News stories by Ian Richards

GENEVA, Jun 05 (IPS) - Like you, we attended last week’s townhall where UN High Commissioner (for Human Rights) Volker Turk presented his latest plans for moving staff out of headquarters. We note that this project has been carried out without adequate consultation with the staff union. The key points we learned and which we are concerned about:

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 6 2023 (IPS) - When heads of state, heads of government and top diplomats from around the globe flock to New York for high-level week beginning September 19, it marks the culmination of many months of intensive preparation for the United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service.

GENEVA, Switzerland, Feb 07 (IPS) - New UNCTAD software does to digital government what IKEA did to furniture, allowing Bhutan’s government employees to create their own user-friendly services for citizens online.

GENEVA, Sep 24 (IPS) - Last week the World Bank announced it was “discontinuing” its “Doing Business” report, which ranks countries on the ease of opening and operating a company.

GENEVA, Mar 22 (IPS) - It’s now almost three months since the United Kingdom entered into a new trade agreement with the European Union.

During that time, we’ve seen traders struggle to get to grips with the new arrangements. From lorry drivers having their sandwiches confiscated by Dutch customs officers to estimates of additional paperwork costs of $7 billion a year, and pig breeders watching their meat rot on the quayside for want of the correct forms.

GENEVA, Mar 04 (IPS) - The United Nations is using the digital government technology behind vaccine passports to help developing countries provide essential services to their vulnerable populations.

After a year of Zoom meetings and with vaccinations slowly rolling out, international travel is making a come-back.

GENEVA, Feb 23 (IPS) - Some of you may remember Sophia, the talking robot. In 2017 and 2018 she toured UN meetings and TV studios, wowing audiences with her thoughts on the future of technology and seemingly engaging in conversations with UN deputy chief, Amina Mohammed and British broadcaster, Piers Morgan.

GENEVA, Nov 24 (IPS) - Until recently, Benin was best known for its cotton exports and its vibrant clothing designs. Since this year it is also the fastest place in the world to start a company. By providing a full online service, the government helped entrepreneurs create businesses and jobs during the pandemic. A third of Benin's new entrepreneurs are women.

GENEVA, Sep 29 (IPS) - As the United Nations prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary we have been made aware of an extremely worrying development concerning the future of UN staff contracts.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 20 (IPS) - Ian Richards is President of the Coordinating Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations, and an economist at UNCTAD.

A $64 million plan to move 750 back office jobs from the UN's main duty stations to four new centralized service centres in Budapest, Montreal, Nairobi and Shenzhen, could end up being a waste of money.