Coronavirus: Challenges and Opportunities on the Path Towards Global Cooperation at the UN
No-one can doubt that 2020 is a year of crisis in human affairs. And this is having an impact on possibilities and difficulties in the evolution of the cooperative spirit at the UN – just as it is having an impact on every area of life at city, provincial and national levels.
Recent articles highlight some of the challenges and opportunities of this crisis time at the UN. Coming posts on the Blog will feature more articles with different perspectives on this theme. The goal is to help readers deepen their understanding of elements of power politics and the relations between national sovereignty and the increasing need for globally coordinated responses to problems arising from our interdependence. Where is the spirit of cooperation for the common good growing in the realpolitik of the UN? where is its absence being highlighted? and what are the different pathways for empowering the cooperative spirit at the UN?
The UN’s 75th Birthday: A Critical Chance for the Globe to Save Itself
Giovanna Kuele, July 22, 2020. From PassBlue: An independent media site reporting on UN affairs.
Precautions taken in Mali against Covid-19, March 2020. A UN-75 political
declaration to reinforce global cooperation was approved recently by the General Assembly.
But it had hit many sticking points, including the United States forcing language
on climate change to be softened. OUSMANE TRAORE/WORLD BANK
As consensus was finally achieved on July 7, a final draft of the UN-75 political declaration has been approved and is expected to be adopted by world leaders on Sept. 21 at United Nations headquarters through virtual means. Given the political climate, the declaration is concise, clear, forward-looking and inspiring. But it is not nearly enough.
Because of the unprecedented confluence of crises engulfing the world, we must ensure that the 75th anniversary of the UN is an opportunity to reinvigorate multilateralism. The climate crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic have exposed the failures of our international system and clarified that the only way to address them is through global cooperation.
The UN’s 75th anniversary this year is a chance for taking stock, strengthening the UN and confronting the challenges the system will face in the years ahead.
Read the full article at passblue.com
UN Forum offers 'Sobering' Vision of SDGs Progress and New Virtual Reality
Amy Lieberman, 21 July 2020. From Devex: The media platform for the global development community.
The recently held virtual sessions on countries’ SDG reporting came with its
own set of new challenges for engagement. Photo by: Manuel Elias / U.N.
The United Nations’ annual check-in on the Sustainable Development Goals wrapped up last week without the usual fanfare of thousands of visitors descending upon U.N. headquarters, darting across midtown Manhattan from one packed side event to the next.
The virtual nature of this year’s High-level Political Forum, of HLPF, was unavoidable — U.N. headquarters remains largely closed because of the coronavirus pandemic and just transitioned to its first reopening phase this week.
The pandemic is reversing decades of uneven development progress, making achievement of the goals “even more challenging,” according to “The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020,” released by the U.N. at the beginning of the HLPF on July 7. An estimated 71 million people are expected to be pushed back into extreme poverty in 2020.
Here are some major takeaways from the recently concluded two-week meeting — and what it might signal for the largely virtual opening of the U.N. General Assembly in September.
More – read the full article at devex.com