Author Archives: Penelope Chester 
Women Deliver 2010 – Technology as a catalyst for social change
Walking through the halls of the imposing Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C., you can feel that the Women Deliver conference is the largest gathering on women’s issues in more than a decade. There is a palpable excitement and enthusiasm among the thousands of attendees milling around between sessions, connecting and sharing experiences, which is only matched by the intense engagement and intellectual energy felt during the panels, plenaries and discussions.
Women Deliver 2010 – Michelle Bachelet, Mary Robinson, Ashley Judd, and More (Video)
During an official Women Deliver press conference on Monday, former Presidents Michelle Bachelet and Mary Robinson, actress and activisit Ashley Judd, executive director of the UNFPA Thoraya Obaid and World Bank managing director Oby Ezekwesili offered their views on why it is so critical to increase and improve investments in women and girls.
Women Deliver 2010 – First impressions
The 2nd Women Deliver Global Conference began this morning in Washington D.C. Delegates hailing from 146 countries and representing hundreds of NGOs, firms, civil society groups, governments and international organizations convened this morning for the event’s first plenary.
Liberia and Aid Dependency
During a recent visit to Washington, D.C., Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told a crowd assembled at the Council on Foreign Relations that “Liberia should not need aid in 10 years [...] we’ve got the resources … Read more
Extracting Benefits From The Natural Resource Industry
Mining giants haven’t failed to take note of opportunities in West Africa. The Financial Times reports that six major mining groups are planning on spending billions of dollars in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone in a bid to profit from the region’s rich resources, particularly iron ore.
For Guinea, The Vibes are Good
A political milestone has just been marked in Guinea: the campaign for the first round of the presidential election was launched yesterday, the first free and open competition for the country’s top leadership post since independence in 1958. The first round of the election is scheduled for June 27, with a potential second round slated to occur 2 weeks later, should no absolute majority emerge from the first round of voting.
U.S. Lawmakers Take Aim at Ugandan Insurgents
Yesterday, U.S. lawmakers passed the “Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009″, a bill that will require the United States to design and implement a comprehensive strategy with multilateral and regional partners to address the violence perpetrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The bill, which was co-sponsored by a coalition of Republican and Democrat representatives, is the most widely cosponsored legislation focused on sub-Saharan Africa in modern American history. Read more
Nigeria’s elected president dies – what’s next?
The elected president of Nigeria, Umaru Yar’Adua, passed away last night. Yar’Adua had not been seen in public since he fell ill last November and was subsequently transfered to Saudia Arabia for medical treatment.
“Congo on the Wire”
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Iran; Syria; Internet Governance; Libya; and more
UN atomic watchdog chief Yukiya Amano and top aides will travelto Tehran on Sunday for talks with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, a few days before Iran and world powers meet in Baghdad to discuss the broader nuclear dispute. News of the rare visit came as Western diplomats said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran were making headway towards a framework deal on how to tackle concerns about Iran’s atomic activity.
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Sudan/South Sudan; State of the World Economy debate; International Day against Homophobia; and more
The U.N. Security Council has called on Sudan and South Sudan to reach an agreement on the status of the disputed, oil-rich Abyei border region and extended the U.N. security force’s mission there by six months. The council passed a resolution Thursday calling the situation a serious security threat and demanding the creation of a jointly administered Abyei police force.
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The top United Nations refugee official today voiced his alarm at new inflows of refugees into Rwanda and Uganda, fleeing fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). More than 8,200 refugees have crossed from DRC into Rwanda since 27 April, according to staff of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). These are in addition to the 55,000 Congolese refugees that Rwanda is already hosting.
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Syria: U.N.-Arab League mediator Kofi Annan is urging Syria’s government to accept U.N. conditions for expanding the distribution of humanitarian aid to roughly 1 million Syrians in need of assistance, the United Nations said today. Meanwhile, three vehicles belonging to … Read more
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Sustainable Future Symposium; ICT for Development; IAEA/Iran; Global Financial Transaction Tax; and more
Partnerships and development cooperation among countries will play a key role in accelerating sustainable development, the Secretary-General of the UN Sustainable Development Conference (Rio+20), Sha Zukang said today, stressing that assistance will need to focus on helping developing countries find longer-term solutions to eradicate poverty and transition into a green economy.The two-day Australia High-Level Symposium, “Shaping a Sustainable Future – Partners in Development Cooperation,” which began today, seeks to facilitate an informal dialogue on development cooperation among high-level policymakers, multilateral and civil society organizations, philanthropic foundations and the private sector.
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DR Congo; South Sudan; UNHCR and OIC; and more
Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Šimonovic, today voiced concern over the human rights situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has experienced a recent upsurge in violence. Mr. Šimonovic said he was “appalled” by the heightened levels of recent violence triggered by defections in the Congolese armed forces, including former members of certain militia groups, and welcomed joint efforts between the peacekeepers of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO), humanitarian actors and the authorities to protect civilians and respond to human rights violations.
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Asia-Pacific Human Development Report; Syria; Horn of Africa; UNRWA
Countries in the Asia-Pacific region must find ways to continue to grow economically and lift millions out of poverty while also responding to climate change and environmental concerns, according to UN report released today, which stresses that new methods of production are needed to meet this goal.UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2012 argues that policies and actions in the region will have a global impact as it is home to more than half of the world’s population and half of the planet’s megacities.
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SG on Rio/Post-2015 Development; Syria; Middle East; Global Fund; and more
Appealing for flexibility in reaching agreement on a final outcome document, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today, emphasized the need for Member States to agree on launching a process to establish Sustainable Development Goals ahead of the Rio+20 conference while also announcing the appointment of three co-chairs to his High-Level Panel on Post-2015 Development Planning. We should agree on launching a process to establish Sustainable Development Goals that build on the Millennium Development Goals … find better ways to measure progress that goes beyond Gross Domestic Product …and advance action to improve people’s lives through decent work, social protection and the empowerment of women and young people,” the UN chief said in his address to the UN General Assembly.
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Syria; Guinea-Bissau; UNAIDS; Afghanistan; and more
Amid concerns from the international community over the prospects of a “full civil war” in Syria, the Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan, said today that the ongoing levels of violence and human rights abuses in the Middle Eastern country are unacceptable and the UN observer mission is possibly the only remaining chance to stabilize it.
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Peacebuilding; South Sudan; Indigenous Issues; Rwanda
The United Nations is determined to do everything possible to assist societies torn by war from sliding back into conflict, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told an audience in the United States capital today, adding that while there have been setbacks, peacebuilding remains a crucial element of the world body’s efforts.In a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D. C., Mr. Ban highlighted the work of the UN’s 16 peacekeeping operations and 15 political missions in the area of peacebuilding – a core mandate of the Organization.
