Category: World Government (Page 4 of 12)

UN chief: “Paris climate deal could go up in smoke without action”.

September 18, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

Unless wealthy nations commit to tackling emissions now, the world is on a “catastrophic pathway” to 2.7-degrees of heating by the end of the century, UN Secretary General António Guterres warned on Friday.

This is far beyond the one to 1.5 degree Celsius threshold, agreed by the international community as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The UN chief’s remarks came after the UN’s climate agency (UNFCCC) published an update on national climate action plans (officially known as Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs) submitted by the 191 countries which signed Agreement.

The report indicates that while there is a clear trend that greenhouse gas emissions are being reduced over time, nations must urgently redouble their climate efforts if they are to prevent disastrous global heating in the future.

Not enough

The document includes updates to the NDCs of 113 countries that represent around 49% of global emissions, including the nations of the European Union and the United States.

Those countries overall expect their greenhouse gas emissions to decrease by 12% in 2030 compared to 2010.

“This is an important step,” the report points out, but insufficient, as highlighted by Mr. Guterres at Friday’s Forum of Major Economies on Energy and Climate, hosted by the President of the United States, Joe Biden.

“We need a 45 per cent cut in emissions by 2030, to reach carbon neutrality by mid-century…

It is clear that everyone must assume their responsibilities”, he emphasized.

70 countries indicated their embrace of carbon neutrality goals by around the middle of the century.

If this materializes, it could lead to even greater emissions reductions, of about 26% by 2030, compared to 2010, the report explains, according UN News.

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UNGA 76th session started, President calls on member states to embrace hope.

September 16, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

The United Nations General Assembly on opened its 76th session on Tuesday, with the UNGA president Abdulla Shahid and the UN chief Antionio Guterres imploring member states to embrace hope.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be the most challenging period the world has seen since the Second World War, said the UN Secretary-General on Tuesday, as the 75th session of the General Assembly gave way to the new, deepening inequalities, decimating economies and plunging millions into extreme poverty.

Passing on the gavel to the new UN General Assembly president, António Guterres saluted his predecessor: “Throughout this difficult and historic moment, we have all been fortunate to rely on the leadership of His Excellency, President Volkan Bozkir”.

The UN chief credited the outgoing Turkish diplomat and politician for prioritizing a sustainable recovery, rooted in the 2030 Agenda, and supporting countries and communities as they rebuild systems shattered by the pandemic.

83 heads of state expected to attend 76th session of UN General Assembly.

Head of the UN special political mission to Security Council: Sudan continues its transition towards democracy.

September 14, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

Despite setbacks and challenges, Sudan continues its transition towards democracy, the head of the UN special political mission in the country told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

Volker Perthes, head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), briefed on the authorities’ efforts to address violence in the volatile Darfur region and the east, the ongoing economic crisis, and other issues.

Measures have included the launch of an initiative to shape consensus around key objectives such as military and security sector reform, the economy, justice and peace.

“There is also growing momentum to move forward on the preparations for constitution-making and elections,” said Mr. Perthes.

“The Government has produced a draft law on the constitution-making process, which will now be subject to public consultations.”

Debt relief decision

Following continued economic reforms, Sudan is now eligible for debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries, initiative of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), another positive development.

Mr. Perthes said the move will unlock critical financial resources to strengthen the economy, address poverty and improve social conditions.

Humanitarians have been advocating for timely and flexible funding, he added, as needs have risen mostly due to the economic crisis and intercommunal conflict.

Some 418,000 people have been newly displaced this year following fighting and armed attacks, mainly in Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile.

“This is about six times as many newly displaced persons as in the same period last year,” he said, while the conflict in neighbouring Ethiopia is also sparking refugee flows into the country, according UN News.

Pope Francis condems discrimination and prejudice against Roma people in Slovakia.

September 14, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

One highlight of Pope Francis’ visit to Slovakia was Tuesday’s meeting with the Roma community in Kosice during which he called for their integration.

“Judgement and prejudice only increase distances, hostility and sharp words are not helpful.

Marginalizing others accomplishes nothing.

Segregating ourselves and other people eventually leads to anger.”

Pope Francis used these words to condemn the discrimination that the Roma people face, stressing: “the path to peaceful coexistence is integration.”

Pointing to what Jesus said, “Do not judge”, Pope Francis lamented the gossip or rumours we pass or the prejudices, judgements and labels we tag others with, but consider ourselves justified.

“In this way,” he said, “we disfigure by our words the beauty of the children of God, who are our brothers and sisters“.

“We cannot reduce the reality of others to fit our own pre-packaged ideas; people cannot be pigeonholed.”

Our knowledge and appreciation of others must be grounded in our acknowledgement that each of them possesses the inviolable beauty of a son or daughter of God, a reflection of the Creator’s image, according Vatican News.

The new President of the United Nations General Assembly Abdulla Shahid highlights hope.

September 14, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

The incoming President Abdulla Shahid of the UN General Assembly says that hope is desperately needed for those billions around the world struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, devastation, and strife.

“The General Assembly is the only body which has the 193 countries represented and this body, when it speaks unanimously, when it decides on a matter, that is the international conscience,” Abulla Shahid said, ahead of the 76th General Assembly session, which starts on 14 September.

He added that on issues such as climate change and equitable access to vaccines, he would “never give up hope that humanity will rise to the occasion.”

Mr. Shahid also spoke about the importance of these issues and his overall presidency for his home country of the Maldives, which he serves as foreign minister, an island nation with a population of around 530,000 people.

He will now represent a United Nations body that speaks on behalf of nearly 7.9 billion people.

In an interview to UN News he quoted: “Investing in multilateralism is what we should do now.

COVID-19 has once again shown us now that multilateralism is the only way forward.

The best investment in multilateralism is investing in young people“.

The World Government Movement wishes Abdulla Shahid the best with his duty as 76th President of the UN General Assembly.

UN chief: $1 billion pledge a ‘quantum leap’ in commitment to Afghanistan.

September 14, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday hailed significant international financial support pledged to the people of Afghanistan following a meeting in Geneva, which nearly doubled the initial $606 million flash appeal for the country.

“Today, we have already heard clearly more than $1 billion in pledges, it represents a quantum leap in relation to the financial commitment of the international community towards the Afghan people,” said Mr. Guterres.

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths confirmed in his closing remarks to the meeting that more than $1.2 billion in humanitarian and development aid in total had been promised, incorporating both Monday’s appeal, and the regional response.

A ‘lifeline’ for Afghans

“The funding will throw a lifeline to Afghans who lack those services; to the small children that Henrietta Fore of UNICEF spoke of, who face the risk of acute malnutrition.

And to the many women and girls who could lose their access to reproductive health services, and much more,” said the Emergency Relief Coordinator, and head of the UN humanitarian affairs office.

In an encounter with journalists on the sidelines of the high-level ministerial meeting, the UN Secretary-General noted that the fact that nearly 100 Member States had taken part in helping Afghanistan,

This in addition to more than 30 regional and international organisations, underscored that the crisis in Afghanistan remained a crucial issue for the global community, according UN News.

UN chief: “support Afghans in their most perilous hour”.

September 13, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

The international community should urgently offer a “lifeline” to millions of vulnerable Afghans “who face perhaps their most perilous hour”, the UN Secretary-General said on Monday.

Leading the appeal in Geneva for $606 million to support emergency aid for 11 million people across the country, António Guterres said that even before the uncertainty caused by the Taliban takeover last month, people were in the grip of one of the worst crises in the world.

“The people of Afghanistan need a lifeline,” he said.

“After decades of war, suffering and insecurity, they face perhaps their most perilous hour.

Now is the time for the international community to stand with them”, according UN News.

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Pope Francis to G20: “peace is a universal right”.

September 12, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

Pope Francis sends a message to participants in the G20 Interfaith Forum, and urges religious leaders to pursue peace for all peoples and to serve truth.

The G20 Interfaith Forum runs from 12-14 September in the Italian city of Bologna, and is meant to promote healing from the Covid-19 pandemic and the many conflicts lacerating the world.

Religious leaders taking part in the annual event seek to engage with the agenda of the G20, a forum for international economic cooperation amongst the world’s 20 largest economies.

Pope Francis sent his greetings to participants in the Interfaith Forum on Saturday evening.

Pope Francis praised the forum’s goal of sharing ideas and hopes through interfaith dialogue and the promotion of religious freedom.

He said the role of religions is essential in overcoming war and hatred, since “true religion consists in adoring God and loving our neighbor.”

“More than putting something on display, we are called to show the fatherly presence of the Heavenly God through our harmony on earth,” he said, according Vatican News.

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UN chief Antonio Guterres urges: “time to think big about future international cooperation”.

September 11, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

Celebrating the United Nations 75th anniversary last year, prompted major internal discussion about its future, and a new direction away from the post-World War Two consensus of its early days.

These reflections have resulted in Our Common Agenda, a landmark new report released on Friday by the UN Secretary-General, setting out his vision for the future of global cooperation.

Antonio Guterres launched the report at a meeting of the UN General Assembly on Friday, prefacing his remarks with a scathing overview of the parlous state of a world he described as being under enormous stress, and warning that the world risks a future of “serious instability and climate chaos”.

“From the climate crisis to our suicidal war on nature and the collapse of biodiversity, our global response is too little, too late”, declared the UN Secretary-General.

“Unchecked inequality is undermining social cohesion, creating fragilities that affect us all.

Technology is moving ahead without guard rails to protect us from its unforeseen consequences.”

The UN chief went on to describe the extensive consultations that fed into its development, a listening exercise that led the UN to the conclusion that enhanced multilateralism is seen as the way to deal with the world’s crises.

This approach would herald a new era for multilateralism, in which countries work together to solve global problems; the international system works fast to protect everyone in emergencies; and the UN is universally recognized as a trusted platform for collaboration, according UN News.

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President of the UN General Assembly: “world remains far behind solving biggest global challenges”.

September 10, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

The President of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkir, told reporters on Thursday, that the world is “far behind in being able to solve the greatest global challenges and achieve the SDGs.”

Volkan Bozkir was speaking in New York at his final press conference in the top job, steering the agenda of the world body amidst an extraordinary year, dominated by COVID-19.

Abdulla Shahid, from the Maldives, is taking over the role for the 76th session at the end of the month.

The last year, said Mr. Bozkir, “only highlighted that the preventive tools and mechanisms available with the UN are in desperate need for review.”

“The United Nations cannot be a follower of crisis.

It must be a preventive body, it must deliver earlier action to prevent, or prepare for, crises in the first place,” he added.

Lastly, he left some recommendations to his colleagues and his successor.

He believes there’s a need to streamline and deepen the work of the UN General Assembly.

For him, “success is not measured by the number of meetings we have, but by their quality, their format, their impact”, according UN News.

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Not enough

Debt relief decision

A ‘lifeline’ for Afghans

Forums