By Ramesh Jaura

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the new year unfolds, UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ appeal for addressing the “trust deficit disorder” plaguing the world, and General Assembly President María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés’ plea for stressing the need to enshrine the General Assembly as the “chief peacebuilding organization in the world” will serve as a clarion call to urgent action by the international community. All the more so because the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2018 was held against the backdrop of burgeoning unilateralism and large-scale migration. (P20) CHINESE | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN | SPANISH
…

By Katsuhiro Asagiri

TOKYO (IDN) – When the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in Paris on December 10, 1948, it came up with a milestone document in the history of human rights that took into account the horrendous experiences of the Second World War.

With the end of that war, and the creation of the United Nations, the international community vowed never again to allow atrocities like those of the Second World War  happen again. It pledged, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. (P19) GERMAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE | SPANISH
…

By Neena Bhandari

SYDNEY (IDN) – More investment is needed in human rights education and strengthening of civil society to address inequality and sustainability – the main objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This was the key message from the Ninth International Conference on Human Rights Education (ICHRE) held in Sydney, Australia.

Drawing inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which marks its 70th Anniversary this year, the ICHRE 2018 (November 26-29) recommended all stakeholders to mainstream human rights education as a tool for social cohesion towards peaceful coexistence; and strive to bridge the significant gap between integrating human rights education in the curricula and its implementation. (P18) CHINESE | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN | TURKISH
…

By Naimul Haq

DHAKA, Bangladesh (IDN) – Despite a well-coordinated effort to address the Rohingya refugee crisis in Cox’s Bazar, a coastal town bordering Myanmar, some major challenges still need attention.

The local administration admits that with over one million forcibly displaced Myanmar citizens arriving in such a short time, it is indeed difficult to manage the environmental damages and rising crime rates faced by the local people. (P16) ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SWAHILI
…

By Ramesh Jaura

ASTANA (IDN) – At a critical point in time when religious tolerance is being consigned to oblivion, an international conference has appealed “to all people of faith and goodwill” to unite, and called for “ensuring peace and harmony on our planet”.

The appeal emerged from the two-day Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana, the Kazakh city founded on the principle of “unity in diversity”. The Congress concluded with a ‘peace concert’ in which 500 choir singers from five continents of the world took part. (P15) ARABIC | INDONESIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SPANISH | TURKISH
…

By Sudha Ramachandran

BANGALORE (IDN) – In 2013, Kalpana Saroj, Chairperson of the Mumbai-based Kamani Tubes Ltd. (KTL), was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest honour for civilians, for her achievements in the fields of Trade and Industry.

Saroj was successful in turning around the fortunes of KTL, a manufacturing company producing quality copper and copper alloy pipes and tubes. She succeeded where others, including well-networked, male corporate honchos, failed. (P14) ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE | TURKISH
…

By Ramesh Jaura and Katsuhiro Asagiri

BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) – Reports have it that when Albert Einstein was some five years old and confined to bed, his father gave him a magnetic pocket compass to play with. He twisted and turned it, wondering how the needle always knew to point towards the north.

Takeo Inamura and Nobuhide Fukui share a similarly profound curiosity about how the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, world leaders adopted in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit in New York, could really transform the world. (P12) CHINESE | INDONESIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN | SPANISH
…

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Moments after the UN General Assembly unanimously agreed on August 10 to appoint Chile’s former President Michelle Bachelet as the seventh UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Secretary-General António Guterres tweeted: “Ms. Bachelet is a pioneer, a visionary, a woman of principle, and a great human rights leader for these troubled times.” He had had put forward her candidacy to the General Assembly on August 8.

The United Nations Association – UK (UNA-UK) Executive Director, Natalie Samarasinghe, agreed: she is “certainly a strong choice”, and added: “She has experience at the highest level of government in Chile, at the highest level of administration within the UN system as the first head of UN Women, and of working with civil society under the shadow of oppression.” (P11) GERMAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE
…