The United Nations has just issued a report indicating that many UN peace operations are now in a spate of drawdowns, reconfigurations, and terminations. For the full report, please click here.
The 7th Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum was held on 25 November 2023 at JICA Ichigaya Building with a total of 62
participants (41 on-site and 21 online).
The meeting of the presidents of the United Nations Associations of the three countries, Japan, China, and South Korea, was held for two days, from August 21 to 22, 2023. It was held at the Guest House of the China United Nations Association in Beijing for the first time in four years. The participants actively discussed “Reform and Improvement of the Global Governance System,” “UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” and “Diversity of Civilizations.” From left in the photo are KWAAK Young Hoon, president of the Korean United Nations Association, WANG Chao, president of the Chinese United Nations Association, and Yasushi AKASHI, vice president of the United Nations Association of Japan. Please click here for the full report.
A group of diplomats, government officials and scholars met and discussed the contemporary global issues with Mr. Ibrahim Gambari, a scholar and diplomat, who served as the Chief of Staff to Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari from 2020 to 2023, and the United Nations as the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Special Envoys.
On 9 November 2023, Professor Ibrahim Gambari joined the Director of UNU-IAS, Prof. Shinobu Yume Yamaguchi, in a conversation on “Global Crises and United Nations Response and Innovations: Lessons Learned, Challenges and Prospects.” Professor Gambari is the former Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria, the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations, and the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for political and other affairs. In response to questions, he pointed out the lack of national and international leadership as the main reason for the world’s inability to address challenging interlinked global crises, including climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and conflict in Ukraine and Gaza. He thought the UN Security Council needed to be reformed to reflect the actual state of the world, consisting of more countries and populations that existed when the United Nations was created more than 75 years ago.
President Jose Ramos-Horta of the Republic of Timor-Leste spoke online to more than 1000 participants of the SDGs Global Governance Summit 2023 Tokyo held on 6 November 2023 in Shibuya City, Tokyo. Please click here for the video message.
Hans von Sponeck, Former UN Assistant-Secretary-General and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, expresses his outrage about the hypocrisy of heads of state and foreign ministers flocking to Tel Aviv with one-sided messages and adding the fig leaf not to forget humanitarian aid and completely ignoring the context, the ‘why’ it all happened. Please click here for his full message.
At the invitation of Professor UEKI Yasuhiro of the Sophia University, following the introductory statement made by Ms. NEMOTO Kaoru, Director of the UN Information Office in Tokyo, Professor HASEGAWA spoke about the successful peacebuilding carried out by the national leaders with the assistance of the United Nations.
Dr. Arbenita Sopaj asserts in her article published by the Institute for Security and Development Policy on 16 October 2023 that Putin is cognizant of the fact that if he attempts to end the war in Ukraine, he will face a trial. Therefore, he pursues ultimate victory, even if it entails negative consequences for him and his people in the long run, and that includes the potential use of nuclear weapons. If the trilateral partnership materializes among the three nations, i.e., Russia, North Korea, and China, the global order becomes even more volatile as all three possess nuclear arsenals and adhere to communist ideologies, factors that should prompt Western allies to take proactive measures. Please see her full analysis by clicking the Link: In For the Long Haul: Kim’s Meeting with Putin Amid Ukraine War – Institute for Security and Development Policy (isdp.eu)
On 12 October 2023, UNU will host “Peacebuilding in the Wake of Increasing Rivalry Among Major Powers,” a conversation with Dr. Kuniko INOGUCHI, Chairperson of the Research Committee on Foreign Affairs and National Security, the House of Councilors, the National Diet of Japan.