Yearly Archives: 2009
Behind-the-scenes at COP 15: Tuvalu(!) Makes Big Waves
The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a grouping of 43 countries particularly vulnerable to climate change, along with 48 other least developed countries backed a new target proposed by Tuvalu yesterday saying a rise of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels was not negotiable.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Chief gets “rousing welcome” in Copenhagen
The president is not the only American official making waves in Europe today. According to this post in the Wall Street Journal’s Environmental Capital blog, EPA administrator Lisa Jackson had a “veni, vidi, vici moment” in Copenhagen.
On the Saving Edge: New Tech in Disaster Zones
A new report by the UN Foundation and Vodafone Foundation has found the intersection between two incredible trends — the sig
Special Guest Post for Human Rights Day
By Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Old and new forms of discrimination and intolerance continue to divide communities all over the world. Sentiments of xenophobia are on the rise. They are often manipulated for demagogic purposes or even for sinister political agendas. Day after day, their corrosive effects undermine the rights of countless victims. This is why today on Human Rights Day, the United Nations is urging everyone everywhere in the world to embrace diversity and end discrimination.
Day 3 in Copenhagen: Ban Re-asserts Control over the Negotiations
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is reasserting control over the negotiations after a leaked document raised what he called “trust issues” between developed and developing countries. The UN’s top climate diplomat says the document is just one informal proposal and he real work will be done at the negotiating table.
New Ugandan Legislation Includes Death Sentence for Active Homosexuals
The Ugandan government is currently debating a new law against homosexuality. Regular homosexuality is punishable by seven years in prison. Being HIV positive and having gay sex – even with a condom – would be punishable by death. I don’t think it is culturally insensitive to say that this is a very bad law.
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The SC; HRC; DPRK; South Sudan
The SC: The Security Council today held its last consultations under the Council Presidency of ROK. Tomorrow, Russia will take over the rotating Presidency of the Security Council for March under Ambassador Vitaly Churkin.
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The SG; Mali; Middle East; Palestine
The SG: At the Fifth Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations in Vienna, Austria today, the SG emphasized the role of youth in ensuring a “prosperous, equitable and peaceful future.”
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The SG; DRC; HRC; Palestinian Prisoner
The SG: In Ethiopia over the weekend, the SG is now in the United Arab Emirates. Today he met with Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, where the two discussed developments in the region, including Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, and in the Middle East Peace Process.
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