Viewpoint by Heiko Maas With three months to go for Germany joining the Security Council as a non-permanent member for 2019-2020, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas spelt out in his speech at the general debate of the 73rd General Assembly of the United Nations on 28 September 2018 the country’s agenda putting the focus on […]
India Hosts UN Chief on International Day of Non-Violence
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – In the run-up to UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ four-day visit to India beginning October 1, a senior official of the world body has expressed “a special thank you” to the Government of India, which is contributing US$1 million to install solar panels and a green roof on […]
The World Needs a Strong Legal Framework for Complete Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
Viewpoint by Kairat Abdrakhmanov Following are extensive excerpts from the statement by Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the High-level Meeting of the UN Security Council on “Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Non-proliferation of WMD” on 26 September 2018 in New York. NEW YORK (IDN) – Countering the […]
Tanzanians Search For Reasons Behind Latest Ferry Disaster
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Tanzanian President John Magufuli took action against a ferry captain and all of the crew as the number of bodies pulled from Lake Victoria in the latest maritime disaster topped 200. Magufuli told the nation on September 21 that the captain left the ferry’s steering […]
Nelson Mandela Peace Summit Rebukes ‘America First’ Strategy
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa couldn’t be prouder as he unveiled a life-size statue of Nelson Mandela on September 24, a day before the start of the General Debate of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA73) and the opening of a day-long […]
Peacebuilders for a Nuclear-Weapon Free World
Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow* GENEVA (IDN) – As the world celebrated the UN-designated International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on September 26, there were still some 16,000 nuclear weapons in the world, largely in the hands of the United States and the Russian Federation, some on “ready alert”. There are plans to […]
79-Nation ACP Group and IFAD Agree to Strengthen Cooperation
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (ACP-IDN) – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), an international financial institution and specialized United Nations agency based in Rome, and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States with Secretariat in Brussels plan to intensify their collaboration in several areas of common interest, such as joint financing, […]
India Hosts G4 Meeting Pressing For Security Council Reform
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) – Brazil, Germany, India and Japan – also known as the G4 – have reiterated the compelling need for a protracted reform of the United Nations Security Council and restated their support for Africa’s appropriate representation in a reformed and expanded Council, which under the UN Charter bears primary […]
India-U.S. Strong Partnership Not Endorsement of Washington-led Regional Order
Viewpoint by Jagannath Panda The writer is a Research Fellow and Centre Coordinator for East Asia at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. He is also the Series Editor for Routledge Studies on Think Asia. This article was first published in East Asia Forum on September 23, 2018. NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) […]
Why the International Court for War Crimes Is Essential
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Last year the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) released a report which for the first time explicitly named U.S. military forces and CIA operatives in secret prisons as possible war crimes culprits for the alleged use of torture and rape. Because the […]