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Contemporary International Issues
Contemporary International Issues
Contemporary International Issues
In 2019, the Secretary-General and the UN will turn to implementation of these reforms. Indeed, the
efficacy of these modernization efforts will be judged not by how the international body forms or
regroups offices but rather how they improve the impact that is being made to global peace, stability,
and progress.
This first year of implementation comes against a backdrop of heightened risks to global cooperation
writ large, including for the UN itself. How these changes better enable the UN to adapt and evolve
to a world that is changing at breakneck pace is key.
Inequality will be a goal under review at this year’s SDG review moment in July.
The International Conference on Population and Development convenes with a focus on
putting human rights at the center of development.
The 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women meets at the UN.
France aligns G7 efforts around tackling a range of inequalities.
The UN Human Rights Council will convene a rare intersessional dialogue on good
governance and the implementation of the SDGs.
And the U.S. celebrates the 100th anniversary of Senate passage of the 19th Amendment,
which granted women the right to vote
But all of this will be a lost opportunity if it is not accompanied by meaningful commitments to
address global and local inequalities, and at the same time protect and preserve human rights
around the world.
That’s why the UN and its partners should re-affirm commitment to defending human rights around
the world. As Secretary-General Guterres laid out at the first annual Paris Peace Forum, “The fight
against global inequalities must serve as the guiding compass for the work of multilateral
organizations.”
While there is reason to celebrate with the recent adoption of the UN’s Global Compact for
Migration by more than 160 countries, as well as the appointment of Michelle Bachelet as the new
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, there is also cause for concern as even more countries
risk backsliding on progress and infringing on the rights of minority groups. Considerable attention
will be needed to ensure that human rights are front and center, and that the international community
is – in the words of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – living up to the promise
that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
6. RESPONDING TO HUMANITARIAN
CRISES
Conflict and the increase of natural disasters continue to impede development, peace, and security
worldwide – dimming the prospects of achieving the SDGs in these fragile environments. The 2019
Global Humanitarian Overview reveals an astonishing severity in humanitarian crises, with the
number of internally displaced people by conflict in Syria, Colombia, and the Democratic Republic of
the Congo alone reaching almost 20 million.
The report estimates that protracted conflicts in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen will
continue to cause displacement and erode resilience. In total, nearly 132 million people need
humanitarian assistance in 2019 at an estimated cost of at least $21.9 billion.
International organizations, private companies, and civil society are working together in innovative
ways to respond, including through the Famine Action Mechanism, the first global mechanism –
launched by the UN, World Bank, the International Red Cross, and other global partners – to support
upstream interventions in famine prevention, preparedness, and early action.
The Secretary-General has made prevention and peacebuilding key priorities since his first day in
office. This includes reform of the peace and security architecture. Additionally, the UN is taking
early steps to strengthen its financing mechanisms, including the Central Emergency Response
Fund, to be more proactive and to implement new financing mechanisms such as pooled funds to
allow for more flexibility in resource allocation. But more needs to be done urgently to address the
scale of the challenge. As Yemen is on the brink of facing the world’s worst famine in 2019, with
more than 13 million people at risk of starvation, it is critical that the international community
continues work to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable, and to find peaceful means to end
conflict and humanitarian disasters.
The world is at a defining moment for collective action. As political and economic turmoil,
protracted conflict, climate change, and inequalities continue to exacerbate global instability, the
post-war institutions set up for bolstering international cooperation – and the central foundations for
mobilizing action to tackle today’s most pressing challenges – are also increasingly under threat.
Indeed, as the Secretary-General recently stated, “The multilateralism that is now part of our daily
life is at risk of disintegrating just when it is most needed.”
At the same time, new grassroots movements, empowered citizens, bold moves from the private
sector, and more, signal strong support for global cooperation.
If 2018 taught us anything, it is that partnerships, collaboration, and international cooperation are the
bedrock of global progress. In 2019, we must remember that in an age of ever-complex and
interconnected challenges and risks, we are greater than the sum of our parts.