The climate change talks held under the Ad Hoc Working Group of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) in Geneva in February resulted in an important 86-page negotiating text. This text is a
Reviving Ganga is an important priority for the country since 45 percent of the country’s population depends on the river for livelihood and well-being, said Sanwar Lal Jat, minister of state
India is the fifth largest generator of e-waste in the world. The country discarded 1.7 million tonnes (Mt) of electronic and electrical equipment in 2014, said a United Nations report.
Protection of environment is proactive and continuous endeavour. June 5 is the day when the humanity observes World Environment Day. Under the United Nations’ the day is to bri
The Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry has approved setting up mentor committees which would act as integrated panels for creating model curricula for skill training courses. This is a
North Korea’s H-bomb test today presents a serious dilemma for world leaders and the United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting today in New York. "Wh
Sonalika Social Development Society, the CSR wing of India’s third largest tractor maker Sonalika International Tractors Ltd, in collaboration with United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in
Leilani Farha is UN’s special rapporteur (SR) on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context. Sh
Jehangir Khan is the director of Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) and the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) in the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) in the UN Secretari
The UN co-hosted a high-level conference in Geneva on preventing violent extremism (PVE) on April 7 and 8. The conference drew some 30 government ministers, including the foreign ministers of Belgi
The world’s most important diplomatic post is up for grabs. The process of selecting the next UN secretary-general (UNSG) has already begun. However, despite the fact that the final selection
For the first time at the 71st session of the UN general assembly, world leaders laid thrust on the need to curb the spread of infections that are resistant to antimicrobial medicines. So far, on
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj today said terrorism was the biggest threat to human rights and asked the global community to isolate nations that don’t cooperate in fighting terroris
At COP 21 in Paris, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reached a landmark agreement to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions a
The glaring highlights for the Indian (and the Pakistani) reader from the 33rd session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) were the verbal spats between India and Pakistan. As the tones got increa
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, has offered “his good offices” to help resolve the escalating tension between India and Pakistan following a terror attack in Uri that left 19 Indian s
Hardeep Singh Puri, one of India’s ablest and most outstanding diplomats, has served as India’s representative to the UN. His first UN posting came in 1981 when as first secretary h
When Portugal’s former prime minister António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres succeeds Ban Ki-moon as the next UN secretary-general, he will find himself pitted against a host of challenge
The rapid transformation of farming and food systems to cope with a warmer world, such as adopting climate-smart practices, particularly to curb greenhouse gas emissions, is critical for hunger and
Both India and China, which together are home to roughly one in three 10-year-olds alive today, are among the world’s fastest growing economies and have seen dramatic improvements in the oppo
With the fighting intensifying in Syria’s Aleppo, parties to the conflict are aggressively pushing their agendas beyond the battlegrounds. The battle over the war-struck city has great symbol
A UN human rights expert has issued a strong statement accusing the US security forces of using “increasingly militarised response” against North Dakota pipeline protestors, and called
The process for selecting the chief of the world’s biggest multilateral health organisation is underway. The next director-general (DG) of the World Health Organisation (WHO) will be elected
The UN has produced its first analysis of the socio-economic indicators in the Arab region since the 2011 uprisings. The results are not all heartening. The report titled ‘Arab Human Developm
Dr Adel Abdellatif is the chief of the Regional Programme Division in UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Arab States and is based in New York. In his current capacity, he coordinates and oversees
The inevitable has happened albeit a tad sooner than expected. US president-elect Donald Trump has clashed with the UN even before he has assumed office promising that “things will be differe
“Genocide begins with the killing of one man – not for what he has done, but because of who he is.” – Kofi Annan A poster bearing this quote a
The governing body of the UN’s health agency that sets the agenda of work on global health met late January. In its 140th session, the executive board (EB) of the World Health Organisation (W
Tobeka Daki, a single South African mother and health activist from the eastern Cape, died fighting breast cancer in November last year. Her oncologist had told Tobeka that she needed trast
As the 59 American Tomahawk missiles lit up the dark skies, smashing Syria’s Shayrat air base near Homs, the collective conscience of the “civilised world” was assuaged. S
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted the report of India’s human rights record review on May 9. There were 250 recommendations by 103 countries that had taken the floor five days earli
In many ways the story of Gross National Happiness in a country is the story of Bhutan and its modern history. There are two major transition points in Bhutan’s recent history, the beginnin
In a world that sees far-from-perfect global healthcare systems, lack of access to cancer treatment – a disease which currently is the second leading cause of death – is the most
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are the three states that have the highest total fertility rate (TFR), propelling India towards becoming the world’s most populous country in the nex
“Voting has been completed. The machine is locked,” announced the secretary conducting the voting process for the adoption of a UN treaty at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
UN recently adopted the first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons. The ten-page treat is encompassing in its prescriptions: it prohibits a full range of nuclear-weapon-related activities, such as
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released the 20th edition of its World Drug Report (WDR) in June
HelpAge India has become the first Indian non-profit to win the ‘2020 UN Population Award’ in the institutional category for raising awareness and devising solutions to the issues faced
South Sudan is no exception to the rule that a state of anarchy prevails in the large dark continent in the want of effective diplomacy and conflict resolution. It’s not that the aforesaid ta
As politicians and policymakers make speeches at the United Nations during a high-level summit next week to assess the lack of progress on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG
