Opinions

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ Message on the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust on 27. January 2021 Today we honour the memory of the six million Jews and millions of others who were systematically murdered in the Holocaust by the Nazis and their collaborators. This year’s anniversary takes place under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has revealed longstanding fractures and injustices in our societies and contributed to a resurgence in antisemitism and xenophobia. The Holocaust was the culmination of two millennia of discrimination, attacks, expulsions and periodic mass killings of Jews. It…

On November 2, 2020, Vienna was hit by a terrorist attack. 4 people were killed and 23 injured, of which more than 10 in critical situation. As a top livable city, Vienna enjoys a worldwide reputation for safety, tranquility, elegance, tolerance and good public infrastructure. The attack in this peaceful city is not only shocking, but also beyond belief.   The attack took place the night before the curfew ordered by the Austrian government due to the worsening situation of Covid-19. Many citizens came to the city center to enjoy the last-hour freedom in a “carnival” like mood. The area…

UNODC World Wildlife Crime Report 2020   The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that wildlife crime is a threat not only to the environment and biodiversity, but also to human health.   The World Wildlife Crime Report 2020 launched today by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) emphasizes the threat that wildlife trafficking poses to nature and the biodiversity of the planet. The report highlights the trafficking of some wild species – pangolins, birds, turtles, tigers, bears and many more. When wild animals are poached from their natural habitat, butchered and sold illegally, the potential for transmission of…

Today we face a global pandemic.   Worldwide, people rightly raise their voices against racism.   Confronting problems is a start. But we also have to solve them.   We have a timeless guide to tackle our shared challenges and fix the world’s fragilities.   That guide is the United Nations Charter.   The Charter was signed 75 years ago – and its principles ring just as true today.   Faith in fundamental human rights.   The equal rights of men and women.   The dignity and worth of every person.   International law and the peaceful settlement of disputes….

  Governments and international organizations come together to address economic challenges and sustainability High-level event on financing solutions related to COVID-19 NEW YORK, 28 May (UN Information Service) — United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau and the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, will convene world leaders and international organizations today in a joint initiative to sharpen and accelerate our global response to the significant economic and human impacts of COVID-19, and advance concrete solutions to the development emergency. This pandemic requires a large-scale, coordinated, comprehensive multilateral response to support countries in need, enabling…

In the shadow of the COVID-19 lockdown, food issues have become a major concern of the international community. As of 19. April this year, more than a dozen countries in the world have imposed export restrictions on agricultural products, including Vietnam, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. The produces restricted or suspended include wheat, rice, eggs, potatoes, onions and buckwheat, etc.. Meanwhile, due to insufficient manpower and problems in the supply chain caused by the epidemic, agricultural products in many countries have been hampered in harvest or cannot be shipped out in a timely manner. Will the human world face…

  The UN Secretary-General  António Guterres Statement on Gender-Based Violence and COVID19 New York, 5 April 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic is causing untold human suffering and economic devastation around the world. I recently called for an immediate global ceasefire to focus on our shared struggle to overcome the pandemic. I appealed for an end to violence everywhere, now. But violence is not confined to the battlefield. For many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest. In their own homes. And so I make a new appeal today for peace at home — and in homes…

Last weekend, I ran into an article in the Austrian mainstream newspaper “der Standard” entitled “Wien’s verborgenes Chinatown” or “Unter dem Radar: Wiens chinesische Community abseits der Teigtascherlmafia” (its website). It’s indeed a pity that the author of this article held such a distorted view of the Chinese community in Vienna. By citing a few negative cases, he is generalizing the image of the community and misleading the reader to a wrong interpretation of the reality. The majority of the Chinese living in Vienna as well as other parts of Austria has been conforming well to the rules and laws…

The simple background of the countryside houses, the crisscrossed muddy paths, the vast endless fields, in between the real yet metaphorical human figures, half in shadow, half exposed in sunlight … India, an ancient and mysterious country, a country not lacking attraction and charm! But it is the country with the most imbalanced birth ratio of men and women in the world: 1000-750. By 2020, 32 million single men in India will not be able to find a wife. How did this situation come into being? The 2019 Rama Rau documentary “The Daughter Tree” draws a shocking but realistic picture….

As early as 2013, the United Nations has been calling for a global moratorium on lethal autonomous robotics, weapons systems that can select and kill targets without a human being directly issuing a command. But according to Time Magazine, China and the US are fighting a major battle over killer robots and the future of AI, simultaneously working on the technology while trying to use international law as a limit against their competitors. Being more and more intimidating, the issue of AI killer robots has raised huge concerns during the related yearly UN meeting in Geneva. In August this year,…