec 2008
Article
Of the many economists who have worked for the United Nations, Hans W. Singer was the one who did more, and for more different parts of the Organization, than any other.1 During his 22-year career with the United Nations, he worked for the Economic Affairs Department (now DESA), helped lay the foundations for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through his work on the UN Special Fund and the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance (EPTA), undertook assignments for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), provided the intellectual rationale for the World Food Programme (WFP) and also spent time with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (ADB), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
Has communication become as complex as the devices themselves?
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
47,
pp 25
- 26
(2012)
Apr 2012
Article
The Times They Are A-Changin . Or are they? I believe times have already changed. More than we could have imagined. Our ability to communicate has changed dramatically in the last twenty years, from the advent of the mobile phone to the proliferation of laptop computers, and then the marriage of both into smartphones. As technology continues to advance into more versatile and effective ways to communicate, the way we use these methods are almost as complex as the devices themselves. This increases our scope and reach as individuals and, subsequently, as groups of individuals in search of a common goal or ideal. Thats why, with the arrival of social media services across new technology sources, activist groups and social institutions alike are finding a changing way to spread their messages and organize their activities.
Youth leaders must be accountable
Main Title:
UN Chronicle
47,
pp 38
- 41
(2012)
Apr 2012
Article
Today, there are 1.5 billion people worldwide between the ages of twelve and twenty-four, with 1.3 billion living in developing countriesthe largest generation of young people the world has ever known. As a key population, youth should be meaningfully involved in the formation of policy that affects them. It is likewise essential that young people have decision-making roles on youth-related issues. People of the same age group better understand their common needs, capacities, and limitations. As awareness about the importance of youth representation in decision making increases, so, too, does the involvement of youth advocates in programmes and events, such as the 2010 World Youth Conference in Mexico, the Youth Programme of the International AIDS Conference, and the Youth Symposium at the 2010 Women Deliver conference. The question is, how are the youth advocates selected, and are they the best people to speak on behalf of the worlds youth?
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