2. ACUNS News

The 27th anniversary of the tragic ambush in Kampong Thom is being commemorated in midst of one of the largest planetary disasters in the last century, the COVID-19 pandemic. This extraordinary situation brings former UN Volunteer Electoral Supervisors, who on 8 April remembered the tragic killing of Atsuhito Nakata and his fellow interpreter Lek Sophiep, back to the very meaning of what took their lives, and gave them, back then, a renewed sense of optimism: at the heart of their UN engagement, what gave them the strength to continue in the face of adversity, the spirit of international cooperation, and going beyond self-interest.

Chair of the Japan Commission for Global Governance, Professor Sukehiro HASEGAWA accompanied by Mr. Masakuni TANIMOTO submitted its summary report, entitled “the role of Japan in enhancing global governance in addressing global issues and crises” which contained the recommendations made by six sub-committees concerning UN Reform, Environment, Disarmament, Parliamentary Diplomacy, Innovative Resources Mobilization, and Rule of Law.

Following the presentation of French Ambassador Laurent PIC on the role of France in UN peace operations made at the Tokyo Peacebuilding Forum 2019, the author of Radical Islam and New Imperial Order views radical Islam and the terrorism associated with it as the dark side of the Western world and warns France and the UN about the risk of becoming stuck in a dead-end conflict in Mali.

Professor Min WANG is teaching at Hosei University Center for International Japan-Studies.

According to the 2019 Global Peace Index provided by the Institute of Economics and Peace, Iceland is No.1, while Japan 9th and United States, 128th. IEP is headquartered in Sydney, with offices in New York, The Hague, Mexico City, Brussels and Harare. It provides a snapshot of the global state of peacefulness among 164 countries. For more information visit www.economicsandpeace.org

According to UN Information Centre, the Secretary-General will depart New York on June 26 and visit Osaka, Japan, where he will attend the G20 Summit. He will speak at a session on climate change, environment and energy, and will participate in sessions on topics including the global economy, innovation and inequalities. He will also take part in a leaders’ side event on women’s empowerment.

In his keynote speech, Ramos-Horta pays tribute to Timorese Leader Xanana Gusmão and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for having averted the clash of national interest by following their own conscience and doing the right thing to settle the maritime boundary disputes. Ramos-Horta also shows compliments Indonesia and India for holding free, fair and credible elections. Click here for his speech.

Today is the day UN United Volunteer Atsuhito Nakata and his colleague Lek Sophiep were killed on April 8, 1993. They were working together to build peace and democracy in Cambodia. In a world where nationalism is pervasive, we should reaffirm our understanding that humanity as a whole should achieve and sustain peace and democracy.