The Lid is On

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a key UN policy document adopted in 1995, has been credited for several major advances for women, from legislation outlawing domestic abuse to inspiring a new wave of young gender justice activists.

But despite undeniable progress in gender relations over the past 30 years, inequalities between men and women persist and, in recent years, there has been a notable backlash against the very concepts of feminism.

Just 35 hours later than advertised, the UN Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan wrapped up, with an agreement to triple the amount of climate finance paid to developing nations to $300 billion per year, by 2035.

The deal is a definite step forward, but the final sum is far less than the $1.3 trillion that climate experts say these countries need in order to adapt to the crisis.

On this episode, we look back at the second and final week of COP29, what was achieved, and what comes next.

Music by Joachim Harris, all rights reserved

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COP29, this year’s UN Climate Conference, is being called the “climate finance COP”, because delegates are expected to sign off on a beefed-up funding target to replace the existing $100 billion per year commitment. The final figure the negotiators arrive at remains to be seen and it could be anywhere from a few hundred billion, to over a trillion dollars per year.

The risk of the world’s major powers engaging in conflict  is at its highest level since the Cold War, and the possibility of nuclear war breaking out is greater today than it has been for several decades.

On the final episode of Focus on the Future, Conor Lennon and Ben Malor from UN News concentrate on international peace and security, and how the Pact for the Future could help to reduce tensions.

In the Pact for the Future UN Member States pledged to do more to fight the climate crisis, a subject that has dominated several sessions at UN Headquarters this week.

On Thursday’s episode of Focus on the Future, Conor Lennon and Sachin Gaur discuss some of the big climate-related events, including a General Assembly meeting on sea level rise.

Reforming the Security Council, to make it more representative of today’s world, has been under discussion for decades. The subject made it into the Pact for the Future, adopted earlier this week. Does this mean that it is more likely to happen?

Global governance is the key theme of today’s show, which is dominated by the opening of the General Debate, when Heads of State, Prime Ministers and Presidents gather for speeches and backroom talks and deals.

Crippling debt burdens are holding many African countries back: some  of them are paying more on repayments than on health, education and infrastructure.

On today’s show Conor Lennon is joined by Sachin Gaur from the UN News Hindi Unit, to cover the events focused on sustainable development and rethinking the entire international financial architecture. The big question is, how we can make it fairer?

Also, star wattage has been lighting up Headquarters. Edward Norton and Meryl Streep were among the artistic talents at HQ, advocating for the environment and Afghan women.

On the first episode of Focus on the Future, our mini-series running throughout High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly, Conor Lennon and Shanaé Harte explain what the Summit of the Future is all about, how to bring back trust between countries and why UN HQ was full of young people all weekend!

Contact us: thelidison@un.org

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Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers attending High-Level Week at UN Headquarters in New York have steadily ticked upwards, and this year is set to be a packed event.

If that sounds overwhelming, worry not. UN News is releasing a daily podcast mini-series, designed to make sense of it all.

Each episode of Focus on the Future will have a main topic linked to the focus of the day, and will include highlights from the GA debate, original interviews, and a colourful wrap up of the side events.

The future of UN peacekeeping and the “new models” it needs to create to remain relevant in the 21^st Century are set to be discussed at the landmark Summit of the Future taking place in New York from 22 September.

There are currently 11 UN missions around the world, mainly in Africa and the Middle East.

Their goal is to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace.

Participants at the Summit of the Future will discuss, the global architecture for international cooperation, which includes peacekeeping.