An innovative approach to supporting the poorest and most vulnerable in Rwanda, is helping to address environmental problems and achieve ambitious development goals there, according to the UN Development Programme, UNDP.

UNDP Rwanda/Gabrielle Tillberg

The “Green Village” concept, a Rwandan government initiative which is supported by UNDP, aims to tackle the African country’s growing natural resource challenges – including deforestation, soil erosion, access to water and unsustainable land use. It also ensures that the poorest Rwandans have access to homes, schools, water, gas and electricity.

Rwanda’s impressive 8 per cent economic growth-rate in the first 14 years of the new millennium, has helped to boost recovery in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, however 40 percent of the population still lives in poverty.

People living in the Green Villages, which are located in the most disadvantaged rural areas, are provided with rain water collectors, improved sanitation, biogas facilities as well as one free cow per family.

Visit Kabeza, one of Rwanda’s 44 Green Villages here.

Genocide remains a “threat and a reality” in the 21st century, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Thursday, in an appeal to States to do more to act on the “warning signs” that often precede grave violations of international law.

At an event at the Human Rights Council in Geneva to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Genocide Convention, Ms. Bachelet highlighted the findings of a UN probe into “the military-led campaign of murder, rape and assault” against Myanmar’s Rohingya people, as well as brutal acts committed against the Iraqi Yazidi community by ISIL.

“This leaves us in no doubt that the genocide convention matters as much today as it did on 9 December 1948,” she said. “The day it became the very first human rights treaty to be adopted by the UN General Assembly – followed the next day by the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

Insisting that it was time to “take stock” of recent violations in Myanmar and Iraq, Ms. Bachelet also welcomed last week’s decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) that it had jurisdiction to rule over the alleged mass deportation of some 750,000 Rohingya, from Rakhine state.

The ICC decision did not specifically address the crime of genocide “but it offers real hope” that those responsible will be brought to justice, she noted, while underlining the importance and “preventative impact” of the work of the Human Rights Council and the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR.

“Accountability matters,” the UN official continued. “Prevention and punishment – the explicitly stated twin aims of the genocide convention – can never be seen in isolation from each other. Punishment is key to prevention. Impunity is an enabler of genocide; accountability is its nemesis.”

To date, 149 States have ratified or acceded to the Genocide Convention, whose full name is the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

It was signed in the aftermath of World War Two and the Holocaust, when Member States of the young organization drew up an international treaty to prohibit the crime of genocide, which required signatory governments to take all necessary steps to prevent or stop it.

Lack of commitment naïve and puzzling – UN Special Adviser

Forty-five UN Member States have yet to join the international accord – 20 from the African continent, 18 from Asia and the remaining seven from the Americas – Adama Dieng, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, told the Human Rights Council.

This lack of commitment of such a large number of States was as “puzzling” as it was naïve, Mr. Dieng said. “What message are those States sending, 70 years after the adoption of the Convention? That genocide could never happen within their borders? That is being naïve. History has shown us time and again that genocide can happen anywhere.”

Insisting that the convention was still relevant and that joining it was a “moral obligation towards humanity”, Mr. Dieng urged Member States to prioritize ratification by its 70th anniversary, on 9 December 2018.

He insisted that the genocide convention, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Rome Statute of the ICC, remain “the most important legal standard we have to fulfil the commitment to ‘never again’ that the world made 70 years ago”.

Failure to support the convention risks further disastrous human and economic consequences, Mr. Dieng explained: “enormous loss of life, massive displacement of people, collective trauma that lasts for generations, devastated economies, and development set back by decades.”

Like few today, former United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, could “bring people together, put them at ease, and unite them towards a common goal”, said the current UN chief, António Guterres on Thursday, speaking at his predecessor’s funeral in Ghana.

“Since the shock of Kofi’s death, I have been reflecting on what made him so special,” Mr. Guterres told those assembled, saying he was “both one-of-a-kind and one of us.” 

He opened the doors of the United Nations, bringing the Organization closer to the world’s people –Secretary-General António Guterres

The only UN chief to have emerged from the ranks of its staff, passed away after a short illness on 18 August.  He was 80.

Speaking of Mr. Annan’s time at the helm of the Organization, Secretary-General Guterres cited “a remarkable record of achievement,” in which he pioneered new ideas and initiatives, including the Millennium Development Goals – precursor to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and landmark reforms in his report, “In Larger Freedom.”

Mr. Guterres called his predecessor an “exceptional global leader” who saw the UN as “a force for good.”

“He opened the doors of the United Nations, bringing the Organization closer to the world’s people and engaging new partners in protecting the environment, defending human rights and combating HIV/AIDS and other killer diseases,” he spelled out.

“Kofi Annan was the United Nations and the United Nations was him,” Mr. Guterres asserted.

On a personal note, the UN chief called Mr. Annan “my good friend,” saying they “marched through life together in many ways.”

They had come together in supporting the birth of a new nation, Timor-Leste, and then, as the UN Refugee Agency chief, the former Secretary-General had provided him with “unwavering support”, he said.

“Now that I occupy the office Kofi once held, I am continually inspired by his integrity, dynamism and dedication,” Mr. Guterres said.

Noting that to Mr. Annan, “indifference was the world’s worst poison,” the UN chief maintained that even after leaving the Secretariat in New York, “he never stopped battling on the front-lines of diplomacy,” elaborating the he helped to ease post-election tensions in Kenya, gave his all to finding a political solution to the war in Syria, and set out a path for to ensure rights for the Rohingya of Myanmar.

Turning to his Africa roots and identity, Mr. Guterres pointed out that Nelson Mandela’s nickname for Mr. Annan was “my leader.”

“This was no jest.  Kofi was our leader, too,” affirmed Mr. Guterres. “When I last saw him not long ago at the UN, his bearing was how I will always remember him: calm yet determined, ready to laugh but always filled with the gravity of the work we do.”

While he will be missed “immensely,” said the UN chief, “let us always be inspired by the legacy of Kofi Annan – and guided by the knowledge that he will continue speaking to us, urging us on towards the goals to which he dedicated his life and truly moved our world.”

His widow Nane Annan spoke eloquently of her husband’s strong connection to Ghana, and about how “excited he always was returning home.”

“On arrival he would draw in the air” and “look so happy and content,” she said, crediting her late husband’s “inner strength…from his deep roots here” and thanking the country for giving the world “such an extraordinary human being.”

She conveyed her husband’s “irresistible aura of radiant warmth” and said, “his legacy will live on in his foundation and in all of us.”

“May you rest in peace and may your wisdom and compassion continue to inspire and guide us,” she concluded.
 

Economic sanctions must not be allowed to degenerate into blockades which “expose people to the ravages of economic war in peacetime” said the UN independent expert on the effects of sanctions on human rights.

Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy, pointed out on Thursday, that civilians affected by blockades do not benefit from the protection of the Geneva Convention, which is aimed at safeguarding civilians during war time.

Sanctions usually lead to countries, or groups of countries, refusing to trade with a targeted State, but a blockade prevents the targeted State from trading with other potential partners.

Briefing the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Mr. Jazairy said that people in Iran and Venezuela risk being badly affected, were any blockade to be imposed, while the situation for those in Syria – already suffering grave human rights abuses – would have even worse consequences.

In Yemen, one of the poorest countries on earth, which imports almost all of its food, fuel and medicines, civilians were weakened further by a total blockade imposed in November 2017, preventing all humanitarian aid and commercial trade – including food and fuel – from entering the country.

In Gaza, where residents have lived through an Israeli blockade for more than a decade, after the militant group Hamas gained control of the enclave, civilians have suffered from a deteriorating humanitarian situation.

In August, UN Political Affairs chief Rosemary di Carlo told the Security Council that humanitarian aid in the Middle East should not be held hostage to politics.

“There is a need for differences between States to be resolved through peaceful means as advocated by the UN Charter, while avoiding exposing innocent civilians to collective punishment,” said Mr. Jazairy, expressing concern about the growing practice of unilateral sanctions, where a particular country bans companies and corporations from doing business with a sanctioned state.

Referring to a recent meeting in Brussels with European Officials, Mr. Jazairy told the Council that he has urged the EU to limit “secondary sanctions”, which go beyond targeted countries.

He said he would focus on making humanitarian exceptions to internationally imposed measures effective, until States lift all sanctions that lead to human rights infringements.

As part of the 40th anniversary of the International Day for South-South Cooperation, the United Nations drew together on Wednesday, more than 100 best-practices developed in the countries of the Global South, which embody the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“Today, the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation – in collaboration with Member States, UN agencies and other development partners – is launching a compilation of ‘Good Practices,” together with “Triangular Cooperation, for Sustainable Development,’” said UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on behalf of the Secretary-General at a commemorative event in New York.

She showcased works-in-progress, including an ecosystem-based approach for managing freshwater resources, in six small island developing States.

“The transfer of technologies and vast inter-regional infrastructure investments are facilitating access to international markets for medium and small-scale enterprises,” she stated. “However, we are all keenly aware that there is more to be done to fully leverage the potential of South-South collaboration and partnership.”

In the late 1970s, the Global South embarked on a knowledge-sharing collaboration featuring economic, political, environmental, social and technical know-how, that formally became the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (BAPA) – a blueprint for South-South cooperation.

According to Ms. Mohammed that “marked the beginning of a new phase of cooperation.”

“Driven by a spirit of solidarity, respect for national sovereignty and equal partnership, BAPA embodied the developing world’s desire to promote the sharing of homegrown solutions as a complement to North-South cooperation in fostering international cooperation for development,” she elaborated.

UNOSSC

Left to Right: H.E. Mr. Daniel Raimondi, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Government of Argentina；Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations； H.E. Mr. Mohammad Fathi Ahmed Edrees, Permanent Representative of Egypt and Chair of the Group of 77； Mr. Jorge Chediek, UNOSSC Director and Envoy of the Secretary-General on South-South Cooperation at a high-level meeting at UN Headquarters in New York, on 12 September 2018.

Since that landmark agreement, there has been a surge in South-South and triangular cooperation, with developing countries becoming key actors in implementing the 2030 Agenda.

Furthermore, over the last decade, greater trade between developing countries has driven an increase in world trade and new multilateral institutions devoted to South-South cooperation.

The deputy UN chief pointed out that in a few months, Member States would meet again in Buenos Aires for the Second High-level Conference on South-South Cooperation, BAPA+40, to review four decades of trends, and to launch an inclusive South-South and triangular strategy to implement the 2030 Agenda. 

“I encourage us all to actively participate in the BAPA+40 preparatory process,” she said. “And I invite you to participate in the Global South-South Development Expo here in New York from 28 to 30 November.”

In concluding, she encouraged all to “reaffirm our commitment to this invaluable means of achieving sustainable development and improving the lives of billions of people in the Global South and beyond.”

A cornerstone for sustainable development

At the same time, a commemorative event in Thailand called for deepening cooperation to foster sustainable development in countries across Asia and the Pacific.

Jointly organized by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), and Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the high-level gathering highlighted that South-South and triangular cooperation must be a corner stone to collectively implementat the 2030 Agenda in the region.

“Asia Pacific is now the world’s largest trading region, sitting at the heart of global value chains and international investment, and at the forefront of technological innovation,” said Kaveh Zahedi, ESCAP Deputy Executive Secretary. “Expertise which, deployed intelligently, could improve competitiveness, reduce inequality and make globalization fairer – more sustainable.”

In a video message, Jorge Chediek, UNOSSC Director stressed that BAPA has provided a strong mandate to implement South-South Cooperation as a key instrument to achieve the globally agreed goals.

“The Asia-Pacific region has been a birthplace and model for South-South Cooperation,” said Mr. Chediek. “We are confident that this region will continue to make contributions to the new global agenda with renewed commitment to South-South Cooperation.”