The UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted a landmark resolution on the promotion of “safe, secure and trustworthy” artificial intelligence (AI) systems that will also benefit sustainable development for all. |
Allan Carlson, Ph.D.: Speeches: The Howard Center
"A talk for the Charismatic Leaders' Fellowship, 12 Jan 2004, Jacksonville, FL"
Vad betyder ":::THC:::" som tydligen är talarens titel?
Reuters The United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Wednesday [18.10.23] that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants to allow humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip.
Jeffrey Sachs: The nations of the world, operating under the UN Charter and defending the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, must move urgently to help save both Israel and Palestine.
Focus on the Global South , July 2023: we delve into our recent activities around the UN Food Systems Summit, where as part of People’s Autonomous Response to the UN Food Systems Summit, Shalmali Guttal participated in critical public discussions on "Multilateralism vs Multistakeholderism — The Case of Food" and "Multistakeholderism and the Corporate Capture of Food Governance.". We were also part of the press conference, "Calling for True Food Systems Change", and we share with you the press release and statements stemming from these engagements. As part of our regional work, we also share insights from Joseph Purugganan, who discussed advancing accountability and justice via a legally binding instrument for the Business and Human Rights Resource Center Roundtable Series on Binding Treaty.
Iain Davis and Whitney Webb
June 5, 2023The United Nations claims that the purpose of Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG16) is to promote peaceful and inclusive societies and to provide access to justice for all. Hiding behind the rhetoric is the real objective: to strengthen and consolidate the power and authority of the "global governance regime" and to exploit threats—both real and imagined—in order to advance regime hegemony.
Dissecting and digesting what's behind the controversy-ridden 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.
Powerful Northern governments and large scale corporations are behind the summit. The Summit was initiated just after the United Nations signed a strategic partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF), a platform of the 1000 leading corporations, and early documents indicated the WEF as a co-organizer of the summit.
Agnes Kalibata, the president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), was named as the Special Envoy for the Summit. This has been another source of controversy, because AGRA is an organization, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates and Rockefeller Foundations (as well as many governments), that promotes a high-tech, high-cost approach to agriculture, heavily reliant on agrochemical inputs and fertilizers.
They have been at the forefront of predatory seed laws and policies that marginalize and disenfranchise peasant farmers on a massive scale. Despite USD$1 billion in funding, food insecurity has increased by 30% in the countries in which they operate.
june 7, 2022. A silent revolution is underway at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Corporations are being given increasing influence at the expense of states, small scale food producers, Indigenous Peoples and civil society.
Stockholm+50 äger rum den 2-3 juni 2022, i nära anslutning till FN:s årliga
Regeringen.se : I juni 2022 arrangerar FN högnivåmötet Stockholm+50 där Sverige står som värd, tillsammans med Kenya. Då är det femtio år sedan FN:s första...
Världsmiljödag den 5 juni och till femtioårsjubileet för Stockholmskonferensen. Mötet hålls på Stockholmsmässan i Älvsjö i Stockholm. Det är troligt att mötet innehåller en hel del digitala inslag och sändningar.
The nine nuclear-dependent nations and their supporters face a future in which they will be increasingly isolated.
Illustrating the complexity of differing positions on the treaty are the 43 nations under the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD). More than one-third of the 43 countries have ratified the TPNW, but the bloc also includes four nuclear-armed states: China, North Korea, India and Pakistan.
Yuriy Kryvonos, director of UNRCPD, said nuclear-armed states often claim their arsenals serve as a deterrence tool. “Against whom [does] this deterrence tool exist? Against other nuclear-armed states.” The argument, he said, is “nonsense” because a nuclear war cannot be won; claiming protection from nuclear weapons is an illusion. Arguments that the TPNW undermines the NPT, Kryvonos insisted, do not hold water.
The General Assembly commemorates 26 September as the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. This Day provides an occasion for the world community to reaffirm its commitment to global nuclear disarmament as a priority.
Gunhild Stordalen blir en av fem temasjefer når FN avholder toppmøte om mat og bærekraft i 2021, skriver E24. Stordalens kommentar er at dette er litt surrealistisk. Det er en kommentar vi kan slutte oss til, om enn på en annen måte enn det hun ønsker å formidle.
Gunhild Stordalen og hennes EAT Foundation har fått stor mediadekning for sine ytterliggående forslag om hvordan verdens kosthold bør være.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Fabrizio Hochschild Drummond of Chile as his Envoy on Technology. Taking into account the growing prominence of technology issues and the recognition that the United Nations must enhance its efforts on digital cooperation and global connectivity, the Envoy will lead the implementation of the
The Guardian November 20, 2018: Erik Solheim quits after Guardian reveals excess travel and rule breaking which led to withholding of funds.
"Numerous Unep staff have contacted the Guardian criticising Solheim’s perceived closeness to China and the project he initiated related to the environmental sustainability of China’s huge infrastructure Belt and Road Initiative. The US in particular was concerned and its representatives raised a long list of questions as far back as April, including about how the project was funded and how intellectual property rights would be protected."
"Another concern to staff was the $500,000 sponsorship Solheim agreed to give the Volvo Ocean Race, despite it not being mentioned on the VOR sponsors’ web page or announced by Une"
China Daily December 11, 2020. Erik Solheim, the former head of the UN Environment Program, said that by showing the world a green recovery from the pandemic is possible, China can provide global leadership in sustainable development in the post-COVID-19 world.
The Transparency, Accountability, and Participation (TAP) Network is a broad international coalition of civil society organizations (CSOs) working together to advance SDG16+ to promote peace, justice, and inclusive societies, and to help enhance accountability for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
NYT article: "The Nobel committee said the U.N. agency’s work to address hunger had laid the foundations for peace in nations ravaged by war. .... "the agency [WFP] has met with criticism that its food sourcing methods hamper already weak local food markets. The organization buys most supplies on the global market, and development experts have criticized it for offering contracts to major donors —
like the United States — in what has come to be known as “tied aid,” or the practice of tying humanitarian donations to purchasing contracts. In response, it has pledged to eventually 10 percent of its supplies from smaller local farms.
Nobelin rauhanpalkinto YK:n ruokaohjelmalle – Tylsältä vaikuttavaa valintaa selittää huoli nationalismin noususta.
”Ruoka on paras lääke kaaosta vastaan, ja ruoan puute synnyttää epävakautta ja konflikteja. Ruoka on yksi perustarpeistamme”, Nobel-komitean puheenjohtaja Berit Reiss-Andersen perusteli valintaa tiedotustilaisuudessa.
WFP:n palkitsemisella on selvä tarkoitus tukea multilateraalia politiikkaa ja instituutioita niiden heikolla hetkellä.
”YK:n sisällä toimivat sanovat, että rahoitusta on vaikeampi saada. Järjestö on riippuvainen rahoituksesta”, Reiss-Andersen sanoi.
Juuri tämä lienee pihvi komitean valinnan taustalla, arvelee Ulkopoliittisen instituutin johtaja Mika Aaltola. Nationalismin nousu ja valtapeli vie pohjaa tärkeää perustyötä tekeviltä organisaatioilta.
Mika AaltolaKuva: Roni Rekomaa / Lehtikuva
”Tuosta se poliittinen viesti löytyy. Se ei ole mikään kompromissiratkaisu, vaan palkinto annettiin lähettämään viestiä.”
Rauhanpalkinnolla on tarkoitus tukea multilateraalia politiikkaa ja instituutioita niiden heikolla hetkellä. Erityisesti Yhdysvaltojen ja Kiinan valtataistelu näkyy järjestöissä, ja ne ovat politisoitumassa.
YK varoittaa ”raamatullisesta” nälänhädästä – 300 000 ihmistä voi kuolla nälkään joka ikinen päivä
Ville Similä HS 22.4. 2020
Koronakriisin aiheuttama talouslama voi sysätä heikoimmin toimeentulevat maat nälänhätään, jossa ihmiset joutuvat myymään viimeisen omaisuutensa hengissä pysyäkseen.
Hengityssuojaimia käyttäneet YK:n ruokaohjelman WFP:n työntekijät jakoivat hätäapua kodeistaan paenneille jemeniläisille pääkaupungissa Sanaassa lauantaina.Kuva: Essa Ahmed / AFP
Koronakriisin käynnistämä talouslama uhkaa aiheuttaa kesään mennessä ”raamatullisen” nälänhädän, YK varoittaa. ”Olemme maailmanlaajuisen nälkäpandemian kynnyksellä”, YK:n ruokaohjelman WFP:n johtaja David Beasley sanoi Genevessä tiistaina YK:n turvallisuusneuvostolle.
By Alexandra Brzozowski | EURACTIV.com 17 jan. 2020
It's one of Belgium's worst kept secrets. Lawmakers on Thursday (16 January) narrowly rejected a resolution asking for the removal of US nuclear weapons stationed in the country and joining the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
JENNY CLEGG looks ahead at a year where an increasingly multipolar world will challenge US dominance
"The founding proclamation of the UN: “We the peoples … determine to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” also reaffirmed faith in fundamental human rights, and committed to establish conditions of respect for international treaties and laws, and to promote social progress and better standards of life.
It is now time to reassert the role of the UN at the centre of world politics by reclaiming the “We the people” declaration from below in a grass-roots movement for international co-operation on climate change alongside the fundamental principles of peace and social justice.
"The UN is being turned into a public-private partnership": An interview with Harris Gleckman
Lynn Fries speaks to Harris Gleckman about the growing corporate influence over our global governance system.
Workshop report - Amsterdam, March 2019
10 September 2019
There are now over 45 global standard-setting multistakeholder initiatives (MSIs) establishing guidelines and rules for a wide range of products and processes. What is the driving force behind these initiatives? To whom are they accountable? What are the implications for social movements seeking to challenge unjust power relations within states and globally?
Scientists call for Protection from Non-ionizing Electromagnetic Field Exposure
"Since there is controversy about a rationale for setting standards to avoid adverse health effects, we recommend that the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) convene and fund an independent multidisciplinary committee to explore the pros and cons of alternatives to current practices that could substantially lower human exposures to RF and ELF fields. The deliberations of this group should be conducted in a transparent and impartial way. Although it is essential that industry be involved and cooperate in this process, industry should not be allowed to bias its processes or conclusions. This group should provide their analysis to the UN and the WHO to guide precautionary action."
Positions on the treaty
On 7 July 2017, an overwhelming majority of the world’s nations voted to adopt the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – a landmark international agreement that outlaws the ultimate weapons of mass destruction and establishes a pathway to their elimination. This page summarizes government positions on the treaty.
OCTOBER 9, 2018
Signature/ratification status of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons opened for signature at United Nations headquarters in New York on 20 September 2017 and will remain open indefinitely. Once 50 nations have ratified or acceded to it, it will enter into force.
There are currently 69 signatories and 19 states parties.
September 26th is the International Day for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and called on world leaders gathered at the UN to join the Treaty on the...
Full statement by Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of ICAN, and by Ray Acheson, Director of Reaching Critical Will (ICAN partner organisation), and member of ICAN’s steering group:
by Philip Giraldi 28.6.2018 : "The United States has decided to no longer participate in the United Nations 47-member Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The number one reason cited by U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley was that the council is unfairly critically focused on Israel [...] the U.S. withdrawal from U.N. agencies is, if anything, a sign of weakness rather than strength. If Washington were indeed confident in its own brand of international leadership it would welcome the opportunity to sit on panels and help shape the views of other countries with which it has a politically neutral or adversarial relationships. That it does not choose to do so suggests that there is an understanding that what Washington is selling no one is buying. The complete isolation of the United States at the United Nations and also elsewhere, to include G-7, was exhibited recently during June 1st votes at the U.N. Security Council. A resolution sponsored by Kuwait seeking an inquiry into the Israeli killing of unarmed demonstrators in Gaza and a motion by Haley seeking to blame Hamas for the deaths both were voted on. Haley’s was the only vote against the former and the only vote in favor of the latter. She predictably commented afterwards that “Further proof was not needed, but it is now completely clear that the U.N. is hopelessly biased against Israel.”
Trump's bellicose statements about North Korea and the recent false missile alert in Hawaii have raised global alarm over nuclear war. Now, in an unprecedented step, a draft of the new U.S. Nuclear Posture calls for authorizing nuclear weapons use even in response to a non-military attack
12.8.2017. Ydinaseet uhkaavat koko ihmiskunnan olemassaoloa. Maailman 15 000 ydinkärjen tuhovoima riittää moninkertaisesti maapallon tekemiseksi elinkelvottamaksi.
Publicerad 30 oktober 2017
Bakgrund I linje med Sveriges långa engagemang för nedrustning och icke-spridning deltog Sverige i den multilaterala förhandlingsprocess som i juli...Uppdraget ska redovisas senast den 31 oktober 2018 till Regeringskansliet (Utrikesdepartementet).
The United States has withdrawn from Unesco over what it claims is the organisation’s “continuing anti-Israel bias” – a move that has just been followed by Israel itself. The US State Department recently announced its intention to withdraw from the UN’s cultural, scientific and educational organisation and become a permanent observer instead.... The US has withdrawn from the organisation once before, during the Reagan administration. Former President Ronald Regan pulled the country from Unesco in 1984, claiming the body was biased in favour of the Soviet Union.
President George W Bush rejoined the organisation in 2002, but the US pulled its funding less than 10 years later after the organisation accepted Palestine as a member... the decision to withdraw from Unesco may also have been a financial one: the US owed more than $500m in arrears to the organisation and was at risk of losing it voting rights, according to Unesco documents. According to Foreign Policy, Mr Tillerson simply wanted to stem outgoings.
Bevisene som gjorde at FN gjenopptok undersøkelsene ble lagt fram i boka «Who killed Hammarskjöld» av Susan Williams i 2014. Hennes undersøkelser viser med stor tydelighet at vestmaktene og viktige finansinteresser må ha stått bak nedskytinga av Hammarskiölds fly for å bevare sin kontroll over Kongo og landets enorme rikdommer. Tidligere undersøkelser bærer preg av å dekke over fakta framfor å grave dem fram.
via International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) 28 Sept
September 28, 2016
A group of governments have submitted a draft UN General Assembly resolution to start negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons. The document was circulated on Wednesday by its lead sponsors Austria, Mexico, South Africa, Ireland, Brazil and Nigeria and follows on from the recommendation of a UN Working Group, at which the overwhelming majority of states supported the call for ban treaty negotiations in 2017.
... The voting on the resolution will take place at the end of October or early November.
"Det är inte en mänsklig rättighet att begå brott i det land som en person söker asyl i. Tvärtom är det ett brott inte bara mot landets lagar, det är även ett brott mot FN:s flyktingkonvention som tvärtom ålägger flyktingen att följa mottagarlandets lagar. En asylsökande som begår brott mot våra lagar bryter därmed mot FN:s flyktingkonvention." Johan Westerholm
Flyktingkonventionen, par 2 (General Obligations)
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Austria on Tuesday called for banning nuclear weapons because of their catastrophic humanitarian effects, an initiative it said now has the backing of 159 countries.
Farida Shaheed presented her report on copyright policy and the right to science and culture on 11 March, at the 28th session of the Human Rights Council, taking place in Geneva from 2-27 March.
She stressed the fact that one of the key points of her report is that intellectual property rights are not human rights. “This equation is false and misleading,” she said.
The report also suggests that authors must be distinguished from copyright holders, she said, adding, “We should always keep in mind that copyright regimes may under-protect authors because producers/publishers/distributors and other ‘subsequent right-holders’ typically exercise more influence over law-making.”
text of the declaration, signed by Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Ban Ki Moon, plus statement 3.12. by TFF board. "The United Nations considers it secret and, thus, hasn't published it on its homepage; NATO is pleased to give you a copy upon request "
The United Nations is convening a three-day summit of world leaders from 24 to 26 June 2009 at its New York Headquarters... was mandated at the Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development, held in December 2008 in Doha. the General As
On Obama's initiative, it has been decided that leaders of the United Nations Security Council member countries will meet on Sept. 24 to discuss nuclear issues.
"We are hopeful that your country would support the Arab draft resolution," says the June 29 letter to Bildt. "Unfortunately," Sweden was among the EU nations voting to block action on the document last year, Moussa wrote. In Stockholm, Swedish foreign mi
On Oct 24, 2008, United Nations Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave a landmark speech entitled Contagious doctrine of deterrence has made non-proliferation more difficult, in which he called on governments to fulfil their nuclear disarmament obliga
UNGA 2009: What is happening? A basic power shift away from the West. "There will not be any deep multilateral Kyoto style agreement on climate. The whole approach is wrong. Evils are not abolished by consensus among evildoers; slavery was not abolishe
"L’idée au cœur de ce manifeste est la suivante : il est temps de contester et dépasser les modes de pensée dominants fondés sur des visions réductionnistes et mécanistiques du monde à l’origine de la destruction des ressources précieuses de la planète et
Frontal21-Interview "Verloren hat die Vorsorge" von Karsten Deventer. -- Tom Jefferson ist Allgemeinmediziner und arbeitet im internationalen Gesundheitsnetzwerks Cochrane Collaboration. Zusammen mit zwei Kollegen aus Japan und den USA wertet der in Rom a
Mick Moore, 22 January 2010 : "It is no longer utopian to talk of substantial policy change within a few years. Where and how will it come about? There are clear, strong links between prohibition and the growing likelihood of defeat for the Western milita
On November 15, at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), OpenNet Initiative (ONI) partners were set to hold a reception for the as-yet-unreleased volume Access Controlled, in a room which ONI had been given permission to use for
by Thalif Deen / IPS. "Monday [3.5.2010] an overwhelming majority of U.N. member states - 118 out of 192 - wanted the defiant Jewish state to come clean with its nuclear weapons programme and sign the NPT, which is aimed at halting the spread of these dev
PelicanWeb's Journal of Sustainable Development. -- Do they believe that the MDG will be realized by Big Oil, the Military-Industrial Complex and the Nuclear Lobby together?